Bots Don’t Need Social Distancing: Covid-19 drove demand for Replika, an AI chatbot.
Tech & Society

Bots Don’t Need Social Distancing: Covid-19 drove demand for Replika, an AI chatbot.

A chatbot is providing companionship for the locked-down and lonely. Downloads of Replika, a chatbot designed to be a virtual friend, have spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, reports the New York Times.

July 1, 20201 min read
Why We Need H1-B Visas
Tech & Society

Why We Need H1-B Visas

I was dismayed on Monday to read that the U.S. is suspending the H1-B visa program at least through the end of the year. This effort to discourage immigration can only bring distress to workers from other countries and harm to the U.S.

June 24, 20201 min read
Why We Need H1-B Visas
Tech & Society

Why We Need H1-B Visas

I was dismayed on Monday to read that the U.S. is suspending the H1-B visa program at least through the end of the year. This effort to discourage immigration can only bring distress to workers from other countries and harm to the U.S.

June 24, 20201 min read
Baidu Leaves Partnership on AI: Chinese tech giant exits a consortium on AI bias and privacy.
Tech & Society

Baidu Leaves Partnership on AI: Chinese tech giant exits a consortium on AI bias and privacy.

Baidu backed out of a U.S.-led effort to promote ethics in AI, leaving the project without a Chinese presence. The Beijing-based search giant withdrew from the Partnership on AI, a consortium that promotes cooperation on issues like digital privacy and algorithmic bias.

June 24, 20201 min read
Baidu Leaves Partnership on AI: Chinese tech giant exits a consortium on AI bias and privacy.
Tech & Society

Baidu Leaves Partnership on AI: Chinese tech giant exits a consortium on AI bias and privacy.

Baidu backed out of a U.S.-led effort to promote ethics in AI, leaving the project without a Chinese presence. The Beijing-based search giant withdrew from the Partnership on AI, a consortium that promotes cooperation on issues like digital privacy and algorithmic bias.

June 24, 20201 min read
Outing Hidden Hatred: How Facebook built a hate speech detector
Tech & Society

Outing Hidden Hatred: How Facebook built a hate speech detector

Facebook uses automated systems to block hate speech, but hateful posts can slip through when seemingly benign words and pictures combine to create a nasty message. The social network is tackling this problem by enhancing AI’s ability to recognize context.

June 17, 20202 min read
Outing Hidden Hatred: How Facebook built a hate speech detector
Tech & Society

Outing Hidden Hatred: How Facebook built a hate speech detector

Facebook uses automated systems to block hate speech, but hateful posts can slip through when seemingly benign words and pictures combine to create a nasty message. The social network is tackling this problem by enhancing AI’s ability to recognize context.

June 17, 20202 min read
Running Fast, Standing Still: Some state of the art machine learning progress is illusory.
Tech & Society

Running Fast, Standing Still: Some state of the art machine learning progress is illusory.

Machine learning researchers report better and better results, but some of that progress may be illusory. Some models that appear to set a new state of the art haven’t been compared properly to their predecessors, Science News reports based on several published surveys.

June 10, 20201 min read
Toward Diversity in AI
Tech & Society

Toward Diversity in AI

Last week, I wrote about the diversity problem in AI and why we need to fix it. I asked you to tell us about your experiences as a Black person in AI or share the names of Black colleagues you admire. Thank you to everyone who responded.

June 10, 20201 min read
Who Was That Masked Protester?: Some face recognition can identify people in masks.
Tech & Society

Who Was That Masked Protester?: Some face recognition can identify people in masks.

Vendors of face recognition are updating their tech as people don masks to protect against Covid-19. Police are bound to take notice. Companies that provide computer vision systems, including at least one that supplies law enforcement agencies, are training models to recognize obscured faces.

June 10, 20202 min read
Toward Diversity in AI
Tech & Society

Toward Diversity in AI

Last week, I wrote about the diversity problem in AI and why we need to fix it. I asked you to tell us about your experiences as a Black person in AI or share the names of Black colleagues you admire. Thank you to everyone who responded.

June 10, 20201 min read
Running Fast, Standing Still: Some state of the art machine learning progress is illusory.
Tech & Society

Running Fast, Standing Still: Some state of the art machine learning progress is illusory.

Machine learning researchers report better and better results, but some of that progress may be illusory. Some models that appear to set a new state of the art haven’t been compared properly to their predecessors, Science News reports based on several published surveys.

June 10, 20201 min read
Who Was That Masked Protester?: Some face recognition can identify people in masks.
Tech & Society

Who Was That Masked Protester?: Some face recognition can identify people in masks.

Vendors of face recognition are updating their tech as people don masks to protect against Covid-19. Police are bound to take notice. Companies that provide computer vision systems, including at least one that supplies law enforcement agencies, are training models to recognize obscured faces.

June 10, 20202 min read
Facebook Likes Extreme Content: Facebook execs rejected changes to reduce polarization.
Tech & Society

Facebook Likes Extreme Content: Facebook execs rejected changes to reduce polarization.

Facebook’s leadership has thwarted changes in its algorithms aimed at making the site less polarizing, according to the Wall Street Journal. The social network’s own researchers determined that its AI software promotes divisive content.

June 3, 20202 min read
Why Diversity is Vital to AI
Tech & Society

Why Diversity is Vital to AI

Like many of you, I’m deeply saddened by the events of the past week. I’m horrified by the senseless violence perpetrated against Black communities and appalled by the persistent racial injustice of our society.

June 3, 20201 min read

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