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Lost in Translation: Policymakers are not really listening to Citizen Concerns about AI

Aaronson, Susan Ariel, Moreno, Michael

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

The worlds people have strong opinions about artificial intelligence (AI), and they want policymakers to listen. Governments are inviting public comment on AI, but as they translate input into policy, much of what citizens say is lost. Policymakers are missing a critical opportunity to build trust in AI and its governance. This paper compares three countries, Australia, Colombia, and the United States, that invited citizens to comment on AI risks and policies. Using a landscape analysis, the authors examined how each government solicited feedback and whether that input shaped governance. Yet in none of the three cases did citizens and policymakers establish a meaningful dialogue. Governments did little to attract diverse voices or publicize calls for comment, leaving most citizens unaware or unprepared to respond. In each nation, fewer than one percent of the population participated. Moreover, officials showed limited responsiveness to the feedback they received, failing to create an effective feedback loop. The study finds a persistent gap between the promise and practice of participatory AI governance. The authors conclude that current approaches are unlikely to build trust or legitimacy in AI because policymakers are not adequately listening or responding to public concerns. They offer eight recommendations: promote AI literacy; monitor public feedback; broaden outreach; hold regular online forums; use innovative engagement methods; include underrepresented groups; respond publicly to input; and make participation easier.


Using LLMs to create analytical datasets: A case study of reconstructing the historical memory of Colombia

Anderson, David, Benitez, Galia, Bjarnadottir, Margret, Reyya, Shriyan

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Colombia has been submerged in decades of armed conflict, yet until recently, the systematic documentation of violence was not a priority for the Colombian government. This has resulted in a lack of publicly available conflict information and, consequently, a lack of historical accounts. This study contributes to Colombia's historical memory by utilizing GPT, a large language model (LLM), to read and answer questions about over 200,000 violence-related newspaper articles in Spanish. We use the resulting dataset to conduct both descriptive analysis and a study of the relationship between violence and the eradication of coca crops, offering an example of policy analyses that such data can support. Our study demonstrates how LLMs have opened new research opportunities by enabling examinations of large text corpora at a previously infeasible depth.


Gold coins confirm 'world's richest shipwreck' is 18th century Spanish galleon

Popular Science

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. The yearslong international fight to lay claim to the suspected "world's richest shipwreck" likely won't end anytime soon, especially after a research team's most recent conclusions. Experts have confirmed that dozens of gold coins scattered across the ocean floor off the coast of Colombia belonged to the San José, an ill-fated Spanish treasure galleon that sank over 300 years ago during a battle with British warships. The findings were published on June 10 in the journal Antiquity. In June 1708, the San José and a fleet of 17 other vessels departed the capital of Colombia for Europe laden with gold, silver, and uncut gems.


Colombia to send deep-water expedition to explore 300-year-old shipwreck thought to hold treasure

FOX News

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Colombia's government on Friday announced plans for a deep-water expedition to explore the mythical galleon San José, sunk in the 18th century in the country's northern Caribbean and believed to contain cargo valued at billions of dollars. It is the first phase of a scientific research into deep waters that aims at collecting information to determine which pieces are suitable and possible to extract. The wreckage is 600 meters deep in the sea.


Suspects charged in torture, murder of Hmong American comedian in Colombia

FOX News

Three people have been jailed in the kidnapping and killing of a Hmong American comedian and activist who was found dead near Medellín after going out to meet a woman he reportedly met on social media, Colombian officials announced Thursday. The Prosecutor's Office said in a statement that two men and a woman were charged with the crimes of aggravated kidnapping for extortion and aggravated homicide in the death last month of Tou Ger Xiong, 50. The suspects denied the charges at a hearing, the statement said. A minor who presented himself to the Public Prosecutor's Office admitting to having participated in the crime also was charged in the case and transferred to a special detention center for minors, it added. The U.S. Embassy in Bogota warned a week ago about Colombian criminals who use dating apps to lure victims and then assault and rob them.


Venezuela's Maduro Rallies Supporters After Drone Blasts

U.S. News

Maduro, whose approval ratings hover around 25 percent, with opponents blaming his policies for worsening an economic meltdown, has called government supporters to unite in the face of what he described as right-wing plots led by the neighboring Colombian government and exiles in the United States.


Maduro says 'far right,' Colombian president behind assassination attempt using drones

The Japan Times

CARACAS – Drones armed with explosives detonated near Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an apparent assassination attempt that took place while he was delivering a speech to hundreds of soldiers being broadcast live on television, officials said. Caught by surprise mid-speech, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, looked up at the sky and winced after hearing the sound of an explosion pierce the air. "This was an attempt to kill me," he said later in an impassioned retelling of the events. "Today they attempted to assassinate me." Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the incident took place shortly after 5:30 p.m. as Maduro was celebrating the National Guard's 81st anniversary.


Experts disclose new details about 300-year-old shipwreck

Daily Mail - Science & tech

A Spanish galleon laden with treasures worth £12.6 billion ($17 billion) that sank to the bottom of the Caribbean 300 years ago was found using an autonomous robot, researchers have revealed. The San Jose, sunk by the Royal Navy, gained a reputation as the'holy grail' of shipwrecks and was carrying one of the most valuable hauls of treasure ever lost at sea. The 62-gun, three-masted galleon, went down on June 8, 1708, with 600 people on board as well as a treasure of gold, silver and emeralds during a battle with British ships in the War of Spanish Succession. The San Jose was located by an underwater autonomous vehicle operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) back in 2015. The institution said it was keeping its involvement in the discovery quiet out of respect for the Colombian government.