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April 10 · Issue #29 · View online
The best links and must-reads aggregated by Gerd Leonhard, Futurist & Humanist, Keynote Speaker, Author of 'Technology vs Humanity', Film-Maker, and CEO of The Futures Agency in Zürich / Switzerland.
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Welcome to the 29th issue of our Humanity Futures newsletter, part of our continuing #TechVsHuman conversation. This newsletter is co-created by Futures Agency Curator Peter Van. Happy reading! Gerd Leonhard. 📌 Need more context to understand our weekly futurist updates? Try Gerd’s best-selling book ‘Technology vs Humanity’, now available in 11 languages. 👈
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AI Ethics Are Hard (says Albert Wenger)
Albert Wenger, partner at Union Square Ventures (USV), reflects on the creation and ending of Google’s AI Ethics Board. (Other related articles can be found under a separate header in the newsletter below.) “As with all prior technology, going back to fire, humanity’s earliest technology, we will need to figure out how to use AI for good. That will be a long process. Let’s make sure to engage vigorously in that process and with the necessary intellectual honesty.”
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A Skeptic’s Guide to Thinking About AI 🤖
“These insights cast a skeptical eye on the AI’s true abilities, its efficiency-oriented value systems, and the way technology companies are approaching ethics. When you’re trying to help people using technology, you need to ensure, first and foremost, that your tool is going to affirm the self-determination and dignity of your users.”
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Googlers Against Transphobia and Hate
The initial Medium post, signed by 2,400+ Googlers. “Not only are James’ views counter to Google’s stated values, but they are directly counter to the project of ensuring that the development and application of AI prioritizes justice over profit. Such a project should instead place representatives from vulnerable communities at the center of decision-making.”
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The Guardian's analysis of Google employees' criticism
Staffers criticised the appointment of Heritage Foundation president Kay Coles James in a letter published on Monday. “Google is making clear that its version of ‘ethics’ values proximity to power over the wellbeing of trans people, other LGBTQ people and immigrants”
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Google scraps AI ethics council after backlash: 'Back to the drawing board'
The decision comes after employees called for the removal of a rightwing thinktank leader from the council. “We’ll continue to be responsible in our work on the important issues that AI raises, and will find different ways of getting outside opinions on these topics,”
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Hey Google, here is some advice on what to do next
It just took two days for experts to come up with practical suggestions on what Google should do next. But this group of advisors is US-biased itself. In our opinion, any Digital Ethics Council should be global and independent, representing the interests of different cultures to start with.
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HEY GOOGLE: Gerd has been calling for an independent Global Digital Ethics Council
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Social sciences and humanities are becoming more important (via BBC News)
Here’s why the liberal arts could leave you better prepared for employment than you think. “The benefit of a humanities degree is the emphasis it puts on teaching students to think, critique and persuade… As computers behave more like humans, the social sciences and humanities will become even more important. Languages, art, history, economics, ethics, philosophy, psychology and human development courses can teach critical, philosophical and ethics-based skills that will be instrumental in the development and management of AI solutions.”
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Why Intuition And Imagination Will Be Critical In The Future Of Work
On the importance of foresight, and the challenge to deal with uncertainty. “We never experienced the volatility, ambiguity and complexity in managing all of our tasks. It is no secret we all struggle to find the capacity to meet different demands in our roles and have a growing need to be able to think and decide more holistically.”
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Chinese browsers censor protest against China’s overtime work culture
Chinese developers are using GitHub to protest China’s punishing 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week work culture. But back home, Tencent, Xiaomi and others are censoring the GitHub page over “illegal information”. “Venture capitalist and former head of Google China Kai-Fu Lee criticized the censorship as potentially damaging to Chinese developers’ competitiveness.”
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A.I. Experts Question Amazon’s Facial-Recognition Technology
At least 25 prominent researchers are calling on the company to stop selling the technology to law enforcement agencies, citing concerns that it has built-in biases. “The letter, which was publicly released Wednesday, reflects growing concern in academia and the tech industry that bias in facial-recognition technology is a systemic problem. Some researchers — and even some companies — are arguing the technology cannot be properly controlled without government regulation.”
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Human error, not artificial intelligence, poses the greatest threat
In a reaction to the long read “Can we stop AI outsmarting humanity?”, Martyn Thomas, Emeritus professor of IT, Gresham College, London claims that the threat from artificial intelligence misses the point. “The risk that humanity faces comes not from malevolent machines but from incompetent programmers who leave their customers vulnerable to cyber-attacks and other failures.”
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Curing death or ageing better: healthspan vs. lifespan
Anti-ageism activist Ashton Applewhite says we need to fix our own deeply ingrained beliefs about what getting older means. “Ageing is not a disease, otherwise living would be a disease, but you can’t make money off satisfaction. Let’s age as healthily as we can, by all means, let’s invest billions into understanding better what happens to the body as it ages.”
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Tech Startups Build Tools for Well-Being
Technology now allows us to monitor, promote, augment, and manage our well-being. Analyst Jeremiah Owyang identifies the large number of emerging technology companies that are reshaping our minds, bodies, communities and the physical spaces around us. “Modern wellness is here. Expect a cultural shift in how we manage our wellbeing – our minds and bodies. To support this shift, more and more startups will continue to appear. We’re in for a ride – expect to become a better person by the end of it. And yes, we can’t overlook the irony that we’re turning to technology to find peace of mind.”
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The problem with AI ethics - The Verge
Still in the aftermath of the Google AI Ethic Board debacle, here is a excellent analysis why ethics oversight should not be left to technology companies policing themselves. “Part of the problem is that Silicon Valley is convinced that it can police itself… But now these companies have as much power as nation states without the checks and balances to match. “This is not about technology; this is about systems of democracy and governance, and when you have technologists, VCs, and business people thinking they know what democracy is, that is a problem.” The solution many experts suggest is government regulation. It’s the only way to ensure real oversight and accountability.
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Does Patagonia stop selling fleeces to Bankers and Venture Capitalists?
Patagonia are no longer doing branded vests for financial services companies. The brand would work only with B Corporations and companies that were members of the organisation One Percent For the Planet.
“That does not, however, mean the whole kerfuffle isn’t significant. It’s just that what the change really reveals isn’t actually some nefarious scheme on Patagonia’s part, but rather how challenged the image of the FinTech world and its members remains in the public mind. They’re still the villains of our particular cultural story, and whenever they seem to be experiencing some kind of comeuppance, even one as minor as a change in their go-to garment, it is greeted with joy.”
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American Dystopia — The State, Surveillance, and Illusion of Choice 😱
The Intercept’s Alice Speri, author Cory Doctorow, and musician Katie Alice Greer discuss the FBI’s creation of the term “black identity extremist”, and explain why this label is so dangerous. “Science fiction doesn’t predict the world, but the science fiction that’s popular in any moment gives you this incredible insight into what’s on the world’s mind, what it’s fears and aspirations are for technology (Cory Doctorow)”
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Gerd Leonhard on PRISM, NSA mass surveillance, cloud computing: in 2014!
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This Landlord Wants Facial Recognition in Its Rent-Stabilized Buildings
The surveillance economy is coming, and it’s no coincidence that its first stop is in marginalised communities. “The fear that marginalized groups will fall under increased surveillance as these technologies progress in the absence of laws to regulate them hardly seems like dystopian hysteria.”
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⚠️ Ban Lethal Autonomous Weapons ⚠️
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Why We Should Ban Lethal Autonomous Weapons
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Researchers trick Tesla Autopilot into steering into oncoming traffic | Ars Technica
Researchers from Tencent’s Keen Security Lab recently reverse-engineered several of Tesla’s automated processes by carefully affixing three stickers to the road.
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Tencent Keen Security Lab Experimental Security Research of Tesla Autopilot
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Introducing Waymo Pet - a self-driving service for pets
If pets could travel in self-driving cars, where would they go?
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Introducing Waymo Pet - a self-driving service for pets
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That’s it for this week’s edition. We’ll be back on April 16, 2019. We are always interested in your opinion, so please feel free to ping us anytime with comments or feedback. Live long and prosper!
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Zürich Switzerland www.futuristgerd.com
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