What would make the UK a better place to live? People across the UK are being urged to share their vision for how their community and country's future should look, as part of a major new research project. The National Conversation is being launched with voice notes submitted by high-profile figures, including former footballer Gary Lineker, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, and broadcaster Mariella Frostrup. Participants will be asked to complete a survey carried out by researchers from the University of Oxford and leave a 60-second voice note. AI models will then be used to analyse thousands of responses to map what could bring us together.

Ireland's first ambassador for artificial intelligence (AI) has been appointed. Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy TD, yesterday (Tuesday May 10) appointed Dr Patricia Scanlon to the role. The doctor will lead a national conversation on the role of AI in Irish lives, emphasising Ireland's commitment to an ethical approach in the use of the technology. Minister Robert Troy said, "Digitisation is transforming our lives and our economy and artificial intelligence will be at the forefront of this transformation. It is widely used in so many areas of everyday life from helping us choose what films we watch to how we book flights and so much more."

Microsoft Corp. said it won't sell facial-recognition technology to U.S. police until there is a national law regulating its use, echoing similar commitments from Amazon.com Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. made this week. The trio of technology companies have called for clearer federal rules around the surveillance technology amid widespread concern about its potential for racial bias. Meanwhile, the popular fantasy card game, "Magic: The Gathering," removed several cards it deemed racist or culturally offensive from its database, including one depicting figures in pointed hoods. The Hasbro-subsidiary behind the game also pledged to review all cards for material deemed inappropriate. The moves are the latest public actions by businesses lining up to show their commitment to racial equality.

It's never been quite clear, she says, whether the phrase--which is frequently the entire output of a student's first computer program--is supposed to be attributed to the program, awakening for the first time, or to the programmer, announcing their triumphant first creation. Perhaps for this reason, "Hello World" calls to mind a dialogue between human and machine, one which has never been more relevant than it is today. Her book, called Hello World, published in September, walks us through a rapidly computerizing world. Fry is both optimistic and excited--along with her Ph.D. students at the University of College, London, she has worked on many algorithms herself--and cautious. In conversation and in her book, she issues a call to arms: We need to make algorithms transparent, regulated, and forgiving of the flawed creatures that converse with them.