Absurdism corner

[Phlyra]

IMF Proposes Tracking Your Web History to Determine Credit Scores

Four International Monetary Fund researchers argue financial institutions may be more lenient if they had access to our browsing, search, and purchase history.

interestingengineering.com

Anyone else find this absurd?

 

[Null]

The papers findings are a whole load of [Citation needed] for me.

 

[Phlyra]

The papers findings are a whole load of [Citation needed] for me.

Haven’t begun to read it but here’s the working paper in question: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications...tion-and-Technology-Whats-Old-Whats-New-49624
Gizmodo has a similar analysis to the IE headline

 

[Null]

 

[FBnil]

Anyone else find this absurd?

Not at all. There is more useful metadata in those datapoints than we humans can see. But AI can do lots with it. By having your info, they can check if you are an impulse buyer, or if you buy expensive stuff, or if you save up, then only buy functional things, if you are a dreamer, if you are a gambler. your interests determine IQ and educational level, etc.
Remember this: In, I think it was India, they ran an AI over a lot of loaners. This was a loan app on mobile phones with a questionnaire. And the AI came to lots of conclusions based on metadata. The extraordinary datapoint was that someone with a low mobilephone charge is less likely to repay the loan. People that had their phone charged while interacting with the loan app were more careful, constant and tidy, and if you had less charge, you were sloppy, and careless. Another extraordinary datapoint was if they were seeking a loan just after or before getting paid. People that seek a loan just before payday are not able to pace their expenses. The amount of milliseconds you take responding to a question in the questionnaire. And there is lots of more data you can get from a page visit, like: where does your mouse hover, how long do you stay on a "I consent"/legalese page (do you care about the small print). Truly, we get over the hurdle of using public cams, like videocams on the bus and on malls, we can make very good guesses if you are a buyer or a browser(window-watcher). Talk to casino people, they have whale detectors and other high-tech goodies. Multi-focus camera analysis that can tell you whom to give free drinks or other freebies to entice. It's so sophisticated it's scary. No privacy in casino's.

 

[pyrat]

What's the AI plugin for my browser that I can install and it will browse for me in a way that fouls the AI that tries to guess how I am ?
And why should we play cat and mouse in yet another game ?

 

[levi]

Well, any script blocker will block anything trying to find out what you're mousing over, but you'd need something more sophisticated to block user timing spying. Perhaps something that delays page fetches by random amounts, or perhaps more usable a system that replays user fetches at random times going forward (and then throws away the result). That said, some of the more javascript heavy questionnaires these day do something creepy behind the scenes that doesn't actually result in a visible to me page fetch, so I'm not quite sure of the best way to capture these accesses.

 

[pyrat]

Oh, I didn't mean to hide my browsing. I have some imperfect solutions for that. I meant to add browsing of its own as if it were mine. And it should somehow pool several users and what they send to watchers, and then see which ones result in better prices, better credit ratings or so, and then replicate them for the other users... Yeah, the pooling itself would be a privacy nightmare

 

[Null]

 

[levi]

Oh, I didn't mean to hide my browsing. I have some imperfect solutions for that. I meant to add browsing of its own as if it were mine. And it should somehow pool several users and what they send to watchers, and then see which ones result in better prices, better credit ratings or so, and then replicate them for the other users... Yeah, the pooling itself would be a privacy nightmare

Yeah, my solution to resend page fetches would act as if there are other people doing the survey or what have you after you do it. Other solutions are to use TOR or another VPN with relatively few outs, those would necessarily then be pooled on those out machines.

 

[Null]

 

[Bosbeetle]

This one is dedicated to Matzesu

 

[pyrat]

Yeah, my solution to resend page fetches would act as if there are other people doing the survey or what have you after you do it. Other solutions are to use TOR or another VPN with relatively few outs, those would necessarily then be pooled on those out machines.

I see. Yes or even instead of blocking cookies/scripts/cache/local storage sharing them randomly with other users (of course only for non-sensitive navigation). I don't know. I'm too lazy to think it through.

 

[Null]

 

[levi]

I see. Yes or even instead of blocking cookies/scripts/cache/local storage sharing them randomly with other users (of course only for non-sensitive navigation). I don't know. I'm too lazy to think it through.

Ah, damn yes. Pooling won't work unless all appear to have the same first party cookies when they connect. Hmm, more consideration needed.

 

[FBnil]

What's the AI plugin for my browser that I can install and it will browse for me in a way that fouls the AI that tries to guess how I am ?
And why should we play cat and mouse in yet another game ?

You shouldn't you can always give fake data

I meant to add browsing of its own as if it were mine.

Be careful, learn from history:

Looks like a descendant of Debbie Gibson (from the single "Electric Youth")

 

[pyrat]

You shouldn't you can always give fake data

Do you mean fake personal data or fake navigation data ?
I don't think my name is so relevant. I don't want them to know me in order not to take advantadge of it and try to influence me. They can do that by any other name.

Be careful, learn from history:

I think I'd be glad instead that online services get my sexual orientation wrong, just as anything else. If recommendation services don't work well, so much the better.
It's much more freaky when Target knows a woman is pregnant before herself (o pity, I remembered that news piece wrong, it was Target knowing a high school girl was pregnant before her father, quite a different story).

 

[Null]

Brought to you by a show called The King of Queens. (Yes I know it's actually named after the Queens area of NYC ).

It's much more freaky when Target knows a woman is pregnant before herself

That's why you need to be specific when asking the employees for help. Otherwise you may end up leaving with something that you didn't want.

 

[pyrat]

That's why you need to be specific when asking the employees for help. Otherwise you may end up leaving with something that you didn't want.

But "the House, delighted as always for your visit, hopes you enjoyed the service and expects to see you back soon".

 

[Null]

hopes you enjoyed the service