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Daily Archives: February 22, 2018

New Website Draws on International Perspectives to Highlight Issues related to Inclusion and Artificial Intelligence

New suite of resources aims to establish key themes, questions, and opportunities for ensuring that voices and perspectives from diverse populations help shape the future of AI.

“The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society is pleased to share a newly-published interactive webpage, www.aiandinclusion.org, which highlights salient topics and offers a broad range of resources related to issues of AI and inclusion. The materials contribute to the Diversity and Inclusion track of the broader Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Initiative. Launched in Spring 2017, the initiative is anchored by the Berkman Klein Center and the MIT Media Lab, who have been working in conjunction over the past year to conduct evidence-based research, bolster AI for the social good, and construct a collective knowledge base on the ethics and governance of AI. The site reflects lessons learned from a wide-ranging international effort, and includes a number of resources produced from the Global Symposium on AI and Inclusion, which convened 170 participants from over 40 countries in Rio de Janeiro last November on behalf of the Global Network of Centers to discuss the impact of AI and related technologies on marginalized populations and the risks of amplifying digital inequalities across the world. Some of the primary resources available on the webpage include foundational materials that address overarching themes, key research questions, the initial framing of a research roadmap, and an overview of some of the most relevant opportunities and challenges identified pertaining to AI, inclusion, and governance. The research, findings, and ideas presented throughout the page both illuminate lessons learned from the past year, and lay the groundwork for the initiative’s continued work on issues of inclusion, acknowledging that the resources found here are only a starting point for this important conversation…”

Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses

Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses. Elizabeth Rybicki, Specialist on Congress and the Legislative Process, February 15, 2018. “The Constitution requires that the House and Senate approve the same bill or joint resolution in precisely the same form before it is presented to the President for his signature or… Continue Reading

Internet Archive Posts Military Industrial Powerpoint Complex

Military Industrial Powerpoint Complex – United States Military: “This collection was a special project originally done as part of the Internet Archive’s 20th Anniversary celebration on October 26, 2016 highlighting IA’s web archive. The collection consists of all the Powerpoint files (57,489) from the .mil web domain.” Motherboard: The Pentagon Has the Worst PowerPoint Slides… Continue Reading

When an online news outlet goes out of business, its archives can disappear as well

Erasing history – When an online news outlet goes out of business, its archives can disappear as well. The new battle over journalism’s digital legacy. “The Honolulu Advertiser doesn’t exist anymore, but it used to publish a regular “Health Bureau Statistics” column in its back pages supplied with information from the Hawaii Department of Health detailing… Continue Reading

Survey – Nearly half of parents worry their child is addicted to mobile devices

USA Today: “Parents berate themselves for staying glued to their smartphones. But they’re even more worried their kids can’t detach from the small screen. A survey from Common Sense Media and SurveyMonkey found 47% of parents worry their child is addicted to their mobile device. By comparison, only 32% of parents say they’re addicted themselves.… Continue Reading

New cutting-edge science confirms that Antartica is losing ice faster every year

Quartz: “New data analysis confirms what scientists have suspected for a while now: West Antarctic ice melt is speeding up. In a cutting-edge survey of satellite data published Feb. 13 in the journal Cryosphere, researchers from NASA and other institutions shows that ice loss from the critical region of Antarctica is happening at an increasingly… Continue Reading

On the Front Line of the Battle Against Fake News

Ozy.com: “If the past couple of years are any indication, the media in the United States, and far beyond, is facing a crisis. Now a household term, “fake news” has empowered populists and other dubious forces, while public trust in traditional news outlets has steadily eroded. Half-truths and hostility seem to have overtaken the political… Continue Reading

Dolly Parton set to donate her 100 millionth book to Library of Congress

The Hill: “She doesn’t “do politics,” but Dolly Parton will be just steps from the halls of the Capitol when she visits Washington, D.C., next week to mark a charitable milestone. The legendary “Jolene” singer and songwriter is poised to present the 100 millionth book donation from her Imagination Library to the Library of Congress’s… Continue Reading