Greetings! At least in London it seems like spring might (just might, maybe?!) be on the way, which would be very very welcome.
The newsletter this week kicks off with a New Yorker article (so probably best to make a coffee, and find a comfy seat) on A.I.’s modular future. I think this is really interesting in light of all the ChatGPT hype, as it highlights how more task-specific A.I. is likely to be where the most advances are made, at least in the short to mid-term. It also helpfully focuses on specific applications, rather than the more generalised discussion of ChatGPT or AI generally. On that note, there is also – of course – a piece on an AI bot losing its temper. And a piece on how an AI tool could maybe guide the Internet away from vitriol. As someone who has been on the Internet for about 25 years: good luck.
In the military field there is an interesting piece in the FT, on the role that (relatively primitive) AI is playing on the battlefield, and – despite the misleading title – the role the private sector plays, and how it may usurp State responsibility (i.e. Elon Musk running his own defence policy).
In a new – and potentially very exciting (?) – addition to the newsletter, we have an events section. These are two events that look pretty interesting, and might be, eh, of interest, to ye. No affiliation.
Warm wishes, and a positive week to ye all, and that’s as ever to Sarah Zarmsky
AI Newsletter – 20 February 2023
Websites
Whispers of A.I.’s Modular Future, The New Yorker
AI porn is easy to make now. For women, that’s a nightmare, The Washington Post
What You Didn’t Know About Artificial Intelligence and Race, Columbia University Teachers College Newsroom
Call to action on responsible use of AI in the military domain, Government of the Netherlands
AI-powered Bing Chat loses its mind when fed Ars Technica article, Ars Technica
Public Law Project begins judicial review over ‘discriminatory’ Home Office algorithm used to identify potential sham marriages, Electronic Immigration Network
Why you shouldn’t trust AI search engines, MIT Technology Review
How should AI systems behave, and who should decide?, OpenAI
Regret being hostile online? AI tool guides users away from vitriol, Cornell Chronicle
Audiobook Narrators Fear Apple Used Their Voices to Train AI, WIRED
TikTok “Focused View” Promises Emotion Tracking to Advertisers, CPO Magazine
Can ‘we the people’ keep AI in check?, Tech Crunch
We pitted ChatGPT against tools for detecting AI-written text, and the results are troubling, The Conversation
New Technology, Same Old Blindspot?, The New York Times
One Startup’s Plan to Help Africa Lure Back Its AI Talent, WIRED
‘I want to destroy whatever I want’: Bing’s AI chatbot unsettles US reporter, The Guardian
Microsoft’s AI Chatbot is Going Off the Rails, The Washington Post
It’s Always Sunny Inside a Generative AI Conference, WIRED
This app could block text-to-image AI models from ripping off artists, The Register
AI warfare can empower the bad guys as well as the good, Financial Times
Chatbots Got Big—and Their Ethical Red Flags Got Bigger, WIRED
The Vatican and the moral conundrums of AI, Financial Times
Wow, so they actually let AI fly an F-16 fighter jet, The Register
A $400 sweater tricks facial-recognition cameras into thinking you’re a zebra or a giraffe to protect your privacy, its maker says, Business Insider
UK Facial Recognition – No Consent, No Oversight, Open Rights Group
Journal Articles
*Disclaimer: The selected articles and chapters were not evaluated for their research methods and do not necessarily reflect the views of the AI & Human Rights Blog
ChatGPT and the AI Act, Natali Helberger and Nicholas Diakopoulos, Internet Policy Review
A Case of Claims and Facts: Automated Fact-Checking the Future of Journalism’s Authority, Patrick R Johnson, Digital Journalism
Introduction to the Special Issue on AI, Decision-Making, and the Impact on Humans, Salvatore Andolina and Joseph A Konstan, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction
Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence: Evidence from a Survey of Machine Learning Researchers, Baobao Zhang et al., Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research
The AI Commander Problem: Ethical, Political, and Psychological Dilemmas of Human-Machine Interactions in AI-enabled Warfare, James Johnson, Journal of Military Ethics
Spring Academy on Artificial Intelligence and International Law by the Asser Institute (The Hague, 27-31 March 2023)
Short Course on Artificial Intelligence, Law and Ethics by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (online, April-June 2023)