Sunday, February 7, 2021

Bill Crawford: Unchecked AI Threatens Civilization

“Have no doubt, algorithms can do all sorts of wonderful things. But, they cannot incorporate judgment or common sense into their processes.” So I wrote in 2010 about our growing dependence upon algorithms.

The rise of hackable, smart but fallible autonomous and semi-autonomous algorithms (AI) since 2010 has been breathtaking. Many say we have entered the “age of algorithms.

Others, like the late physicist Stephen Hawking warn such systems threaten civilization.

Back in 2010 former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker said algorithms designed by “not well-managed financial engineers” calculated values for complex credit swaps and derivatives of mortgage-backed securities that proved unreliable when markets collapsed.

In 2013, the so-called “hack crash” on Wall Street resulted from a false Tweet on the hacked Associated Press Twitter account. Researchers Tero Karppi and Kate Crawford (no relation) published a paper in 2015, “Social Media, Financial Algorithms and the Hack Crash,” that traced the problem to algorithms.

“Twitter is analyzed by algorithms, and financial markets are analyzed by algorithms,” Karppi explained to the Boston Globe. “When these two fields connect over false information or a malicious tweet it can cause surprising consequences.”

Pew Research reported in 2017 that Microsoft engineers created a Twitter bot named “Tay” in an attempt to chat with Millennials by responding to their prompts. “But within hours it was spouting racist, sexist, Holocaust-denying tweets based on algorithms that had it ‘learning’ how to respond to others based on what was tweeted at it.”

Pew also reported that when Facebook, accused of human bias against conservatives, put algorithms in charge of Trending Topic feeds they found the algorithms “could not discern real news from fake news.”

Just last month the Seattle Times reported that Amazon’s search algorithm “boosts books promoting false claims about vaccines over those that debunk health misinformation.”

“Why We Need to Audit Algorithms,” a 2018 Harvard Business Review article said, “It is by now abundantly clear that, left unchecked, AI algorithms embedded in digital and social technologies can encode societal biases, accelerate the spread of rumors and disinformation, amplify echo chambers of public opinion, hijack our attention, and even impair our mental wellbeing.”

Today, such AI algorithms have significant control over stock trading, digital communications systems, power grids, manufacturing processes, big tech platforms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Amazon, cybersecurity, cloud processing, and modern defense systems with self-driving and drone delivery systems coming up.

In 2017 Hawking called for government regulation: “Unless we learn how to prepare for, and avoid, the potential risks, AI could be the worst event in the history of our civilization. It brings dangers, like powerful autonomous weapons, or new ways for the few to oppress the many.”

Last year Tesla owner Elon Musk also called for regulation, tweeting “All orgs developing advanced AI should be regulated, including Tesla.”  

While most in Congress, like most of us, have little understanding of machine intelligence and AI algorithms, ignorance is no excuse for inaction. China, Russia, Australia, and Europe are ahead while we should be leading.

As Congress considers anti-trust action against big tech, now is the time to act.

“An unthinking person believes everything, but the prudent one thinks before acting” – Proverbs 14:15.

Crawford is a syndicated columnist from Jackson.

 

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

We will worry about AI regulation AFTER we have the crisis. Hopefully the inevitable AI systems crisis will not destroy us completely. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. In the meantime "we" will wring as much profit out of the coming automation as possible. Then, heaven help us.

Anonymous said...

Kinda brings new meaning to the end of days. We’ll know somewhat when the time is near when cybernetic organisms and AL are joined. Judgement Day. China will probably be the epicenter. The lack of morals and the desire to rule mankind will start the ball rolling.

Anonymous said...

The above two posters are scared of our AI overlords, yet will likely line up for the COVID19 vaccine

Anonymous said...

Yeah, we are going the way of Idiocracy.

Anonymous said...

The Industrial Revolution and its consequences havebeen a disaster for the human race.

Anonymous said...

3:12 How do you know that Sherlock?

Anonymous said...

For those of you lucky enough to be old enough to have listened to Paul Harvey on the radio, he said many times after reporting a new story that "we have outsmarted ourselves". Those words have never been more true that right now.

Anonymous said...

While I don’t condone the violence he committed, anyone interested in this subject should read Ted Kaczynski’s books. He is still very well informed and his writings are considered by scholars to be accurate prophecies of our technological demise. All of his published works are available on Amazon.

Anonymous said...

3:12 ROFLMAO!

You win an award for the worst comparison in human history! You might as well had compared an apple to an elephant.

9:52 You are close. He was and still is clinically insane and his thought patterns go off the rails ( see 3:12)

Anonymous said...

I must agree with you 11:24. There is too much money to be made, too many billionaires involved, too many competitive governments and too many deranged hackers to expect that artificial intelligence will be controlled before it is too late. It will make a real good SY-FI movie though.


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There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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