Documentary producers release new ethical AI guidelines for film-makers

Controversies over AI-generated material spurred release of guidelines addressing transparency and historical accuracy

Over a year after the dual Hollywood strikes put a spotlight on the industry’s adoption of AI, film-makers have often found themselves at a crossroads – how to use generative AI ethically, if at all? Where to draw the line on synthetic material? Documentary film-makers, in particular, have faced mounting concerns over “fake archival” materials such as AI-generated voices, photos or video.

As Hollywood continues to adopt artificial intelligence in production, a group of documentary producers have published a groundbreaking set of ethical guidelines to help producers, film-makers, studios, broadcasters and streamers address questions over use of the technology.

Continue reading...

Meta to push on with plan to use UK Facebook and Instagram posts to train AI

Move to use shared posts follows information commissioner concerns and sets collision course with EU over privacy

Mark Zuckberg’s Meta is to go ahead with controversial plans to use millions of UK Facebook and Instagram posts to train its artificial intelligence (AI) technology, in a practice that is effectively outlawed under EU privacy laws.

Meta said it had “engaged positively” with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) over the plan, after it paused similar proposals in June in the UK and EU. The pause came after the ICO warned tech firms to respect the privacy of users when building generative AI.

Continue reading...

OpenAI to launch models with ‘reasoning’ abilities that are ‘much like a person’

‘Strawberry’ models can break down complex problems into smaller logical steps, an area where other AIs stumble

OpenAI said on Thursday it was launching its “Strawberry” series of AI models designed to spend more time processing answers to queries in order to solve hard problems.

The models are capable of reasoning through complex tasks and can solve more challenging problems than previous models in science, coding and math, the AI firm said in a blog post.

Continue reading...

David Pocock calls for election ban on AI deepfakes with fake videos of Albanese and Dutton

Spokesperson says government ‘considering the advice’ of Australian Electoral Commission on regulating AI use

David Pocock has raised the alarm on the risk posed to democracy by generative AI by using it to play a trick: fabricating a video of Anthony Albanese announcing a complete ban on gambling advertising.

The independent senator for Canberra posted two AI-generative videos to social media – of the prime minister and of the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, supporting a complete ban on advertising – to show how AI can be used to mimic and confuse.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

Continue reading...

UK signs first international treaty to implement AI safeguards

Also signed by the EU, US and Israel, the declaration aims to mitigate the threats that AI may pose to human rights, democracy and the rule of law

The UK government has signed the first international treaty on artificial intelligence in a move that aims to prevent misuses of the technology, such as spreading misinformation or using biased data to make decisions.

Under the legally binding agreement, states must implement safeguards against any threats posed by AI to human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The treaty, called the framework convention on artificial intelligence, was drawn up by the Council of Europe, an international human rights organisation, and was signed on Thursday by the EU, UK, US and Israel.

Continue reading...

M&S using AI as personalised style guru in hopes to boost sales

Shoppers can use technology to advise them on outfit choices based on their body shape and style preferences

Marks & Spencer is using artificial intelligence to advise shoppers on their outfit choices based on their body shape and style preferences, as part of efforts to increase online sales.

The 130-year-old retailer is using the technology to personalise consumers’ online experience, and suggest items to buy.

Continue reading...

Labor considers an Artificial Intelligence Act to impose ‘mandatory guardrails’ on use of AI

‘We need more people to use AI and to do that we need to build trust’, says industry and science minister Ed Husic

The Australian government is considering a European Union style Artificial Intelligence Act to regulate minimum standards on high-risk AI across the whole economy.

On Wednesday the industry and science minister, Ed Husic, released a discussion paper proposing 10 “mandatory guardrails” for high-risk AI including human oversight and the ability to challenge the use of AI or outcomes of automated decision-making.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Warnings AI tools used by government on UK public are ‘racist and biased’

Transparency campaigners welcome government move to publish details of system algorithms

Artificial intelligence and algorithmic tools used by central government are to be published on a public register after warnings they can contain “entrenched” racism and bias.

Officials confirmed this weekend that tools challenged by campaigners over alleged secrecy and a risk of bias will be named shortly. The technology has been used for a range of purposes, from trying to detect sham marriages to rooting out fraud and error in benefit claims.

Continue reading...

US mayoral candidate who pledged to govern by customized AI bot loses race

Victor Miller proposed customized ChatGPT bot to govern Cheyenne, Wyoming – but fared badly at the ballot box

A mayoral candidate in Wyoming who proposed letting an artificial intelligence bot run the local government lost his race on Tuesday – by a lot.

The candidate, Victor Miller, announced his run for mayor of Cheyenne earlier this year, and quickly made headlines after he decided to run with his customized ChatGPT bot, named Vic (Virtual Integrated Citizen), and declared his intention to govern in a hybrid format, in what experts say was a first for US political campaigns.

Continue reading...

Iranian group used ChatGPT to try to influence US election, OpenAI says

AI company bans accounts and says operation did not appear to have meaningful audience engagement

OpenAI said on Friday it had taken down accounts of an Iranian group for using its ChatGPT chatbot to generate content meant for influencing the US presidential election and other issues.

The operation, identified as Storm-2035, used ChatGPT to generate content focused on topics such as commentary on the candidates on both sides in the US elections, the conflict in Gaza and Israel’s presence at the Olympic Games and then shared it via social media accounts and websites, Open AI said.

Continue reading...

Prince Harry hits out at spread of disinformation via AI and social media

Duke speaks at summit on digital responsibility while on visit with Duchess of Sussex to Colombia

The Duke of Sussex has hit out at online disinformation during a four-day visit to Colombia, warning: “What happens online within a matter of minutes transfers to the streets.”

Speaking in Bogotá at a summit on digital responsibility, Harry said of the spread of false information via artificial intelligence and social media: “People are acting on information that isn’t true.”

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Palaszczuk appointed to Australia Post board; Shorten says Dutton ‘implying all Gazans are terrorists’

Palaszczuk, who retired from politics in December after almost nine years as QLD premier, will serve a three-year term as a non-executive director. Follow today’s news headlines live

‘We have to have a constant reminder’

The committee also called for a culturally appropriate and nationally significant recognition and remembrance of murdered and disappeared First Nations women and children. Dorinda Cox said this would be “significant” if the government accepted the recommendation:

It would … have some permanent features to remind us the role that history has played for missing and murdered or disappeared women and children and First Nations women and children in this country, because there’s a story there that needs to be told, and we have to have a constant reminder.

Like we do … with the Australian war memorial of the safety that we have as a country, but also that this part of our history – this is now ingrained in and sketched into. And if we want to continue to work on this and continue to maintain safety for women and children and the most vulnerable, which is First Nations – as we know, we’re in an emergency for all women, but First Nations women and children are at the front of that – we have to have some permanent features, otherwise we become invisible.

What we hear too often is that this is a state and territory problem. States are responsible for their police forces, in particular … We have to centre our approaches and our outcomes in [addressing these issues] and we have to look at the culture of the organisations, such as police.

There’s lots of reporting on the media in relation to the attitudes of police across Australia, and that has to get better, but we have to have a measure against that – we can’t just put in the attorney general [to] have a chat to the police ministers, and nothing changes … Because if we don’t look at this in a way of wanting change, nothing ever changes.

Continue reading...

Wyoming reporter caught using AI to create fake quotes and stories

Robotic, peculiar wording in recent issues of Cody Enterprise tipped a veteran reporter off

A quote from Wyoming’s governor and a local prosecutor were the first things that seemed slightly off to Powell Tribune reporter CJ Baker. Then, it was some of the phrases in the stories that struck him as nearly robotic.

The dead giveaway, though, that a reporter from a competing news outlet was using generative artificial intelligence to help write his stories came in a 26 June article about the comedian Larry the Cable Guy being chosen as the grand marshal of the Cody Stampede parade.

Continue reading...

‘We have to adapt or die’: Daniel Bedingfield says AI is music’s future

Exclusive: Gotta Get Thru This singer argues that ‘neo-luddites’ risk being left behind as technology develops

The growing use of artificial intelligence in the creative industries has been described as an existential threat to jobs and artistic integrity. Earlier this year artists including Billie Eilish and Katy Perry signed an open letter urging tech companies not to “sabotage creativity”, while Nick Cave has called lyrics written by ChatGPT “a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human”. But according to the musician Daniel Bedingfield, AI is music’s future, and anyone who fights against it faces being left behind.

“AI is now here for ever,” he told the Guardian. “And so I think that there will be two paths: there’ll be the neo-luddite path, and then there’ll be everyone else, most of the planet, who thinks the music’s really good and enjoys it.”

Continue reading...

Argentina will use AI to ‘predict future crimes’ but experts worry for citizens’ rights

President Javier Milei creates security unit as some say certain groups may be overly scrutinized by the technology

Argentina’s security forces have announced plans to use artificial intelligence to “predict future crimes” in a move experts have warned could threaten citizens’ rights.

The country’s far-right president Javier Milei this week created the Artificial Intelligence Applied to Security Unit, which the legislation says will use “machine-learning algorithms to analyse historical crime data to predict future crimes”. It is also expected to deploy facial recognition software to identify “wanted persons”, patrol social media, and analyse real-time security camera footage to detect suspicious activities.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Penny Wong urges Australians to leave Lebanon; Chalmers says housing pipeline ‘not where we want it to be’

The foreign minister says in video message there is a ‘real risk’ that conflict in the region would seriously escalate. Follow the day’s news live

Indigenous Australians ‘frustrated’ at slow progress

Indigenous Australians are “somewhere between disappointed and frustrated” at a lack of traction on socio-economic targets, after a scorecard found most aren’t being met.

You see those datasets that again reinforce what we heard even at the beginning of the year, and that is governments are not moving fast enough on this, it’s frustrating.

It’s not about finding a new pathway – certainly that’s not what the productivity commission is saying. It’s saying: share the decision-making – this is commonsense, governments talking to the people about the issues that impact them, and the solutions to solve that.

Continue reading...

Lures and violent threats: old school cheating still rampant at Australian universities, even as AI rises

Integrity experts say sites offering cheating services to students are hard to trace, and some are run by criminals willing to make threats of violence

Kane Murdoch’s job takes him, his colleagues and his family to some frightening places.

“A comment … threatened to gang-rape my wife and decapitate me,” he wrote on his blog in April. Members of his team and their families had also been threatened with violence as a direct result of their work, he said.

Continue reading...

AI prompts can boost writers’ creativity but result in similar stories, study finds

Ideas generated by ChatGPT can help writers who lack inherent flair but may mean there are fewer unique ideas

Once upon a time, all stories were written solely by humans. Now, researchers have found AI might help authors tell a tale.

A study suggests that ideas generated by the AI system ChatGPT can help boost the creativity of writers who lack inherent flair – albeit at the expense of variety.

Continue reading...

British chipmaker Graphcore bought by Japan’s SoftBank

Deal for undisclosed sum secures Bristol-based company’s future after ‘material uncertainty’ in 2023

Graphcore, a British chipmaker once seen as a potential competitor to Nvidia, has been bought by Japan’s SoftBank in a deal that secures the company’s future.

The Bristol-based startup’s products are focused on artificial intelligence and it has been acquired by the powerful Japanese tech investor for an undisclosed sum. Last year, Graphcore warned that there was a “material uncertainty” over its survival and that it needed fresh funding by May 2024.

Continue reading...

Spain sentences 15 schoolchildren over AI-generated naked images

Teenagers each given a year’s probation after creating and spreading faked images of female classmates in south-west Spain

A court in south-west Spain has sentenced 15 schoolchildren to a year’s probation for creating and spreading AI-generated images of their female peers in a case that prompted a debate on the harmful and abusive uses of deepfake technology.

Police began investigating the matter last year after parents in the Extremaduran town of Almendralejo reported that faked naked pictures of their daughters were being circulated on WhatsApp groups.

Continue reading...