Leading AI researchers propose ‘toolbox’ for verifying ethics claims

Researchers from OpenAI, Google Brain, Intel, and 28 other leading organisations have published a paper which proposes a ‘toolbox’ for verifying AI ethics claims.

With concerns around AI spanning from dangerous indifference to innovation-halting scaremongering; it’s clear there’s a need for a system to achieve a healthy balance.

“AI systems have been developed in ways that are inconsistent with the stated values of those developing them,” the researchers...

20 April 2020 | Ethics

The White House warns European allies not to overregulate AI

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The White House has urged its European allies to avoid overregulation of AI to prevent Western innovation from being hindered.

While the news has gone somewhat under the radar given recent events, the Americans are concerned that overregulation may cause Western nations to fall behind the rest of the world.

In a statement released by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the White House wrote:

“Europe and our allies should avoid heavy handed...

7 January 2020 | Ethics

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

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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

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

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

Two grads recreate OpenAI’s text generator it deemed too dangerous to release

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Two graduates have recreated and released a fake text generator similar to OpenAI's which the Elon Musk-founded startup deemed too dangerous to make public.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know the world already has a fake news problem. In the past, at least fake news had to be written by a real person to make it convincing.

OpenAI created an AI which could automatically generate fake stories. Combine fake news, with Cambridge Analytica-like targeting, and...

27 August 2019 | Ethics

CBI: UK tech dominance is ‘at risk’ due to public mistrust of AI

cbi uk ai distrust artificial intelligence report

Business industry group the CBI has warned that UK tech dominance is 'at risk' due to public mistrust of AI.

In a report today, the CBI warns artificial intelligence companies of the need to ensure they're approaching the technology in an ethical manner to help build trust.

Among the measures suggested to achieve trust include ensuring customers know how their data is being used by AI, what decisions are being taken, and challenging unfair biases.

Overall, the...

9 August 2019 | Ethics

No Rekognition: Police ditch Amazon’s controversial facial recognition

Orlando Police have decided to ditch Amazon’s controversial facial recognition system Rekognition following technical issues.

Rekognition was called out by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for erroneously labelling those with darker skin tones as criminals more often in a test using a database of mugshots.

Jacob Snow, Technology and Civil Liberties Attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, said:

“Face surveillance will be used to...

19 July 2019 | Amazon

San Francisco hopes AI will prevent bias in prosecutions

San Francisco will soon implement AI in a bid to prevent bias when prosecuting a potential criminal.

Even subconscious human biases can impact courtroom decisions. Racial bias in the legal system is particularly well-documented (PDF) and often leads to individuals with darker skin being prosecuted more, or with tougher sentencing, than people with lighter skin tones accused of similar crimes.

Speaking during a press briefing today, SF District Attorney George Gascón...

13 June 2019 | Law Enforcement

UK government announces board members of AI Council

The UK government has announced the names of board members appointed to its dedicated AI Council.

As one of the global leaders in AI, the global community will be looking to who the UK has appointed to its council and awaiting its guidance.

Digital Secretary, Jeremy Wright, said:

“Britain is already a leading authority in AI. We are home to some of the world’s finest academic institutions, landing record levels of investment to the sector, and attracting...

16 May 2019 | Government