Category Archives: Artificial intelligence (AI)

Calls for stricter UK oversight of workplace AI amid fears for staff rights

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Campaigners, unions and MPs raise concerns about surveillance and use of ‘management by algorithm’

Campaigners, trade unions and MPs are calling for stricter oversight of the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, amid growing concerns about its effect on staff rights.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is holding a half-day conference on Tuesday to highlight the challenges of ensuring workers are treated fairly, as what it calls “management by algorithm” becomes increasingly prevalent.

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‘We have to move fast’: US looks to establish rules for artificial intelligence

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The commerce department has requested public comment on AI accountability measures to ensure privacy and transparency

The US government is taking its first tentative steps toward establishing rules for artificial intelligence tools, as the frenzy over generative AI and chatbots reach a fever pitch.

The US commerce department on Tuesday announced it is officially requesting public comment on how to create accountability measures for AI, seeking help on how to advise US policymakers to approach the technology.

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Letter signed by Elon Musk demanding AI research pause sparks controversy

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The statement has been revealed to have false signatures and researchers have condemned its use of their work

A letter co-signed by Elon Musk and thousands of others demanding a pause in artificial intelligence research has created a firestorm, after the researchers cited in the letter condemned its use of their work, some signatories were revealed to be fake, and others backed out on their support.

On 22 March more than 1,800 signatories – including Musk, the cognitive scientist Gary Marcus, and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak – called for a six-month pause on the development of systems “more powerful” than that of GPT-4. Engineers from Amazon, DeepMind, Google, Meta and Microsoft also lent their support.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Italy’s privacy watchdog bans ChatGPT over data breach concerns

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Measure is in place ‘until ChatGPT respects privacy’, says Italian Data Protection Authority

Italy’s privacy watchdog has banned ChatGPT, after raising concerns about a recent data breach and the legal basis for using personal data to train the popular chatbot.

The Italian Data Protection Authority described the move as atemporary measure “until ChatGPT respects privacy”. The watchdog said it was imposing an “immediate temporary limitation on the processing of Italian users’ data” by ChatGPT’s owner, the San Francisco-based OpenAI.

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‘We are a little bit scared’: OpenAI CEO warns of risks of artificial intelligence

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Sam Altman stresses need to guard against negative consequences of technology, as company releases new version GPT-4

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the company that developed the controversial consumer-facing artificial intelligence application ChatGPT, has warned that the technology comes with real dangers as it reshapes society.

Altman, 37, stressed that regulators and society need to be involved with the technology to guard against potentially negative consequences for humanity. “We’ve got to be careful here,” Altman told ABC News on Thursday, adding: “I think people should be happy that we are a little bit scared of this.

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Chinese ChatGPT rival from search engine firm Baidu fails to impress

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Shares plummet after Ernie Bot AI chatbot software falls short of expectations at unveiling in Beijing

The Chinese search engine company Baidu’s shares have fallen by as much as 10% after it presented its ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence software, with investors unimpressed by the bot’s display of linguistic and maths skills.

The AI-powered ChatGPT, created by the San Francisco company OpenAI, has caused a sensation for its ability to write essays, poems and programming code on demand within seconds, prompting widespread fears over cheating or of professions becoming obsolete.

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Contest launched to decipher Herculaneum scrolls using 3D X-ray software

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Global research teams who can improve AI and accelerate decoding could win $250,000 in prizes

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79 laid waste to Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum where the intense blast of hot gas carbonised hundreds of ancient scrolls in the library of an enormous luxury villa.

Now, researchers are launching a global contest to read the charred papyri after demonstrating that an artificial intelligence programme can extract letters and symbols from high-resolution X-ray images of the fragile, unrolled documents.

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OpenAI says new model GPT-4 is more creative and less likely to invent facts

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Latest version can take images as inputs and improves upon many of the criticisms users had, but will still ‘hallucinate’ facts

The artificial intelligence research lab OpenAI has released GPT-4, the latest version of the groundbreaking AI system that powers ChatGPT, which it says is more creative, less likely to make up facts and less biased than its predecessor.

Calling it “our most capable and aligned model yet”, OpenAI cofounder Sam Altman said the new system is a “multimodal” model, which means it can accept images as well as text as inputs, allowing users to ask questions about pictures. The new version can handle massive text inputs and can remember and act on more than 20,000 words at once, letting it take an entire novella as a prompt.

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Romania PM unveils AI ‘adviser’ to tell him what people think in real time

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Nicolae Ciuca says bot named Ion is a world first and that using artificial intelligence is ‘an obligation’ to make better decisions

Romania’s prime minister has presented his “new honorary adviser” – an artificial intelligence assistant named “Ion” that Nicolae Ciuca hailed as the first of its type.

Developed by Romanian researchers, Ion’s main task will be to scan social networks to inform the government “in real time of Romanians’ proposals and wishes”, Ciuca said on Wednesday.

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AI could help NHS surgeons perform 300 more transplants every year, say UK surgeons

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Researchers have secured £1m to refine method of scoring potential organs by comparing images

Artificial intelligence could help NHS surgeons perform 300 more transplant operations every year, according to British researchers who have designed a new tool to boost the quality of donor organs.

Currently, medical staff must rely on their own assessments of whether an organ may be suitable for transplanting into a patient. It means some organs are picked that ultimately do not prove successful, while others that might be useful can be disregarded.

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‘Political propaganda’: China clamps down on access to ChatGPT

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Leading tech firms reportedly ordered to remove workarounds allowing access to US-based service

Chinese regulators have reportedly clamped down on access to ChatGPT, as Chinese tech firms and universities push forward with developing domestic artificial intelligence bots.

ChatGPT, the popular discussion bot created by US-based OpenAI, is not officially available in China, where the government operates a comprehensive firewall and strict internet censorship. But many had been accessing it via VPNs, and some third-party developers had produced programs that gave some access to the service.

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Almost 40% of domestic tasks could be done by robots ‘within decade’

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Chores such as shopping likely to have most automation, while caring for young or old least likely to be affected, says report

A revolution in artificial intelligence could slash the amount of time people spend on household chores and caring, with robots able to perform about 39% of domestic tasks within a decade, according to experts.

Tasks such as shopping for groceries were likely to have the most automation, while caring for the young or old was the least likely to be affected by AI, according to a large survey of 65 artificial intelligence (AI) experts in the UK and Japan, who were asked to predict the impact of robots on household chores.

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Woolworths expands self-checkout AI that critics say treats ‘every customer as a suspect’

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Supermarket says cameras used to detect accidental wrong scans while experts say the technology is ‘punitive’ and call for reforms to protect privacy

Woolworths has expanded the use of technology that films customers scanning items at self-checkouts to 110 stores in three states, as critics say the functionality could make people feel they are under constant surveillance.

For the past year, Woolworths has trialled new self-checkouts with cameras installed overhead to observe customers scanning items. The company said artificial intelligence is used to detect when items are not scanned correctly, with footage of the scan recorded and played back to the customer instructing them to re-scan.

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MP tells Australia’s parliament AI could be used for ‘mass destruction’ in speech part-written by ChatGPT

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Julian Hill has called for an inquiry or white paper to look into the risks and benefits of artificial intelligence

The federal Labor MP Julian Hill has used what is believed to be the first Australian parliamentary speech part-written by ChatGPT to warn that artificial intelligence could be harnessed for “mass destruction”.

On Monday the member for Bruce called for a white paper or inquiry to consider the “risks and benefits” of AI, warning it could result in student cheating, job losses, discrimination, disinformation and uncontrollable military applications.

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Artificial intelligence uncovers lost work by titan of Spain’s ‘Golden Age’

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Discovery of Lope de Vega play could lead to other important finds, researchers say

Lost or misattributed works by some of the finest writers of Spain’s Golden Age could be discovered thanks to pioneering AI technology that has been used to identify a previously unknown play by the wildly prolific dramatist, poet, sailor and priest Lope de Vega.

This week Spain’s National Library announced that researchers trawling its massive archive had stumbled upon and verified a play that Lope is believed to have written a few years before his death in 1635.

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ChatGPT reaches 100 million users two months after launch

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Unprecedented take-up may make AI chatbot the fastest-growing consumer internet app ever, analysts say

ChatGPT, the popular artificial intelligence chatbot, has reached 100 million users just two months after launching, according to analysts.

It had about 590m visits in January from 100 million unique visitors, according to analysis by data firm Similarweb. Analysts at investment bank UBS said the rate of growth was unprecedented for a consumer app.

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France under fire over fast-track plan for AI video surveillance at Paris Olympics

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Ministers say exceptional security needed but rights groups warn new law could extend police powers permanently

The French government is fast-tracking special legislation for the 2024 Paris Olympics that would allow the use of video surveillance assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Ministers have argued that certain exceptional security measures are needed to ensure the smooth running of the events that will attract 13 million spectators, but rights groups have warned France is seeking to use the Games as a pretext to extend police surveillance powers, which could then become permanent.

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BuzzFeed to use AI to ‘enhance’ its content and quizzes – report

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Platform will also use technology from ChatGPT’s artificial intelligence firm, Open AI, to ‘inform’ brainstorming

BuzzFeed is reportedly planning to use artificial intelligence to personalize and enhance its online quizzes and content, the company announced to employees this week.

Jonah Peretti, the chief executive, announced the efforts in an internal memo.

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Queensland public schools to join NSW in banning students from ChatGPT

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Exclusive: Artificial intelligence expert questions firewall strategy, as Victoria opts to wait and see

Queensland will join New South Wales in banning access to ChatGPT in state schools, though artificial intelligence experts have questioned how effective such a strategy is.

Nine newspapers revealed on Sunday morning the NSW Department of Education would ban the technology using a firewall, as concern mounts over the use of bots to cheat in assessments.

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South Australian universities to allow use of artificial intelligence in assignments, if disclosed

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Flinders University, the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia adjust policies

Universities should stop panicking and embrace students’ use of artificial intelligence, AI experts say.

South Australia’s three main universities have updated their policies to allow the use of AI as long as it is disclosed.

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