[Fsf-friends] Low-cost Brazilian PC...

[Frederick Noronha]

Thanks to Jeebesh Bagchi <jeebesh@sarai.net> for sending it across... Is=20
this some coincidence that all the low-cost PCs -- aimed at widening
access to those who can't afford -- are almost all GNU/Linux-based FN

Curing Poverty with Computing
Brazilian University Researchers Build Cheap Computers for the Masses
Ben Goertzel
http://www.goertzel.org/benzine/BrazilianComputers.htm


here is an excerpt

"The idea here was to create a computer that members of the Brazilian
underclass could genuinely afford.=A0 The Net PC will cost around $400 reia=
is
(around US$ 200), and will be available by June 2001.=A0=A0 Furthermore, in=
 order
to ensure affordability,=A0 and a 24-month payment plan will be offered.

=A0The task of creating this machine was turned over to the computer scienc=
e
department at one of Brazil?s leading universities, the Federal University =
of
Minas Gerais (UFMG), in Belo Horizonte.=A0 The project was led by a number =
of
expert computing researchers, including Sergio Vale Aguilar Campos, trained
at Carnegie-Mellon University in the USA, and Wagner Meira, trained at the
University of Rochester in the USA.=A0These professors are accustomed to
spending their time doing research and teaching on advanced topics like
parallel computing (running programs on specialized computers) and automati=
c
program verification (programs that check to be sure other programs are doi=
ng
what they?re supposed to).=A0 But they and many of their colleagues and
students were willing to take time out from this to work on the
government-sponsored project of bringing much simpler aspects of computing =
to
a much wider population.

The Net PC itself will be a fairly standard one . a Pentium 500 MHz, with
keyboard, mouse, 56 Kbps modem, 14" display, 64 Mb RAM and no hard disk (16
Mb flash RAM instead).=A0 According to those involved in the project, the
technical aspects of designing the system were not particularly onerous ? n=
o
major inventions or innovations were required.=A0 The hardest part was
bargaining with the manufacturers of the various parts of the machine, who
tended to be oriented toward making the most expensive and powerful machine=
s
possible rather than creating low-cost systems.=A0



Early on in the project it was realized that the Microsoft Windows OS was n=
ot
an option, due to its high cost.=A0 Instead, the system was built around th=
e
freeware Linux OS, the favorite of hackers everywhere.=A0 This is a very
interesting aspect of the project.=A0 In the US and Western Europe, Linux i=
s a
minority OS, used by hackers, programmers and computer scientists only.=A0
Standard tools like browsers and word processors exist for Linux, but aren?=
t
quite as polished or user-friendly as on the Windows OS.=A0 On the other ha=
nd,
advanced tasks are much easier to carry out in Linux than in Windows, and
there are other major advantages, such as Linux?s increased stability
(machines running Linux can go for years without ?crashing?, whereas the
typical time between crashes for Windows systems is more like days).=A0=A0=
=A0=A0

=A0

And Linux, unlike Windows, is an open-source software system, meaning that
anyone around the world can edit the computer code that determines how the
system runs, and make it run differently.=A0 By its very nature, it invites
participation from users, whether those users are in the Brazilian ghetto o=
r
in the heart of Silicon Valley.=A0 In the same spirit as the choice of the
open-source Linux architecture, the UFMG computer scientists decided to mak=
e
the=A0main-board architecture for the machine open as well, meaning that an=
y
company will be able to make it, and that computer-savvy users will easily =
be
able to modify it or add onto it as they wish.

=A0

In fact, this is just one example of the international move toward
open-source software, which does not yet pose a huge short-term threat to
Microsoft?s hegemony in the OS market, but may well do so in a few years
time.=A0 For instance, the government of Argentina is considering passing a=
 new
law mandating that, after an adjustment period government offices can only
use Open Source software.=A0 And, less extremely, the French government
currently dictates that no computer files can be used in government busines=
s
unless they can be read and edited by Open Source software.=A0

=A0

Each successive version of Windows software uses more and more computationa=
l
resources, thus providing more functions (sometimes useful ones, sometimes
useless one) and pushing consumers to buy more and more powerful computers
each year.=A0 As Wagner Meira says, in this regard the Net PC project was
strikingly contrarian.=A0?We did a lot of hacking for shrinking a lot of
software into 16Mb.=A0 There was a lot of discussion around our minimalist
approach versus the maximalist approach usually adopted by Windows. We are
watching an ever growing and ever more flawed Windows over the years, and o=
ur
project adopted exactly the reverse direction.?=A0

=A0

Instead of asking what can be done to sell more software or more hardware t=
o
middle-class North Americans (the question on the minds of most people in t=
he
US computer industry), they asked, as Meira puts it:=A0 ?What does a comput=
ing

novice really need in a computer? Internet (including multimedia) and text
processing.=A0 Eventually software for creating a spreadsheet or a
presentation.=A0However,? ? and here is the big difference from projects li=
ke
the American WebTV -- ?the Net PC does allow expansions for those that want
to have an enhanced computing experience.?

WebTV and similar projects allow very limited Internet use at low cost, but
they don?t allow the user to grow in sophistication.=A0 With the Net PC, on=
 the
other hand, Meira says, ?by employing an incremental approach, we believe
that we can reach a much larger portion of the population without restricti=
ng
the use of the equipment.=A0My mother, for instance, had a hard time to lea=
rn
how to double click, and she definitely does not know how to shut down the
computer.?=A0 Yet a young Brazilian who wants to learn to program software =
can
do so on the Net PC; indeed its Linux kernel provides in a some ways a bett=
er
platform for this than a standard Windows-based computer.

=A0

Finally, Meira observes cannily that the minimalist approach taken in the N=
et
PC is the sort of thing that could only emerge in a place like Brazil, not =
in
a place like the USA, where ?More, more, more!? is the watchword.=A0?In
Brazil,? he notes, ?popular stuff is usually minimalist, such as=A0 the pop=
ular
car (up to 1000cc), pre-paid cell phones, etc.?=A0=A0 This is a small examp=
le of
the general principle that the developing world must lead its own people in=
to
the information age.=A0The cultural and conceptual biases of First World
countries aren?t necessarily in synch with the needs of the rest of the
world, even though First World technology has universal applicability.

=A0

What impact will these cheap, open-architecture computers have on the
Brazilian underclass, on the tremendous economic inequity that is the
underbelly of this rapidly growing digital economy?=A0 This remains to be
 seen.=A0 One hopes that they will serve to blur the distinction between th=
e
 lower reaches of the middle class and the upper echelons of the poor.=A0 T=
hat
 families will save their money to buy cheap computers for their children,
 who will then go online and learn about the depth of=A0 world far beyond t=
heir
 neighborhood, opening their eyes to the possibilities that aren?t shown in
 TV sitcoms and reality shows.=A0=A0 How many people, whose parents weren?t
university-educated, will use their new Net PC?s as tools to help them gain
computer skills, so that they can get in on the ground floor of one of the
software start-ups in Brazil?s booming software industry?=A0

=A0

Of course, cheap computers aren?t the whole solution to Brazil?s problems ?
they?re only one very small piece of a huge and complicated picture.=A0Over=
all
improvement of primary education in poor neighborhoods is a huge task which
is inarguably both more critical and more difficult.=A0 But it?s important =
not
to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the human problems around us, and to
realize that every little bit counts.=A0 The popular bumpersticker says ?Th=
ink
globally, act locally,? and this is one of those clich=E9?s that actually
deserves the repetition it receives.=A0The computer scientists at UFMG, as =
they
take a break from their advanced research on parallel algorithms and progra=
m
verification to create inexpensive computers for the masses, are playing an
integral role in the technological advancement of human race and the overal=
l
creation of global computational intelligence.=A0 We need the next phase of=
 the
tech revolution to be founded on compassion and inclusion, not elitism,
classism and egocentrism.=A0 This is a responsibility that falls on us all.

=A0=A0PostScript: Class Politics and the Cyber-visionary Community

=A0

What do the leaders of the tech revolution in the developed world think of
this kind of work?=A0 Precious few cyber-leaders are in practice interested=
 in
devoting their time to such pursuits.=A0=A0 One hopes that as more and more
technology millionaires reach the age where they become interested in
philanthropy, the spread of the tech revolution across the world will becom=
e
a focus, along with other laudable goals like global health and education.=
=A0
But at the present time, opinions on the importance of reaching out to the
masses, and the optimal strategy for doing so, are all over the map.

=A0

A few months ago, excited about the Brazilian Net PC and the prospect of
further similar projects around the world, hopefully coupled with serious
educational initiatives, I began talking about such things on the Extropian=
s
e-mail list, an Internet discussion group devoted to futuristic technology
and its social and economic implications.=A0 Someone noted that the views o=
f
the Extropian community tended not to be taken very seriously in the
mainstream press, and I suggested that, perhaps, if the Extropian community
became involved in doing something important to the mainstream world, their
opinions would be valued more.=A0 What if, for instance, a group of Extropi=
ans
devoted some of their time to education in the Third World?

=A0

Eliezer Yudkowsky, a friend and colleague whose opinion I respect, came dow=
n
against this hard.=A0=A0 According to him, his time and effort, and that th=
at of
his cyber-guru colleagues, should be spent pushing full-speed-ahead toward
the ?Singularity?, his word for the point at which the acceleration of
technical development becomes infinite, through computer programs rewriting
their own source code, robots rebuilding their own hardware and other simil=
ar
futuristic designs.=A0?How much money is spent on attempts to actually ship
food directly to the poor?? he asked. ?Lots.=A0 How much money is spent on
direct efforts to implement the Singularity? ? Not much.?

=A0

On the other hand, Samantha Atkins, another Extropians list regular and a
veteran Silicon Valley AI engineer, replied to Eliezer with a different poi=
nt
of view: ?Perhaps,? she suggested, ?there is a productive middle ground.=A0
Some of us could say more about precisely how the Singularity, and the
technologies along the way, can be applied to solving many of the problems
that beset real people right now.=A0We can produce and spread the memes of
technology generally and AI, nanotechnology and the Singularity in particul=
ar
as answering the deepest needs, hopes and dreams of human beings?.=A0As par=
t of
this we also need more of a story about the steps up to Singularity as
involves the actual lives and living conditions of people.=A0 That we will
muddle along somehow while a few of the best and the brightest create a
miracle is not very satisfying.=A0 What kind of world do we work toward in =
the
meantime?=A0 What do we do about poverty, about technology obsoleting skill=
s
faster than new ones can be acquired, about creating workable visions
including ethics and so on?=A0 What is our attitude toward humanity??

=A0

What is our attitude toward humanity, indeed?=A0 Eliezer is a very ethicall=
y
serious person, and he truly believes that the best thing we in the
cyber-elite can do is for the world is to produce superior technology.=A0 T=
he
technology itself, he says, will transform the world for everyone, and the
most important thing to do is to get the technology to this point, to the
point where it can figure out how to solve the world?s problems on its own.=
=A0

=A0

There is a certain amount of truth to this perspective.=A0 And, in my view,
there is also a certain irony to it, particularly given the fact that
Eliezer?s research so far has focused on how to make AI programs ?Friendly,=
?
in the sense of being well-disposed toward humans.=A0=A0 His solution to th=
e
problem of AI friendliness lies in the realm of cognitive engineering ? he
believes one needs to give an AI an appropriate goal system specifically
designed to foster Friendliness.

=A0

In early 2001, I was running the AI company Webmind Inc., and Eliezer visit=
ed
our New York office to give a lecture on Friendly AI.=A0 The lecture was
received excellently by some and terribly by others.=A0 Generally speaking =
the
Webmind Inc. staff were absorbed with the practical problems of trying to
create real digital intelligence, whereas Eliezer was more concerned with t=
he
various philosophical and futuristic issues that will arise once a truly
intelligent AI system is completed.=A0 But the issue of ?wiring in
Friendliness? definitely struck everyone powerfully, one way or another.=A0
Among the milder responses, one of our Brazilian software engineers ? not o=
ne
of the several who had worked on the Net PC project before joining Webmind,
but a good friend of those who had, and a student of Wagner Meira and Sergi=
o
Campos ? raised his hand and politely said: ?But perhaps the most important
thing is not the in-built goal system, but whether we teach it by example.?=
=A0=A0
The friendlier we are, in other words, the friendlier our AI systems are
going to be.=A0

=A0

The issue is clear and poignant.=A0 What the Brazilian engineer was suggest=
ing
was that, if our superhuman AI grows up watching us act as though most huma=
ns
are dispensable and irrelevant, perhaps it will, in its adulthood, believe
that we too are dispensable and irrelevant.=A0 On the other hand, perhaps, =
as
Eliezer says, it will grow up and understand that building it was the best
thing the cyber-elite could do for humanity as a whole, and it will then
proceed to spread joy and plenty throughout the land.=A0=A0Who knows?

These rarefied ethical disputes are fascinating, but they easily carry one
away into the domain of angels dancing on the heads of pins. =A0And this is=
 why
the kind of work done by Campos, Meira and their colleagues is so
 intriguing.=A0 There?s no arguing with the real physical-world power of
 millions of impoverished Brazilians logging onto the Net and discovering
 discussion groups like Extropians, where things like ethics and technology
 are
discussed, and speculations on superhuman AI appears alongside critiques of
the latest Java release.=A0 Without the Net PC and other things like it, th=
ese
people might well never get to log on and argue with Eliezer for themselves=
=2E=A0
(Not, at any rate, unless the Singularity comes fast enough that superhuman
AI systems revolutionize their lives before they get old.)

=A0In spite of the success of Cardoso?s economic reforms, there is a lot of
justified skepticism in Brazil about the whole political system and
everything the government does.=A0 University people are up in arms over
Cardoso?s plan to charge significant university tuition, breaking a traditi=
on
of free university education for all sufficiently academically distinguishe=
d
students.=A0 As Thiago Turchetti Maia, another Brazilian software engineer =
and
student of Meira and Campos, says, ?You know the money saved from charging
tuition is not going to go to send poor people to university.=A0 You know i=
t?s
just going to disappear.?=A0 But when asked about the Net PC project, he wa=
xes
at least a bit more positive.. ?Well, there, you can see what the money?s
going towards,? he says.=A0 ?At least that?s something real.?=A0 He shrugs.=
=A0
?Maybe it will make some difference?.?



 "

Or is this hype ?
=A0

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