I am honoured to be chairing the delivery of the inaugural International Scientific Report on Advanced AI Safety. I am proud to publish this interim report which is the culmination of huge efforts by many experts over the six months since the work was commissioned at the Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit in November 2023. We know that advanced AI is developing very rapidly, and that there is considerable uncertainty over how these advanced AI systems might affect how we live and work in the future. AI has tremendous potential to change our lives for the better, but it also poses risks of harm. That is why having this thorough analysis of the available scientific literature and expert opinion is essential. The more we know, the better equipped we are to shape our collective destiny.

Originally published on Towards AI the World's Leading AI and Technology News and Media Company. If you are building an AI-related product or service, we invite you to consider becoming an AI sponsor. At Towards AI, we help scale AI and technology startups. Let us help you unleash your technology to the masses. I recently came across this question on determining our trust in AI systems.

Smart cities are supposed to represent the pinnacle of technological and human advancement. They certainly deliver on that promise from a technological standpoint. Smart cities employ connected IoT networks, AI, computer vision, NLP, blockchain and similar other technologies and applications to bolster urban computing, which is utilized to optimize a variety of functions in law enforcement, healthcare, traffic management, supply chain management and countless other areas. As human advancement is more ideological than physical, measuring it comes down to a single metric--the level of equity and inclusivity in smart cities. Essentially, these factors are down to how well smart city administrators can reduce digital exclusivity, eliminate algorithmic discrimination and increase citizen engagement. Addressing the issues related to data integrity and bias in AI can resolve a majority of inclusivity problems and meet the above-mentioned objectives.

Artificial intelligence systems are often criticized for built-in biases. Commercial facial-recognition software, for instance, may fail when attempting to classify women and people of color. In an effort to help make AI fairer in a variety of ways, Facebook (FB) is rolling out a new data set for AI researchers that includes a diverse group of paid actors who were explicitly asked to provide their own ages and genders. Facebook hopes researchers will use the open-source data set, which it announced Thursday, to help judge whether AI systems work well for people of different ages, genders, skin tones, and in different types of lighting. Facebook also released the data set internally for use within Facebook itself; the company said in a blog post that it is "encouraging" teams to use it.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our world in powerful ways, from improving medical care and changing the retail landscape to enabling convenient features on our smartphones. But as AI increasingly underpins our daily lives, important questions about its application – and potential misuse – will continue to arise. A new cohort of students will soon be poised to tackle these crucial questions head on, thanks to a fellowship and award program being established at McGill University through a generous $2-million donation to the Faculty of Science from BMO Financial Group. The fellowship program, open to graduate students, and the award program, open to undergraduate students from across the University, aims to train the next generation of professionals in the important ethical considerations surrounding the use of AI. The program will equip not just computer scientists and software developers, but also future industry leaders and policy makers with the necessary grounding and skills in the responsible and ethical use of AI, while attracting a diverse group of voices to the field.

When members of the scientific community gathered at the AAAS Annual Meeting in February, they did so in front of laptops and tablets from their home offices and dining tables. They presented over Zoom, submitted questions via chat, and caught up with colleagues over social media. The 2021 AAAS Annual Meeting was unlike any other in the meeting's 187-year history, but the fully virtual setting did not dampen enthusiasm for sharing science in keeping with the “Understanding Diverse Ecosystems” meeting theme. Dozens of scientific sessions shared new research in areas ranging from microbiomes to space travel. More than 40 workshops offered attendees the opportunity to discuss strategies for working in the ecosystems of academia and science policy. Plenary and topical lecturers covered timely topics, including Ruha Benjamin on how technology can deepen inequities, Anthony Fauci on the next steps for COVID-19 response, Mary Gray on research ethics, and Yalidy Matos on immigration policies. “The quality of the speakers was absolutely undeniable, and the diversity of the speakers—across gender, race, region—was just extraordinary,” said Sudip Parikh, chief executive officer of AAAS and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. “That is what our vision of the world looks like in a place where science is done with creativity and innovation and excellence.” Selecting a diverse meeting program is grounded in AAAS's values, but it is not without concerted effort, according to Claire Fraser. Fraser, who served as AAAS president through February and now serves as chair of the AAAS Board of Directors, selected the meeting theme and led the AAAS Meeting Scientific Program Committee, which oversees selection of the meeting's speakers. “The diversity doesn't happen by accident. I think it reflects the very strong commitment on the part of the Scientific Program Committee to make sure that not only is the science presented timely and excellent, but the diversity of speakers and participants is as broad as it possibly can be,” said Fraser, director of the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Diversity isn't an afterthought—it's a deliberate part of the very first review of potential scientific sessions, according to Andrew Black, chief of staff and chief public affairs officer. When hundreds of volunteer reviewers evaluate the quality of the submissions before sending the best for consideration by the Scientific Program Committee, they are also looking for diversity across many dimensions, Black said. Among those dimensions are diversity of scientific discipline—befitting AAAS's multidisciplinary membership—but also gender, race and ethnicity, geographic diversity, career stage, and type of institution, including all types and sizes of universities, industry, and government. “Who do you see, who do you hear, and what kind of voices are in dialogue with each other? That's part of our assessment process,” said Agustín Fuentes, professor of anthropology at Princeton University and a member of the Scientific Program Committee. The review process offers opportunities for applicants to diversify their sessions. Applicants are often encouraged to look beyond their own networks to add a range of voices to their presentation to best communicate their ideas to the broader scientific community, Fuentes said. “We need to think very carefully in this moment in time about how do we not only redress past biases and discriminatory practices but how do we create a space, a voice, and a suite of presenters that is very inviting to a diverse audience,” Fuentes said. Added Fraser, “What you end up with is even better because you have such broad perspectives represented.” The committee also emphasized the importance of ensuring that a diverse group of decision-makers have a seat at the table. Members of the Scientific Program Committee, who are nominated from across AAAS and its 26 disciplinary sections and approved by the AAAS Board, represent a broad range of groups and perspectives, Fraser said. “What I firmly believe is that you can't come up with a diverse program like we had this year and like we've had in previous years without that diversity in the program committee,” Fraser said. Commitment to diversity across many axes is part of AAAS Annual Meeting history. In the 1950s, AAAS refused to hold meetings in the segregated South. In 1976, under one of AAAS's first female presidents, Margaret Mead, the Annual Meeting was fully accessible to people with disabilities for the first time. According to the AAAS Project on Science, Technology, and Disability, wheelchair ramps were added to the conference hall, programs were made accessible for hearing-impaired and visually impaired attendees, and Mead's presidential address was simultaneously interpreted in sign language. In 1978, AAAS's Board of Directors voted to move the following year's Annual Meeting out of Chicago because Illinois had not ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1993, AAAS moved its 1999 meeting from Denver after Colorado voters adopted a constitutional amendment to deny residents protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Leaders at AAAS note that there is always more work to be done in the present and future—both at the Annual Meeting and year-round. AAAS continues to focus on its own systemic transformation in areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion and on the breadth of initiatives in its new Inclusive STEM Ecosystems for Equity & Diversity program, all to ensure that the scientific enterprise reflects the full range of talent. That goal resonated with many 2021 AAAS Annual Meeting speakers, too. A more diverse group of scientists creating artificial intelligence systems can improve those systems, said Ayanna Howard, a roboticist who leads The Ohio State University's College of Engineering, during her topical lecture, “Demystifying AI Through the Lens of Fairness and Bias.” Said Howard, “We as people are diverse and we're different and it makes us unique and beautiful, and our AI systems should be designed in such a way.” Nalini Nadkarni, a University of Utah biologist who delivered a topical lecture on “Forests, the Earth, and Ourselves: Understanding Dynamic Systems Through an Interdisciplinary Lens,” shared how she reaches young girls to let them know that science—and her own scientific specialty—is a space where they can thrive. She and her students created and distributed “Treetop Barbie,” dressing a doll in fieldwork clothes and creating a doll-sized booklet about canopy plants. The Annual Meeting offers a chance to show that science is best when it is for everyone, regardless of background or perspective, whether they're a kid or just a kid at heart. Said Parikh, “The AAAS Annual Meeting is where the pages of Science literally come alive. It's a place where scientists, no matter what discipline or industry they decided to pursue, can pull back and just fall in love with the idea of science again—like we did when we were kids.”

Organizations today recognize the critical importance of diversity. They address it by changing internal practices and establishing chief diversity officers to enable equal opportunities and to strive for greater inclusion so that teams with a wealth of cultures, beliefs, experiences and skills can make their companies even stronger. The realization that diverse teams achieve better outcomes than homogenous ones was further reinforced by a McKinsey study that found that the most ethnically and racially diverse companies had a better chance of outperforming their peers. Those companies had a 33% great probability of achieving above-average returns. Whether it's pricing stocks or determining guilt or innocence in a trial, a diverse group is more likely to examine the facts and be objective and accurate.

The nation's thought leaders in Artificial Intelligence (AI) will discuss innovation and share insight into the application of AI in all aspects of life, society and medicine at the eighth annual SINAInnovations festival on October 15-16 at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. A Health Hackathon challenge will kick-off the festival on October 11-13, and will focus on creating novel solutions using AI that expands the limits of human performance. Topic areas for the health hackathon include: E-Sports, Mobility, and Adaptive Sports; Memory and Mental Agility; Social Connectivity and Communication; and Professional Performance in Medicine. "Artificial intelligence is reshaping our world and promises to transform the science and practice of medicine. We are delighted to host an event that captures the promise of this field through a range of presentations by thought leaders and innovators. It will be an event to remember."

The question in the AI market is no longer about whether AI can affect the workplace and the human workforce. Instead, the raging curiosity in the market revolves around a series of interlinked questions: When will the AI Wave happen? Will robots replace the whole human workforce? What would the end result look like? Well, AI is happening right now in front of our eyes.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2018--, which, an artificial intelligence provider and legal research solution, has formed an internal Artificial Intelligence Taskforce consisting of attorney and staff representatives from various practice and industry groups throughout the firm to promote the use of new and disruptive technologies. A diverse group in terms of roles, practice groups and subject matter expertise, the taskforce is tasked with fostering the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and other innovative technologies in ways that complement the firm's strategic business plan. Working with attorneys and staff, the group will continue to establish the firm's short and long-term strategy and execution of the firm's artificial intelligence action plan, taking into account the latest developments in the legal industry and beyond. "Artificial intelligence is growing at a phenomenal speed, and we are proud to be early adopters," said Chief Digital Officer Victor Barkalov. "We are operating at a time when AI has a potential impact on almost every aspect of our business, and we realized quickly that we needed a diverse group to assess how to best implement machine learning throughout the firm, while ensuring we are keeping our clients' best interests in mind. The taskforce recently recommended and implemented Clocktimizer, a tool designed to review timekeeping data to bring predictability and transparency to legal project management and budgeting. "Clocktimizer uses natural language processing to read time card narratives and identify the tasks and activities to help our attorneys with matter management, budgeting and pricing.