Tag: privacy

Cautionary Tale About Artificial Intelligence Progress


Don't you worry, dear readers, I am not planning on retelling "The Terminator" plot.  As the matter of fact, the two technological developments I want to discuss are related to the CFOs' and Controllers' supervisory responsibilities.  On the surface (!), they seem to serve a good purpose and could be attractive solutions to some of our common problems.

Every exec with subordinates communicating with financial institutions, investors, key vendors and customers, is vulnerable to their emotional whims, diplomatic abilities and verbal skills.  This is especially true with out favorite mode of communication – emails, which remove the recipients' faces and voices thus making the expression of aggression easier.

I have a list of actual stories to be told about relationship damage caused by employees' spiteful writing.  And it is not like I don't employ prevention strategies.   I give training talks.  I impose a sense of supervision by requesting to be copied on all important communications.  I even write Post-Its and stick them on the worst offenders' monitors, "Please re-read ALL your emails three times before sending them out."  Still, once in a while something happens that requires damage control.

Lo and behold!  In NY Times Year in Ideas I read about ToneCheck – "an e-mail outbox filter that works as a sort of emotional spell-check, offers typists a chance to reconsider their words before" sending their missive.  I watch the cute animated video attached and my first reaction is like "Finally!!! Hooray!!!" 

Then I read further and I forget that I am a CFO with unruly subordinates who require monitoring.  I remember that I am a Person and that Freedom of Speech is an important issue for me.  Yeah, it's useful in the office environment, but this dangerous program has a capacity to be tuned to ANY CONTENT.  I imagine it being installed without my knowledge by my ISP and checking my personal emails for "inappropriate" content as defined by… whoever has the power to do so.  How do you feel about it now?

Here is another common problem and even scarier solution for it.  How many times we catch our employees attending to their personal business or even playing online games during working hours?  We wonder about the hours they waste the costs of it.  Frustrated, we think we should like to watch them.  So, here you go Computers That See You and Keep Watch Over You.  This "wonderful" program sees you and analyzes your facial expressions.  And it can be installed on your personal computer without your knowing it. 

You know what?  I don't want these "solutions." Not even in my office.  Let me work harder with my employees on their work attitude, verbal skills and aggression management.  If boycotting these products means that we can keep them away from invading our personal privacy, then be it.  I hope you click on the links, read about it and agree.    

It's like what Benjamin Franklin said,"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

A Canadian Blogger Jailed in Iran


Even though the topic of this AOL News Article Iran's 'Blogfather' Sentenced to Long Prison Term is not related to the topics of CFOs and Controllers' frustrations, it is related to the freedom of expression issues that concern all of us. That is why it should have its place in the spotlight here.

I don't want to diminish the severity of the sentence and the horror of what Mr. Derakhshan is going through in Iran as the result of expressing his thoughts and opinions in cyberspace.  However, essentially everyone who publishes honest and edgy, or even boring and banal, material on internet are exposed to unpredictable consequences. 

In one article, or post, or conversation after another, we are warned that prospective and current employers are searching internet for possible controversial material on you.  So do the political opponents, educational institutions, investors, country clubs, religious congregations, etc, etc. Here is a typical example of such warning provided by the CEO of TheLadders.com Marc Cenedella in his new book "You're Better Than Your Job Search": In a Google World, Prepare to Be Investigated.   Jail sentences in foreign countries are extreme and rare incidents, but we do learn that people get fired, rejected and harassed because they express themselves.

That is the reason so many bloggers are writing under noms de plume.  That is the reason so many people who have something to say don't write at all.  That is the reason I guarantee 100% anonymity to anyone who shares their professional experiences with me. 

And it does not apply just to cyberspace.  One of my future planned posts will address my favorite topic – something I call the Bill of Rights in the Workplace.  There is a reason the new great American masterpiece from Jonathan Franzen is called "Freedom."  Obviously, it is a concern.

And of course, I disagree with Mr. Derakhshan's politics.  Moreover, I am a life-time student of World History and it seems inconceivable to me that any private citizen without diplomatic immunity would actually accept an invitation from any organization sponsored by an authoritarian government.  History is full of actual repatriation incidents that sound like horror stories: China, Russia, etc.

Nevertheless, my disagreement with his ideas, does not mean that I will not support this writer's freedom of expressing them with all my heart.  It's like what Voltaire said, "I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it."