Three Cheers for Microsoft!

[Checkmite]

Bill Gates prompted to action by a cop's email (http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/10/08/canada.pornography.reut/index.html)


TORONTO, Canada (Reuters) -- A "really rotten day" at work in late January prompted a just-about-had-it Toronto police officer to e-mail a spontaneous plea to the world's richest man for help fighting child pornography.

"To be real honest, I didn't expect anything back. I didn't even save the e-mail," said Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie, a 25-year veteran of the Toronto force.

...

Microsoft and the Toronto police, where Gillespie is in charge of the child exploitation section, are now developing software that will make it easier for police to investigate the dissemination of child pornography on the Internet. They hope to complete an initial version of the software in a month.

The software is designed to store copies of all the images police find, creating a searchable database that can help them uncover similarities between cases. It can also analyze pictures and classify those that are child pornography, largely automating a job that consumes a huge amount of police labor.

High coolness from Microsoft. See, guys, they're not all bad.

I'm sure someone will find some Rube-******-Goldberg way to make this latest effort somehow prove once again that Microsoft Is Evil, but it'll take a lot of work. Meanwhile, I think I'll send a backpatting message to Mr. Gates...it seems he may read his email - at least some of it - after all.

[Mr Manifesto]

Originally posted by Joshua Korosi


High coolness from Microsoft. See, guys, they're not all bad.

I'm sure someone will find some Rube-******-Goldberg way to make this latest effort somehow prove once again that Microsoft Is Evil, but it'll take a lot of work. Meanwhile, I think I'll send a backpatting message to Mr. Gates...it seems he may read his email - at least some of it - after all.

I'm sure that it's sheer coincidence that Microsoft's way of fighting child pornography -getting rid of free chat rooms and turning them into subscriber-only- just happens to be a method that can net Microsoft yet more millions. How humbled I am in the prescence of such philanthropy. Feel the love!

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Originally posted by Joshua Korosi
Bill Gates prompted to action by a cop's email (http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/10/08/canada.pornography.reut/index.html)



High coolness from Microsoft. See, guys, they're not all bad.

I'm sure someone will find some Rube-******-Goldberg way to make this latest effort somehow prove once again that Microsoft Is Evil, but it'll take a lot of work. Meanwhile, I think I'll send a backpatting message to Mr. Gates...it seems he may read his email - at least some of it - after all.

From what I heard, the catholic church is really upset about this! Something about organizing a boycott of Microsoft.

[evildave]

Well, not to disappoint, but an "open standard", huh? A bit out of character for Microsoft.

Like any tool for good, a bad use can be found for it.

A little brainstorming...

There's a lot of internet activity a lot of people will want to monitor for a lot of reasons. Some of them will be good. Some of them will be bad.

Use it to track the activities of dissenting political parties and cmpaign oponents and groups across the internet, documenting and ferreting out every detail so a government with "other" uses for such a tool can stay in power.

After all, once the good, open, flexible law enforcement tool is available, it will be used to enforce ALL KINDS OF LAWS, and the things that are illegal, and the punishments that are prescribed for those things in totalitarian regimes are downright "interesting".

[Checkmite]

Originally posted by evildave
After all, once the good, open, flexible law enforcement tool is available, it will be used to enforce ALL KINDS OF LAWS, and the things that are illegal, and the punishments that are prescribed for those things in totalitarian regimes are downright "interesting".

Are you saying that Microsoft should not develop the software in question? I got the feeling from the article that this stuff is designed to catalog and classify images, not monitor anything.

[Checkmite]

Originally posted by Mr Manifesto


...Microsoft's way of fighting child pornography -getting rid of free chat rooms and turning them into subscriber-only- ...

I can tell you've bothered to read the article I linked to...

[blackpriester]

I for one never believed Microsoft to be that evil monster at all. So they have some heavy-handed business-practices... who would not, if we were in their place?

[wollery]

Microsoft themselves aren't evil, they're a big corporation doing what big corporations do - trying to maximise their profits and destroy the competition. The problem I have with microsoft is just that their operating systems and software suck big time!

See the error of your ways people, use Linux!!! ;)

[shanek]

Others have tried making similar technology for filtering software. It doesn't work. The reason why it doesn't work is because you're really not talking about something objective. Even nudity, something you might think is straightforward, is very subjective to a computer. Computers can't even determine a nude figure from a clothed, or even an inanimate object. This software would have to determine:
Nudity (of an actual human form, and not a cartoon or CGI, which don't count as child porn, at least in the US)
Age (and the difference between an actual child and a model dressed like a child, which again doesn't count as child porn in the US)
Sexuality (since artistic nudes of children don't count, either)

Computers just don't have the intelligence yet to deal with it. Even many humans find a lot of grey areas, particularly with regards to sexual vs. artistic nudes. And the most powerful computer right now is only about as intelligent as a retarded lobotomized cockroach. There is NO WAY any computer that exists today can successfully determine whether or not a picture is child porn to any reasonable (or even unreasonable) degree of accuracy. And since other software companies have worked on this for years to no avail, there's no ***** way Microsoft's gonna do it in a month.

[corplinx]

The first part of Microsoft's plan to end kiddie internet porn, is to lobby the government to require Windows be installed on every PC.

[aerocontrols]

Originally posted by shanek
Others have tried making similar technology for filtering software. It doesn't work. The reason why it doesn't work is because you're really not talking about something objective.


I get the impression that what the software would do is pattern-match 'unknown' images to images that are known to be child pornography. Not in a 'this jpg is similar to this other jpg' way but in a 'this (unknown) jpg is identical to this other (known kiddie porn) jpg' or 'this (unknown) jpg is a resized or resampled version of this (known kiddie porn) jpg' way. Not that hard, if not as useful as a computer program smart enough to determine what is and isn't kiddie porn.

(off topic)
By the way, Shanek, I thought you might be interested in
this (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58308-2003Oct7.html) story, if you haven't seen it before.

MattJ

[Checkmite]

Originally posted by wollery
The problem I have with microsoft is just that their operating systems and software suck big time!


Yes, that is a big problem. When it comes to Microsoft, instead of discussing when the next edition, expansion, or add-on for an application will come out, most boards are full of people discussing when the next patch will come out - which is a bad sign.

...except...

Flight Simulator. Nobody comes close. Microsoft always has the best, even though there are many others.

[jimlintott]

The software is designed to store copies of all the images police find, creating a searchable database that can help them uncover similarities between cases.

I just hope they build it on a secure platform so that some script kiddie doesn't turn their database into the world's largest public kiddie porn website.

If that happens who do they arrest?

[Professor Frink]

Originally posted by wollery
Microsoft themselves aren't evil, they're a big corporation doing what big corporations do - trying to maximise their profits and destroy the competition. The problem I have with microsoft is just that their operating systems and software suck big time!

See the error of your ways people, use Linux!!! ;)

A compelling argument you make, wollery. How could anyone argue with your fine scientific reasoning? I know - let's start an Apple vs. Microsoft flame war! That'll b kewl, u no?