AI ethics keeps getting more complex and surprising

Talk about international curbs on face biometrics typically ignore two massive areas -- China and Africa. As China continues to use and sell facial recognition systems on scale that is unprecedented on Earth, regulation is not something that gets meaningful debate. And Africa continues to suffer the narrowmindedness of governments and industries in developed economies. An article in The Conversation touching on AI development on the continent lists three AI and machine learning programs underway in African nations when most people living north of the equator would be surprised that any work at all is being done there. But China surprised AI ethicists worldwide this week by endorsing draft United Nations recommendations intended to, among other things, convince signatory countries to ban AI for social scoring and mass surveillance.