The EU’s New Proposed Rules on A.I. Are Missing Something
(Slate, Apr 30, 2021)
Thus far, most attempts at making policy for artificial intelligence have fallen into one of two camps: either outright bans on certain applications of machine learning—for instance, the facial recognitions bans passed in a few cities in the United States—or very broad, high-level principles that offer no concrete guidance or specific rules, like the “Ethical Principles for Artificial Intelligence” that the Department of Defense adopted in 2020 for developing and implementing A.I. in a responsible, equitable, traceable, reliable, and governable manner. There are obvious drawbacks to both of these approaches: The former seems neither sustainable nor scalable, given the pace with which machine learning is advancing and the extent to which both public and private entities seem eager to adopt it, while the latter often amounts to little more than window-dressing and vague reassurances that policymakers are at least thinking about the big questions posed by automated decision-making.
Ethics Of AI: Benefits And Risks Of Artificial Intelligence
(ZD Net, Apr 30, 2021)
In 1949, at the dawn of the computer age, the French philosopher Gabriel Marcel warned of the danger of naively applying technology to solve life's problems. Life, Marcel wrote in Being and Having, cannot be fixed the way you fix a flat tire. Any fix, any technique, is itself a product of that same problematic world, and is therefore problematic, and compromised. Marcel's admonition is often summarized in a single memorable phrase: "Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived." Despite that warning, seventy years later, artificial intelligence is the most powerful expression yet of humans' urge to solve or improve upon human life with computers. But what are these computer systems? As Marcel would have urged, one must ask where they come from, whether they embody the very problems they would purport to solve.
GHS To Utilize Biometrics Technology For Vaccine Delivery
(GBN, Apr 30, 2021)
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is in discussions with Simprints Technology Ltd to introduce biometrics for easy identification of beneficiaries in the delivery of vaccines. Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General of the GHS, at a workshop by Simprints to introduce the technology, said it would help identify people easily with the use of fingerprints and facial recognition.
Faulty Facial Recognition Prompts The Arrest Of A Man; Where's The Real Suspect?
(Tech Times, Apr 30, 2021)
In a report by News 12, the police were quick to respond with the report in Woodbridge, New Jersey. They learned that the suspect fled, and bumped a police car while plotting his plans to escape. This led to a quick arrest of a Paterson resident, Nijeer Parks, 31 after the police utilized cutting-edge facial recognition technology on him.
Florida is the Latest State to Consider Comprehensive Data Privacy Legislation
(Mondaq, Apr 30, 2021)
The Florida state legislature is considering a sweeping data privacy bill introduced by Governor Ron DeSantis in February. House Bill 969 is the latest state provision to follow in the footsteps of the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), the California Privacy Rights Act and the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, in giving consumers greater control over how their personal information is used while imposing greater restrictions on companies’ use of that data.
University Researchers In Sheffield Develop New Forensic Fingerprint Method To Help Police At Crime Scenes
(The Star, Apr 30, 2021)
Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University have developed a technique which can be applied at crime scenes for the tandem detection of human blood and DNA-typing from enhanced fingerprints. It means that suspect identification through DNA can be carried out alongside testing for the presence of blood, so that police can identify which biofluid the DNA originated from. It can help police to associate a victim's blood with a suspect’s fingermark.
What Cities Must Do To Responsibly Deploy Facial Recognition Solutions
(GCN, Apr 30, 2021)
To help cities as they grapple with the pros and cons of facial recognition programs, the National League of Cities has published recommendations for guiding conversations around the emerging technology and how it is implemented. While not every city that uses facial recognition has voted on a policy, cities are taking the lead in shaping how the technology can best be implemented, NLC said in its April 21 report.
