Technology
US at Odds with Google on Computer Search-Warrant Proposal

In this Feb. 12, 2015 file photo, FBI Director James Comey speaks at Georgetown University in Washington. The Justice Department is at odds with Google and privacy groups over the governments push to make it easier to locate and hack into computers in criminal investigations. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Justice Department proposal that could make locating and hacking into computers that are part of criminal investigations easier is raising constitutional concerns from privacy groups and Google, who fear the plan could have broad implications.
Federal prosecutors say their search warrant proposal is needed at a time when computer users are committing crimes in online anonymity while concealing their locations. But civil libertarians fear the rule change, under consideration by a federal advisory committee, would grant the government expansive new powers to reach into computers across the country.
The proposal would change existing rules of criminal procedure that, with limited exceptions, permit judges to approve warrants for property searches only in the districts where they serve. The government says those rules are outdated in an era when child pornographers, drug traffickers and others can mask their whereabouts on computer networks that offer anonymity. Such technology can impede or thwart efforts to pinpoint a suspect’s geographic location.
The Justice Department wants the rules changed so that judges in a district where “activities related to a crime” have occurred could approve warrants to search computers outside their districts. The government says that flexibility is needed for cases in which the government can’t figure out the location of a computer and needs a warrant to access it remotely, and for investigations involving botnets — networks of computers infected with a virus that spill across judicial districts.
“There is a substantial public interest in catching and prosecuting criminals who use anonymizing technologies, but locating them can be impossible for law enforcement absent the ability to conduct a remote search of the criminal’s computer,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in one memo explaining the need for the change.
The advisory committee considering the rule change is meeting this month.
The proposal has generated fierce pushback from privacy organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, which contend the rule change could violate a constitutional requirement that search warrant applications be specific about the property to be searched. They also argue the proposal is unclear about exactly what type of information could be accessed by the government and fails to guarantee the privacy of those not under investigation who might have had access to the same computer as the target, or of innocent people who may themselves be victims of a botnet.
“What procedural protections are going to be in place when you do these types of searches? How are they going to be limited?” asked Alan Butler, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
Another critic, Google, says the proposal “raises a number of monumental and highly complex constitutional, legal and geopolitical concerns that should be left for Congress to decide.”
Privacy groups are also concerned that the proposal would lead to more frequent use by the FBI of surveillance technology that can be installed remotely on a computer to help pinpoint its location. Such tactics caught public attention last year when FBI Director James Comey acknowledged that in 2007 an agent posing as an Associated Press reporter had sent to a bomb-threat suspect a link to an article that, once opened, revealed to investigators the computer’s location and Internet address.
“To the extent that the government has been prevented from doing lots of these kinds of searches because they didn’t necessarily have a judge to go to, this rule change raises the risk that the government will start using these dubious techniques with more frequency,” said ACLU lawyer Nathan Freed Wessler.
The Justice Department says such concerns are unfounded. It says the proposal simply ensures that investigators have a judge to go to for a warrant in cases where they can’t find a computer, and that the proposal wouldn’t provide the government with new technological authorities that it doesn’t already have.
It’s hard to quantify the scope of the problem, though the Justice Department says their concerns are more than abstract.
In 2013, a magistrate judge in Texas rejected a request to search a computer that the government said was being used to commit bank fraud but whose location was unknown. Prosecutors sought authority to install software on the machine that would have extracted records and location information.
The judge, Stephen Smith, said he lacked the authority to approve the search for a computer “whose location could be anywhere on the planet” but said “there may well be a good reason to update the territorial limits of that rule in light of advancing computer search technology.”
The proposal is before a criminal procedure advisory committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. If approved, it will then be forwarded to the Supreme Court and ultimately to Congress, which does not have to approve it but can block it. It would take effect in December 2016.
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Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Community
Contra Costa College Student Earns Spot in NASA Simulation
“NCAS inspires community college students to advance in STEM fields, and it also opens doors for future careers at NASA,” said Torry Johnson, Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) manager—which funds NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars.

By Kathy Chouteau
The Richmond Standard
Many college students will head out for a night on the town with their friends tonight, but Richmond resident and Contra Costa College student Maria Suwabe has other plans. Suwabe has been selected by NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) to attend the “NCAS Mission 2: Exploration Simulation” Oct 19–26.
Suwabe earned a spot at the Exploration Simulation alongside hundreds of other nationwide community college students after completing a five-week online NCAS course. The students will learn more about NASA’s missions and careers in science and engineering throughout the virtual experience, according to Contra Costa College.
The group will form teams and collaborate on designing a mission to explore the moon or Mars by joining a design team, fulfilling a team role, managing a budget and developing communication and outreach strategies, per the college.
During the experience, Suwabe and other students will also attend NASA events, get the 411 on applying for internships and virtually tour NASA’s unique facilities.
“NCAS inspires community college students to advance in STEM fields, and it also opens doors for future careers at NASA,” said Torry Johnson, Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) manager—which funds NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars.
Learn more at https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/nasa-community-college-aerospace-scholars/or email NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars at JSC-NCAS@mail.nasa.gov.
Black History
Dr. Patricia Bath: A Legacy of Visionary Achievements
Dr. Patricia Bath, a trailblazer in the field of ophthalmology, etched her name in history as a woman of numerous firsts and groundbreaking achievements.

By Tamara Shiloh
Dr. Patricia Bath, a trailblazer in the field of ophthalmology, etched her name in history as a woman of numerous firsts and groundbreaking achievements.
Born on Nov. 4, 1942, in Harlem, New York City, Bath’s journey began under the guidance of her father, Rupert Bath, the first Black motorman for the NYC subway, and her science-loving mother, Gladys Bath.
From a young age, Bath’s passion for learning and science blossomed. At just 16, she attended a cancer research workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation, where her discoveries garnered such acclaim that they earned her the prestigious Mademoiselle magazine’s Merit Award in 1960.
Following her remarkable high school graduation in a mere two years, Bath pursued higher education at Hunter College, obtaining her bachelor’s degree in 1964. Subsequently, she enrolled at Howard University for medical studies and graduated with honors in 1968.
An internship at Harlem Hospital and a fellowship in ophthalmology at Columbia University followed, where she discovered alarming disparities in eye care between African Americans and other patients.
In 1973, Dr. Bath shattered barriers by becoming the first African American to complete an ophthalmology residency. She later ventured to California, holding an assistant professorship in surgery at Charles R. Drew University and the University of California, Los Angeles. Notably, in 1975, she became the first woman to join the faculty of UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute.
Recognizing the urgent need for eye care accessibility, Dr. Bath co-founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness in 1976, asserting that “eyesight is a basic human right.” Her efforts extended further as she chaired the Ophthalmology Residency Training program at UCLA-Drew in 1983, another pioneering feat as the first woman to hold such a position.
However, Bath’s most influential innovation emerged in 1986 — the Laserphaco Probe.
This revolutionary device harnessed laser technology to offer a more precise and less painful treatment for cataracts, restoring sight to individuals who had suffered blindness for decades.
Her remarkable achievement led to a patent grant in 1988, making her the first African American female doctor to receive a medical patent, not just in the United States, but also in Japan, Canada, and Europe.
In 1993, Dr. Bath retired from UCLA Medical Center and received the esteemed title of “Howard University Pioneer in Academic Medicine.” Her enduring legacy continues to inspire generations of aspiring medical professionals, especially women and people of color, to break barriers and leave an indelible mark on the world of medicine.
On May 30, 2019, the world mourned the loss of this remarkable visionary as she passed away in San Francisco. Yet, her legacy remains a beacon of hope and progress, illuminating the path for future pioneers to follow in her footsteps and shape a more equitable and vibrant world.
Business
Black Women in Tech Share Concerns, Hopes About Artificial Intelligence Industry
A.I. floodgates opened into the mainstream of human consumption late last year with the release of the generative A.I. ChatGPT, which uses natural language procession to create humanlike conversational dialogue for public use. A.I.’s popularity has spearheaded discussions on how chatbots and other A.I. applications like face recognition and A.I. voice generator will impact the workforce, educational systems, entertainment, and individuals’ daily lives.

By McKenzie Jackson
California Black Media
Sofia Mbega’s first exposure to technology — more specifically, Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) — happened years before she moved from East Africa to the Golden State.
Mbega was a student at the University of Dodoma in Tanzania, when her mother, Gloria Mawaliza, suggested she take a technology course after learning about computer science from co-workers at the international children’s nonprofit World Vision.
Mbega, a Stockton resident since 2018, said taking courses in software engineering, and receiving a degree in 2015, was previously unheard of in Tanzania.
“We were the first batch of students,” Mbega said of herself and her classmates. “It was a new profession for my country.”
When she learned about A.I. systems, a topic that continues to grab headlines across the U.S. with experts and pundits wrestling with its merits and dangers, Mbega was intrigued.
“I was so excited,” she recalled. “But I did not picture things would be like this. I thought A.I. would only be something to help software engineers.”
The technology has moved well beyond that purpose.
A.I. floodgates opened into the mainstream of human consumption late last year with the release of the generative A.I. ChatGPT, which uses natural language procession to create humanlike conversational dialogue for public use.
A.I.’s popularity has spearheaded discussions on how chatbots and other A.I. applications like face recognition and A.I. voice generator will impact the workforce, educational systems, entertainment, and individuals’ daily lives.
Despite only accounting for a small percentage of the technology sector workforce, Black women like Mbega, a 31-year-old independent data analysis contractor, are constantly assessing the positives and negatives of A.I. and what it is like to work in the industry.
Mbega, a member of Black Women in A.I., a 3-year-old organization that aims to educate and empower Black women, says she is still excited about A.I., but alarm bells are ringing.
If you ask large language model-based chatbots like ChatGPT a question, they will answer. People have used A.I. to do draft emails, compose music, write computer code, and create videos and images.
Mbega worries that bad actors could use A.I. for nefarious reasons.
“Someone can make a video of someone saying a crazy or bad thing and people will believe it,” she said.
Oakland resident Joy Dixon, a software engineering manager at Hazel Health and the founder of Mosaic Presence Inc., is concerned about students becoming too dependent on A.I. to do educational tasks such as write papers and solve problems.
“How much is it really advancing them?” Dixon asked. “Is it doing us a disservice that we won’t see now, but maybe in five to 10 years?”
Her main concern with A.I. though is prejudices present in the technology.
“A.I. is built on models of people, and people have their own biases and challenges,” Dixon said. “Computers aren’t neutral.”
There are documented instances of A.I. image generators producing distorted or stereotypical images of Black people when directed to create an image of a “Black” or “African American” person. The technology has created images depicting Black people with lighter skin tones or non-Black hair.
In July, Bloomberg analyzed more than 5,000 images generated by Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion and revealed that the text-to-image model amplified stereotypes about race and gender. It portrayed individuals with lighter skin tones as having high-paying jobs and people with darker skin tones having occupations such as dishwashers, janitors and housekeepers.
Google disabled it’s A.I. program’s ability to let people search for monkeys and gorillas through its Photos app eight years ago because the algorithm was incorrectly putting Black people in those categories.
A.I. developers have said they are addressing the issue of biases, but Dixon, 53, who has worked in tech since 1997, believes the problem will persist unless more people of color participate in constructing the systems A.I. technology is built upon.
“When car airbags were first released, they killed more women than saved women because nobody tested them on crash dummies that were the size of women,” she said. “There is similar concern about A.I. If you are only building models with a certain subset of the demographic, then you are leaving whole groups out.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Sept. 6 to examine the use, development, and risks of A.I. in the state and to shape a process for deployment and evaluation of the technology.
Newsom called A.I. “transformative technology” and noted that the government sees the good and bad of A.I.
“We’re taking a clear-eyed, humble approach to this world-changing technology,” he said.
Dr. Brandeis Marshall, a data scientist and professor at Atlanta’s Spelman College, said Black women in technology have skills equal to or better than their counterparts, so more should be involved in the construction of A.I. systems. However, they do not get the same opportunities.
“I meet plenty of Black women who have all the chops, but they haven’t been promoted,” she said. “You tend to be the only one in the room.
Black Women in A.I. founder, Angle Bush of Houston, said Black women can contribute much to A.I.
“We have had to be innovative,” she said. “If we don’t have something, we figure out a way to create it. There are a lot of ideas that haven’t come to fruition because of lack of access and opportunity. It has nothing to do with our aptitude.”
Mbega believes the technology can be groundbreaking in health care and help identify ailments such as brain cancer.
Marshall said any discussions of A.I. systems taking over the world like in a Hollywood blockbuster are overblown.
“Right now, we get inundated with all the cool things,” she said. “Then, we seem surprised that there are harmful things. Let’s get a 360-degree view before we put all of our chips in one basket.”
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