"Deep Learning" versus Data Crunching?

This interesting article describes a China research venture that rests on the assumption that truly intelligent machines must engage in "deep learning" rather than (merely) data crunching: Daniela Hernandez, ‘Chinese Google’ Opens Artificial-Intelligence Lab in Silicon Valley Wired (April 12, 2013). Hernandez seems to assert that the China AI lab's research project rests on the assumption that conceptual structures, or representations, must be used to develop the most intelligent nonhuman machines possible, machines that are capable of "deep learning." But in at least part of this article Hernandez also seems to assert that the backers of this AI research project assume that such representations, or conceptual structures, can be identified simply by discovering and studying the physical structure and operations of the human brain (e.g., neural networks). It is not at all clear to me that this assumption (if it is in fact made by the AI lab) is warranted. The assumption does not follow merely from the plausible premise that the logical operations of human machines must be done in or through the brain.

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Evidence marshaling software MarshalPlan

Open Source Live Code

RunRev has released the first version of its open source Live Code software. Go to this page for the announcement and details.

This free software -- called Live Code Community Edition -- is a very welcome development. I expect to make some use of it in my further tinkering with evidence marshaling software.
Live Code is an ideal vehicle for non-programmers: you can program without knowing much of anything about programming. That's why Live Code is very popular among the public at large.
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Evidence marshaling software MarshalPlan

In Jersey City August may be the cruelest month...

No, in Jersey City August is more cruel than any other month: it is insufferably hot and humid in Jersey City in August. Time to move elsewhere? Probably so. (There is no real spring here: the seasons in Jersey City skip directly from winter to summer, spring is generally forgotten by the weather gods.)
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Evidence marshaling software MarshalPlan

March?

Well, perhaps March is the cruelest month.
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Evidence marshaling software MarshalPlan

April's Cruelty

April is the cruelest month.
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Evidence marshaling software MarshalPlan

The Growth of Litigation Finance

This article discusses the growth of litigation finance: Jennifer Smith, Investors Put Up Millions of Dollars to Fund Lawsuits Wall Street Journal (April 7, 2013).

What does litigation finance portend for and reveal about the workings of proof in American litigation?

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Evidence marshaling software MarshalPlan

Right to Silence in Australia; New Limits

Harriet Alexander, Right to Silence reforms based on out-of-context British law Sydney Morning Herald (April 8, 2013):
"As the [New South Wales] government overturned one of the most tightly held principles of criminal law - the right to silence - it brandished two arguments in support.

"First, abolishing the right to silence had the support of the police. Second, it was far from the revolutionary move its critics claimed. Britain enacted the same legislation nearly 20 years ago.

"The ''evidence of silence'' laws passed last month were designed to make trials more efficient and stop the defence from springing surprises on the prosecution.

"They require the defence and prosecution to outline the key aspects of their cases weeks before trial, and allow the jury to draw an unfavourable inference if an unexpected defence is raised at trial.

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"They also abolish the right to silence, so juries will be able to draw adverse conclusions if accused people choose not to participate in police interviews, but later rely on evidence that they could have brought up in the first place.

"But Britain's Justice and Public Order Act 1994, on which they were modelled, was formulated in an entirely different context.

"In Britain, duty solicitors are stationed at police stations 24 hours, and one of their roles is to advise the accused on the implications of remaining silent.

"In [New South Wales], there is no funding to place a duty solicitor in every police station around the clock, although the law will still only apply to people who have been cautioned in the presence of a lawyer.

"President of the NSW Bar Association Phillip Boulten also warns that while in Britain there is a culture of continuous disclosure, that does not exist in Australia."

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The dynamic evidence page

Evidence marshaling software MarshalPlan