Tech & Society
Generative Models Rock
AI’s creative potential is becoming established in the visual arts. Now musicians are tapping neural networks for funkier grooves, tastier licks, and novel subject matter.
Tech & Society
Tech & Society
Easing Cross-Border Collaboration
Tighter national borders impede progress in AI. So industry leaders are calling for a different kind of immigration reform. The Partnership on AI published a report calling out the corrosive effect of restrictive immigration policies and suggesting alternatives.
Tech & Society
Facing Down Deepfakes
Deepfakes threaten to undermine law and order, perhaps democracy itself. A coalition of tech companies, nonprofits, and academics joined forces to counter potential adverse impacts.
Tech & Society
Can AI Wage War? Should It?
The U.S. military is developing a new generation of automated weaponry. Some people are calling for automated generals as well.
Tech & Society
How to Share Dangerous AI
OpenAI raised eyebrows in February when it announced — and withheld — the full version of its groundbreaking language model, GPT-2. Six months later, the company has re-examined the decision.
Tech & Society
Smart Students, Dumb Algorithms: NLP Systems Struggle at Grading Essays
A growing number of companies that sell standardized tests are using natural language processing to assess writing skills. Critics contend that these language models don’t make the grade.
Letters
Andrew Visits Taiwan AI Labs
I traveled to Taiwan last week, where I met many CEOs interested in AI transformation of traditional companies. I also visited Taiwan AI Labs which, similar to OpenAI, started as a nonprofit AI research institute.
Tech & Society
Second Sight
Unlike bats, humans can’t see with their ears. Now an app is giving sightless pedestrians the ability to navigate by ear. Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence and Research Laboratory offers a free iPhone app called Soundscape.
Tech & Society
This Shirt Hates Surveillance
Automatic license plate readers capture thousands of vehicle IDs each minute, allowing law enforcement and private businesses to track drivers with or without their explicit consent.
Tech & Society
Standards in the Making
The U.S. federal government released a plan to develop technical standards for artificial intelligence, seeking to balance its aim to maintain the nation’s tech leadership and economic power with a priority on AI safety and trustworthiness.