Hey! Here’s your Tuesday, October 29, 2024 edition of AI in the News. Today, we cover a wide range of topics, from foreign interference to mental health!
- LI has launched Hiring Assistant, its first AI agent aimed at automating recruitment tasks, such as creating job descriptions and sourcing candidates.
- The AI tool is currently available to a select group of large enterprises and will roll out more widely soon.
- LinkedIn’s VP of product, Hari Srinivasan, stated, “It’s designed to take on a recruiter’s most repetitive task so they can spend more time on the most impactful part of their jobs.”
- Foreign interference in the 2024 U.S. presidential election has evolved, with Russia, China, and Iran employing sophisticated disinformation tactics across multiple platforms to sow discord and influence voters.
- Advances in artificial intelligence have enhanced the ability to create and distribute disinformation, making it harder to identify and combat, as tech companies have scaled back their efforts to address these threats.
- A recent analysis by Pangram Labs found that over 47% of Medium’s posts are likely AI-generated, significantly higher than the 7% found on global news sites.
- Tags like “NFT” showed particularly high AI content, with 78% of related articles estimated as AI-generated.
- Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine dismissed the findings, stating, “I am disputing the importance of the results and also the idea that these companies discovered anything.”
Two interesting pieces on AI’s impact on data denters and the environment:
- Europe’s Balancing Act: The AI boom could drive a 160% increase in data center demand by 2030, potentially undermining Europe’s decarbonization efforts as AI accelerates energy use beyond prior estimates - CNBC
- Community Pushback in Missouri: Residents of Peculiar, Missouri, opposed a 500-acre data center project, citing concerns over environmental impact and transparency. Despite promises of economic benefits, the town ultimately rejected the proposal to protect its rural character - The New York Times
Also worth a read, two stories from the UK related to AI and mental health:
- Can AI make life easier for people with dementia? This story discusses the Florence Project, which uses AI to support the independence of dementia patients through personalized tools like digital diaries and therapy robots, as well as Hiro-Chan, a therapy robot designed to reduce stress in dementia patients - BBC
- Avatar Therapy for Psychosis: King’s College London research shows that avatar therapy, allowing patients to engage with a digital representation of their distressing voices, can reduce voice frequency and distress, helping patients regain a sense of control - The Guardian
