Good morning, and welcome to a bumper bank holiday newsletter!
Interestingly, there are a few stories on the regulation of AI this week (I wonder why!?). Kicking off with the military side of things, OpinioJuris has a post on responsible AI from the recent REAIM conference. One thing that always intrigues me is why there is not a more specific focus on what human rights law has to offer. The law of armed conflict has evident limitations for the regulation of AI, but it is accepted that human rights law continues to apply, and it can offer a lot in terms of regulating the entire A.I. lifecycle (complementing LoAC). As a side note, much of the discussion on military AI seems to focus on very advanced machines (think the terminator) risking insufficient attention to other uses, particularly in an intelligent context (which will obviously inform all aspects of military operations).
There is a really disturbing report that someone took their life on ChatGPTs recommendation, which is a tragedy of itself, but also highlights the risks of using these types of systems for advice. This is picked up by MedCityNews re healthcare advice.
Quanta magazine has a decent interview on bias, and de-anonymisation.
There are also a few facial recognition stories, following the results of Uk police testing which indicated an absence of bias. Prof Fussey has a thread on potential problems with the study, but beyond algorithmic bias what – I think – is really missing is a discussion on the step change in surveillance capability that facial rec enables (think profiling, tracking, monitoring with minimal police resources) and consideration of the chilling effect of surveillance. What the impact pervasive surveillance might have on society is not a question we should really skip over. (Research underway on both issues)
I’m about to hope on a plane for a really really long time, so I’ll sign off with this really beautiful tune
thanks as ever to Sarah Zarmsky
Iran installs cameras to find women not wearing hijab, BBC News
‘Responsible AI’ in the Military Domain: Implications for Regulation, Opinio Juris
Why ChatGPT In Healthcare Could Be a Huge Liability, Per One AI Expert, Med City News
The Researcher Who Would Teach Machines to Be Fair, Quanta Magazine
ChatGPT is going to change education, not destroy it, MIT Technology Review
Man ends his life after an AI chatbot ‘encouraged’ him to sacrifice himself to stop climate change, EuroNews
Biden says tech companies must ensure AI products are safe, AP News
Instant Videos Could Represent the Next Leap in A.I. Technology, The New York Times
AI ‘fairness’ research held back by lack of diversity, Nature
We are hurtling toward a glitchy, spammy, scammy, AI-powered internet, MIT Technology Review
UNESCO cooperates with Francophone countries to plan AI and education policies, UNESCO
Council of Europe AI policy framework presented in the Hague, Council of Europe
Making Unilateral Norms for Military AI Multilateral, Lawfare Blog
ChatGPT and the First Amendment: Whose Rights Are We Talking About?, Lawfare Blog
Cybercrime: be careful what you tell your chatbot helper…, The Guardian
Will AI solve my midlife crisis?, Financial Times
Can We No Longer Believe Anything We See?, The New York Times
Meta won’t say if politicians can post AI-made fakes without warnings, The Washington Post
The Guardian view on regulating AI: it won’t wait, so governments can’t, The Guardian
Are chatbots changing the face of religion? Three faith leaders on grappling with AI, The Guardian
OpenAI to offer Remedies to Resolve Italy’s ChatGPT Ban, The Washington Post
In A.I. Race, Microsoft and Google Choose Speed Over Caution, The New York Times
AI Video Generators Are Nearing a Crucial Tipping Point, WIRED
AI Desperately Needs Global Oversight, WIRED
Canada sticks a privacy probe into OpenAI’s ChatGPT, The Register
The AI backlash is here. It’s focused on the wrong things., The Washington Post
Can A.I. and Democracy Fix Each Other?, The New York Times
A Tiny Blog Took on Big Surveillance in China—and Won, WIRED
Universities express doubt over tool to detect AI-powered plagiarism, Financial Times
Facial recognition tech: Liberty ‘police racism’ claim, BBC News
Smile! UK cops reckon they’ve ironed out gremlins with real-time facial recog, The Register
Live facial recognition labelled ‘Orwellian’ as Met police push ahead with use, The Guardian
Russia uses facial recognition technology from US companies to spy on anti-war protestors, says report, Business Insider
Drivers in Europe net big data rights win against Uber and Ola, Tech Crunch
The Opportunities and Risks of AI in Energy Supply, Algorithm Watch
With Google as My Neighbor, Will There Still Be Water?,Algorithm Watch
AI surveillance rumors: gay adult content creators face sanctions, Algorithm Watch
The Ethics of Creating A.I.-Generated Images of Public Figures, Smithsonian Magazine
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
Defining the scope of AI regulations, Jonas Schuett, Law, Innovation and Technology
Events
Webinar: ‘AI and Gender: Preventing Bias, Promoting Equality’,Council of Europe, 19 April 2023, 1-2pm CET