Deepfake has Johnson and Corbyn advocating each other for Britain’s next PM

corbyn johnson deepfake ai video general election campaign 2019

A think tank has released two deepfake videos which appear to show election rivals Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn advocating each other for Britain’s top role.

The clips are produced by Future Advocacy and intend to show that people can no longer necessarily trust what they see in videos, not just to question what they read and hear.

Here’s the Johnson video:

Boris Johnson has a message for you.#GE2019...

12 November 2019 | Deepfakes

Report: UK leads AI developments in Europe, Iran in Middle-East

iran uk ai artificial intelligence report research study rankings

The latest Scimago Institutions Rankings (SIR) indicates the UK is leading AI developments in Europe while Iran is leading in the Middle-East.

SIR has ranked global research and education institutions since 2009. The ranking is based on their performance and the number of articles they’ve published in highly-regarded publications.

In the field of AI, the UK ranks number one in Europe and fourth globally. Iran ranks number one in the Middle-East and is ninth overall...

11 November 2019 | Europe

Pentagon is ‘falling behind’ in military AI, claims former NSWC chief

pentagon falling behind ai artificial intelligence military usa army tech technology killer robots robotics

The former head of US Naval Special Warfield Command (NSWC) has warned the Pentagon is falling behind adversaries in military AI developments.

Speaking on Tuesday, Rear Adm. Brian Losey said AI is able to provide tactical guidance as well as anticipate enemy actions and mitigate threats. Adversaries with such technology will have a significant advantage.

Losey is retired from the military but is now a partner at San Diego-based Shield AI.

Shield AI specialises...

23 October 2019 | Government

British astrophysicist Sir Martin Rees calls for a living wage in the AI era

sir martin rees ai living wage artificial intelligence astrophysicist

British astrophysicist Sir Martin Rees spoke of the need for a living wage in the era of AI during a recent speech.

The speech, titled Surviving the Century, kicked off the 2019/20 season of the Perimeter Institute Public Lecture Series. Rees highlighted some of the dangers facing humanity, the outlook for humans venturing to other planets, and the use of technology to become a “post-human” species.

AI will destroy some existing jobs. There is, however, a fierce...

22 October 2019 | Ethics

UK’s Department for Work and Pensions explores using AI to judge benefit claims

uk dwp department for work and pensions ai benefits welfare artificial intelligence

The UK's Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is exploring the use of AI to judge whether benefit claims are true.

An £8 million 'intelligent automation garage' has been created by the DWP with the goal of developing up to 100 new robots to assist Britain's welfare system. 1,000 new IT staff have also been recruited to help support the DWP's ambitions.

The DWP is working with New York-based UiPath on the system, along with tech giants IBM, Tata Consultancy, and...

16 October 2019 | Government

US adds Chinese AI firms to ban list citing abuses against Muslims in Xinjiang

china usa ai ban list ai companies tech artificial intelligence entity trade war

A collection of Chinese AI and facial recognition firms have been added to a US blacklist citing rights abuses against Muslims in Xinjiang.

28 Chinese firms have been added (PDF) to the “entity list” of the US government which prohibits American companies from continuing any links with them.

The US government said the firms were blacklisted for playing a role in the "implementation of China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology...

8 October 2019 | China

Neil deGrasse Tyson shares Musk’s view that AI is ‘our biggest existential crisis’

neil degrasse tyson ai artificial intelligence warning elon musk danger crisis existential society ethics

Legendary astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson shares the view of Tesla founder Elon Musk that AI poses mankind’s “biggest existential crisis”.

Musk made his now-infamous comment during the South by Southwest tech conference in Austin, Texas last year as part of a call for regulation. Musk warned: “I think that’s the single biggest existential crisis that we face and the most pressing one.”

A year later, Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked what he believes to be the...

4 October 2019 | Ethics

British PM Johnson warns of AI’s dangers in UN speech and invites leaders to summit

boris johnson un speech ai artificial intelligence dangers warning summit

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used his maiden speech at the UN to warn of the dangers of AI and invite world leaders to a UK summit.

Johnson opened his speech going over some of the usual things he says would be expected of a British PM: advancing democratic values, rules of a peaceful world, protecting freedom of navigation at sea, and finding a “two-state” solution to the conflict in the Middle-East.

“Of course, I’m proud to do all these things,” says...

25 September 2019 | Government

Microsoft chief Brad Smith warns that killer robots are ‘unstoppable’

microsoft brad smith killer robots ai artificial intelligence risk terminator skynet

Microsoft chief Brad Smith issued a warning over the weekend that killer robots are ‘unstoppable’ and a new digital Geneva Convention is required.

Most sci-fi fans will think of Terminator when they hear of killer robots. In the classic film series, a rogue military AI called Skynet gained self-awareness after spreading to millions of servers around the world. Concluding that humans would attempt to shut it down, Skynet sought to exterminate all of mankind in the interest of...

23 September 2019 | Ethics

UK police are concerned AI will lead to bias and over-reliance on automation

British police have expressed concern that using AI in their operations may lead to increased bias and an over-reliance on automation.

A study commissioned by UK government advisory body the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation warned that police felt AI may "amplify" prejudices.

50 experts were interviewed by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) for the research, including senior police officers.

Racial profiling continues to be a huge problem. More...

17 September 2019 | Face Recognition