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Bias, racism and lies: facing up to the unwanted consequences of AI
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- Written by northsouth
- Category: ICT
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GENEVA - Powerful digital tools using artificial intelligence (AI) software are helping in the fight against COVID-19, and have the potential to improve the world in many other ways. However, as AI seeps into more areas of daily life, it’s becoming clear that its misuse can lead to serious harm, leading the UN to call for strong, international regulation of the technology.
The phrase "artificial intelligence" can conjure up images of machines that are able to think, and act, just like humans, independent of any oversight from actual, flesh and blood people. Movies versions of AI tend to feature super-intelligent machines attempting to overthrow humanity and conquer the world.
The reality is more prosaic, and tends to describe software that can solve problems, find patterns and, to a certain extent, "learn". This is particularly useful when huge amounts of data need to be sorted and understood, and AI is already being used in a host of scenarios, particularly in the private sector.
Examples include chatbots able to conduct online correspondence; online shopping sites which learn how to predict what you might want to buy; and AI journalists writing sports and business articles (this story was, I can assure you, written by a human).
And, whilst a recent news story from Iran has revived fears about the use of killer robots (Iranian authorities have claimed that a "machine gun with AI" was used to assassinate the country’s most senior nuclear scientist), negative stories connected with AI, which have included exam grades incorrectly downgraded in the UK, an innocent man sent to jail in the USA, and personal data stolen worldwide, are more likely to concern its misuse, and old-fashioned human error.
Ahead of the launch of a UN guide to understanding the ethics of AI, here are five things you should know about the use of AI, its consequences, and how it can be improved.
1) The consequences of misuse can be devastating
In January, an African American man in the US state of Michigan, was arrested for a shoplifting crime he knew nothing about. He was taken into custody after being handcuffed outside his house in front of his family.
This is believed to be the first wrongful arrest of its kind: the police officers involved had trusted facial recognition AI to catch their man, but the tool hadn’t learned how to recognize the differences between black faces because the images used to train it had mostly been of white faces.
Luckily, it quickly became clear that he looked nothing like the suspect seen in a still taken from store security cameras, and he was released, although he spent several hours in jail.
And, in July, there was uproar in the UK, when the dreams of many students hoping to go to the university of their choice were dashed, when a computer programme was used to assess their grades (traditional exams had been cancelled, because of the COVID-19 pandemic).
To work out what the students would have got if they had sat exams, the programme took their existing grades, and also took into account the track record of their school over time. This ended up penalising bright students from minority and low-income neighbourhoods, who are more likely to go to schools that have, on the whole, lower average grades than schools attended by wealthier students
These examples show that, for AI tools to work properly, well-trained data scientists need to work with high quality data. Unfortunately, much of the data used to teach AI is currently taken from consumers around the world, often without their explicit consent: poorer countries often lack the ability to ensure that personal data are protected, or to protect their societies from the damaging cyber-attacks and misinformation that have grown since the COVID-19 pandemic.
2) Hate, division and lies are good for business
Many social media companies have come under fire from knowledgeable sceptics for using algorithms, powered by AI, to micro-target users, and send them tailored content that will reinforce their prejudices. The more inflammatory the content, the more chance that it will be consumed and shared.
The reason that these companies are happy to "push" socially divisive, polarizing content to their users, is that it increases the likelihood that they will stay longer on the platform, which keeps their advertisers happy, and boosts their profits.
This has boosted the popularity of extremist, hate-filled postings, spread by groups that would otherwise be little-known fringe outfits. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also led to the dissemination of dangerous misinformation about the virus, potentially leading to more people becoming infected, many experts say.
3) Global inequality is mirrored online
There is strong evidence to suggest that AI is playing a role in making the world more unequal, and is benefiting a small proportion of people. For example, more than three-quarters of all new digital innovation and patents are produced by just 200 firms. Out of the 15 biggest digital platforms we use, 11 are from the US, whilst the rest are Chinese.
This means that AI tools are mainly designed by developers in the West. In fact, these developers are overwhelmingly white men, who also account for the vast majority of authors on AI topics. The case of the wrongful arrest in Michigan is just one example of the dangers posed by a lack of diversity in this highly important field.
It also means that, by 2030, North America and China are expected to get the lion’s share of the economic gains, expected to be worth trillions of dollars, that AI is predicted to generate.
4)The potential benefits are enormous
This is not to say that AI should be used less: innovations using the technology are immensely useful to society, as we have seen during the pandemic.
Governments all around the world have turned to digital solutions to new problems, from contact-tracing apps, to tele-medicine and drugs delivered by drones, and, in order to track the worldwide spread of COVID-19, AI has been employed to trawl through vast stores of data derived from our interactions on social media and online.
The benefits go far beyond the pandemic, though: AI can help in the fight against the climate crisis, powering models that could help restore ecosystems and habitats, and slow biodiversity loss; and save lives by helping humanitarian organizations to better direct their resources where they are most needed.
The problem is that AI tools are being developed so rapidly that neither designers, corporate shareholders nor governments have had time to consider the potential pitfalls of these dazzling new technologies.
5) We need to agree on international AI regulation
For these reasons, the UN education, science and culture agency, UNESCO, is consulting a wide range of groups, including representatives from civil society, the private sector, and the general public, in order to set international AI standards, and ensure that the technology has a strong ethical base, which encompasses the rule of law, and the promotion of human rights.
Important areas that need to be considered include the importance of bringing more diversity in the field of data science to reduce bias, and racial and gender stereotyping; the appropriate use of AI in judicial systems to make them fairer as well as more efficient; and finding ways to ensure that the benefits of the technology are spread amongst as many people as possible.
Cheese proves key to survival for Syrian refugee family amid pandemic
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- Written by northsouth
- Category: Immigration & Refugees
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SAHBA, JORDAN - Syrian refugee Fatima Hussein Al Ahmad, a mother of four, lives on a farm with 50 other workers in Sahba, Jordan. COVID-19 travel restrictions meant that didn’t work for two months in 2020, and feeding her family became a daily struggle.
Ms. Al Ahmad and her husband pick peaches and tomatoes, alongside other Syrians, Jordanians and migrant workers. When she was unable to work due to the pandemic, she was forced to rely on her own resourcefulness to survive.
I came to Jordan with my family, with my brother and sister. We came here from Syria so we can work and to escape the problems. I got engaged to my husband here and we got married in Mafraq.
We would work in one place for a month. Then we would have to move to a different farm. We were tired because of all the moving around. It was very difficult.
A settled life disrupted
When we came to this farm, they gave us a caravan. We found that living in a caravan is better than living in a tent and it is cleaner for the children and for us. We are now settled at this farm. We stopped moving.
I have four children. In the morning, after housework, I leave the children with a relative and go to work on the farm with the other workers. I work from 7am until around 2pm and then I go back home to my children, because I have a baby girl; this is why I can’t work a full day at the farm.
When we first heard about the coronavirus, we were scared. I started watching the news, going online on my phone, and going on YouTube to learn how to protect myself. We bought all the essentials, so we didn’t have to leave the house and mix with others.
At the beginning of the outbreak, we were told that we could not congregate at work. I stopped working for two months.
We went through a difficult time. We had to borrow money from people. We had expenses to pay for. As a mother, I had to secure an income to buy my baby daughter milk and to meet my children’s needs.
Adapting to a new reality
I started doing all sorts of work. I helped my husband and the farm owner to take care of the livestock, and in return I was given a small amount of milk, which I used to make yoghurt and cheese. I sold my products in the town of Sabha and then would go to the pharmacy to buy baby milk for my daughter.
I also faced a lot of pressure at home. I had to cook, clean and disinfect the house twice a day. In the first couple of months of the virus, we couldn’t obtain enough bread, so I was baking bread for the children every two to three days.
When the caravan school (informal education centre) opened at the farm our six-year-old son started going there and he was there for four months. Then they stopped going because of the crisis and they started giving them schoolwork remotely. He knows the letters and numbers and he knows how to write his name.
There is a lot of collaboration between neighbours. All the people here at the camp help each other and give each other things.
After the lockdown ended, we were glad to go back to work, so that we can secure an income to meet our needs and our children’s needs. We are happy to be back at work.
The impact of COVID-19 on the global workforce
- According to an ILO study, almost half of the surveyed workers who were in employment before the COVID-19 outbreak were out of work during the early weeks of the crisis. The majority did not have any forms of savings.
- The farm where Fatima lives is one of 24 farms being targeted by the ILO since 2018 to enhance decent working conditions in the agriculture sector.
- Activities include providing families living on site with prefabricated houses, setting up workers’ committees, helping improve occupational safety and health, skills training, and supporting access to informal education for children on farms.
'Breakthrough': Saudi Arabia, Qatar to sign US-brokered deal to ease Gulf dispute
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- Written by northsouth
- Category: MENA
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DOHA - Saudi Arabia and its allies are expected to sign a US-brokered deal with Qatar on Tuesday to end a year’s long rift between the Middle Eastern countries prompted by Doha's relations with Iran and alleged support for terror groups.
Citing an official familiar with the development, Reuters reported White House adviser Jared Kushner, aided by US State Department adviser Brian Hook and Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz, helped to broker the deal.
Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt will call off their blockade of Qatar; in exchange, Qatar will not pursue any lawsuits related to the blockade that was initiated in June 2017. Earlier this year, Qatar Airways revealed that it was seeking at least $5 billion in compensation over the blocked airspace.
Additionally, as part of the deal, all involved parties will be expected to cease their media campaigns against each other. In earlier, since-rejected demands issued by Saudi Arabia and company, Qatar was ordered to shut down Al Jazeera and its affiliated stations.
"This is the biggest breakthrough we've had to date," an unidentified senior Trump administration official told the Wall Street Journal. "It doesn't mean they will love each other and be best friends, but it does mean they will be able to work together."
The deal is expected to be signed by leaders on Tuesday during the annual Gulf Cooperation Council summit in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be in attendance for the signing.
Kuwait, which served as a mediator during the talks, said during a televised announcement Monday that as part of the eased tensions, Saudi Arabia will open its air, land and sea borders with Qatar for the first time in three years starting on Monday night. Qatar's land border with Saudi Arabia has only been briefly opened so Qataris can perform the Islamic hajj pilgrimage.
"The Kuwaiti emir held phone talks on Monday night with the Qatari emir and the Saudi crown prince, who affirmed their commitment to strengthening brotherly relations between countries in the region," said Ahmed Nasser Al-Sabah, Kuwait's foreign minister. "They agreed to sign a pact at the end of the summit in Al Ula that will settle all conflict issues."
Sources told Axios the deal nearly "fell apart" over the weekend after a "last-minute miscommunication" sparked new tensions between Saudi and Qatari officials.
Despite allegations made by Saudi Arabia and its allies, Qatar has repeatedly denied that it supports terrorism. After the Arab bloc made its intentions regarding the blockade known in 2017, the Qatari Foreign Ministry issued a statement noting that there was "no legitimate justification" for the action.
Saudi Arabia becomes even worse human rights pariah
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- Written by northsouth
- Category: MENA
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RIYADH - Saudi Arabia has jailed a prominent women's rights activist, Loujain al-Hathloul, despite a global outcry, including by European NGOs.
The court sentenced her to over five years in prison after she was arrested in 2018 for campaigning for women to have the right to drive cars.
This move has certainly aggravated Riyadh's human-rights pariah reputation, even though most EU states trade in arms and oil as normal with the Western ally.
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