23 December 2024

Greetings all, with a (uncharacteristically) belated Christmas edition.

I hope you are all keeping well, and winding down if you have a break coming up, and that 2025 is quite significantly better for all of us than 2024.

There are quite a few interesting stories this week, but i have a few CPD courses to plow through (ugh, they made them a prerequisite for promotion, cheeky) before I head off for some last minute Christmas shopping. So I shall be brief. I have prawn cocktail sauce recipes on my mind.

The Guardian has a really important piece on the use of AI tenant screening tools. These stories are only likely to become more frequent as AI creeps into more and more decision making processes. I’m developing a project precisely on this (albeit, it is very much in the nascent stage) but hope to have something cool to share further on down the road.

The Slate has a really good piece on the expansion of police surveillance, and how this may result in an exacerbation of ‘broken windows’ policing. The big takeaway I guess is the impact on community relations, and the entrenching of discrimination and disadvantage. I think these stories are really important as they force us to ask the ‘why AI?’ question. All too often AI ends up being deployed for the sake of it, or as a test, without a rigorous evidence base making the case for AI (and evaluating potential harm). Speaking of expanded surveillance (what a segue) the (Toronto) Star has a report on the use of facial recognition apps to track individuals subject to immigration control decisions. Looking at the Met police’s recently updated live facial recognition policy it seems that facial recognition is also being used for immigration control in London. There is a lot more to say on this revised policy, particularly about how hotspot type offences appear to bear a close resemblance to formalised pretext steps but that is for another time.

Kashmir Hill has a new podcast series on BBC Sounds, ‘your face belongs to us’ about an investigation into clearview AI. Will be listening. The New Yorker also has a great story on ‘How AI Robots Learn’. (i’m catching up on back issues)

Thanks again to Ameneh Dehshiri for her work on the newsletter.

Look its Christmas time. I’m Irish. I was only ever going to leave you with ‘The Greatest Christmas Song of All Time (Ever)’. Depressing, heartbreaking, but nonetheless filled with the optimism and love that comes with just being alive.

2024 eh.

See ye in 2025.

Be well. Stay warm.

–

MIT Technology Review, Digital twins of human organs are here. They’re set to transform medical treatment. (pretty cool)

WIRED, AI Agents Will Be Manipulation Engines

The Financial Times, AI admin tools pose a threat to national security (the FT is my favourite weekend paper by the way, always a good read) (i may be hustling for sponsorship)(while i’m here, have you heard of google, so handy!)

South Wales Police, Welsh police forces launch first facial recognition mobile app

The Guardian, She didn’t get an apartment because of an AI-generated score – and sued to help others avoid the same fate

Slate Expanded police surveillance will get us “broken windows” on steroids.

The Star, Canada border agency has launched facial recognition app to track migrants

The New York Times, How Your Car Might Be Making Roads Safer

Reuters, Italy fines OpenAI over ChatGPT privacy rules breach

Noyb, Political Microtargeting by EU Commission illegal

Techcrunch, Google says customers can use its AI in ‘high-risk’ domains, so long as there’s human supervision

The Guardian, BBC says it has complained to Apple over AI-generated fake news attributed to broadcaster

The Guardian, UK proposes letting tech firms use copyrighted work to train AI

Reuters, Texas probes tech platforms over safety and privacy of minors

The Washington post, The latest housing scam: Using AI to impersonate your agent or lender