4 ms·

Cambridge Analytica staff set up new firm

118 points by edward 8y ago

lordnacho 8y ago
This can't be a surprise. A lot of firms in the professional services sector have no real assets, just the knowledge and relationships held by their staff. Bankruptcy doesn't transfer such things to creditors, and legal rulings stick with the old entity.
- dalbasal 8y ago
  This is an example of leaks in the corporation="legal person" abstraction, the "intangible assets" abstraction.. or it's twin, IP. Some "stuff" is not like other "stuff".
stochastic_monk 8y ago
Another one? They already started emerdata.
- rch 8y ago
  > The company was set up by Ahmed Al-Khatib, a former director of Emerdata
nickbauman 8y ago
Cambridge Analytica -> Auspex Blackwater -> Xe Services Operating in Africa, no less.
- civilitty 8y ago
  Xe Services -> Academi
mockingbirdy 8y ago
I think their value comes from the collected data of Facebook profiles. If they just copy the data and their trained models, they essentially just use the IP that brought them into that mess in the first place. All the knowledge doesn't help them, they'll need to use their models which they've developed at CA. Otherwise they can know a lot about machine learning and statistical methods, but don't have the data to train their models. I think it will be revealed that they just use the same data. Which is borderline illegal, IMO.
- consumer451 8y ago
  > they'll need to use their models which they've developed at CA This is what drove me to quit FB many years ago. They kept resetting my privacy prefs, which most considered a minor annoyance. "Just change it back, big deal." The thing is that this citizen profiling data lives on until you die. Most people don't change their basic beliefs and interests very often. A bad actor only needs one opportunity to profile you for life.
- lozenge 8y ago
  Their psychographic model was hugely overblown. A couple of Facebook likes do not mean they suddenly know the path to change your mind with some ads. They were just a political dirty tricks operative. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/19/cambridge-analytica-execs-boast-dirty-tricks-honey-traps-elections https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/19/cambridge-an...
  - mockingbirdy 8y ago
    In the article you've linked, the whistleblower says: "the company itself was founded on using Facebook data" (watch at minute 09:00). Their models might not be the most accurate, but they are a big part of their success. + all those dirty tricks they've pulled off.
- bradleyjg 8y ago
  Not especially borderline. That they were involved with the prior company doesn't make it any less illegal to take its intellectual property.
  - mockingbirdy 8y ago
    I didn't want to say this for legal reasons. My personal opinion is that there will be a high probability that they use data which they've obtained illegally.
sml156 8y ago
What did people think they were going to do just give up and go work on a construction site or maybe work at McDonald's
- jonny_eh 8y ago
  This is why people need to be punished, not just companies.
amelius 8y ago
If only LinkedIn allowed us to give these people negative endorsements ...
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  Nothing stops you from creating a quick website with details, screenshots, and good SEO to show up in Google.
  - amelius 8y ago
    Yeah, but Google allows one to issue a request for removal of a URL. (Also, I'm not sure this would be the best way to deal with people like this, and I guess it would need more thought.)
    - toomuchtodo 8y ago
      If you own the URL. Others can only submit removal requests if the content no longer exists.
pwaai 8y ago
It's amazing how much immmoral shit like this is tolerated in the West yet at the same time point fingers to other governments while both are keeping the eyes mouths and ears of their citizens covered. We live in a feudal society, the only difference is we can't talk about it because people have been conditioned, nay, brainwashed into cowardly behavior pourquoi? Material wealth. Your poor? Fuck you. Your fault, your parents fault, your grandparents fault. Your rich? Totally not by series of luck but 100% your effort cuz your smart just like (just the other guys never had it in em) your parents were smart enough to buy a real estate because they were here "first" had the jobs during time when the pigmentation in your skin determined your socioeconomic status therefore your options and purchasing power, your grandparents were brazen enough to outright steal land and genocide the incumbents and legitimize it with whataboutism. Wonder why middle aged white Americans are offing themselves left and right? It's the lack of spiritual nourishment that is shunned as voodoo when the brain possesses specific regions for spirituality, the pineal gland or third eye. Basically wise old Buddha says you reap what you sow. Rule with a gun but your children will die by the gun. We will never see a revolution or uprising like our generations before us because we are all zombies. Zombies to our god damn phone. We give away everything for free. It's the ultimate scam, your privacy has become a commodity for which you can use to alleviate your temporary stress but it fails to solve the underlying issue, that we are all being robbed, spiritually, financially, morally. And it fucking hurts but we ignore it because we are adults not children. We are nothing in this universe. Garbage if extra dimensional beings existed like Michio Kaku rambles on about. Read his book btw.
- dang 8y ago
  Please don't do this here.

118 points by edward 8y ago

This can't be a surprise. A lot of firms in the professional services sector have no real assets, just the knowledge and relationships held by their staff. Bankruptcy doesn't transfer such things to creditors, and legal rulings stick with the old entity.

dalbasal 8y ago
This is an example of leaks in the corporation="legal person" abstraction, the "intangible assets" abstraction.. or it's twin, IP. Some "stuff" is not like other "stuff".

stochastic_monk 8y ago

Another one? They already started emerdata.

rch 8y ago
> The company was set up by Ahmed Al-Khatib, a former director of Emerdata

nickbauman 8y ago

Cambridge Analytica -> Auspex Blackwater -> Xe Services Operating in Africa, no less.

civilitty 8y ago
Xe Services -> Academi

mockingbirdy 8y ago

I think their value comes from the collected data of Facebook profiles. If they just copy the data and their trained models, they essentially just use the IP that brought them into that mess in the first place. All the knowledge doesn't help them, they'll need to use their models which they've developed at CA. Otherwise they can know a lot about machine learning and statistical methods, but don't have the data to train their models. I think it will be revealed that they just use the same data. Which is borderline illegal, IMO.

consumer451 8y ago
> they'll need to use their models which they've developed at CA This is what drove me to quit FB many years ago. They kept resetting my privacy prefs, which most considered a minor annoyance. "Just change it back, big deal." The thing is that this citizen profiling data lives on until you die. Most people don't change their basic beliefs and interests very often. A bad actor only needs one opportunity to profile you for life.
lozenge 8y ago
Their psychographic model was hugely overblown. A couple of Facebook likes do not mean they suddenly know the path to change your mind with some ads. They were just a political dirty tricks operative. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/19/cambridge-analytica-execs-boast-dirty-tricks-honey-traps-elections https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/19/cambridge-an...
- mockingbirdy 8y ago
  In the article you've linked, the whistleblower says: "the company itself was founded on using Facebook data" (watch at minute 09:00). Their models might not be the most accurate, but they are a big part of their success. + all those dirty tricks they've pulled off.
bradleyjg 8y ago
Not especially borderline. That they were involved with the prior company doesn't make it any less illegal to take its intellectual property.
- mockingbirdy 8y ago
  I didn't want to say this for legal reasons. My personal opinion is that there will be a high probability that they use data which they've obtained illegally.

sml156 8y ago

What did people think they were going to do just give up and go work on a construction site or maybe work at McDonald's

jonny_eh 8y ago
This is why people need to be punished, not just companies.

amelius 8y ago

If only LinkedIn allowed us to give these people negative endorsements ...

toomuchtodo 8y ago
Nothing stops you from creating a quick website with details, screenshots, and good SEO to show up in Google.
- amelius 8y ago
  Yeah, but Google allows one to issue a request for removal of a URL. (Also, I'm not sure this would be the best way to deal with people like this, and I guess it would need more thought.)
  - toomuchtodo 8y ago
    If you own the URL. Others can only submit removal requests if the content no longer exists.

pwaai 8y ago

It's amazing how much immmoral shit like this is tolerated in the West yet at the same time point fingers to other governments while both are keeping the eyes mouths and ears of their citizens covered. We live in a feudal society, the only difference is we can't talk about it because people have been conditioned, nay, brainwashed into cowardly behavior pourquoi? Material wealth. Your poor? Fuck you. Your fault, your parents fault, your grandparents fault. Your rich? Totally not by series of luck but 100% your effort cuz your smart just like (just the other guys never had it in em) your parents were smart enough to buy a real estate because they were here "first" had the jobs during time when the pigmentation in your skin determined your socioeconomic status therefore your options and purchasing power, your grandparents were brazen enough to outright steal land and genocide the incumbents and legitimize it with whataboutism. Wonder why middle aged white Americans are offing themselves left and right? It's the lack of spiritual nourishment that is shunned as voodoo when the brain possesses specific regions for spirituality, the pineal gland or third eye. Basically wise old Buddha says you reap what you sow. Rule with a gun but your children will die by the gun. We will never see a revolution or uprising like our generations before us because we are all zombies. Zombies to our god damn phone. We give away everything for free. It's the ultimate scam, your privacy has become a commodity for which you can use to alleviate your temporary stress but it fails to solve the underlying issue, that we are all being robbed, spiritually, financially, morally. And it fucking hurts but we ignore it because we are adults not children. We are nothing in this universe. Garbage if extra dimensional beings existed like Michio Kaku rambles on about. Read his book btw.

dang 8y ago
Please don't do this here.