ArduinoMania

Valve says it’s willing to work with Microsoft to bring PC Game Pass to Steam. “I don’t think it’s something that we think we need to do ourselves, building a subscription service at this time,” Valve CEO Gabe Newell told PC Gamer in a recent interview. “But for their customers it’s clearly a popular option, and we’d be more than happy to work with them to get that on Steam.”

Newell’s subsequent comments suggest PC Game Pass won’t come to Steam anytime soon, but that the two companies have had discussions about the possibility. “We’ve talked to people there quite a bit about that topic,” he said. “If your customers want it, then you should figure out how to make it happen. That’s where we’re at.”

While PC Game Pass may never come to Steam there’s at least precedent for Microsoft to follow. In the summer of 2020, publisher Electronic Arts made EA Play, its subscription service, available on Steam. It's worth noting, as The Verge points out, not every EA Play tier is available through the marketplace, and Valve's 30 percent cut of sales could be a contentious issue in any negotiations between itself and Microsoft. For what it's worth, Microsoft has also expressed an interest in getting Steam onto the Windows 11 app store. Last June, Microsoft’s Panos Panay said Valve would be “very welcome” on the marketplace.

On Saturday morning, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its third day, some of the country’s official government websites went down following a series of alleged cyberattacks. Among the sites that aren’t accessible as of the writing of this article include that of the Kremlin and the country’s Ministry of Defence. Several Twitter accounts claiming affiliation with Anonymous say the international hacking collective is behind the attacks.

“Faced with this series of attacks that Ukraine has been suffering from the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, we could not help but support the Ukrainian people,” said one account. At the start of the conflict, the group said it would launch a “cyber war against the Russian government.” However, the Kremlin has denied Anonymous is behind the attacks, according to CNN.

It’s believed Anonymous is also responsible for hacking several Russian state TV channels. People have uploaded videos showing those channels playing Ukrainian music and displaying images of the country’s flag and other nationalistic symbols. 

The collective has also pledged to “keep the Ukrainian people online as best we can,” even as the invasion takes a heavy toll on the country's internet infrastructure. While there hasn’t been a widespread blackout, some parts of Ukraine, particularly those areas where fighting has been the most intense, have seen greatly diminished access. That's something that has prevented people from staying in touch with their loved ones.

Russia has moved to restrict access to Twitter as its invasion of Ukraine continues. Starting early Saturday morning, internet monitor NetBlocks saw a nearly complete blackout of the platform across all major domestic telecom providers, including Rostelecom and MTS. For the time being, Russian residents and those visiting the country can still access Twitter using VPN services but reaching the website directly is nearly impossible.

Twitter confirmed the reports at 11:51AM ET. “We’re aware that Twitter is being restricted for some people in Russia and are working to keep our service safe and accessible,” the company said.

At the moment, Russians can reportedly still access Facebook and Instagram, but that may change. On Friday, the country’s telecom regulator, Roskomnadzor, began partially restricting access to Facebook after Meta refused to stop fact-checking and labeling content from state-owned news organizations. At the time, Roskomnadzor accused Facebook of violating “the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens.”

It’s unclear why Russia has moved to block Twitter, but all the videos of the conflict you see on the platform may have played a part in the decision. For instance, Russia claims its airstrikes haven’t targeted civilian infrastructure, but several widely circulated videos appear to show otherwise. Those clips and others would appear to paint a picture of the invasion that is quite different from the one Russian-state media has pushed. 

"Russia's restriction of Twitter will significantly limit the free flow of information at a time of crisis when the public most needs to stay informed," NetBlocks director Alp Toker told the BBC.

You can now attach one-time content warnings to the images and videos you tweet if you didn't have access to the feature in the past. Twitter started testing a feature that gives you a way to add warnings for nudity, violence and other types of sensitive content to each individual post last year. Now, Twitter Support has announced that the feature is available to everyone using its Android and iOS apps, as well as its web interface.

When you apply a warning to an individual tweet, the media you attach to it will look obscured to people viewing it until they opt to view what's behind it. The feature gives you a way to share content that may be upsetting or not appropriate for everyone without having to mark all your tweets as sensitive. 

To add a warning to a single tweet, simply click on the flag icon that shows up while you're editing the photo or video you attached and then choose between the nudity, violence and sensitive options. As The Verge notes, you can tag multiple warnings for each attachment, and Twitter will place a single warning over multiple media in a single post. 

You can watch Twitter Safety's video on how to access the feature below:

Facebook has blocked Russian state media outlets from using its advertising platform or using other monetization features in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

The move comes after Russia regulator Roskomnadzor said it would restrict access to the social network after Facebook officials declined to stop fact checking Russian state-run media outlets on the platform. Now, Meta’s Head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher says the company is stepping up its restrictions on Russian state media, which are now barred from running ads or using monetization features anywhere in the world. He added that the company continues to “to apply labels to additional Russian state media.”

It follows a similar move from Twitter, which announced on Friday that it was suspending all advertising in Ukraine and Russia in order to better highlight authoritative information and guard against misinformation. Facebook has also previously enabled a “lock profile” feature for people in Ukraine as an added security feature, and has formed a “Special Operations Center” to track how the invasion of Ukraine is unfolding on its platform.

Who wouldn't want an AI-driven robot sidekick; a little mechanical pal, trustworthy and supportive — the perfect teammate. But should such an automaton be invented would it really be your teammate, an equal partner in your adventurous endeavors? Or would it simply be a tool, albeit a wildly advanced one measured against today's standard? In the excerpt below from Human-Centered AI, author and professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, Ben Shneiderman, examines the pitfalls of our innate desire to humanize the mechanical constructs we build and how we are shortchanging their continued development by doing so.

University of Oxford Press

Excerpted from Human-Centered AI by Ben Shneiderman. Published by Oxford University Press. Copyright © 2021 by Ben Shneiderman. All rights reserved.

Teammates and Tele-bots

A common theme in designs for robots and advanced technologies is that human–human interaction is a good model for human–robot interaction, and that emotional attachment to embodied robots is an asset. Many designers never consider alternatives, believing that the way people communicate with each other, coordinate activities, and form teams is the only model for design. The repeated missteps stemming from this assumption do not deter others who believe that this time will be different, that the technology is now more advanced, and that their approach is novel.

Numerous psychological studies by Clifford Nass and his team at Stanford University showed that when computers are designed to be like humans, users respond and engage in socially appropriate ways. Nass’s fallacy might be described as this: since many people are willing to respond socially to robots, it is appropriate and desirable to design robots to be social or human-like.

However, what Nass and colleagues did not consider was whether other designs, which were not social or human-like, might lead to superior performance. Getting beyond the human teammate idea may increase the likelihood that designers will take advantage of unique computer features, including sophisticated algorithms, huge databases, superhuman sensors, information abundant displays, and powerful effectors. I was pleased to find that in later work with grad student Victoria Groom, Nass wrote: “Simply put, robots fail as teammates.” They elaborated: “Characterizing robots as teammates indicates that robots are capable of fulfilling a human role and encourages humans to treat robots as human teammates. When expectations go unmet, a negative response is unavoidable.”

Lionel Robert of the University of Michigan cautions that human-like robots can lead to three problems: mistaken usage based on emotional attachment to the systems, false expectations of robot responsibility, and incorrect beliefs about appropriate use of robots. Still, a majority of researchers believe that robot teammates and social robots are inevitable. That belief pervades the human–robot interaction research community which “rarely conceptualized robots as tools or infrastructure and has instead theorized robots predominantly as peers, communication partners or teammates.”

Psychologist Gary Klein and his colleagues clarify ten realistic challenges to making machines behave as effectively as human teammates. The challenges include making machines that are predictable, controllable, and able to negotiate with people about goals. The authors suggest that their challenges are meant to stimulate research and also “as cautionary tales about the ways that technology can disrupt rather than support coordination.” A perfect teammate, buddy, assistant, or sidekick sounds appealing, but can designers deliver on this image or will users be misled, deceived, and disappointed? Can users have the control inherent in a tele-bot while benefiting from the helpfulness suggested by the teammate metaphor?

My objection is that human teammates, partners, and collaborators are very different from computers. Instead of these terms, I prefer to use tele-bots to suggest human controlled devices. I believe that it is helpful to remember that “computers are not people and people are not computers.”

UOP

Margaret Boden, a long-term researcher on creativity and AI at the University of Sussex, makes an alternate but equally strong statement: “Robots are simply not people.” I think the differences between people and computers include the following:

Responsibility Computers are not responsible participants, neither legally nor morally. They are never liable or accountable. They are a different category from humans. This continues to be true in all legal systems and I think it will remain so. Margaret Boden continues with a straightforward principle: “Humans, not robots, are responsible agents.” This principle is especially true in the military, where chain of command and responsibility are taken seriously. Pilots of advanced fighter jets with ample automation still think of themselves as in control of the plane and responsible for their successful missions, even though they must adhere to their commander’s orders and the rules of engagement. Astronauts rejected designs of early Mercury capsules which had no window to eyeball the re-entry if they had to do it manually — they wanted to be in control when necessary, yet responsive to Mission Control’s rules. Neil Armstrong landed the Lunar Module on the Moon—he was in charge, even though there was ample automation. The Lunar Module was not his partner. The Mars Rovers are not teammates; they are advanced automation with an excellent integration of human tele-operation with high levels of automatic operation.

It is instructive that the US Air Force shifted from using the term unmanned autonomous/aerial vehicles (UAVs) to remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs) so as to clarify responsibility. Many of these pilots work from a US Air Force base in Nevada to operate drones flying in distant locations on military missions that often have deadly outcomes. They are responsible for what they do and suffer psychological trauma akin to what happens to pilots flying aircraft in war zones. The Canadian Government has a rich set of knowledge requirements that candidates must have to be granted a license to operate a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS).13 Designers and marketers of commercial products and services recognize that they and their organizations are the responsible parties; they are morally accountable and legally liable.14 Commercial activity is further shaped by independent oversight mechanisms, such as government regulation, industry voluntary standards, and insurance requirements.

Distinctive capabilities Computers have distinctive capabilities of sophisticated algorithms, huge databases, superhuman sensors, information-abundant displays, and powerful effectors. To buy into the metaphor of “teammate” seems to encourage designers to emulate human abilities rather than take advantage of the distinctive capabilities of computers. One robot rescue design team described their project to interpret the robot’s video images through natural language text messages to the operators.The messages described what the robot was “seeing” when a video or photo could deliver much more detailed information more rapidly. Why settle for a human-like designs when designs that make full use of distinctive computer capabilities would be more effective.

Designers who pursue advanced technologies can find creative ways to empower people so that they are astonishingly more effective—that’s what familiar supertools have done: microscopes, telescopes, bulldozers, ships, and planes. Empowering people is what digital technologies have also done, through cameras, Google Maps, web search, and other widely used applications. Cameras, copy machines, cars, dishwashers, pacemakers, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC) are not usually described as teammates—they are supertools or active appliances that amplify, augment empower, and enhance people.

Human creativity The human operators are the creative force — for discovery, innovation, art, music, etc. Scientific papers are always authored by people, even when powerful computers, telescopes, and the Large Hadron Collider are used. Artworks and music compositions are credited to humans, even if rich composition technologies are heavily used. The human qualities such as passion, empathy, humility, and intuition that are often described in studies of creativity are not readily matched by computers. Another aspect of creativity is to give human users of computer systems the ability to fix, personalize, and extend the design for themselves or to provide feedback to developers for them to make improvements for all users. The continuous improvement of supertools, tele-bots, and other technologies depends on human input about problems and suggestions for new features. Those who promote the teammate metaphor are often led down the path of making human-like designs, which have a long history of appealing robots, but succeed only as entertainment, crash test dummies, and medical mannequins. I don’t think this will change. There are better designs than human-like rescue robots, bomb disposal devices, or pipe inspectors. In many cases four-wheeled or treaded vehicles are typical, usually tele-operated by a human controller.

The DaVinci surgical robot is not a teammate. It is a well-designed tele-bot that enables surgeons to perform precise actions in difficult to reach small body cavities (Figure 14.1, above). As Lewis Mumford reminds designers, successful technologies diverge from human forms. Intuitive Surgical, the developer of the DaVinci systems for cardiac, colorectal, urological, and other surgeries, makes clear that “Robots don’t perform surgery. Your surgeon performs surgery with Da Vinci by using instruments that he or she guides via a console.”

Many robotic devices have a high degree of tele-operation, in which an operator controls activities, even though there is a high degree of automation. For example, drones are tele-bots, even though they have the capacity to automatically hover or orbit at a fixed altitude, return to their take-off point, or follow a series of operator-chosen GPS waypoints. The NASA Mars Rover vehicles also have a rich mixture of tele-operated features and independent movement capabilities, guided by sensors to detect obstacles or precipices, with plans to avoid them. The control centers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs have dozens of operators who control various systems on the Rovers, even when they are hundreds of millions of miles away. It is another excellent example of combining high levels of human control and high levels of automation.

Terms like tele-bots and telepresence suggest alternative design possibilities. These instruments enable remote operation and more careful control of devices, such as when tele-pathologists control a remote microscope to study tissue samples. Combined designs take limited, yet mature and proven features of teammate models and embed them in devices that augment humans by direct or tele-operated controls.

Another way that computers can be seen as teammates is by providing information from huge databases and superhuman sensors. When the results of sophisticated algorithms are displayed on information-abundant displays, such as in three-dimensional medical echocardiograms with false color to indicate blood flow volume, clinicians can be more confident in making cardiac treatment decisions. Similarly, users of Bloomberg Terminals for financial data see their computers as enabling them to make bolder choices in buying stocks or rebalancing mutual fund retirement portfolios (Figure 14.2, below). The Bloomberg Terminal uses a specialized keyboard and one or more large displays, with multiple windows typically arranged by users to be spatially stable so they know where to find what they need. With tiled, rather than overlapped, windows users can quickly find what they want without rearranging windows or scrolling. The voluminous data needed for a decision is easily visible and clicking in one window produces relevant information in other windows. More than 300,000 users pay $20,000 per year to have this supertool on their desks.

UOP

In summary, the persistence of the teammate metaphor means it has appeal for many designers and users. While users should feel fine about describing their computers as teammates, designers who harness the distinctive features of computers, such as sophisticated algorithms, huge databases, superhuman sensors, information-abundant displays, and powerful effectors may produce more effective tele-bots that are appreciated by users as supertools.

A new bill that guarantees benefits for ride-hail drivers while still classifying them as gig workers has passed the Washington State House. It's backed by Uber and Lyft, as well as the local Teamsters union, and represents a compromise between all parties involved. Under the legislation, drivers are guaranteed benefits that include paid sick leave, a minimum pay rate and a resource center for drivers who want to appeal their deactivation — all while still being classified as gig workers. 

Meanwhile, the companies can't set their workers' schedules under the legislation, and cities won't have the power to regulate ride-hailing firms. According to LaborNotes, the bill is getting mixed reception from drivers, with some arguing that the benefits may not be enough.

Uber, Lyft and other gig companies have long fought attempts to force them to classify their workers as employees, even spending hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure that's the case. In California, the companies spent over $200 million to campaign for Proposition 22, a ballot that overturns a local law that made drivers full employees. The companies prevailed, and the proposition passed with a decently wide margin. 

Peter Kuel, president of the Teamsters-affiliated Drivers Union, told Bloomberg:

"Thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers — predominantly immigrants and people of color — will benefit from this long overdue expansion of pay raises, benefits and protections statewide."

LaborNotes says, though, that Drivers Union supported the bill mainly because the companies threatened to pursue a ballot initiative if they don't get a compromise in Washington. Don Creery, a Drivers Union board member, told the publication:

"They're also holding the gun at our heads with the possibility of an initiative. They spent $200 million on California. It comes down to the reality that we don't have the money to buy TV ads. They do. They will misinform the public with a barrage of TV ads, so we will lose an initiative. We could lose everything."

The legislation is now heading to the State Senate, which will hold a public hearing for it today, February 26th.

Welcome to the age of peak tech TV

Alison Herman, The Ringer

From The Dropout to WeCrashed, our televisions are about to be flush with stories about notorious startup founders. Does the prevalence of these stories signal a change for the real-life Silicon Valley? "When companies stop competing for funding and funds start competing to finance them, it’s easy for things to get out of hand," Herman writes.

Inside Pornhub

Nathan Munn, The Verge

A former content moderator offers an inside look at Manwin Canada, or what would become known as MindGeek, the operator of Pornhub and many other pornographic websites. 

The scientific methods of J. Kenji López-Alt

Allecia Vermillion, Seattle Met

If you frequently reference Serious Eats for your at-home culinary exploits, chances are you've run across a science-heavy analysis from J. Kenji López-Alt. In his upcoming book, he's applying this approach to the wok, but this profile goes much deeper than one set of recipes and techniques. 

The US government has imposed harsh export restrictions against Russia designed to drastically limit its access to both low- and high-tech goods from overseas. As first reported by Reuters, the Commerce Department has posted a list of expanded licensing policies and requirements implemented in response to Russia's further invasion of Ukraine. 

Under the expanded sanctions, US suppliers that want to ship to Russia will have to obtain licenses for goods that didn't require one in the past. Those goods include microelectronics, telecommunications items, sensors, navigation equipment, avionics, marine equipment and aircraft components. 

In addition, the US is adding companies designated as "military end users" due to their alleged ties to the Russian military to the entity list. Any company seeking to ship products made abroad to those military end users will have to obtain licenses from the United States if they're using US-made tools, technology and software for their products. The government says these sanctions should "significantly impact Russia's ability to acquire items it cannot produce itself."

The new rules state that license requests will be reviewed "under a policy of denial," which means the Commerce Department will deny almost all of them. The administration will only approve licenses in rare exceptions, such as applications related to aviation and maritime safety, as well as humanitarian needs. Smartphone exports to Russia are also allowed, so long as they're not shipped to Russian government employees and state-owned enterprises. 

Former Commerce Department official Kevin Wolf told Reuters that the rules are so complex, many companies might simply stop dealing with Russia completely to avoid mistakes despite the carveouts. However, Cordell Hull, another former official, predicted that the rules would be difficult to enforce.

During a speech announcing the new measures, President Joe Biden said partner countries are adopting or have expressed intent to adopt similar sanctions. The list of partner countries includes 27 members of the European Union, such as Italy, France and Germany, along with Canada, Australia, Japan and the UK, to name a few. "Between our actions and those of our allies and partners, we estimate that we will cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports," he said.

Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister has called on Apple to stop selling its products and to block App Store access in Russia. Mykhailo Fedorov, who also serves as the country's Minister of Digital Transformation, has asked Tim Cook for the tech giant's support in a letter. "The whole world is repelling the aggressor through the imposition of sanctions — the enemy must suffer significant losses... [I]n 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to tanks, multiple rocket launchers and missiles," he wrote in a bid to convince Apple's chief executive.

Russia launched a full-scale military assault on Ukraine in early Thursday, entering the country from three sides and attacking by land, air and sea. It bombed the country's major cities, including the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, which was bombarded with missiles on Friday morning. As a response to the invasion, the US government and its allies have unveiled new sanctions against Russia to block its access to exports in hopes of constraining its military and technological capabilities. In addition, the sanctions are targeting Russian oligarchs by limiting their ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen. 

As Bloomberg notes, Apple has an online store in Russia and offers a local version of its App Store in the country. Last year, it complied with a Russian legal requirement to highlight apps made by local developers. According to the news organization, it also registered a business office and posted job listings for positions in Moscow in the past few months, most likely to comply with local regulations. Russia started enforcing a law last year that requires tech companies like Apple, Google and Meta to have a physical presence within its borders.

Fedorov ended his letter to Cook, which he posted on Twitter, with what Ukraine hopes would happen if Apple pulls out of Russia: "We are sure that such actions will motivate youth and active population of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression." Cook previously said that Apple is doing all it can for its teams in Ukraine and "will be supporting local humanitarian efforts," but the company has yet to publicly respond to Fedorov's plea.