1984: Thread

[grarpamp]

Does the UN have a functional Dept of Sanity,
or is the AI warning talk just more propaganda...

Not "may pose threat" but "has, does, and will continue to harm"...



UN Warns Artificial Intelligence May Pose "Negative, Even
Catastrophic" Threat To Human Rights

https://www.theepochtimes.com/un-warns-artificial-intelligence-may-pose-negative-even-catastrophic-threat-to-human-rights_4002207.html

The United Nations has warned that artificial intelligence (AI)
systems may pose a “negative, even catastrophic” threat to human
rights and called for AI applications that are not used in compliance
with human rights to be banned.

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Sept. 15 urged members
states to put a temporary ban on the sale and use of AI until the
potential risks it poses have been addressed and adequate safeguards
put in place to ensure the technology will not be abused.

    “We cannot afford to continue playing catch-up regarding
AI—allowing its use with limited or no boundaries or oversight and
dealing with the almost inevitable human rights consequences after the
fact,” Bachelet said in a statement.

    “The power of AI to serve people is undeniable, but so is AI’s
ability to feed human rights violations at an enormous scale with
virtually no visibility. Action is needed now to put human rights
guardrails on the use of AI, for the good of all of us,” the human
rights chief added.

Her remarks come shortly after her office published a report that
analyzes how AI affects people’s right to privacy, as well as a string
of other rights regarding health, education, freedom of movement, and
freedom of expression, among others.

The document includes an assessment of profiling, automated
decision-making, and other machine-learning technologies.

While the report notes that AI can be used for good use, and can help
“societies overcome some of the great challenges of our times,” its
use as a forecasting and profiling tool can drastically impact “rights
to privacy, to a fair trial, to freedom from arbitrary arrest and
detention and the right to life.”

According to the report, numerous states and businesses often fail to
carry out due diligence while rushing to incorporate AI applications,
and in some cases, this has resulted in dangerous blunders, with some
people reportedly being mistreated and even arrested due to flawed
facial recognition software.

Meanwhile, facial recognition has the potential to allow for unlimited
tracking of individuals, which may well lead to an array of issues
surrounding discrimination and data protection.

An AI robot (L) by CloudMinds is seen during the Mobile World
Conference in Shanghai on June 27, 2018. (-/AFP/Getty Images)

As many AI systems rely on large data sets, further issues surrounding
how this data is stored in the long-term also poses a risk, and there
is potential for such data to be exploited in the future, which could
post significant national security risks.

    “The complexity of the data environment, algorithms and models
underlying the development and operation of AI systems, as well as
intentional secrecy of government and private actors are factors
undermining meaningful ways for the public to understand the effects
of AI systems on human rights and society,” the report states.

Visitors look at an AI smart city system by iFLY at the 2018
International Intelligent Transportation Industry Expo in Hangzhou in
China’s eastern Zhejiang province in December 2018. (STR/AFP/Getty
Images)

Tim Engelhardt, a human rights officer in the Rule of Law and
Democracy Section, warned that the situation is “dire” and that it has
only become worse over the years as some countries and businesses
adopt AI applications while failing to research the multiple potential
risks associated with the technology.

While he welcomes the EU’s agreement to “strengthen the rules on
control,” he noted that a solution to the myriad of issues surrounding
AI won’t be coming in the next year and that the first steps to
resolve these issue need to be taken now or “many people in the world
will pay a high price.”

    “The higher the risk for human rights, the stricter the legal
requirements for the use of AI technology should be,” Bachelet added.

The report and Bachelet’s comments come following July’s revelations
that spyware, known as Pegasus, was used to hack the smartphones of
thousands of people around the world, including journalists,
government officials, and human rights activists.

The phone of France’s finance minister Bruno Le Maire was just one of
many being investigated amid the hack via the spyware, which was
developed by the Israeli company NSO Group.

NSO Group issued a statement to multiple outlets that did not address
the allegations, but said that the company will “continue to provide
intelligence and law enforcement agencies around the world with
life-saving technologies to fight terror and crime.”

Speaking at the Council of Europe hearing on the implications stemming
from the Pegasus spyware controversy, Bachelet said the revelations
came as no surprise, given the “unprecedented level of surveillance
across the globe by state and private actors.”