Ever since James Lovelock conceived of his Gaia theory -- that the planet is one self-regulating organism, which the Anthropocene Age of human dominance is destabilizing -- the world has been looking for a philosophy that fits this dawning realization. The human-centered materialist progress of Enlightenment rationality opened up the space of personal autonomy and freedom from necessity as never before. But it also ravaged nature as a resource to feed industrialized desire and fragmented human communities through the cult of the individual. To mend that breach with nature and others, what departure will take us in another direction? Won't algorithms spun from the same philosophical thread lock us even more so into the same trajectory encoded into artificial intelligence, the step function of our next leap forward? It is this doubt about where we are headed that has prompted a look back at other philosophical dispositions eclipsed by Western modernity to plumb alternative futures.

Industry body CII today said it has set up a forum on artificial intelligence (AI) that will prioritise four sectors for the current year. Headed by IBM's regional head Sandip Patel, the forum also interacted with NITI Aayog senior adviser Anna Roy on the government's efforts to enhance the use of technology, while also focusing on the use of AI for public good. The four sectors which have been prioritised are banking and financial services industries, retail, social (healthcare) and manufacturing (automotive). The forum will seek to build a strong AI ecosystem by building awareness, skilling and re-skilling the workforce, helping shape a conducive policy and regulatory regime, and encouraging public-private partnerships in R&D, said a CII statement. "The transformational potential of responsible AI-driven solutions can be used to fuel India's growth story in a big way as the economy moves into the recovery and revival phase," said the forum's chief Patel.

A visiting researcher at UCLA has been arrested and charged with destroying evidence, the latest Chinese national to face accusations in U.S. courts of trying to conceal ties to China's military or government institutions. The FBI began investigating Guan Lei in July, suspecting he had committed visa fraud and possibly transferred "sensitive software or technical data" from UCLA, where he studied machine-learning algorithms in the school's mathematics department, to "high-ranking" officials in the Chinese military, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit. Guan, 29, isn't charged with those crimes. Instead he's accused of destroying evidence after agents, staking out his apartment in Irvine, saw him pull a computer hard drive from his sock and throw it into a trash bin, Agent Timothy D. Hurt wrote in the affidavit. Guan discarded the damaged drive days after being interviewed by investigators and attempting to board a flight back to China, Hurt wrote.

New York – Elon Musk isn't content with electric cars, shooting people into orbit, populating Mars and building underground tunnels to solve traffic problems. He also wants to get inside your brain. His startup, Neuralink, wants to one day implant computer chips inside the human brain. The goal is to develop implants that can treat neural disorders -- and that may one day be powerful enough to put humanity on a more even footing with possible future superintelligent computers. In a video demonstration Friday explicitly aimed at recruiting new employees, Musk showed off a prototype of the device.

This blog post is part of a series where Portulans staff review recent developments in tech policy. Check our Twitter and LinkedIn to follow the conversation. Last month saw the launch of the Oxford Commission on AI and Good Governance, hosted by the Oxford Internet Institute (where our Board Member, Bill Dutton, is a Senior Fellow). Over the next eighteen months, OxCAIGG will contribute research and evidence-based policy recommendations to help governments and public sectors worldwide properly understand and mobilize the power and opportunities granted by machine learning and data science. To this end, the Commission unites world-leading experts on governance, technology, security and human rights.

Elon Musk isn't content with electric cars, shooting people into orbit, populating Mars and building underground tunnels to solve traffic problems. He also wants to get inside your brain. His startup, Neuralink, wants to one day implant computer chips inside the human brain. The goal is to develop implants that can treat neural disorders -- and that may one day be powerful enough to put humanity on a more even footing with possible future superintelligent computers. In a video demonstration Friday explicitly aimed at recruiting new employees, Musk showed off a prototype of the device.

Is your artificial intelligence fair? Thanks to the increasing adoption of AI, this has become a question that data scientists and legal personnel now routinely confront. Despite the significant resources companies have spent on responsible AI efforts in recent years, organizations still struggle with the day-to-day task of understanding how to operationalize fairness in AI. So what should companies do to steer clear of employing discriminatory algorithms? They can start by looking to a host of legal and statistical precedents for measuring and ensuring algorithmic fairness.

Don Lemon reacts to President Trump's RNC speech, points blame at Trump voters. CNN anchor Don Lemon went after Trump voters yet again following the president's speech at the Republican National Convention Thursday, saying they must suffer from "cognitive dissonance" to support someone Lemon described as a "bad person." Lemon's colleague Chris Cuomo had told him that the president's supporters had concluded that despite Trump's flaws, "Joe Biden will be worse" for the country. Cuomo theorized that Trump's voters are willing to "forgive" Trump's wrongdoings rather than vote for the Democrat. "I think you're letting them off easy," Lemon responded.

This is a guest post article by Sean Williamson. As the world is going digital at an extraordinarily fast pace, the cyber-attacks are also growing in number and complexity. There are different kinds of problems within the field of cybersecurity. This is the reason why cybersecurity is the primary concern of businesses and companies depending on technology. The latest technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are playing a significant role in safeguarding their systems and protecting them against online threats and cyberattacks.

Guidelines for the responsible and effective procurement of artificial intelligence by governments to better meet the needs of citizens and enhance public servicesThe challenge Artificial intelligence (AI) holds the potential to vastly improve government operations and help meet the needs of citizens in new ways, ranging from traffic management to healthcare delivery to processing tax forms. But most public institutions have not yet adopted this powerful technology. While public sector officials are increasingly aware of the transformational impact of data and AI-powered solutions, the data needed for AI solutions to be developed and deployed is often neither accessible nor discoverable. Public sector officials may also lack the appropriate knowledge and expertise to make strategic buying decisions for AI-powered tools. Uncertainty about ethical considerations adds further layers of complexity. As a result, officials tend to delay buying decisions, or reduce perceived risk by concentrating their purchasing on a few known suppliers. The opportunity The World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought together a multistakeholder community to co-design the AI Procurement in a Box toolkit guide for governments to rethink their public procurement processes:  IntroductionGuidelines for AI procurement, presenting the general considerations to be taken when government is procuring AI-powered solutionsWorkbook for policy and procurement officials guiding them through the guidelines ChallengesPilot case studiesThis guidance aims to empower government officials to more confidently make responsible AI purchasing decisions. The tools also improve the experience for AI solutions providers by supporting the creation of transparent and innovative public procurement processes that meet their needs. Impact By co-designing these guidelines with governments, small and large businesses, civil society and academia, the intended impact is the responsible deployment of AI solutions for the public benefit of constituents. Leveraging the significant purchasing power of government in the market, the private-sector adoption of the guidelines can permeate the industry beyond the adoption by public sector organizations. Embedding the principles advocated for in the guidelines into administrative processes will also expand opportunities for new entrants and create a more competitive environment for the ethical development of AI. Further, as industry debates its own standards on these technologies, the government’s influence can help set a baseline for the harmonization of standards-setting. Project accomplishments  March–September 2019: Policy development – the World Economic Forum worked with fellows from the public and private sectors, and a multistakeholder group that also included academia and civil society organizations, to create action-orientated guidelines for government procurement of AI. October–March 2020: Pilot and Iteration – the project team validated guidelines through feedback sessions and a pilot project with the United Kingdom government, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and the Government of Bahrain. June 2020: Publication of the AI Procurement in a Box guide that will allow governments to effectively learn and adopt the best practices developed.Contact information For more information, contact Kay Firth-Butterfield, Head of AI and Machine Learning, World Economic Forum, at Kay.Firth-Butterfield@weforum.org.