Greetings all, and happy Wednesday, from a slightly grumpy to be back in work AI & Human Rights newsletter. It is also very wet in the UK. That does not help.
With the grump in mind, chat will be (mercifully, says you) minimal today. I do want to flag the recent CJEU case La Quadrature du Net and Others (oh they’re back!). There is lots to say, and i’m sure lots will be said by much more interesting people than me, but (there’s always a but) i do think this case is really interesting because of how it approaches the fact of routine surveillance. Previously (with the exception of intelligence agencies/national security) justification for surveillance was required. That is, a suspicion arose – this was hopefully approved, or not, by a court – and surveillance was then initiated. This case, however, seems to accept a fundamental shift to this approach for routine matters. Now, everything can be retained, just in case subsequent access is needed. We have clearly been moving in this direction, and the emergence of a pervasive surveillance society is the subject of much discussion, but this does seem significant.
What luck then, that Privacy International’s Guide to International Law and Surveillance has just been released. What a resource. AWO\s Algorithmic Governance Roundup is also out Featuring Research on New York’s Algorithmic Audit Regime
In this week’s naughty facial recognition corner, Big Brother Watch have this video featuring someone wrongly flagged by facial recognition.
There is quite a lot on military uses of AI, see below, including a blog symposium hosted by the ICRC, which I shall be reading on the train home.
I hope you all have a lovely week, and that the sun comes out. Ah hope.
I’ll leave ye this week with some ‘Patchwork Jazz’ by Cro-Magnon. For all you jazz funk aficionados! Hi D 🙂
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Human Rights Watch, Gaza: Israeli Military’s Digital Tools Risk Civilian Harm – Human Rights Watch
Defense One, Special operators hope AI can reduce civilian deaths in combat
The National Interest, How to Slow the Spread of Lethal AI
The Register, Defense AI models ‘a risk to life’ alleges spurned tech firm
The Register, MI6 and CIA using generative AI to combat tech-driven threat actors
ASPI, The danger of AI in war: it doesn’t care about self-preservation
The Conversation, Open-source imagery is transforming investigations of international crimes – but how do judges know if it’s real?
The Scotsman, New cyber command unit and major AI push part of biggest Scottish policing reforms in 10 years
Metro, Why officer workers could soon be filmed all day at their desks
BBC, Facial recognition part of Isle of Man port security plans
BBC, Hampshire police begin facial recognition pilot
BBC, Facial recognition cameras lead to seven arrests in Southend
The Guardian, Labour’s benefit fraud crackdown would allow officials to access bank accounts
Privacy International, 7+1 tips on how to make the most out of your DSAR
The Guardian, Social media and online video firms are conducting ‘vast surveillance’ on users, FTC finds (what!?!)
Deccan Herald, Life without Aadhaar
Washington Post, A bottle of water per email: the hidden environmental costs of using AI chatbots
Bloomberg, Labour Dilutes Vom wto Protect UK Workers From Employment Tracking
Tech Policy Press, Challenging The Myths of Generative AI
New York Times, Putin Is Doing Something Almost Nobody Is Noticing
The Conversation, Governments need to focus on AI’s real impact, not get caught up in the hype generated by Big Tech
New York Times, Yuval Harari: A.I. Threatens Democracy
WIRED, This Could Be the Start of Amazon’s Next Robot Revolution
The Register, ‘Error’ causes Alexa to endorse Kamala Harris, refuse to discuss Trump (ah yes, an error…)
WIRED, The US Needs Deepfake Porn Laws. These States Are Leading the Way
The Register, Amazon congratulates itself for AI code that mostly works
New York Times, A Shocking Country Song Is Dominating TikTok. Is Girly Girl for Real?
WIRED, Welcome to the Era of ‘Deep Doubt’
Financial Times, Move over copilots: meet the next generation of AI-powered assistants
Blogs
War on the Rocks, In War and Society, Large Language Models Are What We Make of Them
ICRC, The problem of algorithmic bias in AI-based military decision support systems
ICRC, Why is the ICRC concerned by ‘harmful information’ in war?
ICRC, Transcending weapon systems: the ethical challenges of AI in military decision support systems
Podcast:
Just Security, Strategic Risks of AI and Recapping the 2024 REAIM Summit