Source: European Parliament News https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20210930IPR13925/use-of-artificial-intelligence-by-the-police-meps-oppose-mass-surveillance To combat discrimination and ensure the right to privacy, MEPs demand strong safeguards when artificial intelligence tools are used in law enforcement. In a resolution adopted by 377 in favour, 248 against and 62 abstentions, MEPs point to the risk of algorithmic bias in AI applications and emphasise that human...Read More

Source: Nature WORLD VIEW, 06 APRIL 2021 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00868-5 Kate Crawford During the pandemic, technology companies have been pitching their emotion-recognition software for monitoring workers and even children remotely. Take, for example, a system named 4 Little Trees. Developed in Hong Kong, the program claims to assess children’s emotions while they do classwork. It maps facial features...Read More

The largest ever study of facial-recognition data shows how much the rise of deep learning has fueled a loss of privacy. by Karen Hao February 5, 2021 In 1964, mathematician and computer scientist Woodrow Bledsoe first attempted the task of matching suspects’ faces to mugshots. He measured out the distances between different facial features in printed photographs and...Read More

Nature 587, 354-358 (2020)doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03187-3 18 NOVEMBER 2020 Journals and researchers are under fire for controversial studies using this technology. And a Nature survey reveals that many researchers in this field think there is a problem. Richard Van Noorden In September 2019, four researchers wrote to the publisher Wiley to “respectfully ask” that it immediately retract a scientific paper....Read More

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/portlands-face-recognition-ban-twist-smart-cities/#:~:text=The%20first%20big%20US%20city,tools%20and%20concerns%20about%20fairness. Tom Simonite 09.21.2020 The first big US city to prohibit private businesses from using the technology reflects rising skepticism of new tools and concerns about fairness. PORTLAND’S 2016 ENTRY for a $50 million federal contest called the Smart City Challenge described a Pacific Northwest tech-topia. It promised autonomous shuttles, trucks, and cars on city streets, through partnerships...Read More

For more information see: https://www.axios.com/5g-deployment-battle-cities-fcc-small-cell-ad1bfba2-2ffd-463f-8ed4-48a3c664249b.htmlRead More

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-ai-for-good-is-often-bad/ 11.18.2019 Trying to solve poverty, crime, and disease with (often biased) technology doesn’t address their root causes. Excerpt: “While AI for good programs often warrant genuine excitement, they should also invite increased scrutiny. Good intentions are not enough when it comes to deploying AI for those in greatest need. In fact, the fanfare...Read More

Article by Molly Callahan November 15, 2019 Snippet: In 2018, a Russian state-run news agency announced that Russian forces had deployed a remote-controlled robotic tank to Syria. Despite all this, Haner and Garcia found that there is little oversight or regulation when it comes to developing autonomous weapons, and even less public discourse about it. “These things are happening...Read More

Source: https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/10/1/20887003/tech-technology-evolution-natural-inevitable-ethics Imagine you’re taking an online business class — the kind where you watch video lectures and then answer questions at the end. But this isn’t a normal class, and you’re not just watching the lectures: They’re watching you back. Every time the facial recognition system decides that you look bored, distracted, or tuned...Read More

EMFSA’s August 2019 Newsletter can be viewed at:  https://mailchi.mp/b55f8ead9e08/emfnews “FOR THE SAFER USE OF TECHNOLOGY”Read More