That said, it's no surprise that the reader who requested this wants some advice. Scammers are rapidly developing new tactics using AI. Gone are the simple days of a man with a thick accent claiming to be John from Microsoft; AI allows bad actors to look and sound however they please.

So what can you do? Here's my advice for staying safe from scams.

Red flag number one: Urgency

Fear is a powerful motivator. People from all walks of life are prone to panic in tense situations (yours truly included). Scammers exploit this to try and force you to make decisions under duress when your reasoning skills are less than optimal.

Woah! He's giving away $5,600 to only the fastest people! You've probably seen this elsewhere with scams that urge you to verify a transaction RIGHT NOW. But let's step back for a second and think about it.

It's fairly rare in the typical world of business for anything to be urgent. If it wasn't, banks would operate like emergency rooms instead of closing every time the moon is in waxing gibbous phase. Tons of organizations still accept documents and checks via mail – the IRS is a fantastic example. If you get a scam text or e-mail claiming that the IRS needs you to take immediate action, make yourself pause for a minute. If the IRS lets you pay via mailing a money order, how urgent could it really be?

Don't allow yourself to feel threatened by text or e-mail messages. If something is really, truly an emergency, it generally warrants a phone call at minimum. And I can't think of any organizations that will let you forget about a debt.

Red flag number two: Source

Oh look, it's the famous Apple spokesperson Sunny Me from 163.com. This is an easy, fast telltale for a ton of scams: unknown numbers, strange e-mails, or even pretending to be affiliated with a celebrity like in the previous screenshot. I don't know what Warren Buffett is up to these days, but I strongly doubt it involves texting strangers at random to get them to sign up for some new cryptocurrency deal.

Some more sophisticated scammers might try to impersonate loved ones or pretend to be an ordinary person. Dating apps are rife with fake profiles run by scammers looking to capitalize on lonely people. You might receive a text from an earnest stranger claiming to have the “wrong number,” only to attempt to become your friend with the end goal of convincing you to hand over some cash. How cruel!

You may consider offering non-financial alternatives and seeing how the person reacts as a test. If the response is to demand money or stop talking to you, you have your answer. It's okay to be frank with your money as well. If you would place conditions on lending a friend money in the real world, it is perfectly reasonable to expect Jenny from Tinder to give you a timeline on being paid back or receipts or to adhere to a $20 maximum gift. But generally speaking, I would strongly advise against giving money to anyone you haven't met in person.

When it comes to scammers impersonating loved ones, the quick and easy solution is to ask a question that the scammer won't know the answer to and can't squirm out of. If you're feeling unsure about a conversation, ask the other person for something that couldn't be easily found or guessed, like a favorite movie or a pet peeve. Scammers can find names and birthdays online, but only my real mom can talk about the daily activities of her goofy little pug with heartfelt conviction.

At the time of writing, AI callers lack several markers typical of a human phone call. You will never hear them take a deep breath or shuffle papers or hum. If you are talking to someone who sounds otherwise human but is unnaturally sterile, you might be talking to an AI.

Red flag number three: Presentation

Oh my stars and garters, what is all this nonsense? The United States Postal Service is a secret organization that specializes in being as unavailable as possible. USPS would never bother sending someone a bizarre PDF text message when they can just leave a note in your mailbox and then close for the inexplicable 3-day government holiday you didn't know about.

Jokes aside, government organizations and corporations alike generally strive to make their interactions with you as streamlined as possible. More steps and more information just means more confusion and a higher likelihood of angry consumers. Having you download a PDF that links you to some website where you put in a bunch of info is out of the question. Additionally, almost every entity has an FAQ page on its website that you can check if in doubt. Keeping with the USPS example, they have a website that explains common scams and even gives example photos.

Read scam messages very carefully. Even in the era of AI and mass scam attempts, I rarely see messages without language warning signs.

Obvious here: select a “Withdraw” method instead of withdrawal (even though it's used correctly on the pop up), “Was Successfully!” and “BANK CARD” (who calls it that? Just the one?).

Even the most skilled text scammers will often make mistakes that reveal they are not from where they claim to be. An example line from a scam e-mail I received a few months ago:

At this time, can you please advise a suitable hour Monday to Friday between 10:00am to 9:00pm AEDT than we can contact you or send your WhatsApp number for details on scheduled wire.

Think about how you would ask that question. “Can you give me a time between Monday and Friday when we can contact you” or maybe “Could you suggest a time between” if you were trying to be polite. Advise? No one would use it in this context. People who are using English as a second language will often make mistakes that English natives would never: forgetting articles before a noun; using verbs in the wrong places; choosing unfitting or obscure words instead of more common ones.

Conclusion

Scams are all over the place and they are likely to get worse before they get better. In the meantime, practice caution with all unknown messages. Take your time (and you have plenty of it) analyzing messages before making any decisions. Verify individuals by asking tailored questions. You can always go to the real version of a website and log in to see if you have any alerts or warnings instead of following links.

And if you're ever in doubt, err on the side of caution. It's better to get a scolding letter or even make a late payment than to have your bank account drained by scammers. Doubly so when you consider that reloading (the practice of targeting people who have already fallen for scams) is a popular tactic.

Be safe out there. And lastly, I'd like to give a big thank you to my brother for providing the scam samples for this article.

#tech #advice #readerquestion

Rebecca B. – BS Interdisciplinary Studies (Marketing/Computing) Return to home

Layering the web

Before we get too far into this discussion, let's go over the three layers of the internet as popularly defined.

The surface web (or clearnet) consists of the places that are easily accessible, meaning that we can hop on any search engine and find them and access them with no problem. Sites like YouTube, MSN, Wikipedia, eBay – you get the point. If the internet were a city, these are your public parks, restaurants, and the like.

The deep web is made up of pages that require some level of permission to access and don't show up on search engines. You've almost certainly spent some time on the deep web – if you have an online bank account, e-mail address, or a portal for work or school, then you've been on the deep web. Sometimes people confuse the deep web and dark web, but they are different places. Returning to our city analogy, the deep web is like the inside of private residences. You can go inside if you have permission from the owner.

The dark web (or darknet) is also part of the deep web and not indexed by search engines, but separate in that you can't access it with a normal browser. There are several different sub-networks on the dark web. You may have heard of Tor, the most popular of such services, which is generally accessed via the Tor browser. This part of our city is the underground catacombs that aren't fully mapped and require specific gear to access (we may be in Europe now).

Anonymity

Depending on how your web browser is configured, it sends out information about you when you access a website. Primarily this information is used so that websites know what to show you: if you are on a cellphone it needs to load the mobile website; if you are in China the language should be Chinese; if the website is only for members of a specific country it checks to see if you are in that country. You may have seen this last one when browsing YouTube or Netflix; a message pops up that says something like “This content is unavailable in your region.”

It is possible to stay anonymous, however, by using tools like VPNs (virtual private networks) and/or specialized browsers to either fake the information or prevent it from being sent entirely. So where does that leave us?

A wretched hive of scum and villainy

You can in theory use the dark web to do innocent, wholesome things like exchange photos and talk to your friends without fear of government surveillance. There are blogs and forums and chat rooms on the dark web for regular conversation. Some large organizations like the BBC, Forbes, and Facebook (to name a few) have a presence on the dark web to allow users to browse their sites anonymously or share tips with journalists without government interference. That said, the vast majority of internet users don't really care that much about privacy or anonymity, so while you do end up with some people who just want to browse in private, you end up with criminals as well.

Even though there is crime on the dark web, it is often overstated. YouTubers and other internet celebrities love to make up stories about how they got on the dark web one time and saw a terrible horrible awful video of unspeakable things or downloaded a video game full of viruses and evil. There is little reason that either of these things would be on the darknet:

(1) the people who create/share things like that are doing so for shock value and have a much larger audience on the clearnet, and

(2) you can already easily find gore videos and virus filled programs on the clearnet.

I'm not saying that there aren't shock sites and the like on the dark web, only that their presence and extent are greatly exaggerated.

Much more notable on the dark web are the numerous sites dedicated to piracy, illegal pornography, and the purchase of illicit materials (drugs, guns, etc). Yes, you can really go on the internet and buy cocaine, though it is far from straightforward. Some of these pages are honeypots, fake websites set up to catch people trying to break the law. Various three-letter agencies have run operations on the darknet to infiltrate and break up organized crime groups, but enforcement is difficult. Other pages are scams, like the numerous murder-for-hire sites that will happily collect a few grand from unwitting visitors before vanishing.

Back to the monitoring bit

Beneath the traps, however, there are real criminal activities going on, some of which involve selling information stolen in data breaches. Cybersecurity researchers at Privacy Affairs have published price lists for data ranging from $1 (social media login info) to thousands (bank account info). And with the thousands of cybersecurity breaches that have happened in the past two decades, there is no shortage of information to be sold.

Despite this, I don't recommend dark web monitoring services. Why?

Well, for starters, the internet is international and criminals on the darknet are more tech savvy than average. Law enforcement in the United States has enough trouble prosecuting cyber crime at all – take a look at the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center statistics and you'll see that asset recovery in general doesn't have great odds, and those odds are even worse when you factor in international jurisdiction issues. And this is when people have lost large amounts of money – you can go ahead and kiss your stolen Facebook account goodbye as far as the police are concerned.

You might still be thinking “At least I would know that my data was stolen and put up for sale.” And you might, but remember how I said that federal agencies have a hard time keeping up with crime going on across the darknet? Agencies which have access to highly trained cybersecurity experts, lots of money, and an extensive history in internet operations? Private companies can use tools like data scrapers to check darknet sites for keywords or visit forums that are known to engage in the sale of illegally obtained data and ask around, but they can't force people to hand over information. If the seller has figured out that they're dealing with someone from a cybersecurity company or if the website is somehow inaccessible to those scrapers, then there's not much they can do. To further my point, here's a section from the EULA of a popular dark web monitoring service:

[...] the Company gives no warranty or undertaking and makes no representation of any kind that the Software will meet customer’s requirements, achieve any intended results, be compatible or work with any other software, applications, systems or services, operate without interruption, meet any availability, performance or reliability standards [...]

Maybe they'll find something, maybe they won't. But you don't have to waste money on a “maybe” service or wait for INTERPOL to raid a scam complex in Asia. You can be totally responsible for your data. Practice good cybersecurity habits, keep an eye on your accounts (particularly financial ones), use free credit monitoring if you have it. Change your passwords if you notice weird activity. Use two factor authentication (scammers overseas don't have your cellphone, hopefully).

Your data is out there – at this point, most people have been involved in at least one breach, if not many. That doesn't mean you should let the alarmists get to you so they can sell you something. There are billions of people on the internet and billions of leaked records, meaning someone first has to find or buy your specific information, hope that you haven't changed your information since it was leaked, hope that you won't notice them logging in, and hope that you have something to steal. As an individual, you are much more likely to fall victim to a scam than have a random person on the darknet obtain your bank account information.

In short: dark web monitoring? No. Good cyber hygiene? Yes.

Rebecca B. – BS Interdisciplinary Studies (Marketing/Computing) Return to home

For me, the phrase “persuasive advertising” brings to mind those vintage advertisements from Sears catalogues and the like, the ones that feature a big image of the product crowded on all sides by lines and lines of text explaining each and every wonderful feature of the item in question. That's as simple as it gets: here's what the product looks like, here's why you should buy it.

– Oh boy, in store laundry demos! I can't wait!

On the other hand, you probably don't base your soda consumption habits on whether or not a particular type of bear enjoys them, yet Coca-Cola runs their famous polar bear ad campaign every year around Christmas. What gives? Why isn't the bear extolling the benefits of drinking a Coke? Why are cigarettes advertised by a camel with sunglasses? Who even is J.G. Wentworth and why is his phone number stuck in your head?

Brand recognition is one of the most powerful weapons in the marketing arsenal. Human beings in general prefer things that are familiar and safe. Consumer studies have repeatedly shown that people are more likely to buy products they recognize. Brand recognition has all sorts of benefits – consumers prefer familiar brands even in cases where other products are superior. Familiarity can even counteract bad reviews (to a degree). With all these things in mind we can see why consumer-brand relationship is a significant area for marketing researchers and explore alternative purposes for advertising.

Reminder Ads

These are advertisements like the aforementioned seasonal Coca-Cola ones. Everybody already knows about McDonald's, Ford, and Walmart. These companies have little to gain from spreading their names further and their customer bases are already so large that recruiting is difficult or even pointless. Die-hard haters aren't going to suddenly decide that Ford is better than Chevy or Walmart is ethical based on seeing a fifteen second ad. Instead, reminder ads just seek to maintain the brand's placement in your mind for next time you're out somewhere trying to make a decision.

Even people who don't regularly shop at big brands can be guilty of this in a pinch – for example, when traveling or trying to shop on a major holiday. Thoughts like “we can just stop at McDonald's” while in an unfamiliar city or “well, at least Walmart will be open” are the result of marketing efforts by companies to ensure you remember them and their reputation for consistency. That big restaurant billboard on the interstate isn't a plea for you to pull over – it's a reminder of what's there when you do. What would a big red sign with a yellow M tell you if you didn't recognize it?

Informative Ads

On a similar note, informative ads aren't necessarily trying to persuade, although they might end up doing so. Think Play-doh's famous “Fun to play with, not to eat!” slogan. Recent ads for fast food chains have also featured this a great deal as they fight inflation-driven customer decline. The appeal isn't to non-customers, but existing ones: come back or come more often, we changed something. The Pepto-Bismol jingle is yet another fantastic example – quite literally just helping you memorize the product's functionality. They can't persuade you to buy a product you don't need, but when you're feeling ill and wonder what medication you need for your symptoms you already have the information memorized in convenient musical format.

Sometimes companies are required to disclose certain information (e.g. the surgeon general's warning on cigarettes). They might elect to do this in the form of an advertisement and use the warning to their advantage. Horror film producers and video game studios have used this tactic by plastering their products with lines like “X-RATED AND ANIMATED” or “BANNED IN AUSTRALIA,” warnings which, while not strictly persuasive, are certainly tempting to a particular variety of consumer.

Image-related Ads

Brand image is hugely important. People are obviously more likely to buy products from brands that match their self image and values, so much so that people often post compilations of stereotypes as memes (“starter packs”). Ray-Ban has no law enforcement relationship, yet wear a pair of their sunglasses atop your shaved head and the questions will start. Products can change how people view themselves and signal to others how they wish to be viewed.

This phenomenon is so strong that Axe body spray creator Unilever had to dial back their nerd-to-sexy campaign because Axe was becoming associated with unwashed weirdos and losing its appeal. Companies work to cultivate their brand image for the purpose of maintaining good customer relationships and thus good sales, and ads of this variety are probably not persuading anyone of anything. Have you ever seen one of those really avant-garde ads for luxury fashion or fragrance brands?

– L◆U◆X◆U◆R◆Y

I don't really get them either. That's okay though, because I'm not the target audience. Like many other members of Gen Z, I value sustainability. Brands instead prefer to target people like me by designing products to appear eco-friendly (but product design is an article for another time). In the meantime, ask yourself when you see an ad somewhere what its purpose is and who it's targeting – there are more answers than you might think.

#marketing #advertising #informative

Rebecca B. – BS Interdisciplinary Studies (Marketing/Computing) Return to home

The match is intense, and the two sides stay tied until the final round. Kasparov decides to try a risky strategy to throw the computer off but ultimately fails, losing the match in just over an hour. The world is shocked. Artificial intelligence (albeit a comparatively primitive form) has surpassed human intelligence in a highly publicized event. Now, almost thirty years later, humans stand no chance against chess programs. Grandmaster players and world champions of the present day don't even bother trying to beat computers. In one experiment, participants mistakenly identified GPT-4.5 as a human 73% of the time after a five minute conversation. In another, patients consistently rated an AI's text responses as being more empathetic than those written by human physicians. Some people have even begun to explore friendships and romantic relationships with chatbots.

The rapid progress of computing in the 2000s has led to an equally explosive growth in the various types of artificial intelligence. But what exactly is AI? Let's dive in.

There is a lot of philosophical debate about intelligence.

You could easily write an entire dissertation on the nature of intelligence and still have an entire follow-up book series afterwards. Philosophers have debated what exactly intelligence, consciousness, and thought are and how they should be defined for eons – I'm not kidding, go look up “philosophy of mind” and spend the rest of your day reading about it, if you like. This debate doesn't stop at philosophy, though. There isn't exactly a concise definition in computer science, either.

For the purposes of this article we will borrow the International Organization for Standardization's definition:

an engineered system that generates outputs such as content, forecasts, recommendations, or decisions for a given set of human‑defined objectives, and can operate with varying levels of automation

AI isn't new

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, computer scientists have been producing various forms of artificial intelligence for decades. Deep Blue was AI according to the definition above – it could use defined objectives (the rules of chess and the given moves) and output a decision (its choice of move) and do so in an automated manner. Search engines meet this definition. 2000s kids might remember Cleverbot, and game show fans may recall the episode of Jeopardy! featuring IBM's Watson.

All these things and many more meet the criteria for AI, all the way back to the 1950s when the first chess programs were written. 2001: A Space Odyssey came out in 1968, and HAL 9000 has lived in the public imagination as a possible doomsday instigator ever since. So why has AI suddenly exploded across the world?

Generative artificial intelligence

I won't get too far into technical details here – to precisely define the techniques that go into AI, I would need to also explain a lot of high level logical and mathematical concepts. In a very simplified explanation: over the last decade or so, we have developed technology that allows computers to utilize algorithms for the purpose of “learning.” Imagine playing through the first level of an arcade game of your choice. You probably didn't grab the manual and read up on how the game worked and plan out some strategies.

More than likely, you grabbed the joystick and jumped right in. When you fell into a pit, got cornered by a ghost, or failed to dodge an obstacle, you learned a new rule. Each time the game started over, you learned a little more: I need to have some rings to stay alive; the red ghost stays right behind me; if I press ← ← → as Raiden by rolling my thumb across the d-pad really quickly I can cheat straight to Kintaro without my opponents having a chance to recover (thanks little bro).

This is essentially what people mean when they talking about training an AI model. We can give a system big sets of data and teach it how to evaluate those datasets by providing feedback on its responses. The exact methods on how to do this vary, but in short, it's a computerized version of the above. This is what the color red looks like, select things that are red. Yes. Yes. No. No. Yes. The AI can then replicate what it has “learned,” leading us to the “generative” part. Now that it can identify what red is, it can determine whether or not something is red and produce an appropriate replication. It also refines itself as it collects more data, similar to the way we learn – only it doesn't have to worry about human issues like forgetting or becoming confused, and it can process large amounts of data much faster than you. That brings us to our next point:

Large language models (LLMs)

You may have heard this term – or the related GPT, short for generative pre-trained transformers – used to describe the chatbots proliferating the internet. These models are trained on large datasets like books or online discussions and then cleaned up by having bad data removed and safeguards installed. Or, in the case of Microsoft's Tay, naively expected to learn good things from Twitter. Either way, the models can then refer back to the data they have studied to generate a response.

For an example, I asked a few search LLMs: “is the difference between a trebuchet and a catapult important?” Take a second to think about how you would answer that question. Each of the three I asked said “yes” and proceeded to launch into great detail about how the two differ and why that is historically significant. They provide similar responses to “is the difference between a grilled cheese and a melt important.” These topics are examples of something that is highly discussed online but I daresay would be found boring by most people (thank the heavens I haven't allowed comments on this site).

This is an important point and one I wish to emphasize. The models are not truly thinking in the sense that humans are. To illustrate my point: what would you do if I asked you to drawn a clock with the hands at 3:15? Well, generative AI has a breakdown. The model does not understand what the clock is the way that a human does; it does not know that squiggly, fancy looking black lines are hands or that the small hand points to the hour and the big one the minute. Thus, it cannot extrapolate and successfully create an accurate clock. A similar issue arose a while back with wine glasses – GPT programs could not depict an overflowing wine glass because the internet overwhelmingly has pictures of half-full ones.

The way these models are programmed can, however, lead to a phenomenon called hallucination. Sometimes for one reason or another generative AI will recognize a pattern where none exists or experience an issue with its programming. This can lead to the production of false results or misinformation – try asking an LLM for a highly specific book or movie recommendation and you'll find that they often invent fake titles to meet your specifications.

Why some people are angry

I won't get into the ethical debate about learning from other people's work or plagiarism, but you should be aware that it exists. A few weeks ago I answered an extremely niche question for a user on the internet involving lost media. Imagine my surprise when, later that afternoon while revisiting the topic, I used Google to search for more information and was given parts of my own answer in the AI summary! The lost media in question was so obscure that my response on a public forum became the foundation for the AI's response – you can imagine why this would be upsetting for some individuals.

And herein lays another major issue with generative AI systems: they are only as good as the data that composes them. Take the case of poor Tay (Microsoft's failed chatbot mentioned above): in less than 48 hours Twitter transformed her from an earnest teenager to a racist, inflammatory Holocaust denier with disdain for Ted Cruz. Even a decade later LLMs are running into similar issues, forcing their developers to implement safeguards against certain behaviors by having them avoid certain topics or provide hard-coded responses. There are concerns among psychologists about the impact human-computer relationships will have, and some companies have experienced major issues due to AI-related mistakes or implemented it for dystopian purposes like monitoring whether or not employees are being friendly enough.

Lastly, the high amount of computer power required for even simple LLM requests has led to the production of giant facilities that are bad for the environment in all kinds of ways, and sometimes this cost is for bizarre or pointless reasons – like simulating a conversation with your imaginary girlfriend who is also an anime dragon princess.

But it isn't all bad.

AI is showing promising results in a lot of areas. AI models can detect some diseases from scans more accurately and earlier than doctors. It allows researchers in many fields to automate boring, repetitive tasks and analyze tons of data at scale. Despite the concerns from therapists, many individuals have reported positive mental health experiences with chatbots – people with anxiety can roleplay conversations without the fear of embarrassment, for example. As a supplemental tool, AI can give children feedback on their homework responses and explain concepts in depth as needed on an individual level.

Like so many other phenomena in computing, AI will be used for purposes noble and deplorable. It will be loved and hated, eagerly embraced and feared. Regardless of how you feel about it, I hope that you found this article helpful and informative and learned a little something, even if it was only how to cheat at Mortal Kombat II.

#computing #ai #tech #explanation

Rebecca B. – BS Interdisciplinary Studies (Marketing/Computing) Return to home

“What's the easiest user friendly computer for older people?”

If you ask any tech geek this question, their reply to you will almost certainly include “what are you using it for?”

So let's break that down. All listed prices are assuming that you're buying a used or refurbished device – new devices will obviously cost much more.

Just browsing the internet

If you are the kind of person who only uses your computer to browse classmates' obituaries and read Yahoo! News, I recommend a chromebook. You can buy them used/refurbished online for cheap, most have an SSD and boot up quickly, and they sort of “just work.” Many models are designed for use in an educational setting and thus can take a beating.

Chromebook

• Price Range: ~ $80 to $200
• Operating system: ChromeOS
• Profile: Small, lightweight, durable
• Downsides: Low power, unable to run non-ChromeOS apps

Simple app requirements

If you use your computer for tasks like playing games, browsing popular sites (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), and reading e-books, I recommend an iPad. While Android-based tablets are a similar option and can be cheaper, the most tech-illiterate individuals will want to stick with Apple for their absolute ease of use and higher level of security.

iPad/[Android Tablet]

• Price Range: ~ $100 to $300 [$50 to $200]
• Operating system: iPadOS [Android]
• Profile: Small, lightweight
• Downsides: Low power, fragile, faster-than-average obsolescence

Working at home

If your computer needs to be equipped with software like Microsoft Office, Photoshop, or Zoom, you'll need something a little beefier than the previous options. Here you'll actually need to start looking at the specifications listed in a listing's description. There's a lot of back-and-forth about which manufacturers make the best computers (Lenovo, HP, Dell, etc), but in my humble opinion, much of this talk is overblown. Every manufacturer has their own pros and cons; you should focus more on a desktop that looks and feels comfortable to you.

Desktop Specifications

• Operating System: I'm not a fan of Windows for many reasons, but it is the king of workplace computing, and you'll want to make sure your PC comes with the appropriate version installed (as of writing, that is Windows 11).
• RAM: Look for something with at least 8 GB of RAM. Nice cell phones today have at least this much, for reference. 16+ will give you a comfortable amount of processing power so that everything runs smoothly.
• Processor: Around 3.5 GHz is sufficient for most office use, definitely no less than 2.5 GHz.
• Storage: SSDs are faster to boot up and more durable than the older HDDs. Unless you need a ton of cheap storage for some reason, I recommend a PC with at least a 500 GB SSD, but definitely no less than 250. You can always buy portable storage later if you need more.
• Accessories: Check to make sure the PC has any additional features you need, such as Bluetooth connectivity or a disk drive.

Expect the above computer to run at least $300 refurbished, possibly much more depending on how high your specification requirements are. Windows isn't exactly what I'd call “user-friendly,” but it will at least be familiar for most users.

Buying the computer

Online shopping sites like eBay and Amazon are fine places to buy used PCs, and you can easily read user reviews and browse specifications. If you insist on buying one in person, be sure to go in with an idea of what you want and stand your ground. Brick-and-mortar electronics stores may allow you to see the product in person, but they prey on the uninformed, and if you go to somewhere like Best Buy you should expect to be pushed toward buying more than you need or misled about the products. Prices will also be higher than online equivalents.

Happy hunting!

#readerquestion #tech #shopping

Rebecca B. – BS Interdisciplinary Studies (Marketing/Computing) Return to home

Why you should say 'goodbye' to Hello Barbie (CNBC)

Advocacy Group is Saying 'Hell No' to 'Hello Barbie' (Time)

Privacy advocates try to keep ‘creepy,’ ‘eavesdropping’ Hello Barbie from hitting shelves (The Washington Post)

In the light of these positively glowing reviews and immense backlash from children's advocacy groups, the doll sold poorly and was discontinued a short time later. I won't go into detail about the security issues plaguing poor Barbie (rest assured they were numerous); all you need to know is that with very little effort security researchers were able to intercept the doll's communications.

Back in the present day, 2025 saw an explosion of AI-powered children's toys, but the backlash has been milder. If you search that phrase right now, you'll be met with a handful of articles discussing the dangers and just as many advertisements and store links. Several articles take a balanced approach, asking if AI toys could be dangerous or talking about risks they might have.

Still, children's advocacy groups and pediatric institutions have banded together in a near-universal condemnation of the toys, even if public opinion isn't as clear. I agree with this conclusion, though for a different reason than child psychology researchers.

Much of the current discussion on the harms of these toys focuses on a few primary danger factors:

• The toys sometimes have inappropriate chat responses
• They may interfere with learning development
• Children may not develop proper relationship building skills

And these are all extremely valid reasons not to buy AI toys. But the biggest one is not a maybe or a might. It is an inevitability: these toys will leak data.

At the end of January this year, a man and his web security expert friend decided to poke around the website for Bondu toys.

It's a cute dinosaur, how dangerous could it be?

With just a little snooping, they learned that they could access the website's admin panel with only a Gmail account and see the data of tens of thousands of children, including private conversation summaries.

Fortunately, these guys were white hats, so they informed Bondu of the security flaw and waited until the company had fixed it before going public with their findings. I don't need to tell you that not everyone on the internet is so kind.

AI toy maker Miko has already had its own close call. These are warning signs for the inevitable “big one” that we'll see in the future. If giant, well-established companies like Nintendo, Roblox, and VTech have all had major breaches and lost children's data, companies with entire security teams and loads of funding, what can we say for the random pop-up companies appearing and disappearing on sites like Amazon overnight?

In today's cybersecurity world, hackers are constantly bringing their best effort. They're attacking servers as soon as they go up to find vulnerabilities. They're trawling the web for unsecured services and access points. They're using tools to try thousands of passwords from previous breaches and building botnets to use against new victims. Meanwhile, for the company playing defense, it only takes one mistake and the data is gone.

Imagine the kinds of things your child might tell a toy in private and the consequences of those being stolen. Personally, growing up in the era where people still memorized phone numbers, I was quite fond of “proving my skills” by writing down lots of them on scrap paper. It's not so much of a stretch to imagine a child telling Mr. Dinosaur her newly memorized address or an ID number. In an even more sinister hypothetical, we could imagine a child sharing confidential thoughts and fears – only to have these exploited by someone who wishes to harm them.

Do you trust a corporation to not make any mistakes? If you didn't read that article above, after the VTech breach the company changed their terms of service to say:

“You acknowledge and agree that any information you send or receive during your use of the site may not be secure and may be intercepted or later acquired by unauthorised parties. You acknowledge and agree that your use of the site and any software or firmware downloaded therefrom is at your own risk.”

In conclusion? I recommend sticking with Lincoln Logs for now.

#tech #ai #opinion

Rebecca B. – BS Interdisciplinary Studies (Marketing/Computing) Return to home