Report: AI may increase sales of home security systems

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When home security systems were first introduced, they seemed to be pretty much revolutionary in terms of technology. However, today hundreds of companies are offering their own version of DIY security systems that can easily be bought from chain hardware stores. Thanks to millions of American consumers for adopting the technology who are responsible for the expansion of the residential security segment in the country. The growth in this vertical seems so positive that Parks Associates is...

17 October 2019 | Hardware

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

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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

Mozilla shares YouTube horror tales in campaign for responsible algorithms

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Mozilla has launched a campaign for more responsible algorithms by sharing YouTube horror tales crowdsourced from social media.

We've all scratched our heads at some recommendations when using online platforms. Just yesterday, Verge reporter Megan Farokhmanesh shared how her Instagram recommendations have been plagued by some rather bizarre CGI images of teeth.

Farokhmanesh's account is of a recommendation algorithm going rogue in a relatively harmless and amusing way,...

15 October 2019 | Ethics

Pinterest uses AI to reduce self-harm content by 88% over the past year

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Pinterest announced on World Mental Health Day that it’s reduced self-harm content by 88 percent over the past year using AI.

In a blog post titled Getting better at helping people feel better, the social media platform says it’s using machine learning techniques to identify content which displays, encourages, or rationalises self-harm.

Anxiety and depression are at all-time highs while many countries are failing to properly fund mental health services. In the UK,...

11 October 2019 | Healthcare

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

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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

California introduces legislation to stop political and porn deepfakes

Deepfake videos have the potential to do unprecedented amounts of harm so California has introduced two bills designed to limit them.

For those unaware, deepfakes use machine learning technology in order to make a person appear like they’re convincingly doing or saying things which they’re not.

There are two main concerns about deepfake videos:

Personal defamation – An individual is made to appear in a sexual and/or humiliating scene either for blackmail...

7 October 2019 | Deepfakes

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

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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

Project FARM: AI will help to ensure you can still get your coffee fix

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Coffee farmers will receive some welcome assistance from AI on managing their crops amid tough conditions and growing demand.

European researchers from Capgemini have developed a platform called Project FARM (Financial and Agricultural Recommendation Models) which aims to boost farmers’ yield, optimise the value chain, and bolster the global food supply.

Project FARM is first going to be used in Kenya to assist coffee farmers. The platform was built in collaboration...

2 October 2019 | Agriculture

Pope Francis warns AI risks a ‘regression to a form of barbarism’

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Pope Francis has weighed in on AI and issued a stark warning that failing to consider the moral and ethical implications could lead to a form of barbarism.

Speaking during a Vatican conference last week titled 'The Common Good in the Digital Age,' the pope was joined by theologians, academics, and tech executives such as Mozilla co-founder Mitchell Baker and Facebook's director of cybersecurity law Gavin Corn.

Pope Francis said at the conference:

"The...

1 October 2019 | Ethics

Researchers explain how AI can help people with bipolar disorder

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Two professors explain how artificial intelligence can help to improve the lives of individuals living with bipolar disorder.

Melvin McInnis, professor of bipolar disorder and depression, and Emily Mower Provost, associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering, are working on an AI system to help unlock deeper insights about individual bipolar sufferers.

Speaking on a panel titled "Artificial Intelligence, Personalized Technology, and Mental Health" at...

30 September 2019 | Healthcare