TikTok quietly changed its US privacy policy this week to notify users it may start collecting'faceprint and voiceprint' and other biometric data. The app did not specify what the data would be used for but said it would ask for permission first, 'where required by law.' The update comes just three months after TikTok paid more than $90 million to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming it secretly recorded millions of members' facial features and other biomarkers. TikTok reportedly has 100 million users in the US alone. TikTok has updated its privacy policy to notify US users it may record the'faceprint and voiceprint' and other unique biometric data.

The French artificial intelligence (AI) software developer Avicenna.AI has received clearance in the U.S. and the European Union for its Cina Chest AI software. Cina Chest, which includes tools for the detection and emergency triage of pulmonary embolism and aortic dissection from CT scans, has received the CE Mark in Europe and 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Cina Chest is part of Avicenna's Cina family of AI tools, which also includes the company's Cina Head software, which also has FDA clearance and the CE Mark. "Our pulmonary embolism and aortic dissection triage tools are the third and fourth algorithms we've released in less than 12 months, demonstrating our ambition to create AI applications that support detection and triage of emergencies throughout the entire body," said Cyril Di Grandi, co-founder and CEO of Avicenna.AI. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in La Ciotat, France.

The Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI), based at the Science and Technology Facilities Council's (STFC) Daresbury Laboratory in the Liverpool City Region, will create vacancies for an additional 60 scientists and opportunities for students to gain invaluable hands-on experience. The centre – a partnership between STFC and IBM – will bring together world-leading expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing to support the application of the cutting-edge technologies in industry and the public sector. Possible industry applications of quantum computing include optimising complex logistics such as picking and packing orders in large warehouses for supermarkets; traffic routing; energy distribution; improving design and manufacturing processes across automotive sectors. The government will invest £172 million over 5 years through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), with an additional £38 million being invested by IBM. Artificial intelligence and quantum computing have the potential to revolutionise everything from the way we travel to the way we shop.

Over the last five years, unfairness in machine learning has gone from almost unknown to hitting the headlines frequently, and new cases of unwanted bias introduced in automated processes are frequently discovered. However, there is still no "one-size-fits-all" standard machine learning tool to prevent and assess such bias. In this article, we will deal with how to explain unfairness in a machine learning algorithm. In 2014, in a report called Big Data: Seizing Opportunities and Preserving Values, the Executive Office of President Obama pointed out the fact that "big data technologies can cause societal harms beyond damages to privacy, such as discrimination against individuals and groups". This was the first time unfairness in machine learning had been officially recognized as a potential harm.

From the battlefield to the back office, artificial intelligence has the potential to transform how the Defense Department does business in areas like increasing the speed of decision making, making sense of complex data sets and improving efficiency in back-office operations. Ensuring that AI is developed, procured and used responsibly and ethically is a top priority for the department's top leader. "As the Department of Defense embraces artificial intelligence, it is imperative that we adopt responsible behavior, processes and outcomes in a manner that reflects the department's commitment to its core set of ethical principles," Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks wrote in a department-wide memorandum released last week. As part of that commitment to responsible artificial intelligence, or RAI, the memorandum sets forth foundational tenets for implementation across the department including a governance structure and processes to provide oversight and accountability; warfighter trust to ensure fidelity in the AI capability and its use, a systems engineering and risk management approach to implementation in the AI product and acquisition lifecycle; a robust ecosystem to ensure collaboration across government, academia, industry, and allies and build an AI-ready workforce. The memorandum also spelled out how the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center will serve as the lead to coordinate the implementation and oversight of the department's RAI efforts.

The European Union has created the world's first encompassing legal framework for artificial intelligence. The European Commission's proposals set out rules for the oversight of AI and its regulation. Instead of dealing with the vast majority of current AI uses, which represent minimal risk to Europe's citizens, the proposals focus on riskier applications. Any system that poses a potential threat to a person's rights or safety will be banned, for example systems that allow social scoring by governments or that can manipulate people through subliminal techniques. Other systems that are considered'high-risk' – AI sotware used in areas such as policing, migration management, scoring of examinations or recruitment procedures – will be subject to strict obligations concerning data quality and transparency before they can be put on the market.

The Russian government has issued a detailed plan of legal changes in support of AV testing and the launch of commercial use on public roads, without a safety driver in the cabin. The legislative work on the plan, initiated in mid-2020, was given a powerful boost early this year, the federal ministry of transportation stated in a press release back in March. The program "will set the regulatory conditions for inclusion of autonomous vehicles into the transportation system in the period from 2021 to 2024" in a way that "ensures safety of road users and compliance with the existing norms and rules". The ministry has had consultations with technological companies Yandex and Sber, truckmakers Gaz and Kamaz and oil company Gazprom Neft, all major benefactors of the legal changes. These companies, as well as a number of smaller AV developers and potential consumers, have often claimed to be ready for the wider use of AVs when legislation allows.

Here's what you need to know as you start your day State Department was steered away from coronavirus origins probe, ex-officials say State Department leaders were warned not to pursue an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, former department officials told Fox News on Thursday. The concern was that a probe would bring attention to U.S. funding of research at the Wuhan institute from which the virus may have escaped. Vanity Fair reported that officials calling for transparency from the Chinese government were told not to explore the Wuhan Institute of Virology's "gain of function" research, because it would bring what the outlet described as "unwelcome" attention of U.S. government funding into that research. The outlet reported that Thomas DiNanno, a former acting assistant secretary of the State Department's Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, wrote in a January memo that staff from two bureaus "warned" leaders within his office not to probe the origins of the virus because it risked opening "a can of worms." Multiple former State Department officials told Fox News that the reported memo accurately describes what was happening at State at the time and that there was an effort among some officials at the department to oppose an extensive investigation into a possible lab leak.

The Royal Navy has made its first at-sea use of artificial intelligence (AI) to track supersonic missile attacks, as part of a NATO exercise taking place off the west coast of Scotland. HMS Dragon, a destroyer, and frigate HMS Lancaster are testing how two AI software packages can support personnel in reacting to missile threats. Startle monitors airspace and generates alerts and recommendations, while Sycoiea builds on this to identify incoming missiles and recommend weapons to deal with them. The AI software is designed to help personnel react faster, rather than replacing humans. "I was able identify missile threats more quickly than usual and even outwit the operations room," said above water tactician leading seaman Sean Brooks on HMS Lancaster.

The United Nations should follow the European Commission in establishing a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence and biometrics to protect people subject to the technologies, build trust in their use and take the pressure off data scientists to constantly justify the ethics, writes Eleonore Fournier-Tombs of McGill University for The Conversation. The European Commission (EC) put forward proposals in April 2021 that seek to harmonize rules on artificial intelligence and create mechanisms which Fournier-Tombs likens to the process for seeking approval for a new drug. Developers of a new high-risk application of AI would have to submit it for regulatory approval. They would also have to provide details on how the models and data are used and how impacts on privacy or discrimination would be addressed. Areas of risk include biometric identification, categorization and evaluation of the eligibility of people for accessing welfare and services, including in emergency response situations.