IMMIGRATION
Nadine Alameh is the best example I can find in the geospatial industry of the value of immigration to the US. We can understand through what she does now and how she got there. Nadine is the inaugural Executive Director of the Taylor Geospatial Institute. Prior to this, she was CEO of the Open Geospatial Consortium. Rounding out the picture of her current service, she is on these committees/boards:
The latter is a network to assist Lebanese Americans in tech. We started our discussion on Nadine’s family connection to the country (more here). At the time of recording, Israel and Hezbollah were at war. Nadine gave a personal account of an earlier civil war in Lebanon that occurred when she was a child. She survived and went on to be an outstanding student at the American University of Beirut. She was rewarded with a scholarship to MIT, completing two masters degrees and a PhD there.
She then embarked upon a glittering career leading organisations that produce and spread standards so we can all efficiently work together. We are in a period of upheaval in the US to do with immigration. As such, we are confronted with timely evidence of the value of international scholarship programmes and immigration to the United States. Nadine’s career is a continuous string of achievements serving the nation. Let alone the broader impact she now has through the UN GGIM.
CENSURE RE: SHORTENING THE KILL CHAIN
13 days ago the CEO of L3Harris, Chris Kubasik appeared on CNBC with the CEO of Palantir Alex Karp. For any keen watcher of the geospatial industry this was hotly anticipated as they are both in The Geospatial Index and talked about a new partnership. At the 5 minute mark, however, Chris characterised the use of AI for enhanced targeting on the battlefield as ‘shortening the kill chain’. It is acknowledged that Alex, in his own word salad on the matter, threw in the word ‘ethical’. By the high pitched tone of both men, however, it is noted that this is not a comfortable subject for either of them.
The same topic came up in my discussion with Nadine. She added a personal dimension to war through her own lived experience in childhood and that of family and friends in Lebanon very recently. I was reminded of Asimov’s 3 laws of robotics:
The First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
The Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
The Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
XKCD of course has some commentary:
Thousands of Lebanese have recently been killed in war by one of the world’s most technologically advanced armies. The CEOs of companies supporting such armies are saying AI is being used to ‘shorten the kill chain’. In the same breath, one such CEO casts such companies as patriotic. In the present interviewee, however, we have a case of an immigrant from the same warzone who has lead a life of patriotic duty to the US.
We confront evidence that patriotism involves preserving life, providing education and witnessing a stronger nation. It would honour humanity to use AI instead to shorten the education chain. As such, I hereby censure Alex Karp and Chris Kubasik for their fatuous remarks on CNBC. If they want to attract the best of the best, they had better start elaborating a hell of a lot more about ethics than Alex managed to stammer out in that appearance.
SUNDRY
Here are some links to things discussed:
Ethics: Locus Charter
My T shirt: Conspiracy of Cartographers
Some brief discussion of use of AI for city design in Saudi occurred. Leading me to reference Neom:
THE GEOSPATIAL INDEX
The Geospatial Index is a comprehensive listing of all publicly traded geospatial businesses worldwide. Why? The industry is growing at ~5% annually (after inflation and after adjusting for base rates). This rate varies significantly, however, by sub index. For $480,000 to start, this growth rate is $5,000,000 over a working life. This channel, Bluesky account, newsletter, watchlist and podcast express the view that you are serious about geospatial if you take the view of an investor, venture capitalist or entrepreneur. You are expected to do your own research. This is not a replacement for that. This is not investment advice. Consider it entertainment.
NOT THE OPINION OF MY EMPLOYER
NOT YOUR FIDUCIARY
NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE
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