AI... A new dawn, or the demise of humanity ?

[phenomlab]

Big Brother is watching you. Literally, and making incorrect decisions in the process

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-69055945

[phenomlab]

https://news.sky.com/story/ai-regulators-under-resourced-compared-to-developers-committee-warns-13144214

[phenomlab]

Now here’s a use for AI would support.

https://news.sky.com/story/artificial-intelligence-could-help-detect-heart-failure-risk-early-on-study-shows-13145063

[phenomlab]

This is bad for democracy, as the article indicates. Not only has the general election not even taken place in the UK, but to immediately provide the “winner” is problematic to say the least when nobody really knows how people will vote.

Sure, there are polls etc, but what really matters is the actual vote count.

https://news.sky.com/story/chatgpt-tells-users-labour-has-already-won-the-election-13148330

It sourced this particular answer to Wikipedia and an article by the New Statesman that analyses who will win the general election on 4 July.

And this is where it all falls apart. ChatGPT is clearly only as accurate as the resources it harvests - even if they are predictions.

[phenomlab]

Here we go again - META completely ignoring privacy to “train” it’s own AI

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw99n3qjeyjo

[phenomlab]

Ok, now this is creepy. Not only do these look realistic, but according to the article

“Psychological counselling and health are certainly future application scenarios. We are currently conducting research such as auxiliary treatment and preliminary screening for emotional and psychological disorders,” he says.

I personally think anyone suffering with mental health issues is likely to be pushed over the edge by this rather than assist with their recovery.

https://news.sky.com/story/hyper-realistic-humanoid-robots-could-be-used-in-psychotherapy-13151120

[phenomlab]

Seems even the Pope has something to say about AI…

https://news.sky.com/story/pope-francis-warns-ai-poses-risk-to-human-dignity-itself-as-he-becomes-first-pontiff-to-address-g7-13153053

[phenomlab]

Some useful tips here to help secure your personally identifiable information

https://news.sky.com/story/ai-and-smart-technology-simple-tips-from-experts-to-protect-your-privacy-13152599

[phenomlab]

This one is nothing short of amusing, but carries the same message

The decision comes amid concerns over the potential impact AI could have on jobs and the workplace.

https://news.sky.com/story/mcdonalds-ends-ai-drive-thru-trial-after-order-mishaps-13155091

[phenomlab]

@phenomlab Here’s an update to this specific article

https://news.sky.com/story/scarlett-johnasson-speaks-out-about-clash-with-openai-13158491

[phenomlab]

Now there’s a surprise - NOT

https://news.sky.com/story/meta-is-planning-to-use-your-facebook-and-instagram-posts-to-train-ai-and-not-everyone-can-opt-out-13158655

Supplementary opt-out information for EU and UK residents

How users in Europe and the UK can opt out

Users in the European Union and the UK, which are protected by strict data protection regimes, have the right to object to their data being scraped, so they can opt out more easily.

If you have a Facebook account:

1. Log in to your account. You can access the new privacy policy by following this link. At the very top of the page, you should see a box that says “Learn more about your right to object.” Click on that link, or here. Alternatively, you can click on your account icon at the top right-hand corner. Select “Settings and privacy” and then “Privacy center.” On the left-hand side you will see a drop-down menu labeled “How Meta uses information for generative AI models and features.” Click on that, and scroll down. Then click on “Right to object.”

2. Fill in the form with your information. The form requires you to explain how Meta’s data processing affects you. I was successful in my request by simply stating that I wished to exercise my right under data protection law to object to my personal data being processed. You will likely have to confirm your email address.

3. You should soon receive both an email and a notification on your Facebook account confirming if your request has been successful. I received mine a minute after submitting the request.

If you have an Instagram account:

1. Log in to your account. Go to your profile page, and click on the three lines at the top-right corner. Click on “Settings and privacy.”

2. Scroll down to the “More info and support” section, and click “About.” Then click on “Privacy policy.” At the very top of the page, you should see a box that says “Learn more about your right to object.” Click on that link, or here.

3. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as above.

Provided courtesy of https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/06/14/1093789/how-to-opt-out-of-meta-ai-training/

I have just submitted my request using the guidelines above. I’ll post here as soon as I receive a response

EDIT: I’ve now received a response from Facebook below

Hi ,

We’ve reviewed your request and will honor your objection. This means your request will be applied going forward.

If you want to learn more about generative AI, and our privacy work in this new space, please review the information we have in Privacy Center.

facebook.com/privacy/genai

This inbox cannot accept incoming messages. If you send us a reply, it won’t be received.

Thanks,
Privacy Operations

Based on this, it appears that Facebook are open to exclusion. However, if they were not, I would have deleted my account.

[phenomlab]

Who said that the Terminator franchise was just “Hollywood”? Cybernetic Organism, anyone?

https://news.sky.com/story/scientists-attach-living-skin-to-robots-to-make-them-smile-13161762

“We believe that creating a thicker and more realistic skin can be achieved by incorporating sweat glands, sebaceous glands, pores, blood vessels, fat and nerves.”

Plain creepy and the shape of things to come. If scientists are performing procedures like this now, imagine where they’ll be in 5-10 years time.

[phenomlab]

Nice to see Cloudflare putting in measures to prevent AI bots from scraping websites to improve their training data.

https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/03/cloudflare-launches-a-tool-to-combat-ai-bots/

In a letter to publishers last month, content licensing startup TollBit said that, in fact, it sees “many AI agents” ignoring the robots.txt standard.

Whilst it’s no secret that crawlers are ignoring robots.txt, it does raise the alarm somewhat

https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/multiple-ai-companies-bypassing-web-standard-scrape-publisher-sites-licensing-2024-06-21/

[phenomlab]

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/meta-suspension-ai-data-training/

Effective immediately, the ANPD directive suspends Meta’s policy, citing potential violations of Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD).

The authority’s decision, enforceable by a daily fine of R$ 50,000 (roughly US$9,000) for non-compliance, underscores worries about inadequate legal bases for data processing, lack of transparency regarding policy changes and potential infringements on user rights, particularly concerning children and adolescents.

[phenomlab]

https://news.sky.com/story/new-ai-tool-could-be-game-changer-in-battle-against-alzheimers-13177240

[crazycells]

@phenomlab I do believe AI will change the health industry deeply. Especially, while diagnosing a disease, AI can be trained to recognize certain patterns on films and tests. Of course I believe it always will require an expert (I do not think this part will be eliminated) to give the final diagnosis, but it still can save lots of time and efforts.

[phenomlab]

@crazycells Yes, agreed. This will change the shape of healthcare and enable experts to make early diagnosis, and hopefully one day, eradicate cancer all together (for example). I just shudder at the thought of synthetically grown muscle and flesh being placed on a robot. It’s a bit too “Hollywood” for me, and makes the Terminator franchise look more and more like an accurate prediction rather than simple fiction.

[crazycells]

@phenomlab well, hopefully it will make healthcare professionals life easier, but by itself, it cannot cure cancer since we cannot do that for all types of cancers yet some types of cancer are very aggressive and still waiting for a cure.

I think human flesh thing is just for media attention, I would be surprised if they would make it mainstream for all types of robots, since it will require attention and care. If it is not fed and taken care of human flesh will rot lol

We are making robots so we can be lazy lol I am pretty sure no one would buy a robot that they have to take care of regularly like a pet.

[phenomlab]

@crazycells said in AI... A new dawn, or the demise of humanity ?:

it cannot cure cancer since we cannot do that for all types of cancers yet some types of cancer are very aggressive and still waiting for a cure.

Very true, but it could certainly speed up the research and lab testing.

@crazycells said in AI... A new dawn, or the demise of humanity ?:

I think human flesh thing is just for media attention, I would be surprised if they would make it mainstream for all types of robots, since it will require attention and care. If it is not fed and taken care of human flesh will rot lol

Well, the Japanese seem to be quite serious about this

"However, now that we can do this, living skin can bring a range of new abilities to robots.

"Self-healing is a big deal - some chemical-based materials can be made to heal themselves, but they require triggers such as heat, pressure or other signals, and they also do not proliferate like cells.

“Biological skin repairs minor lacerations as ours does, and nerves and other skin organs can be added for use in sensing and so on.”

The most worrying part

“We believe that creating a thicker and more realistic skin can be achieved by incorporating sweat glands, sebaceous glands, pores, blood vessels, fat and nerves.”

[crazycells]

@phenomlab yeah, but I still believe that they are saying this for media attention and investors… A silicon based realistic tissue would suffice for this purpose. Functionally, I really cannot think of a good use.

I believe, when they start experimenting on the final product, they will realize how harder their job will become and abandon this project. But I guess at the end, they will use a fraction of real tissue properties, and will claim everywhere that it is based on real human flesh.