Pnas

Digital Ethics
ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web
OpenAI’s chatbot offers paraphrases, whereas Google offers quotes. Which do we prefer?
How to responsibly use AI to address ethical and risk challenges
Addressing ethical and security concerns in AI usage, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and responsible governance frameworks.
The Terrifying A.I. Scam That Uses Your Loved One’s Voice
A Brooklyn couple got a call from relatives who were being held ransom. Their voices—like many others these days—had been cloned.
Google’s Luxembourg data center plans not totally dead, says Economy Minister
Search giant back in talks about building in Bissen
Rio Tinto’s Madagascar Mine Promised Prosperity. It Tainted a Community.
Rio Tinto, an Anglo-Australian mining company, is facing legal claims that it contaminated lakes with harmful levels of uranium and lead.
E-waste Generation Outpaces Recycling: UN Report Highlights Concerns
E-waste is soaring five times faster than recycling capabilities worldwide. Despite 2022's record 62m tonnes of e-waste, only 22.3% was officially recycled. For a sustainable future, recycling and reuse rates have to be improved.
ndss-keynote.pdf
Uber Eats courier wins payout with help of equality watchdog, after facing problematic AI checks | EHRC
Data Is Environmentally Dirty. What to Do?
Now that data is mostly out there, in the cloud, it seems easy to imagine that it’s “clean.” Time to think again.
The AI Industry Is Steaming Toward A Legal Iceberg
Legal scholars, lawmakers and at least one Supreme Court justice agree that companies will be liable for the things their AIs say and do—and that the lawsuits are just beginning.
NYC’s AI Chatbot Tells Businesses to Break the Law – The Markup
The Microsoft-powered bot says bosses can take workers’ tips and that landlords can discriminate based on source of income
AI Ethics and Governance in Practice
In 2019, the Public Policy Programme, in collaboration with the UK’s Office for Artificial Intelligence and the Government Digital Service, published the UK Government’s official Public Sector Guidance on AI Ethics and Safety. This document provides public sector organisations with the Process-Based-Governance (PBG) Framework, a framework for applying principles of AI ethics and safety to the design, development, and deployment of algorithmic systems.
‘We Will Coup Whoever We Want’: Elon Musk and the Overthrow of Democracy in Bolivia
On July 24, 2020, Tesla’s Elon Musk wrote on Twitter that a second U.S. “government stimulus package is not in the best interests of the people.” Someone responded to Musk soon after, “You know what wasn’t in the best interest of people? The U.S. government organizing a coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia so you could obtain the lithium there.” Musk then wrote: “We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.”
Surviving the white gold rush – life in South America’s ‘lithium triangle’
‘We won’t have electric cars,’ say local communities in South America ravaged by lithium mining for car batteries.
Data centre power use 'to surge six-fold in 10 years'
National Grid says "foundational technologies" like AI and quantum computing are driving power demand.
Portugal orders Sam Altman's Worldcoin to halt data collection
Portugal's data regulator has ordered Sam Altman's iris-scanning project Worldcoin to stop collecting biometric data for 90 days, it said on Tuesday, in the latest regulatory blow to a venture that has raised privacy concerns in multiple countries.
Q&A: How refusal can be an act of design
In a Q&A, MIT PhD student and recent Design Fellow Jonathan Zong discusses a new proposed framework to map how individuals can say “no” to technology misuses.
Doctors are turning medical generative AI into a booming business
Ambient clinical documentation was the talk of the HIMSS conference in Orlando, Florida, this year.
Why a plan to subsidize data centers is raising concerns for consumers and the climate
The computing centers use vast amounts of power and water. That’s led to a battle over a bill meant to lure the lucrative operations into Colorado.
Scientific Journals Are Publishing Papers With AI-Generated Text
The ChatGPT phrase “As of my last knowledge update” appears in several papers published by academic journals.
Looking for a better story
Updates for old friends, and for new followers some links back to where we've been
Ravit Dotan, PhD on LinkedIn: Africa AI regulation | 40 comments
New report on AI regulation in Africa! It’s the first I've seen and it's excellent. Some highlights and reflections. ➤ The report, by the Tech Hive Advisory,… | 40 comments on LinkedIn
Clip Art Doesn’t Come to Life
The AI Industry’s Creation Myth
AI-Generated Science
Leading AI Companies OpenAI and Anthropic Are Not Keeping Their Election Promises
The discrepancies between the companies’ public promises — and their execution — raises questions about their commitment to providing accurate information during this high-stakes election year.
Karen Hao on LinkedIn: For years I’ve been interviewing data annotation workers who are the… | 13 comments
For years I’ve been interviewing data annotation workers who are the lifeblood of the AI industry. For years I’ve heard the same story: the platforms they work… | 13 comments on LinkedIn
Dismantling Public Values, One Data Center at the Time - NordMedia Network
“Nordic states are letting go of values and infrastructure resources that are dear to the welfare state", writes Julia Velkova, adding: "Rather than bending to Big Tech values and modes of operation, we should have them bend to comply with our Nordic, public values, if they are to operate in the region".
Top AI researchers say OpenAI, Meta and more hinder independent evaluations
Firms like OpenAI and Meta use strict protocols to keep bad actors from abusing AI systems. But researchers argue these rules are chilling independent evaluations.
World-making technology entangled with coloniality, race and gender: Ecomodernist and degrowth perspectives - Susan Paulson, 2024
Impelled by the intertwined expansion of capitalist institutions and fossil-fueled industry, human activity has made devastating impacts on ecosystems and earth...