Will AI help the meek inherit the earth?

One of the many promises of the AI sector is a more egalitarian and equitable society, but in the race to solve global inequality issues, AI’s promise to play a substantial role seems to have fallen at the first hurdle. According to Forbes this week,venture capitalists seem to be overwhelmingly more supportive of white, male dominated start-ups.?

AI, of course, is largely being developed as a commercial exercise. Unimaginably huge returns are expected by investors and entrepreneurs who promise services that will solve complex problems or undertake repetitive tasks, all whilst reducing the number of employees needed. Fortune recently reported that Google’s top two investors, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, recently increased their net wealth by $US18 billion in just one week.

According to Forbes, there’s little diversity about the start-ups venture capitalists are supporting. In Europe “just 7% of start-up funding goes to female-founded start-ups”, the article reported. A comparison was drawn between the Black Seed Fund (a VC fund designed to raise capital for black business founders in the UK) which was only able to raise GBP 5m and four French “AI bros” who were able to raise Eur 105m in just four weeks for their mistral.ai.?

There are ways in which AI can help promote diversity, but let’s not be naive enough to think that a fairer distribution of global wealth will be one of the “quick wins”.

I wonder what Jesus would make of all this? If you are too, you can ask AI Jesus.?

For more on this, and many other issues corporate communicators need to think about, please read the current Reputation Week.?

Health: Doctors urged to educate patients about Dr GPT

Who hasn’t turned to Google to self diagnose issues? The US AMA is worried that whilst it is notoriously bad for research, many people are turning to “Dr ChatGPT” for advice. The medical fraternity is worried and has AI in its sights.

At the 2023 American Medical Association Annual Meeting in Chicago last week, the AMA’s House of Delegates adopted a policy encouraging physicians to educate patients about the benefits and risks of consumer-facing LLMs, including GPTs.

“We’re trying to look around the corner for our patients to understand the promise and limitations of AI. There is a lot of uncertainty about the direction and regulatory framework for this use of AI that has found its way into the day-to-day practice of medicine,” said AMA Trustee Dr Alexander Ding.

“We are entering this brave new world with our eyes wide open and our minds engaged,” according to Dr Ding.

Third sector: NGOs urge commitment to civil rights and equity

A coalition of more than 50 NGOs has written an open letter to the Biden Administration to urge it to ‘deepen its commitment and efforts to promote equity and protect civil rights in AI and technology policy.”

According to the organisations, the civil rights implications of new AI systems “represent an urgent set of issues that require immediate and sustained attention, investigation, and action”.

Coordinated by The Leadership Conference, the group called for action on three levels:

• making the US AI Bill of Rights binding,
• enforcing action foreshadowed by the White House in 2022, and?
• launching continuing public consultation to raise awareness of the potential harm of AI.

Governance: Ardern says NZ’s approach to online comms is a model to govern AI?

The recent rise of AI is the reason former NZ Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern has not stepped back from public life as she said she would.

Writing in The Washington Post this week, Ardern said she has been “following the escalating development of AI and its promise of huge benefits for humanity”. She said she has also seen the risks.

“The core technology that enables an AI assistant to describe an image to a vision-impaired person is the same technology that might enable disinformation campaigns — and this is the tip of the iceberg,” Ardern says. Working together is the answer according to her editorial.

Now a “special envoy” for The Christchurch Call, Ardern says, “it is possible to bring companies, government officials, academics and civil society together not only to build consensus but also to make progress.”

Information: Filling the internet with blah

The internet is quickly filling with generative AI created “blah” and this could jeopardise the future of quality generative content, according to new research.?

“Just as we’ve strewn the oceans with plastic trash and filled the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, so we’re about to fill the Internet with blah,” a Professor of Security Engineering at Cambridge University and the University of Edinburgh, Ross Anderson wrote.

Venturebeat explains that “model collapse” is a very real threat.?

Model collapse, according to the Venturebeat article, “occurs when the data AI models generate ends up contaminating the training set for subsequent models”.?

“Over time, mistakes in generated data compound and ultimately force models that learn from generated data to misperceive reality even further,” wrote one of the paper’s authors, Ilia Shumailov.

“There are many other aspects that will lead to more serious implications, such as discrimination based on gender, ethnicity or other sensitive attributes,” Shumailov said.

Equity: Crushing diversity?

An article in Forbes this week questions the diversity of AI start-up projects into which capital is being poured.?

As mentioned in my introduction, there seems to be a disparity relating to where venture capital is following. Whilst the story gives only anecdotal evidence, it raises questions about the influence and power that could be exerted by those who are funding current projects.

Observations are also made about the “highly ‘networked’ side of (French) business” with “a growing number of Emmanuel Macron’s former ministers joining VC firms and start-ups”.?

Banking: Industry focused regulation needed for AI?

Regulators should adopt industry appropriate policy for sectors with a “history of complying with laws and regulations related to the technology,” the American Bankers Association has said in an open letter to the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration. “Regulations should be risk-based and tailored to particular use cases, including those stemming from the emergent technology known as generative AI,” according to the letter.

The ABA points out that a broad approach to AI policy might not be helpful when the technology is already “baked in” to many of the systems within organisations. They include existing online security protocols.?

The association is also concerned about having to comply with a “patchwork” of regulation around the world. “There is activity in the regulatory space around the world, (this) could result in a confusing patchwork of requirements or expectations,” the letter concluded.

Policy: The most substantial challenge ever

The Guardian reports that according to a report co-authored by Tony Blair and William Hague, “artificial intelligence could represent the most substantial policy challenge ever faced by the UK and urgent action is needed to avoid falling behind rival powers such as the US”.

Society is about to be “radically reshaped” by AI and fundamental change is needed in how the UK government plans for the future, according to The Guardian.

Titled “A new national purpose: AI Promises a World-Leading Future of Britain”, the report by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change presents ideas for “Disruptive Innovation Laboratories”, and for early work to show how AI can transform national infrastructure.?

The UK is poorly prepared for the changes that AI could unleash, the report concludes.

Tip: Modify the tone of your ChatGPT output

On Instagram, @socialtypro has shared a chart with details about how to change the tone of output from ChatGPT.?

The suggested tone modifiers include asking ChatGPT to be “friendly and professional”, “casual and conversational”, and “serious and empathetic”. Of course algorithms can’t really be empathetic.?

Pointing this out to ChatGPT it replied:

While I may not have emotions, I can still display empathetic behaviour by using the information and context provided by the user to understand their perspective and respond in a supportive and understanding manner.

In brief?

• A Jamaican member of parliament, Christopher Tufton, has called AI a threat to democracy and has urged the “legislature to discuss the issue with a view to establishing sanctions for people using the technology to create mischief”.
• What advice from Jesus? NBC News has reported on an AI Jesus giving breakup advice on a 24/7 livestream.?

Reputation Week provides general advice only and should not be used as a basis for making decisions about your particular circumstances.