Documents obtained by Reuters suggest that, in at least three cases, Google’s researchers were requested to refrain from being critical of AI technology.

A “sensitive topics” review was established by Google earlier this year to catch papers which cast a negative light on AI ahead of their publication.

Google asks its scientists to consult with legal, policy, and public relations teams prior to publishing anything on topics which could be deemed sensitive like sentiment analysis and categorisations of people based on race and/or political affiliation.

The new review means that papers from Google’s expert researchers which raise questions about AI developments may never be published. Reuters says four staff researchers believe Google is interfering with studies into potential technology harms.

Google recently faced scrutiny after firing leading AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru.

Gebru is considered a pioneer in the field and researched the risks and inequalities found in large language models. She claims to have been fired by Google over an unpublished paper and sending an email critical of the company’s practices.

In an internal email countering Gebru’s claims, Head of Google Research Jeff Dean wrote:

“We’ve approved dozens of papers that Timnit and/or the other Googlers have authored and then published, but as you know, papers often require changes during the internal review process (or are even deemed unsuitable for submission). 

Unfortunately, this particular paper was only shared with a day’s notice before its deadline — we require two weeks for this sort of review — and then instead of awaiting reviewer feedback, it was approved for submission and submitted.

A cross-functional team then reviewed the paper as part of our regular process and the authors were informed that it didn’t meet our bar for publication and were given feedback about why.”

While it’s one word against another, it’s not a great look for Google.

“Advances in technology and the growing complexity of our external environment are increasingly leading to situations where seemingly inoffensive projects raise ethical, reputational, regulatory or legal issues,” Reuters reported one of Google’s documents as saying.

On its public-facing website, Google says that its scientists have “substantial” freedom—but that’s increasingly appearing like it’s not the case.

(Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash)

The post Google is telling its scientists to give AI a ‘positive’ spin appeared first on AI News.

Data from Dealroom was used for the State of European Tech report. Dealroom defines deep tech as 16 fields: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Drones, Autonomous Driving, Blockchain, Nanotech, Robotics, Internet of Things, 3D Technology, Computer Vision, Connected Devices, Sensors Technology, and Recognition Technology (NLP, image, video, text, speech recognition).

In 2019, there was $10.2 billion capital invested in European deep tech. In 2020, that dropped to $8.9 billion:

I think it’s fair to say that 2020 has been a tough year for most people and businesses. Economic uncertainty – not just from COVID-19 but also trade wars, Brexit, and a rather tumultuous US presidential election – has naturally led to fewer investments and people tightening their wallets.

For just one example, innovative satellite firm OneWeb was forced to declare bankruptcy earlier this year after crucial funding it was close to securing was pulled during the peak of the pandemic. Fortunately, OneWeb was saved following an acquisition by the UK government and Bharti Global—but not all companies have been so fortunate.

Many European businesses will now be watching the close-to-collapse Brexit talks with hope that a deal can yet be salvaged to limit the shock to supply lines, prevent disruption to Europe’s leading financial hub, and help to build a friendly relationship going forward with a continued exchange of ideas and talent rather than years of bitterness and resentment.

The report shows the UK has retained its significant lead in European tech investment and startups this year:

Despite the uncertainties, the UK looks unlikely to lose its position as the hub of European technology anytime soon.

Investments in European tech as a whole should bounce back – along with the rest of the world – in 2021, with promising COVID-19 vaccines rolling out and hopefully some calm in geopolitics.

94 percent of survey respondents for the report stated they have either increased or maintained their appetite to invest in the European venture asset class. Furthermore, a record number of US institutions have participated in more than one investment round in Europe this year—up 36% since 2016.

You can find a full copy of the State of European Tech report here.

The post State of European Tech: Investment in ‘deep tech’ like AI drops 13% appeared first on AI News.

Of the 30 emerging technologies featured in Gartner’s latest Hype Cycle, nine are directly related to artificial intelligence:

• Generative adversarial networks
• Adaptive machine learning
• Composite AI
• Generative AI
• Responsible AI
• AI-augmented development
• Embedded AI
• Trusted AI
• AI-augmented design

Most of the AI technologies are currently in the initial “Innovation Trigger” part of the Hype Cycle, where excitement builds the fastest.

Responsible AI, AI-augmented development, embedded AI, and Trusted AI, have all now reached the “Peak of Inflated Expectations” and will next move into the dreaded “Trough of Disillusionment” as disappointment sets in over what can realistically be achieved.

Only after the trough, which none of the AI technologies have yet reached, do we head into the areas of the Hype Cycle where adoption occurs with realistic expectations and the productivity rewards are reaped.

Gartner’s Hype Cycle covers the next decade. The current placings of most of the AI technologies on the Hype Cycle indicates that Gartner believes it won’t be until towards the end of the decade we’ll see the most benefits.

Brian Burke, VP of research at Gartner, comments:

“Emerging technologies are disruptive by nature, but the competitive advantage they provide is not yet well known or proven in the market. Most will take more than five years, and some more than 10 years, to reach the Plateau of Productivity.

But some technologies on the Hype Cycle will mature in the near term and technology innovation leaders must understand the opportunities for these technologies, particularly those with transformational or high impact.”

Two technologies which Gartner expects to fast-track through the Hype Cycle are health passports and social distancing technologies, due to their necessity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can find the full Gartner report here (paywall)

(Photo by Verena Yunita Yapi on Unsplash)

The post AI dominates Gartner’s latest Hype Cycle for emerging technologies appeared first on AI News.

PAX, a Dutch NGO, ranked 50 firms based on three criteria:

1. If technology they’re developing could be used for killer AI.
2. Their involvement with military projects.
3. If they’ve committed to not being involved with military applications in the future.

Microsoft and Amazon are named among the world’s ‘highest risk’ tech companies putting the world at risk, while Google leads the way among large tech companies implementing proper safeguards.

Google’s ranking among the safest tech companies may be of surprise to some given the company’s reputation for mass data collection. Mountain View was also caught up in an outcry regarding its controversial ‘Project Maven’ contract with the Pentagon.

Project Maven was a contract Google had with the Pentagon to supply AI technology for military drones. Several high-profile employees resigned over the contract, while over 4,000 Google staff signed a petition demanding their management cease the project and never again “build warfare technology.”

Following the Project Maven backlash, Google CEO Sundar Pichai promised in a blog post the company will not develop technologies or weapons that cause harm, or anything which can be used for surveillance violating “internationally accepted norms” or “widely accepted principles of international law and human rights”.

Pichai’s promise not to be involved with such contracts in the future appears to have satisfied PAX in their rankings. Google has since attempted to improve its public image around its AI developments with things such as the creation of a dedicated ethics panel, but that backfired and collapsed quickly after featuring a member of a right-wing think tank and a defense drone mogul.

“Why are companies like Microsoft and Amazon not denying that they’re currently developing these highly controversial weapons, which could decide to kill people without direct human involvement?” said Frank Slijper, lead author of the report published this week.

Microsoft, which ranks among the highest risk tech companies in PAX’s list, warned investors back in February that its AI offerings could damage the company’s reputation. 

In a quarterly report, Microsoft wrote:

“Some AI scenarios present ethical issues. If we enable or offer AI solutions that are controversial because of their impact on human rights, privacy, employment, or other social issues, we may experience brand or reputational harm.”

Some of Microsoft’s forays into the technology have already proven troublesome, such as chatbot ‘Tay’ which became a racist, sexist, generally-rather-unsavoury character after internet users took advantage of its machine-learning capabilities.

Microsoft and Amazon are both currently bidding for a $10 billion Pentagon contract to provide cloud infrastructure for the US military.

“Tech companies need to be aware that unless they take measures, their technology could contribute to the development of lethal autonomous weapons,” comments Daan Kayser, PAX project leader on autonomous weapons. “Setting up clear, publicly-available policies is an essential strategy to prevent this from happening.”

You can find PAX’s full risk assessment of the companies here (PDF).

The post Report: Companies like Amazon and Microsoft are ‘putting world at risk’ of killer AI appeared first on AI News.