Facebook pumps $7.5m into an independent AI ethics centre

An independent AI ethics research centre is set to receive $7.5 million of funding courtesy of the folks at Facebook.

The new research centre is called the Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence and was created in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

Facebook, like many companies, is fighting outside concerns about the development of AI and its potential societal impact. The centre should help to ensure Facebook keeps up with ethical best...

21 January 2019 | Ethics

Speech and facial recognition combine to boost AI emotion detection

Researchers have combined speech and facial recognition data to improve the emotion detection abilities of AIs.

The ability to recognise emotions is a longstanding goal of AI researchers. Accurate recognition enables things such as detecting tiredness at the wheel, anger which could lead to a crime being committed, or perhaps even signs of sadness/depression at suicide hotspots.

Nuances in how people speak and move their facial muscles to express moods have presented a...

17 January 2019 | Face Recognition

Most-funded AI startup SenseTime wants another $2bn

Not content with being the world’s most-funded AI startup, Chinese facial recognition darling SenseTime is preparing a $2 billion financing round.

SenseTime raised more than $1.2 billion last year; including a round announced in May that valued it at more than $4.5 billion.

According to Bloomberg sources, the company is aiming for $2 billion more funding but the information is private. The sources claim investor Alibaba is working on the...

11 January 2019 | China

AI tags potential criminals before they’ve done anything

British police want to use AI for highlighting who is at risk of becoming a criminal before they’ve actually committed any crime. Although it sounds like a dystopian nightmare, there are clear benefits. Resources and outreach programs can be allocated to attempt preventing a crime, stop anyone becoming a victim, and remove the costs associated with prosecuting and jailing someone. With prisons overburdened and space limited, reducing the need to lock someone up is a win for everyone....

28 November 2018 | Law Enforcement

Chinese AI darling SenseTime wants facial recognition standards

The CEO of Chinese AI darling SenseTime wants to see facial recognition standards established for a ‘healthier’ industry. SenseTime is among China’s most renowned AI companies. Back in April, we reported it had become the world’s most funded AI startup. Part of the company’s monumental success is the popularity of facial recognition in China where it’s used in many aspects of citizens’ lives. Just yesterday, game developer Tencent announced it’s testing facial recognition to...

2 October 2018 | China

Britain successfully trials AI in battlefield scanning experiment

Britain has successfully trialled using AI to scan for hidden attackers in a mock urban battlefield environment in Montreal, Canada. The AI, called SAPIENT, was developed in the UK with the aim of using sensors to detect potential unseen dangers to soldiers. SAPIENT is more efficient than manually scanning live feeds and frees up more soldiers to be used for operational means elsewhere. Canada and the UK maintain a close security partnership as part of the so-called ‘Five Eyes’...

24 September 2018 | Government

Amazon expert suggests AI regulation after ACLU’s bias findings

An expert from Amazon has suggested the government should implement a minimum confidence level for the use of facial recognition in law enforcement. Dr. Matt Wood, GM of Deep Learning and AI at Amazon Web Services, made the suggestion in a blog post responding to the ACLU’s (American Civil Liberties Union) findings of a racial bias in the ‘Rekognition’ facial recognition algorithm by Amazon. In their findings, the ACLU found Rekognition erroneously labelled those with darker skin...

30 July 2018 | Amazon

ACLU finds Amazon’s facial recognition AI is racially biased

A test of Amazon’s facial recognition technology by the ACLU has found it erroneously labelled those with darker skin colours as criminals more often. Bias in AI technology, when used by law enforcement, has raised concerns of infringing on civil rights by automated racial profiling. A 2010 study by researchers at NIST and the University of Texas in Dallas found that algorithms designed and tested in East Asia are better at recognising East Asians, while those designed in Western...

27 July 2018 | Amazon

INTERPOL investigates how AI will impact crime and policing

INTERPOL hosted an event in Singapore bringing leading experts together with the aim of examining how AI will affect crime and prevention. The event, organised by INTERPOL and the UNICRI Centre for AI and Robotics, was held at the former’s Global Complex for Innovation. Experts from across industries gathered to discuss issues and several private sector companies gave live demonstrations of related projects. Some technological advances in AI pose a threat. In a recent interview with Irakli...

17 July 2018 | Government

UNICRI AI and Robotics Centre: AI will transform our world

Irakli Beridze un unicri ai expo

Speaking at AI Expo in Amsterdam, Irakli Beridze from the AI and Robotics Centre at UNICRI provided his thoughts on how AI will transform our world. Irakli started with a positive note that’s easily forgotten: never has the world been more safe, connected, and prosperous. “We have developed technologies which have the potential to solve problems we never thought were possible,” says Beridze. “Most of them are related to the UN’s sustainable development goals.” World-Changing...

2 July 2018 | Ethics