News

Is Ethical A.I. Even Possible?

“People are recognizing there are issues, and they are recognizing they want to change them,” said Meredith Whittaker, a Google employee and the co-founder of the AI Now Institute, a research institute that examines the social implications of artificial intelligence.

A Crucial Step for Averting AI Disasters

The findings have spurred calls for closer scrutiny. Microsoft recently called on governments to regulate facial-recognition technology and to require auditing of systems for accuracy and bias. The AI Now Institute, a research group at New York University, is studying ways to reduce bias in AI systems

AI’s accountability gap

The absence of rules of the road is in part because industry hands have cast tech regulation as troglodytic, says Meredith Whittaker, co-founder of the AI Now Institute at New York University.

Artificial Intelligence Experts Issue Urgent Warning Against Facial Scanning With a “Dangerous History”

Crawford and her colleagues are now more opposed than ever to the spread of this sort of culturally and scientifically regressive algorithmic prediction: “Although physiognomy fell out of favor following its association with Nazi race science, researchers are worried about a reemergence of physiognomic ideas in affect recognition applications,” the report reads.

Videos from the AI Now 2018 Symposium

2018 Symposium

Could a bold move by John Hanckock upend the insurance industry?

But some are wary of the burden companies take on with such massive quantities of consumer information. Kate Crawford, founder of the AI Now Institute, tweeted about the pitfalls of the Vitality program after John Hancock announced its widespread implementation: false data, consumers trying to game the system, “intimate” surveillance and data breaches.

AI Now Law and Policy Reading List

AI Now 2018 Symposium

California just replaced cash bail with algorithms

Rashida Richardson, policy director for AI Now, a nonprofit think tank dedicated to studying the societal impact of AI, tells Quartz that she’s skeptical that this system will be less biased than its predecessors.

ACLU Podcast: How to fight an algorithm

Facial recognition gives police a powerful new tracking tool. It’s also raising alarms.

“There needs to be greater transparency around the use of these technologies,” said Rashida Richardson, director of policy research at the AI Now Institute at New York University. “And a more open, public conversation about what types of use cases we are comfortable with — and what types of use cases should just not be available.”

You and AI – Machine learning, bias and implications for inequality

The New Age of Innovation: Government’s Role in Artificial Intelligence

Policy director Rashida Richardson discusses regulation of AI and its use in government on a panel alongside two members of congress and the head of the IT Industry Council.

Litigating Algorithms Workshop

Bias detectives – the researchers striving to make algorithms fair

As machine learning infiltrates society, scientists grapple with how to make algorithms fair

Litigating Algorithms

Silicon Valley is stumped – Even AI cannot always remove bias from hiring

Cofounder Meredith Whittaker raises concerns about AI products used in sourcing and hiring employees, questions their claims to "remove bias" from hiring, and calls for increased oversight and accountability.