Amazon is next to face employee protest over government contracts

amazon government protest contract surveillance face recognition

Mere days after Google and Microsoft staff protested their employers’ controversial government contracts, Amazon is facing its own internal revolt. Amazon employees are not all too pleased with their company’s sale of facial recognition software and other services to US government bodies. Much like Google and Microsoft’s employees, who demanded their respective companies never undertake work that may cause social or physical harm, a similar letter was posted on Amazon’s internal...

22 June 2018 | Amazon

Amnesty International warns of AI ‘nightmare scenarios’

amnesty international ai discrimination human rights equality

Human rights campaigners Amnesty International have warned of the potential ‘nightmare scenarios’ arising from AI if left unchecked. In a blog post, one scenario Amnesty foresees AI being used for is autonomous systems choosing military targets with little-to-no human oversight. Military AI Fears The development of AI has been likened to another arms race. Much like nuclear weapons, there is the argument if a nation doesn’t develop its capabilities then others will. Furthermore,...

14 June 2018 | Ethics

Don’t Be Evil: Google publishes its AI ethical principles following backlash

google ai ethical principles dont be evil

Following the backlash over its Project Maven plans to develop AI for the US military, Google has since withdrawn and published its ethical principles. Project Maven was Google’s collaboration with the US Department of Defense. In March, leaks indicated that Google supplied AI technology to the Pentagon to help analyse drone footage. The following month, over 4,000 employees signed a petition demanding that Google's management cease work on Project Maven and promise to never again...

8 June 2018 | Ethics

Russian startup is building a controversial ‘ethnicity-detecting’ AI

A startup from Russia is building an AI which uses facial recognition to determine ethnicity, prompting fears it could be used for automated racial profiling. NtechLab lists ‘ethnicity detection’ as an upcoming feature of its solution. The algorithm promises the ability to examine people and determine their ethnicity. An image, which has since been pulled as the result of backlash, showed classifications of people including ‘European’, ‘African’, and ‘Arabic’. The company is...

25 May 2018 | Privacy

Editorial: Stopping AI’s discrimination will be difficult, but vital

Several human rights organisations have signed a declaration calling for governments and companies to help ensure AI technologies are indiscriminate, but it's going to be difficult. Amnesty International and Access Now prepared the ‘Toronto Declaration’ (PDF) that’s also been signed by Human Rights Watch and the Wikimedia Foundation. As an open declaration; other companies, governments, and organisations are being called on to add their endorsement. In a post, Access Now wrote:

17 May 2018 | Ethics

Facebook’s AI continues to fight the worst of the web

Facebook has published its content filtering numbers for the first time and it’s provided an insight into how its AI is helping to remove the worst of the web. “In the report, you'll see that in the first three months of this year we took down 837 million pieces of spam and disabled 583 million fake accounts,” wrote Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a post. “Thanks to AI tools we've built, almost all of the spam was removed before anyone reported it, and most of the fake accounts were...

16 May 2018 | Surveillance

Information Commissioner targets intrusive facial recognition

Facial recognition offers huge opportunities, but the Information Commissioner is more concerned about how it could impact privacy. In a post on the ICO blog, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham highlights the advantages and disadvantages of facial recognition. “I have identified FRT by law enforcement as a priority area for my office and I recently wrote to the Home Office and the NPCC setting out my concerns,” Denham wrote. “Should my concerns not be addressed, I will...

15 May 2018 | Government

Facial recognition provider SenseTime becomes the most funded AI startup

Chinese facial recognition provider SenseTime has become the world’s most funded AI startup following a $600 million funding round. The latest round of funding was led by Alibaba Group Holdings to extend SenseTime’s existing one billion dollar valuation. Other investors which took part in the series-C fundraising include Temasek Holdings and Suning.Com Co Ltd. While the company is yet to disclose its current valuation, Bloomberg reported it’s over $3 billion. Joe Tsai, Alibaba...

9 April 2018 | Funding

Experts warn AI poses a ‘clear and present danger’

A report by leading experts calls on governments and businesses to address the “clear and present danger” posed by unregulated AI. The foreboding report is titled ‘The Malicious Use Of Artificial Intelligence’ and was co-authored by experts from Oxford University, The Centre For The Study of Existential Risk, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and more. Three primary areas of risk were identified: Digital security — The risk of AI being used for increasing the scale and efficiency...

21 February 2018 | Ethics

Home Office unveils AI tool for tackling extremist content

Following impatience with technology leaders in delivering measures to fight the spread of extremist content, the Home Office has unveiled its own AI tool for detecting it with impressive accuracy. The UK government has long called on tech giants to ensure any extremist content is removed from their platforms quickly. A report from the Home Affairs Committee slammed the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for "consciously failing" to remove terrorist propaganda. Most law-abiding...

13 February 2018 | Ethics