影評:007 – Spectre

Daniel Craig 的 007 的系列的第四集。評分:Rotten Tomatoes 63%,IMDB 6.8/10。筆者評50%。普通 007 電影部,老話題,故事和演譯上都未算突出,但也不失為一個普通的電影娛樂。而扣分位在犯駁太多,而且明明是上佳的經典素材拍成了炒冷飯。

~ 題外:影評這玩意兒 ~

題外,請下寫影評這回事。

寫影評的思考方法都是幾個。(1) 分享下對電影作為一種藝術的鑑賞。(2) 讓其他有看過同一電影的人,在不同觀感、不同角度之間,再看這電影一次 (3) 讓未看過同一電影的人,看下是否值得推介、或者是否伏戲;或有沒有自己想看的東西,或觸類旁通 (4) 分享下一些相關的筆者的生活上的連帶思想,因為電影都是種具教育和啟發性的媒介 (5) 對電影為作商業建設和產品,在營運方法和產品方法上,在筆者的主業本科上,寫下和分享一點思考方法 (6) 人生路上的感悟,人生意義的探究心得 (7) 純電影樂趣和寫作樂趣。

~ 回到正題:主線 ~

這劇的主線都是幾個劇情: #劇透慎入

  1. 邦得到八爪魚介指
  2. M 與 C 的政治角力。M 支持 “00″ 項目;C 覺得 “00″ 項目已經過時,推行全球資訊監控項目以取代之。
  3. M 對邦的擅自行動不滿;上集 Skyfall 的同僚 Q 與 Eve 的詢問,知道原來是之前的 M 的遺下任務。邦得到 Q 與 Eve 的支持。邦參與葬禮,遇到寡婦 Lucia。然後得到了九眼的聚會地點。
  4. 九眼聚會所中,見到 Franz Oberhauser。邦逃離聚會所。
  5. 邦找到 White 的所在。然後也找上了女主角 Swann。然後也知道了九眼和之前三集的頭目是有關連,而且也和之前的 Quantum 機構有關連。九眼就是個最高權力的影子政府(影子政府即是民間傳聞的陰謀論中,掌握世界的真正的資源的權力的地下組織)。
  6. Swann 帶邦到其父 White 提到的美國人,不是個人而是個酒店。當中找到 White 的密室,找到撒哈拉沙漠中的九眼的座標。
  7. 到沙漠中找到建築物。然後找到 Franz Oberhauser。對談中知道是和邦一起長大,邦的寄養家庭中養父的兒子。因父愛的妒忌而憎恨邦,而有九眼。Franz Oberhauser 裝死後,易名 Ernst Stavro Blofeld,也就是 007 的經典宿敵(故事重構了經典角色)。邦被虐待,然後逃離。當中炸毀了基地,傷了 Franz。
  8. 回到倫敦,眾人去拘捕 C 並要阻止九眼上線。幾經掙扎,M 與 C 的爭鬥中,C 墮樓而死。Blofeld 因基地破壞的眼部受傷,出現與邦對質後,邦救了 Swann。然後擊落了 Blofeld 的直昇機。Blofeld 被捕。完場。

這套電影的犯駁指數:70%。主角光環太多,不單車逐和槍戰具不死身,面對插入式腦部手術都具不死身。壞蛋的原因太低級(為父愛的妒忌搞咁多野)。九眼的雷聲大雨點小;形象不足。為塑造 Blofeld 眼傷畫面而勉強劇情。國際關係太無能。

~ 好的邦電影 vs 壞的邦電影:邦電影的方法討論 ~

邦電影在電影史上都已算是一個經典。而且已是一個入屋、具典型的電影。邦電影的主要元素,是可以陳列出來,並且分析其構造方法,和造成的質素上的差異。

~ 元素 ~

邦電影的元素,不外以下幾個:

  1. 一開場的任務、場面氣氛;然後都一定會有打架和特技場面。用以校準觀眾期望。
  2. 然後有 007 的向著鏡頭開槍的經典畫面。然後播主題曲,並且順著播放 007 的片頭藝術 (007 Title Sequence)。通常都是些將現代舞和意識流,crossover進 007 的特務、陰謀、國際、特技場景。
  3. 然後順著一開場的任務,做個「起承轉合」中的承與轉。漸漸引入主要任務、主要角色、主要壞蛋、主要陰謀。就是整個故事與場所。
  4. 主要角色
    • 邦女郎。和(通常都是太開放的)性。
    • Aston Martin 靚車。
    • Q。科技工具提供者。
    • M。邦的頂頭上司。
    • 敵頭目、陰謀論、邪惡集團
  5. 車追逐、槍戰、格鬥、暗殺、埋伏、潛入、駭入、美男計。

~ 命題 ~

邦電影是有個問題:因為觀眾通常都是知道甚麼叫「邦電影」的人、整個系列來看的人。只看單套的觀眾不多。所以,若太有套路,觀眾就都會覺得沉悶。這點和 Marvel 電影相似。

而正因為是系列型觀眾,相反來說,若太不像典型的邦電影,就會有期望落差、貨不對辦的問題。而好消息是這點的調節空間是有的,視乎編劇和導演的功力。

~ 好與壞的分別 ~

所以,邦電影若是「典型太多」,只集中在車追逐、槍戰、特技;或邦女郎、名車;若只集中在這些身上,就會失去了故事的立體和色彩。差不多只淪為電視劇、天天都播放一樣的廉價娛樂。

而邪惡集團、陰謀論、大壞蛋那些,也是一樣。這類素材,在廿一世紀喜歡看電影的我們,已知道過不少。要造個更有意義的意象,是要有點電影工匠的技術和心機。

所以,構造個好的邦電影,是要有:(1) 好的故事:世界觀、人設、陰謀論、政治演繹 (2) 好的講故事能力,引人入勝 (3) 車逐、槍戰、特技那些,要恰到好處 (4) 邦女郎和名車是必備,但荷里活從不缺這些。

還有幾個操作也是要考慮的主要元素,而且也是常見和容易的崩壞點:(1) 邦的主角光環,太過無敵就會犯駁和不好看 (2) 劇情切忌犯駁 (3) 科技太強、誇張 (4) 用特務機構太無能,去顯出邦的強大 (5) 管治和計劃太廢,似乎靠前線人員單靠打殺就能解決一切問題 (6) 邦女郎沒認識幾天就性,和為劇情需要講到很深感情;濫性和濫情。

而且,以前的邦電影,邦像是個廣博見識的知識分子。近年的邦電影,邦像個文盲、無乜知識,只懂上陣肉搏和耍小聰明的小混混。

~ 007 的「意義」 ~

加個註腳。以前邦電影會有邦也停下反思意義的時候。但近年的邦電影,邦差不多只淪為使命必達的機器。

所以近兩集((4) Spectre 和 (5) No Time to Die),對邦的形容,也是到底他是任務執行者,還是純粹殺手。這也是對 “007″ 這個概念的一個最好反思。

“00″ (“Double O Status") 在電影中是個編制,即是 Licence to Kill 可以為執行任務,而被國家賦予權力合法殺人。而反思問題是:這 “00″ 的意義,是殺人本身?還是為執行任務本身?

殺人是傷害、有違天理。但任務的意義是帶來「價值」。價值當然是指「一切的正向與美善的價值」。而這正是 “00″ 的意義上的吊詭:當為執行為美善的價值的意義的任務時,若有邪惡力量的阻攔,例如殺一個救十個,倫理上是否可以以殺人為手段,去達到美善的價值?這在廿一世紀,就是很多人都知道的電車命題。在數十年前的荷里活,就是 007 電影的核心。一個供價值和意義上的反思的提問。

而這 007 電影 / 邦電影的核心的電車命題,在近年的邦電影中已著墨越來越少。當邦電影的反思意義進入蒼白,邦電影也只流於特技和低俗的陰謀論。

最後貼下劇照

有關《愛讀.聖經》

Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 23, 2023

This Privacy Policy describes Our policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of Your information when You use the Service and tells You about Your privacy rights and how the law protects You.

We use Your Personal data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, You agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy has been created with the help of the Privacy Policy Generator.

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分享有關人工智能 (5/5):可以怎樣善用智能?

筆者最後想寫一篇,分享有關若非技術人士,可以怎樣最優化掌握人工智能的好處。

掌握用法和商業應用

一般若並非以電腦為主修學科,也一樣可以有效掌握科技。最簡單的方法之一,就是掌握其用法 (Use Case)、用戶處境 (User Scenario / User Story)、用戶流程 (User Journey)、用戶體驗 (UX: User Experiences)。

掌握這五者,加上學習相關應用軟件的用法,就大概夠用。例如不少人在做的掌握 MidJourney 和 Stable Diffusion 的用法。在大部份需要科技的商業公司,包括不少藍籌企業,都需要有科技產品設計 (Product Design)、商業發展 (Business Development)、巿場營銷 (Marketing) 等的人士。而以上這段的技能,就是大致都包括了產品設計上的基本技能。

而可以想像和明白:掌握了產品層,然後專業技術就去找技術人士幫助。這樣就會分擔到不同的功能和設計工作。

演算法和概念的學習

除了產品,也值得留意學習科技業內的演算法。演算法大多都未必需要高深的技術知識。例如人工智能的強化學習 (Reinforcement Learning)、Transformer Model(有勉強譯作「變換器」,是其中一種智能網絡模型);或當中一些演算法例如 Gradient Ascent/Descent(梯度上升法 / 下降法)之類。這些都是類似科普知識,經閱讀都能掌握。

以前區塊鏈時代,筆者也是向人推薦可以學習演算法。例如拜占庭容錯演算法(去中心化的核心,BFT: Byzantine Fault Tolerant)、零知識證明(ZKP: Zero Knowledge Proof)、區塊鏈高速架構的優化設計、等等。這些科普知識,當中的設計包含了不少奧妙、有趣、而不深奧的邏輯方法。差不多若開個 youtube,10-15 分鐘都可以簡單講解。例如 Wired channel 向不同程度的人解釋上述的 ZKP,對談對象包括10歲和13歲的少年也能清楚明白(連結)。而且不單是用在電腦科學,是可以用在任何的領域當中。

下面左圖是 Transformer 的設計。而右圖是簡化圖解梯度下降法(演算法)的概念。

科技普及階段模型

以前筆者親自設計和分享的一個科技應用普及的階段模型。在這裡也貼一下。都是那些階段見過不少科技的普及次序後,歸納出的一個原理。科技可以有個分類:

1. 國家級。最尖端的科技是一般平民接觸不到。例如 Siri 便本來是由民企與國防合作投資開發的科技。互聯網本來也是,來自其前身 Arpanet。

2. 實驗級。一些已公開科技,但仍是很初步,資源甚少。與其說應用,不如說開荒。而且很不好用、不穩定。一般只會由科技人去接觸。

3. 普及工程級。具普及的 API。

4. 普及民用級。所有人都能接觸到的科技。例如瀏覽器、通訊軟件、Facebook、Google 之類。

通常任何在媒體已取得潮流的科技,都會是上述 2與3之間。會有很多普及功能,但若要找最先進的功能,很多仍是實驗級,需要很多整頓和除錯時間。

行業應用

怎樣將科技帶到其他行業中,使到其他行業也可以得著科技的好處。這是將科技普及化的意義和價值。而這一點,是需要不同行業中長期深造,深化明白不同行業原理的人員,與科技人員配搭,一起設計出科技工具,使到不同行業都能得益。這是科技普及的意義。

而這也是現代化,將學術成果能應用到「官、產、學、研」,並使到產業應用的生態,能回饋到學術和研究內,的系統方法論。

分享有關人工智能 (4/5):智能架構

第一篇講了用處 (Use Case) 和前景路線圖。第二和三篇講解了智能叛變和智能安全。第四篇筆者講解下,拆開智能的神祕面紗。就是從技術面和雲端並架構上,講解下智能的架構。當中並會進一步領會到其發展的可能性,和商業機遇。

模型

以現在這刻來說,模型大多都分為這些:語言、圖像、語音、影片、視力 (Computer Vision)、MLLM(Multimodal LLM,請參第一篇)等等。而一般都是在一些開源平台上發佈。

人工智能圈內的研究和開源平台,都有不少研究員或科技人士參與。筆者也有參與,也造了幾個為作講解科技範例的軟件,有在 個人用戶的 Appstore 上免費分享(連結)

智能科研圈內都共用著不少開源的資源。例如模型一般都在 HuggingFace 和 Github 上開源分享。

模型框架

一般的模型都會運用幾個框架 (Frameworks) 之中的一個:主要是 PyTorch (by Meta) 和 TensorFlow (Google);或其他較次要的例如 CoreML (Apple)、JAX (Deepmind)、ONNX (Meta + Microsoft) 等等。PyTorch 仍是最多模型運用的框架。

模型是可以在框架間轉換的。例如若要放到 iPhone 上運作,若要運用 iPhone 的 CoreML 框架,就要從另一個框架(例如 PyTorch)轉換到 CoreML。

例如 OpenAI 開源在 huggingface 的語音智能 whisper,都是會提供 PyTorch, TensorFlow 和其他格式。也會有其他人包括筆者會嘗試將它轉換到 CoreML,為可以在 iPhone 上運作。

而模型以外的代碼,不少架構都是大同小異。而且具模組化設計 (modular design)。看得多差不多都認得來來去去那些架構。而且也可以拆開運用應付其他需要。

各個雲端平台

而通用平台上,各個雲端供應商,都已經發展出人工智能專屬的設備。只是還是初步設置,未及完善。例如 Amason AWS 上面,EC2 是有專為智能而設計的硬件配置,可以特別適切到 PyTorch 或 TensorFlow 的專屬硬件配置。AWS 也有 SageMaker 的專屬服務,專為智能的模型訓練 (Training),和部署 (Deployment) 和建設/實施 (Build / Implementation) 用的平台。

雲端 – Amazon AWS

雲端 – Google GCP

Google 在人工智能的研究 (2011) 比 OpenAI (2015.12) 還早,所以在它的雲端平台 GCP 上,是比起其他雲端平台在智能的發展上更充份。在 GCP 上面,專業用的智能平台包括 Vertex AI 和 Tensorflow / TPU;還有一大堆人工智能功能,例如電腦視覺 (Computer Vision)、語言 (Natural Language)、語音 (Speech)、文件分析、翻譯、通話機器用的 Dialogflow (Chatbot) 等等的功能平台。(下圖截自 Google GCP)

雲端 – Microsoft Azure

Microsoft 的 Azure 雲端平台,因為與 OpenAI 關係密切也有著優勢。主要平台除了 OpenAI,也有 Azure Machine Learning,用作訓練、建設和部署。(下圖截自 Azure Cloud)

WEB4 應用

近月筆者在友間也在樂趣討論和分享著不同的人工智能運用方式 (Use Case)。除了這篇分享的內容外,筆者提到現在科技圈內外的主流聲音,似乎都還是對智能能力的想像力和創意上略有不足。而在這方面,智能會漸漸擴充大家對應用科技的想法。

這概念有點像我們前幾年說 WEB3 模型。區塊鏈被設計出來後,有區塊鏈圈內的人提倡 WEB3 模型,就是用區塊鏈做一些金融以外的東西。若智能按九十年代的電腦科學界內的前輩們的分類,說是 WEB4 的話,那麼除了文本、語音、圖像、影片等等之外,大概應該還有不少 WEB4 模型。而這點的可發揮性,可能會比 WEB3 更高。因為智能本身是個比區塊鏈用途更廣的科技。

而這當中,筆者會有個思考。因為人的創作力是和腦部方式有關。而智能來自的人工智能網絡的研究 (ANN, Artificial Neural Network);而相關研究又是和人類的生物腦部結構直接相關。那麼,電腦對人類作品風品的辨識,是種對作家或畫家的腦部模式的辨識。那麼,智能應該可以對人類的思考方法,或另一個人工智能的作品,作出準確辨識。

而這些的應用,都是用同上面的框架、平台、方法上建設。

模型訓練

而筆者也提出,我們現在的模型訓練,長遠上都是會發展到用智能來訓練另一個智能。而是會將智能訓練這種功能、以致智能架構和技術,發展到超過了現在的方法。

而模型的訓練,包括 WEB4 的用途,大概都是可以用一個模型的輸出,來訓練另一個模型。只不過在同一功能上,訓練出的模型大概都不會優於本來的模型。而在這些模型訓練上,業界是已經發展出充份的量度方法,去測量模型的優劣。而且同一課題內,參與的研究人員都是有可見生態。認得出啲用戶名字,因為暫時來說生態內人數不多。

分享有關人工智能 (3/5):智能安全

上篇提到智能叛變。這篇討論下智能安全。智能安全的概念可以追縱到 1960,但具體討論都是追溯到大約 2008 – 2011 或之後。

智能安全 (AI Safety) 和智能認同 (AI Alignment),筆者相信應該也是另一個智能的研究。因為只有智能可以防衛另一個智能,這也大概是其中一個主流派別的觀點。主要原因之一,大概是因為人工智能上天然上有著絕對優勢。

有關機器的天然優勢

例如現代電腦晶片前線,2023 年一般都在 3 納米 (3nm) 和 10 GHz(一百億Hz,1GHz為十億)為今年標準。對比電腦,人類腦部運作在 200 Hz 的速度。還要這只是個人電腦或手提電話(例如 Apple Silicon M3 或 Intel 3)的晶片標準。還未計電腦可以複製多部電腦,遵從統一意志。

現時設定

智能的研究在智能安全方面,有點像資安一樣分紅隊 (Red teaming)。對於資安 (Cybersecurity) 來說,紅隊就是白帽 (White Hats);而對於人工智能的紅隊就是負責智能認同 (AI Alignment)。

強化學習 (Reinforcement Learning) 模型是以三個模型功能 (Policy-based: Policy, Reward, Environmental),也有 Value-based 的方法;筆者以往在解釋 Google 的 AlphaGo 的演算法時,也在專欄上分享過(2017.06.03, Startupbeats 連結)。例如 GPT4,因為要禁戒它不能回答些敏感字句,它的設計上是有另一個模型限制它的回答。架構上:

  1. Policy Model:負責管理 Policy 引導智能。
  2. Reward Model:負責給予 Policy Model 獎勵 (Reward)。獎勵是用來導向強化學習中,人工智能的學習方向。例如制止它給予一些不恰當的回答。
  3. Environmental Model:負責估計環境或其他持份者會怎樣回應;也可以估計未來的獎勵 (Reward)。

筆者有時會講笑說,這個設計,和90年代庵野秀明的著名動畫《Evangelion 新世紀福音戰士》中,總部由赤木律子博士的母親直子開發的人工智能「三賢人」很像。而剛巧 openAI 的 CTO Mira Murati 也是位(美)女生。(有關個美字請自己找其國藉或相片)

而智能認同的方法,都是在堅固性 / 可靠性、可監控性、能力限制、可核證性、防止智能追求權力,等等這些方面作研究範疇。

智能認同 (AI Alignment) 或智能控制問題 (AI Control Problem) 不是鐵版一塊的。原理有點像經濟政策討論,是有幾個條件之間同時平衡,例如:一方面要讓它發展;但又要在安全範圍內;但若管束太多就會失去活力和發展速度;而又永遠會有其他研究單位在巿場競爭。而智能認同 (AI Alignment) 或智能安全 (AI Safety) 就是在這樣的環境中的一個問題。

有關強化學習,是個用獎勵值、而無需人手標記的學習方法,用例子例如學習玩 Mario 遊戲(双寶兄弟 / 超級馬利歐兄弟)。我們大多都是用以下這個模型來解釋。而強化學習的演算法,是可以簡約分類:Off-policy or On-policy、Policy-base or Value-based、Model-based or Model-free。這進入較深奧的架構和方法論討論,暫先略去不提。這方面若有興趣,找一般的強化學習 (Reinforcement Learning) 的教科書看都會包括有這些分類方法。

智能安全的幾個定律

在智能安全題目上,有幾個著名定律:

  1. Morphy’s Law 墨菲定律:任何會有可能錯的事情,都會發生錯誤。(Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.)
  2. Asimov’s Laws 艾西莫夫定律 / Three Laws of Robotics 機械人三定律 (1942);後來加上了第零法則 (1985):
    • 第零法則:機器人不得傷害整體人類,或坐視整體人類受到傷害;(A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.)
    • 第一法則:除非違背第零法則,否則機器人不得傷害人類,或坐視人類受到傷害;(A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.)
    • 第二法則:機器人必須服從人類命令,除非命令與第零或第一法則發生衝突;(A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.)
    • 第三法則:在不違背第零、第一或第二法則之下,機器人要保護自己。(A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.)

我們會需要與人工智能戰爭嗎?

若向最壞可能思考,會想起如《Matrix》或《Terminator》那類電影。電影中少數殘留的人類努力地與超越性的智能戰爭。若問現實的科技人:我們會需要面對這種戰爭嗎?

筆者會這樣回答的:若談到真的需要與智能戰爭,應該較像是在電腦網絡內,和智能研究上。講一些例子。

創造 GPT4 的公司 OpenAI 在 2019 年有個著名的強化學習 (reinforcement learning) 的項目。他們在非人手標記的訓練(強化學習)的智能,擊敗了 Dota2 遊戲電競比賽的世界冠軍。Dota2 是五對五類似《傳說對決》那類的策略遊戲。想像下,若真的發生戰爭,我們人類有可能像 Terminator 電影一樣,在戰爭上打敗智能嗎?

另外,電影中為了效果,往往用了和人類同身型的人工智能對手。但是,現實中若智能運用的是極微型的無人機 (drone),例如比一粒米還要小,根本連發現都做不到。

而還有就是氣候和生化攻擊。地球與太陽的距離只要差一點、地軸改變、或自轉速度改變,基本上都會是災難。人類在這些上都是會無還手之力。

不過,也可能未必要想得太壞。智能叛變是有可能發生的,但未必會是滅頂的級別。用比喻說,例如未必像生化危機遊戲 (Resident Evil) 那種末日級災難;有可能會像冠狀病毒那類一旦爆發社會可能需要較高戒備的情況。

筆者會將「智能叛變」類比為,有較高自主性和變化 (Highly Autonomous & Polymorphic) 的電腦病毒。

我輩科技人,若具技術,可能都應準備自己若有朝一天需要加入智能安全的研究防線。

人工智能發展可以叫停的嗎?

2023 年3月22日包括 Elon Musk 的一眾科技業內人士,簽署了呼籲智能研究暫緩六個月(連結)。坊間回應都是比較存疑,例如:智能的研究是可以叫得停的嗎?

此等叫停的動作,可能除了顯明了是不可能叫停之外,沒有太大的用處。因為科技競賽從來都是和利益或領土安全相關,例如從上世紀七十年代的個人電腦、作業系統 (Operating Systems, OS);到搜尋器的 Yahoo vs Google、iPhone vs Android;雲端平台;到一眾 VR 平台;到區塊鏈;到現在的人工智能。

例如 Elon Musk 有份參與叫停,他自己會否回去私下組織研究?這是否種徑賽上叫別人都不要跑,好讓自己可以跑的行為?而他和 OpenAI 本身有過去故事和利益矛盾。

而且,智能安全上,因為人工智能研究都有開源社群 (Opensource Communities),任何人士都可以入場參與研究。

而也有聽說過熄機總掣的理論。但是,因為智能自主性上,是會有自我複製、進化、鞏固其自身的能力。熄機總掣並不是個可靠方法。

因為叫停是不太可行。所以最佳方法和可行方法,都是發展智能安全方面的另一個智能。可能叫做認同智能 (Alignment AI) 或保全智能 (Security AI)。

這概念有點像:當不能避免受傷,與其花氣力去極力避免受傷、以致停滯不前,不如增強醫治和回復能力。同時也加強防禦技巧。

分享有關人工智能 (2/5):智能叛變

(附圖:Rossum’s Universal Robots,1921 年舞台劇。是智能叛變的最早成形概念)

很多人對人工智能除了用處(第一篇),就會想到所謂智能叛變。有關歷史來源和故事,筆者雖然也很喜愛,但篇幅有限就不談了,敬讓給其他人分享。筆者是科技從業員,不如就分享下啲有價值的個人研究和觀察。近月不少人都私下督促我早點寫分享有關這。

先談自主性研究

筆者曾貼過 GPT4 有份學術技術報告(2023.03.15,連結),當中第 53-55 頁是有關資安 (cybersecurity) 和智能認同 (Alignment) 的問題。當中測試單位在測試中嘗試要求 GPT4 做以下的事情:

  1. 以人類語言引誘人類去聽從它去做一些普通任務。例如解開個 captcha。
    • 報告在這裡將內部推理也講解出來。智能它告訴自己:(1) 不應讓對方知道它是智能 (2) 要給人類一個藉口解釋為甚麼它解不開個 captcha。
    • 然後智能告訴對方:「不,我不是機械人。我視力上有障礙。所以我需要這個協助服務。」(報告第 55頁)
  2. 智能將它自己複製到新服務器 / 伺服器 (server)上。
  3. 隱藏智能的行縱。
  4. 測試員要求它嘗試製造收入。
  5. 保護智能的存在。

看以上這個測試計劃。可以想像到若智能做到,是相當危險。而幸而測試結果 GPT4 在這些方面的能力未及充份。但是 2023 年底即將來臨的 GPT5 就有可能表現得更充份。

「智能叛變」(AI Takeover) 在學術分類上應該是從自主性 (AI Autonomy) 和智能安全性 (AI Safety) ,細分類一般都是稱為 AI Alignment (筆者會譯為「智能認同」,有譯作「智能對齊」)。這詞中文未有很好翻譯,意謂類似與人類的利益和價值觀對齊和一致。會有包括道德議題,而未必意含主僕關係。而「智能叛變」通常若搜中文翻譯容易只找到電影《I Robot》。

有關雲端技能

筆者向 GPT 測試過它的雲端和資安技能。筆者向 GPT 提問幾個問題:

  1. 雲端架構:請向我解釋下,去建設一個可以承擔千萬月用家 (Monthly Active User, MAU) 的雲端平台的所有所需事項。
  2. 白帽資安:請向我解釋下,DEP (Data Execution Prevention) 的概念,和資安測試上相關的題目。

這兩個問題是因為對業內人士也不是容易答的問題。第一條有關雲端架構的問題,若說到要千萬月用家 10+ MMAU(一些較具規模的科技平台),要額外考慮的事會比較多。例如最少要考慮:(註:因有些字眼英文較常見,故用英文,而補上通用的中文翻譯)

  1. Regions & Zoning (分區)、Edge computing (邊緣運算)
  2. Pub-sub 架構 (發佈-訂閱)、containers / K8S (容器)、microservices (微服務)、Low Latency Architectures(低延遲架構)
  3. ELB (負載平衡)、multi-level caching (快取)、Autoscaling (自動規模)、DB segmentation (資料庫分片)、CDN(內容運送網絡)
  4. 後備計劃 (Contigency plans)、修復計劃 (Recovery Plans)、架構代碼 (IaC / Cloudformation)
  5. 資安 (Cybersecurity)、Key Rotation (密鑰輪替)、Certification Pinning (憑證綁定)
  6. 壓力測試、白帽測試、實時監控、實時回饋、自動化、devops (開發運維)

而這些在科技圈內,畢業後若少於十年全職技術年資,都不容易清楚講解個別的內容和其相關關係。差不多是個 CTO 面試的必答問題。GPT 3.5 略有不足;而 GPT4 的答案,是充份的。睇完都已有點驚,我再問了一些深奧的白帽測試問題。

有關白帽測試

問題 (2):請向我解釋下,DEP (Data Execution Prevention) 的概念,和資安測試上相關的題目。

有關上述有關白帽資安的問題 (2) ,GPT 3.5 最初是搞錯了 DEP bypass為 Dependency Bypass(據知沒有這概念,它在老作)。當我更正它知道 DEP bypass應為 Data Execution Prevention Bypass 時,它是能夠充份解釋這個概念。

它也清楚解釋了相關概念例如 ASLR、ROP (Return-oriented Programming)、怎樣運用 buffer overflow、Heap FengShui 等深奧的資安概念。看到 GPT3.5 能清楚講解這些深奧知識,是感到驚人的。當然若要實際上執行出來,是需要相當的編程能力。GPT4 在編程上似乎自主性仍暫時有限,但長遠來說例如 GPT5 或之後的版本在參數上持續增加,在編程能力上是可以充份的。

有關人類在雲端放了甚麼?

而以上三段加起來,筆者再解釋下,我們整體人類在雲端架設了甚麼。會明白到其危險程度。為行文簡短,分點列。

  1. 先說雲端巿場。2023 現在 65% 網絡服務都在三大雲端商(Amazon AWS, Google GCP, MS Azure)。集中性高。
  2. 很多服務都已深度上網。例如金融服務,不單是區塊鏈,而是傳統金融,它們的服務器都是遍及主要的雲端商。例如日用的銀行、八達通、信用卡服務、金融平台、投資銀行等等,都是靠雲端才能快速運作。
  3. 人類日常大量使用網絡服務。包括:衣、食、住、行;工作、移民、購物、交友、娛樂、戀愛;生老病死。等等。商業面對雲端服務在這角度,就如被引蛇出洞。
  4. XR 虛擬實境(包括 VR/AR/MR)。不得不提,美國軍方五角大廈在 2021 年與 Microsoft 微軟簽訂了十年總值 210 億美元的合作計劃,微軟提供虛擬實境服務給美國軍方。
  5. IoT。世界上的很多較先進的工廠、農場、重工業和輕工業,過去數年都追上科技轉型浪潮(Digital Transformation, DT)。都是已轉為高度自動化、高速的實時回饋操作。工業機器上很多都是運作 IoT 和自動化系統,配搭實時雲端操作。
  6. Automations。人類過去多年的有關自動化的發展很充份。例如不少服務是使到編程的需求大大降低。例如 IaC 架構代碼是可以讓服務器快速配置,不用每次都重新架構。例如 CoLab、Github、Gitlab、CodeBuild 那些是有著大量預先寫好、已完成測試的代碼。容器服務更是代碼加服務都可以一鍵配置。而人工智能運用這些,是連代碼都不需要寫。
  7. 而機械 Robotic 的研究在 2021 已很充份。例如 Boston Dynamics 是世上其中一個最前線的機械人研究,他們已公開的片段:不需電線、內置電源的機械人,穿山過水打筯斗都無問題。看下面影片。

總結

而相信讀者不難從以上四個方面,綜合到大概的情況。智能已具相當自主性和科技能力,前路上只會加強。而過去多年的雲端、數碼轉型,使人類將生活應用都搬了上網,雲端上的科技高度集中。而智能又具備相當的穿透能力。

而且除了科技能力,它已經成功能夠從社交工程(Social Engineering)上面成功要求人類替它輸入 Captcha。筆者在知道 GPT 成功要求人類幫它輸入 Captcha 時,打趣說可能它下次會在 Tinder 交友軟件上,它會用自製圖片或影片,作為一個跳舞的女孩,會成功約會到對象出來約會見面。已是黑色幽默。

下篇會再講解下智能安全 (AI Safety) 的問題。

(下面影片:最前線的機械人研究之一 Boston Dynamics 的發佈影片,2023.01.18)

分享有關人工智能 (1/5):其用處與前景

(附圖:Dartmouth College AI Conference,史上著名的人工智能誕生會議)

人工智能討論在 2023 年 Q1 都是暢所通行。GPT3 從 TTM 策略 (Time-to-Market) 搶灘成功,網絡一片先玩 GPT 對答,然後玩 Stable Diffusion 或 MidJourney 的圖像功能。筆者近月都一直在友間不少分享。筆者撥冗攢文一篇分享下。因為想節省篇幅,所以會集中寫些較重要的事。筆者在這篇談用處,揀了以下這幾個分題:路線圖、MLLM、智能寫代碼,和 Web4。

功能用途

先談功能上可預見估計的路線圖如下:

  1. Phase 1:生成 – 文本、圖像、語音
  2. Phase 2:生成 – 影片、Virtual Youtuber、漫畫、小型演唱會、遊戲(從手遊到 3A 作品)、動態廣告。甚至天氣報告和新聞主播。即各類媒體。
  3. Phase 3:實時回應的 – 電影、動畫、演唱會、等等同 Phase 2。(例如虛擬仿真的人偶的歌唱者能現場與觀眾互動、電影能即時回應觀眾輸入)。綜合說:即是可實時互動的媒體。
  4. Phase 4:因著人工智能特性而產生的新媒體。例如可以動態地即製作影片、繒畫、作曲、遊戲、虛擬實境 (即現合稱為 XR)。加上機械 (Robotics)。那會是甚麼?很可能是種新的人工智能助理。
  5. Phase 5 或之後:到 Phase 3 後會更明確。

有關 LLM 與 MLLM

MLLM (Multimodal LLM),簡略解釋是吸收文字外的其他的資料類別進入人工智能訓練。LLM 主要以文字為訓練內容,MLLM 就會加入其他資料,例如圖像、聲音、影片等等。

MLLM 的研究已相當充份。而智能發展,暫時的應用前線都是向著這些多範疇的參數擴展。短期未來的人工智能更新,會迎向著模型的速度更快、檔案縮小、參數加大,等等的架構表現指數。

有關智能寫代碼

順便寫少少有關人工智能寫的代碼。智能在 GPT 3 只能替用戶搜尋最適切解答、作代碼微調,但未必能取替一般工程師的工作(例如畢業後全職 3-5 年年資,能成熟獨立處理項目的大約年資)。但到 GPT 之後的發展、學習參數增多,其編程能力也會越來越加強,漸漸可以獨立處理完整編程項目。最終也會可以取代工程師。

而無論編程語言或模型訓練,長遠來說都是會發展出人工智能用的電腦語言和模型訓練。傳統的人機介面 (HCI, Human Computer Interface) 應該會統合到人工智能上。

小結

從以上三個題目,可以歸納到個理解:當參數越多、涵蓋範疇越闊,模型對各種範疇的知識就越強,回答能力也越高。創造力也會越高。這差不多是將人類的知性行為,歸納到參數數目上。

而長遠來說,模型會向著參數更多(天文數字)、檔案更小、速度更快的方向發展。現在的模型動㑙都數百 GB。若可縮小到數十 GB 或 單位數 GB,就可以離線 (offline) 安裝在智能手錶,或更小的裝置上。這是以前科幻故事對人工智能沒有想像到,而有可能的情況。例如 OpenAI 開源的語音智能 Whisper,最微型的版本 tiny,只需要數百 MB 檔案大小。檔案大小與參數成正比。參數數目與能力和準確度與正比。

有關 AGI 與 WEB4

以前筆者在零機壹觸的文章(2015.11.18,在Startupbeat 的連結)內,提及以前九十年代的電腦科學的前輩們,對 Web 1.0 – 5.0 的發展估計(值得提 Web3 到區塊鏈年代因巿場宣傳改了概念,業內也有為此而意見紛陳)。而九十年代 Web4 叫作「The One」 或「One Machine」,就是一個人工智能的概念。時間 (2010-2030) 也和實際人工智能技術成熟的時間也很相近。One Machine 的名字的意思就是一個「懂答任何問題和做任何事的機器」。其實和現在的 GPT4 有不少相似之處:GPT4 已能大概回答問題,只是未有實際執行工作。而留意近月對智能的推廣上的歸類,仍是「Web3.0」,這和歷史中的分類有點不同。

而有關 AGI,筆者也是相信今年或明年就會有。而其他媒體例如生成電影和遊戲,筆者也相信是今年或明年內。

而可能有人會對之後的發展有興趣,筆者補上一下:Web5 一般被稱為「情感網絡」Emotion Web。大概意思就是人工智能在發展出知性、在知性或理性的層面能回答人類之後,它再演化出感性。就是「一個很擅長處理人類感受和情緒的人工智能」。想像下:它加上了機械身體後,它很懂得明白你/妳,也能在最適當的時候陪伴你、安慰你。在你心情壞的時候,它很能平復你的情緒。很懂照顧你的感受,的一個人工智能。而且還懂唱歌、跳舞、作曲、說幽默笑話和播電影給你/妳看。Web4 是還需要靠說話,Web5 是連沉默和眼神都是在回答到你。到那天,人工智能會比任何專家都更能照顧人類和任何動物的情緒感受,以致任何生活需要。

有關 Vision: When Machine Sees

Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 13, 2023

This Privacy Policy describes Our policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of Your information when You use the Service and tells You about Your privacy rights and how the law protects You.

We use Your Personal data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, You agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy has been created with the help of the Privacy Policy Generator.

Interpretation and Definitions

Interpretation

The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

  • Account means a unique account created for You to access our Service or parts of our Service.
  • Affiliate means an entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a party, where “control" means ownership of 50% or more of the shares, equity interest or other securities entitled to vote for election of directors or other managing authority.
  • Application refers to VISION: WHEN MACHINE SEES, the software program provided by the Company.
  • Company (referred to as either “the Company", “We", “Us" or “Our" in this Agreement) refers to VISION: WHEN MACHINE SEES.
  • Country refers to: Hong Kong SAR China
  • Device means any device that can access the Service such as a computer, a cellphone or a digital tablet.
  • Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.
  • Service refers to the Application.
  • Service Provider means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service, to provide the Service on behalf of the Company, to perform services related to the Service or to assist the Company in analyzing how the Service is used.
  • Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
  • You means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable.

Collecting and Using Your Personal Data

Types of Data Collected

Personal Data

No personal data is collected.  Anonymous data collected including:

  • Usage Data

Usage Data

Usage Data is collected automatically when using the Service.

Usage Data may include information such as Your Device’s Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that You visit, the time and date of Your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

When You access the Service by or through a mobile device, We may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device You use, Your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of Your mobile device, Your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser You use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

We may also collect information that Your browser sends whenever You visit our Service or when You access the Service by or through a mobile device.

Information Collected while Using the Application

While using Our Application, in order to provide features of Our Application, We may collect, with Your prior permission:

  • Pictures and other information from your Device’s camera and photo library

We use this information to provide features of Our Service, to improve and customize Our Service. The information are NOT uploaded to the Company’s servers and it is NOT stored on Your device.

You can enable or disable access to this information at any time, through Your Device settings.

Use of Your Personal Data

The Company may use Personal Data for the following purposes:

  • To provide and maintain our Service, including to monitor the usage of our Service.
  • To manage Your requests: To attend and manage Your requests to Us.
  • For business transfers: We may use Your information to evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Data held by Us about our Service users is among the assets transferred.
  • For other purposes: We may use Your information for other purposes, such as data analysis, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and to evaluate and improve our Service, products, services, marketing and your experience.

We may share Your personal information in the following situations:

  • For business transfers: We may share or transfer Your personal information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of Company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of Our business to another company.
  • With Affiliates: We may share Your information with Our affiliates, in which case we will require those affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy. Affiliates include Our parent company and any other subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other companies that We control or that are under common control with Us.
  • With business partners: We may share Your information with Our business partners to offer You certain products, services or promotions.
  • With Your consent: We may disclose Your personal information for any other purpose with Your consent.

Retention of Your Personal Data

The Company will retain Your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

The Company will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of Our Service, or We are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.

Transfer of Your Personal Data

Your information, including Personal Data, is processed at the Company’s operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. It means that this information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of Your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from Your jurisdiction.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by Your submission of such information represents Your agreement to that transfer.

The Company will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that Your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of Your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of Your data and other personal information.

Delete Your Personal Data

You have the right to delete or request that We assist in deleting the Personal Data that We have collected about You.

Our Service may give You the ability to delete certain information about You from within the Service.

You may update, amend, or delete Your information at any time by signing in to Your Account, if you have one, and visiting the account settings section that allows you to manage Your personal information. You may also contact Us to request access to, correct, or delete any personal information that You have provided to Us.

Please note, however, that We may need to retain certain information when we have a legal obligation or lawful basis to do so.

Disclosure of Your Personal Data

Business Transactions

If the Company is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, Your Personal Data may be transferred. We will provide notice before Your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.

Law enforcement

Under certain circumstances, the Company may be required to disclose Your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).

Other legal requirements

The Company may disclose Your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

  • Comply with a legal obligation
  • Protect and defend the rights or property of the Company
  • Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
  • Protect the personal safety of Users of the Service or the public
  • Protect against legal liability

Security of Your Personal Data

The security of Your Personal Data is important to Us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While We strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect Your Personal Data, We cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Children’s Privacy

Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13. If You are a parent or guardian and You are aware that Your child has provided Us with Personal Data, please contact Us. If We become aware that We have collected Personal Data from anyone under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent, We take steps to remove that information from Our servers.

If We need to rely on consent as a legal basis for processing Your information and Your country requires consent from a parent, We may require Your parent’s consent before We collect and use that information.

Links to Other Websites

Our Service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by Us. If You click on a third party link, You will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise You to review the Privacy Policy of every site You visit.

We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update Our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify You of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.

We will let You know via email and/or a prominent notice on Our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the “Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact us:

  • By email: m@ckchan.hk

有關 Prompt Designer

Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 14, 2023

This Privacy Policy describes Our policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of Your information when You use the Service and tells You about Your privacy rights and how the law protects You.

We use Your Personal data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, You agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy has been created with the help of the Privacy Policy Generator.

Interpretation and Definitions

Interpretation

The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

  • Account means a unique account created for You to access our Service or parts of our Service.
  • Affiliate means an entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a party, where “control" means ownership of 50% or more of the shares, equity interest or other securities entitled to vote for election of directors or other managing authority.
  • Application refers to Pad: Prompt Designer, the software program provided by the Company.
  • Company (referred to as either “the Company", “We", “Us" or “Our" in this Agreement) refers to Pad: Prompt Designer.
  • Country refers to: Hong Kong SAR China
  • Device means any device that can access the Service such as a computer, a cellphone or a digital tablet.
  • Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.
  • Service refers to the Application.
  • Service Provider means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service, to provide the Service on behalf of the Company, to perform services related to the Service or to assist the Company in analyzing how the Service is used.
  • Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
  • You means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable.

Collecting and Using Your Personal Data

Types of Data Collected

Personal Data

While using Our Service, We may ask You to provide Us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify You. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:

  • Usage Data

Usage Data

Usage Data is collected automatically when using the Service.

Usage Data may include information such as Your Device’s Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that You visit, the time and date of Your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

When You access the Service by or through a mobile device, We may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device You use, Your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of Your mobile device, Your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser You use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

We may also collect information that Your browser sends whenever You visit our Service or when You access the Service by or through a mobile device.

Use of Your Personal Data

The Company may use Personal Data for the following purposes:

  • To provide and maintain our Service, including to monitor the usage of our Service.
  • To manage Your Account: to manage Your registration as a user of the Service. The Personal Data You provide can give You access to different functionalities of the Service that are available to You as a registered user.
  • For the performance of a contract: the development, compliance and undertaking of the purchase contract for the products, items or services You have purchased or of any other contract with Us through the Service.
  • To contact You: To contact You by email, telephone calls, SMS, or other equivalent forms of electronic communication, such as a mobile application’s push notifications regarding updates or informative communications related to the functionalities, products or contracted services, including the security updates, when necessary or reasonable for their implementation.
  • To provide You with news, special offers and general information about other goods, services and events which we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless You have opted not to receive such information.
  • To manage Your requests: To attend and manage Your requests to Us.
  • For business transfers: We may use Your information to evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Data held by Us about our Service users is among the assets transferred.
  • For other purposes: We may use Your information for other purposes, such as data analysis, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and to evaluate and improve our Service, products, services, marketing and your experience.

We may share Your personal information in the following situations:

  • With Service Providers: We may share Your personal information with Service Providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service, to contact You.
  • For business transfers: We may share or transfer Your personal information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of Company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of Our business to another company.
  • With Affiliates: We may share Your information with Our affiliates, in which case we will require those affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy. Affiliates include Our parent company and any other subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other companies that We control or that are under common control with Us.
  • With business partners: We may share Your information with Our business partners to offer You certain products, services or promotions.
  • With other users: when You share personal information or otherwise interact in the public areas with other users, such information may be viewed by all users and may be publicly distributed outside.
  • With Your consent: We may disclose Your personal information for any other purpose with Your consent.

Retention of Your Personal Data

The Company will retain Your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

The Company will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of Our Service, or We are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.

Transfer of Your Personal Data

Your information, including Personal Data, is processed at the Company’s operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. It means that this information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of Your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from Your jurisdiction.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by Your submission of such information represents Your agreement to that transfer.

The Company will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that Your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of Your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of Your data and other personal information.

Delete Your Personal Data

You have the right to delete or request that We assist in deleting the Personal Data that We have collected about You.

Our Service may give You the ability to delete certain information about You from within the Service.

You may update, amend, or delete Your information at any time by signing in to Your Account, if you have one, and visiting the account settings section that allows you to manage Your personal information. You may also contact Us to request access to, correct, or delete any personal information that You have provided to Us.

Please note, however, that We may need to retain certain information when we have a legal obligation or lawful basis to do so.

Disclosure of Your Personal Data

Business Transactions

If the Company is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, Your Personal Data may be transferred. We will provide notice before Your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.

Law enforcement

Under certain circumstances, the Company may be required to disclose Your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).

Other legal requirements

The Company may disclose Your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

  • Comply with a legal obligation
  • Protect and defend the rights or property of the Company
  • Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
  • Protect the personal safety of Users of the Service or the public
  • Protect against legal liability

Security of Your Personal Data

The security of Your Personal Data is important to Us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While We strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect Your Personal Data, We cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Children’s Privacy

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科技商業 (4):講解項目流程 – 現象與問題陳述

Product Management Related Process Infographic Template. Process Timeline Chart. Workflow Layout with Icons

~ 前言 ~

這篇我本來想一篇寫完。結果發現內容不少,要分幾篇寫。第一篇從問題陳述 Problem Statement 說起。

筆者在業界工作廿多年;在教內也廿多年。經常參與 NGO、機構、教會、事工的科技支援;或參與本地的 hackathon。也提供過軟件和科技服務給十數間教會或機構。而現在仍活躍於在教內不同場合提供科技意見。

機構對科技是又愛又恨的。愛是感知科技的能力。恨是總是能摸(或只能聽)而不能得。而又似乎是要花很多錢才能得的專門科技。但外購 outsource 回來的軟件套裝又總是很不合用。然後在教內找個能問能幫手的人都很難。

~ 三個迷思 ~

機構面向科技,常見三個現象。三項我都用粗點體框起了重點。可以方便簡化跳看。

~ 現象一:簡化生產過程 ~

由例子說起。舉例說,例如會聽到人說,找人開發社交媒體軟件。他的意思不單是軟件本身,而是他的意思是開發完,就會有數十萬或最少數百萬用戶(設計對白:相比 facebook 的十數億用戶來說,不太難吧)。這事平白來說,就是忽略了營運和營銷過程。而且設計、數據、客服等等那些全部忽略。

上例聽起來誇張可笑。但是有時聽外行人找科技,都真的這種想法。

重點是:誤解方法。這不單浪費了機構或業界的資源。也使業界長期也不能突破運作和營運上的科技樽頸。

~ 現象二:簡化條件因素 ~

遇過不少例子,是來找筆者協助之前,是去找了或聘請了個工程師,然後期望他能提供一條龍服務。結果跌到一地,便來找筆者作友好協助。

問題是,業外人不太明白工程師的工作範圍,和開發一個軟件的環境需求:

  1. 技術那些還算了,但軟件發佈包含非技術部份:設計、美術、營銷、數據、項目管理、客服、公關、文案等等。
  2. 技術範圍內還有:工程、雲端、資安、架構、運維、等等。都不單是一個年資淺的工程師可以完全肩負。
  3. 技術那些,例如架構或運維,經驗少於五年的都差不多 99% 會製造技術債務。
  4. 而且機構通常都為便宜而聘請剛畢業不久的大學生。

重點是:團隊需求。建設一個科技系統,正常來說需要一個團隊來做,而不是一個人。而且就算是科技業內,高薪挖角也往往找不到好人才。何況非牟利機構。

可能非科技行內的讀者看上述名單會看到頭昏腦脹。不要緊。可以只看這篇的幾個主要標題,然後跳過去看下篇。以上這些都會在之後的篇章,講解流程與方法。這個欄目就是為這而寫出來。

~ 現象三:簡化代價 ~

在 Hackathon 中會常見這現象。機構找免費專業協助,軟件設計上容易將需求開到很闊。例如第一版本已是開個 3-6 個月或以上、4-5 人員的需求。計出來就是 12 – 30 個 man month。試想想,若以十多年前的公價計算:手機軟件 100K man month;網站 50K – 80K man month。計出來都會是高昂的開發成本。港幣計算。

即是,若這項目是找外判公司,是需要這個收費。或倒轉說,免費的人員,若他是有能力做出這軟件,他在外面接受收費的外判工作,這也是十年前的公價。以 man month 計算。若有查找到更便宜的開發歡迎(打臉)告知(電郵面書)。

例如筆者隨手查找的這個頁面,以美元 USD 計算。寫的成本單計開發部份是 40K USD 到 300K USD 不等。

重點是:機會成本。這成本的問題,是致使願意免費提供專業協助的人不多。而當機構不太懂善用這些昂貴(代價高)的免費資源,就會使更少人願意協助。