Affordable childcare may be more important than developments in AI for American innovation, says Reshma Saujani, founder of Moms First and Girls Who Code. Saujani spoke about her concerns about affordable childcare in light of emergency federal support for US childcare coming to an end. Emergency Federal Childcare Funding Expires The childcare funding expired on September 30, leaving as many as 70,000 childcare centers at risk of closing, with as many as 3.2 million children losing their spots. The funding stemmed from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the $1.9
Taiwanese American model Sheeren Wu has alleged that a fashion designer uploaded an AI-altered image of her to make her appear white. What Happened? Wu took to TikTok to explain the incident as Michael Costello, a designer who has worked with Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, and Celine Dion, posted a photo of her to his Instagram. The image was from a recent LA fashion show, where she states she walked for Costello. However, Wu explained that although it was the black ballgown she walked the runway in, her face had been
A survey conducted by Charter Works found that 53% of Black respondents are afraid of being replaced by AI in comparison to 39% of white respondents. The survey detailed the many possible futures for the technology, including how it can augment workers, displace workers, change the vast majority of jobs, and perpetuate biases. It can also have positives, such as identifying and removing biases, decreasing economic inequality, and being a coach for employees. Currently, one-third of organizations are applying AI across several business units, and 83% of companies consider using
The Colorado Division of Insurance (CDI) has adopted a new regulation to prevent life insurers that rely on models and ECDIS from engaging in race-based discrimination. Life insurance regulators have been grappling for several years with the potential risks and benefits of insurers using AI and the significant external data sources utilized by AI in underwriting. The technology used raises regulatory questions, including concerns that its use could cause unfair discrimination. Several insurance regulators have also expressed concern that external data sources used by AI and other algorithms could contribute
President Joe Biden has signed the first-ever AI Executive Order (EO), establishing new standards for AI safety and security. The EO aims to protect Americans’ privacy, advance equity and civil rights, and stand up for consumers and workers while promoting the US’ position as a leader in AI. This includes making it easier for AI experts and highly skilled professionals from other countries to migrate to the US. Streamlining Immigration for AI experts Included in the EO is a set of directives designed to boost the ability of immigrants with
Fei-Fei Li, the Stanford professor dubbed the “godmother of AI,” recently urged President Biden to aggressively fund more AI research and public projects. Unlike many of her industry peers, Li does not fear AI’s existential risks. Instead, she told Bloomberg it’s better to address the issues right here and right now before they escalate. The ‘godmother’ of AI Fei-Fei Li is a computer scientist, AI Researcher, professor at Stanford University, and Author of “The Worlds I See.” After moving from China to New Jersey at the age of 15, she
Some of the most high-profile AI chatbots generate responses that perpetuate false or debunked medical information about Black people, a new study has found. While large language models (LLMs) are being integrated into healthcare systems, these models may advance harmful, inaccurate race-based medicine. Perpetuating debunked race myths A study by some Stanford School of Medicine doctors assessed whether four AI chatbots responded with race-based medicine or misconceptions around race. They looked at OpenAI’s ChatGPT, OpenAI’s GPT-4, Google’s Bard, and Anthropic’s Claude. All four models used debunked race-based information when asked
Latimer, named after African-American inventor Lewis Latimer, is a new platform trying to make generative AI more inclusive. The new large language model (LLM) is built to reflect the experience, culture, and history of Black and brown people more accurately. The platform recently announced new partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to help bring the inclusive tool to students, agencies, brands, and the general public. Tackling racial bias and erasure Many generative AI models amplify the bias, inaccuracy, and erasure of Black and brown cultural data. A Bloomberg
The PGA Tour, the world’s premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, posted AI-generated headshots of their players on Instagram. While the white players appeared against gray neutral backdrops, the players of color appeared against “rugged” and delipidated backdrops, reigniting concerns over racial bias. What Happened? The PGA Tour released 12 images of players on Instagram, with the caption: “We asked AI to expand our player’s headshots… Here’s what happened.” The photos included 10 white players and 2 players of color, Tony Finau and Collin Morikawa. Finau is of Tongan
According to The Information, Meta is paying creators such as Snoop Dogg millions for AI chatbots, with the top creator making as much as $5 million over two years for six hours of work in a studio. During Meta’s Connect event in September, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta will be integrating new AI assistants across its social media platforms that can have human-like conversations. While the company has its own AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT, it has now introduced 28 new ones with different personalities that use celebrities’ images. These
