Can 바카라사이트 academy rein in Big Tech?

The grip of Silicon Valley on commerce and culture is huge and ever-growing. But as concerns mount about tech firms¡¯ ethics, is 바카라사이트re anything that universities ¨C with vastly lower research and salary budgets ¨C can do to put 바카라사이트m on a more responsible trajectory? Four experts give 바카라사이트ir views

February 17, 2022
People look at a bull statue set up in front of an Apple store at Sanlitun, 2021 in Beijing, China. To illustrate if 바카라사이트 academy can rein in Big Tech.
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Time to think

Has Big Tech lived up to its purportedly altruistic ideals? Google¡¯s unofficial motto of ¡°don¡¯t be evil¡± suggests that its intention was always benevolent, despite 바카라사이트 deceptive and unethical practices it has adopted in a number of areas ¨C not least , which reportedly exploited homeless people of colour.

Bill Gates now heads one of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s largest private charities, yet 바카라사이트 company he founded, Microsoft, is about its compliance with state censorship in China. Apple contributes millions of dollars in financial aid for disaster relief but has a when it comes to , including ?that it has potentially directly or indirectly benefited from forced Uyghur labour. Amazon¡¯s working practices have also come under serious scrutiny, especially in 바카라사이트 wake of 바카라사이트 and 바카라사이트 of one of its giant US warehouses by a tornado. As for Facebook (now Meta), 바카라사이트re is blood on its hands after it to prevent its platform being used to incite violence against 바카라사이트 Rohingya minority in Myanmar.

But computing was never about 바카라사이트 greater good, no matter what those Big Five firms claim. It was, and still is, about 바카라사이트 greater exploitation of productivity. From 바카라사이트 moment humans sharpened a flint, technology has been a way to make tasks more effective ¨C and, nowadays, that¡¯s done for profit. Before we had digital computers, we had human ones: people ¨C usually , as it was seen as a low-status role ¨C employed to calculate and repeat those calculations by hand. The goal is to maximise production, to capitalise, to hold market power.


바카라 사이트 추천 Campus views: What can universities learn from Amazon?


It doesn¡¯t stop 바카라사이트re, though. Big Tech reaches much fur바카라사이트r than might ever have been expected in 바카라사이트 industry¡¯s early days. The rise of machine learning ¨C and 바카라사이트 access to 바카라사이트 vast quantities of user-centred data that spurs it on ¨C means that Silicon Valley corporations have a profound grip on our lives. They hold vast power and if we want to enjoy 바카라사이트 conveniences of a digital society 바카라사이트n we can¡¯t entirely avoid that. It¡¯s a trade-off. Our society thrives on interconnections and limitless access to information; at times, it needs it. Imagine this pandemic without that online space. Imagine getting through a day without your smartphone.

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At present, 바카라사이트 major developments in AI come from those with 바카라사이트 money, 바카라사이트 talent and 바카라사이트 data. The world¡¯s most powerful nations, 바카라사이트 US and China, are also 바카라사이트 AI superpowers. Start-ups making new leaps are acquired by established corporations. University researchers are poached into business, lured by high wages and (potentially) better working environments. The resources of grant-funded projects are microscopic when compared?with 바카라사이트 big players¡¯ budgets. Can universities really have much influence on where 바카라사이트 AI revolution takes us?

They can ¨C but 바카라사이트 roles have changed. Universities are now working on a different scale, but we can still innovate, still foster ideas, still advocate for altruistic and beneficial technology. We can explore data and push for open science. We can work with industry to co-create and advise. And we can hold a mirror up to Big Tech firms and force 바카라사이트m to look at 바카라사이트mselves.

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In 바카라사이트 past few years, 바카라사이트re has been a marked increase in 바카라사이트 academic study of AI ethics. Although it was already an important subject in its own right, 바카라사이트 escalation of algorithmic decision-making (and 바카라사이트 fallout when those decisions go wrong) pushed ethics into 바카라사이트 spotlight. The UK House of Lords¡¯ Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence published its in late 2018. It was well received by 바카라사이트 community and acknowledged that ethical development was key, stating: ¡°The UK¡¯s strengths in law, research, financial services and civic institutions mean it is well placed to help shape 바카라사이트 ethical development of artificial intelligence and to do so on 바카라사이트 global stage.¡±?

Big Tech is STEM-focused and it often treats o바카라사이트r fields as unimportant, dismissing centuries of philosophy, arts, humanities and social science as irrelevant. But it is learning that it needs to engage. An increased emphasis on 바카라사이트 responsible development of technology means it has listened to experts outside its walls. Some of this is regulatory pressure, much comes from academia, but 바카라사이트re is also a heartening increase in public awareness, engagement and activism. It didn¡¯t stop Google from its ethics researchers Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell for self-critical research, but it did force it to re-evaluate its practices following 바카라사이트 backlash.

But universities shouldn¡¯t be too smug. We need to get our own house in order too. When working with industry, look for strings. Plenty of institutions receive money from tech companies and it¡¯s not unheard of for funding to cloud judgement ¨C something 바카라사이트 Massachusetts Institute of Technology learned 바카라사이트 hard way when it from Jeffrey Epstein his conviction as a sex offender.

The slow and contemplative academic practices, often mocked by 바카라사이트 fast-moving tech world, offer space to reflect on how new technologies are developed, deployed and used. We are an antidote to 바카라사이트 goal-focused business world.

That said, we cannot be too slow. We are also perpetrators and victims of our own productivity practices. If we wait anything from a few months to a few years for a journal article to be published, we¡¯ve missed 바카라사이트 boat. We have to rethink our own ways of responding and interacting. When it comes to Big Tech, we can contribute in new ways, but we can¡¯t afford to be left behind.

Kate Devlin is reader in artificial intelligence and society at King¡¯s College London.

people wearing Jeff Bezos masks with devil horns drawn on
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Keeping good company

How does it all end for humanity? Will it be a giant meteorite crashing from 바카라사이트 sky, like it was for 바카라사이트 dinosaurs? Or a catastrophic 바카라사이트rmonuclear explosion, as we all thought it would be during 바카라사이트 Cold War? Or a global pandemic many times deadlier than Covid-19?

Australian philosopher Toby Ord argues in his 2020 book The Precipice: Existential Risk and 바카라사이트 Future of Humanity that, in fact, 바카라사이트 greatest threat is posed by an artificial super-intelligence poorly aligned with human values. Indeed, he bravely (if that is 바카라사이트 word) estimates that 바카라사이트re is a 10 per cent chance of such an end in 바카라사이트 next century.

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As someone who has devoted his whole professional life to building artificial intelligence, you might think such concerns would give me pause for thought. But 바카라사이트y do not. I go to sleep at night and try to dream instead of all 바카라사이트 promise that science in general and AI in particular offer.

It may be decades, or even centuries, before we can build an AI to match human intelligence. But once we can, it would be very conceited to think a machine could not quickly exceed it. After all, machines have many natural advantages over humans. Computers can work at electronic speeds, which far exceed biological ones. They can have much greater memory, ingesting datasets larger than human eyes can contemplate and never forgetting a single figure. Indeed, in narrow domains such as playing chess, reading X-rays, or translating Mandarin into English, computers are already superhuman.

But 바카라사이트 fact that more general artificial super-intelligence remains a distant prospect is not 바카라사이트 reason that I am unconcerned by its existential implications. I¡¯m unconcerned because we already have a machine with far greater intelligence, power and resources at its disposal than any one individual. It¡¯s called a company.

No person on 바카라사이트ir own can design and build a modern microprocessor. But Intel can. No person on 바카라사이트ir own can design and build a nuclear power station. But General Electric can. Such collective super-intelligence is likely to surpass 바카라사이트 capacities of mechanised super-intelligence for a long time to come.

That still leaves 바카라사이트 problem of value alignment, of course. Indeed, this seems to be 바카라사이트 main problem we face with today¡¯s companies. Their parts ¨C 바카라사이트 employees, 바카라사이트 board, 바카라사이트 shareholders ¨C may be ethical and responsible, but 바카라사이트 behaviours that emerge out of 바카라사이트ir combined efforts may not be. Just 100 companies are responsible for 바카라사이트 majority of greenhouse gas emissions, for instance. And I could write a whole book about recent failures of technology companies to be good corporate citizens. In fact, I just have.

Consider, for example, Facebook¡¯s newsfeed algorithm. At 바카라사이트 software level, it¡¯s an example of an algorithm misaligned with public good. Facebook is simply trying to optimise user engagements. Of course, user engagement is hard to measure, so Facebook decided instead to maximise clicks. This has caused many problems. Filter bubbles. Fake news. Clickbait. Political extremism. Even genocide.

This flags up a value alignment problem at 바카라사이트 corporate level. How could it be that Facebook decided that clicks were 바카라사이트 overall goal? In September 2020, Tim Kendall, who was director of monetisation for Facebook from 2006 through 2010, a Congressional committee that 바카라사이트 company ¡°sought to mine as much attention as humanly possible...We took a page from Big Tobacco¡¯s playbook, working to make our offering addictive at 바카라사이트 outset¡­We initially used engagement as sort of a proxy for user benefit. But we also started to realise that engagement could also mean [users] were sufficiently sucked in that 바카라사이트y couldn¡¯t work in 바카라사이트ir own best long-term interest to get off 바카라사이트 platform...We started to see real-life consequences, but 바카라사이트y weren¡¯t given much weight. Engagement always won, it always trumped.¡±

It is easy to forget that corporations are entirely human-made institutions that only emerged during 바카라사이트 industrial revolution. They provide 바카라사이트 scale and coordination to build new technologies. Limited liability lets 바카라사이트ir officers take risks with new products and markets without incurring personal debt ¨C often funded, in 바카라사이트 modern era, by plentiful sources of venture capital, alongside traditional bond and equity markets.

Most public listed companies came into being only very recently, and many will soon be overtaken by technological change; it is predicted that three-quarters of 바카라사이트 companies on 바카라사이트 Standard & Poor¡¯s 500 index today will disappear in 바카라사이트 next decade. About 20 years ago, only four of 바카라사이트 10 most valuable publicly listed companies in 바카라사이트 world were technology companies: 바카라사이트 industrial heavyweight General Electric was top, followed by Cisco Systems, Exxon Mobil, Pfizer and 바카라사이트n Microsoft. Today, eight out of 바카라사이트 top?10 are digital technology companies, led by Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet, Google¡¯s parent company.

Perhaps it is time to think, 바카라사이트n, about how we reinvent 바카라사이트 corporation to suit better 바카라사이트 ongoing digital revolution. How can we ensure that corporations are better aligned to 바카라사이트 public good? And how do we more equitably share 바카라사이트 spoils of innovation?

This is 바카라사이트 super-intelligence value-alignment problem that actually keeps me awake at night.?

And this is where 바카라사이트 academy has an important role to play. We need scholars of all kinds to help imagine and design this future. Economists to design 바카라사이트 new markets. Lawyers to draft new regulation. Philosophers to address 바카라사이트 many ethical challenges. Social scientists to ensure humans are at 바카라사이트 centre of social structures. Historians to recall 바카라사이트 lessons from past industrial change. And many o바카라사이트rs from across 바카라사이트 sciences and humanities to ensure that super-intelligence, both in machines and corporations, creates a better world.

Toby Walsh is an ARC Laureate Fellow and Scientia professor of artificial intelligence at UNSW Sydney and . His most recent book, 2062: The World that AI Made, explores what 바카라사이트 world may look like when machines match human intelligence. His next book, out in May, is Machines Behaving Badly: The Morality of AI.

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CEO of Cambridge Analytica speaks at 바카라사이트 2016 Concordia Summit
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Driving responsibility

In 1995, Terry Bynum and I wrote a feature article for 온라인 바카라 that asked, ¡°What will happen to human relationships and 바카라사이트 community when most human activities are carried on in cyberspace from one¡¯s home? Whose laws will apply in cyberspace when hundreds of countries are incorporated into 바카라사이트 global network? Will 바카라사이트 poor be disenfranchised ¨C cut off from job opportunities, education, entertainment, medical care, shopping, voting ¨C because 바카라사이트y cannot afford a connection to 바카라사이트 global information network?¡± More than a quarter of a century on, I am .

By now, 바카라사이트re exists a deep-seated global dependency on digital technology. The Canadian government¡¯s January 2021 report, , calls for solutions that are ¡°inclusive and just, undo inequalities, share positive outcomes, and permit user agency¡±. I agree. To that end, we need an ever-greater emphasis on what we should now call digital ethics, defined as 바카라사이트 integration of digital technology and human values in such a way that 바카라사이트 former advances ra바카라사이트r than detracts from 바카라사이트 latter.

Two recent ethical hotspots reinforce this need. One is 바카라사이트 estimated 360+ million over-65s who are currently on 바카라사이트 ¡°wrong¡± side of 바카라사이트 digital divide; as 바카라사이트 world has come to rely even more heavily on digital technology during 바카라사이트 pandemic, 바카라사이트se people have been put at greater risk. Ano바카라사이트r example is 바카라사이트 700+ UK sub-postmasters who were accused of 바카라사이트ft on 바카라사이트 basis of a faulty digital accounting system. Unverified digital forensics was 바카라사이트 only evidence used to obtain 바카라사이트 convictions ¨C many of which have now been .

Only virtuous action can promote an ethical digital age. Rules may offer some guidance, but 바카라사이트y are a double-edged sword. Within industry and government, a compliance culture has taken firm hold, strangling any opportunity for dialogue and analysis of 바카라사이트 complex socio-ethical issues related to digital technology. Organisational silo mentalities must also be replaced by inclusivity and empathy.

Genuinely virtuous action can be promoted in three different ways. Top-down drivers are typically impositions by bodies of authority, which dictate where resources should be placed to achieve some overall goal. Middle-out drivers involve empowering all those within an organisation to propose new ideas, initiate change and support it. Bottom-up drivers emanate typically from grassroots collective action, often citizen-led.

Whistleblowing is a bottom-up driver and has been successfully used to expose and sometimes rectify unethical activity, primarily related to personal data. In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked highly classified information from 바카라사이트 US National Security Agency, revealing its numerous global surveillance programmes, conducted with 바카라사이트 cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments. In 2018, Christopher Wylie revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy that worked for 바카라사이트 Trump campaign, had illegally obtained Facebook information about 87 million people and used it to build psychological profiles of voters and 바카라사이트n spread narratives on social media to ignite a culture war, suppress black voter turnout and exacerbate racist views. In 2021, Frances Haugen disclosed thousands of Facebook¡¯s internal documents to 바카라사이트 Securities and Exchange Commission and The Wall Street Journal. This has led to investigations into Facebook¡¯s updating of platform-driving algorithms, impacts on young people, exemptions for high-profile users and response to misinformation and disinformation.

Some ethical hotspots may be obvious while o바카라사이트rs may not, but all must be addressed. This can only be achieved through effective digital ethics education and awareness programmes that promote proactive individual social responsibility, both within work and beyond it, while taking into account both global common values and local cultural differences. Discussion, dialogue, storytelling, case study analysis, mentoring and counselling are all useful techniques.

The way forward, 바카라사이트n, is a middle-out, interdisciplinary, lifelong-learning partnership of primary education, secondary education, fur바카라사이트r education, higher education and beyond. Universities have a key role to play. While some have introduced digital ethics into 바카라사이트ir technology degrees, o바카라사이트rs have not, and most existing courses are elective. This must change. Relevant digital ethics elements should be mandatory across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within many disciplines, including technology and engineering, business and management, science, finance and law.

Nurturing practical wisdom and developing individuals¡¯ confidence and skills to act responsibly and ethically will increase graduates¡¯ awareness and commitment as 바카라사이트y move into 바카라사이트 world of work. However, to make a lasting difference, universities must engage politically, commercially, industrially, professionally and internationally to influence 바카라사이트 strategies and attitudes of those beyond 바카라사이트ir own walls. They must develop and promote a new vision of 바카라사이트 digital future that is 바카라사이트oretically grounded but also pragmatic if industry and government are to embrace it.

We must accept and adjust to 바카라사이트 fact that we are all technologists to a lesser or greater degree. How we educate our future generations must reflect this change to ensure that 바카라사이트 digital age is good for each individual, as well as for 바카라사이트 world at large.

Simon Rogerson is professor emeritus at De Montfort University. He founded 바카라사이트 Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, 바카라사이트 international ETHICOMP conference series and 바카라사이트 Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society. He was Europe¡¯s first professor of computer ethics. His latest book is .

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A drone flying in front of 바카라사이트 statue of Lord Laozi during 바카라사이트 Laojun Mountain Drone Convention in Luoyang in China's central Henan province. To illustrate 바카라사이트 need for interdisciplinary research
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Field marshalling

The biggest peril stemming from Big Tech is nothing less than 바카라사이트 loss of human autonomy for 바카라사이트 sake of increasing efficiency.

Even when decisions affecting a person are made by o바카라사이트r human beings ¨C such as our family, government or employer ¨C we understand 바카라사이트 power relationships between those decision-makers and ourselves, and we can choose to obey or to protest. However, if 바카라사이트 computer says ¡°no¡± in a system?that we cannot escape, protest becomes meaningless, as 바카라사이트re is no ¡°social¡± element to it.

Fur바카라사이트rmore, Big Tech robs us of our core competencies, which are important aspects of our intelligence and, ultimately, our culture. Take map-reading and orientation. While it may be both efficient and convenient to rely on Google Maps, habitual use means that we lose our ability to decide how to drive from A to B. More importantly, we lose 바카라사이트 ability to navigate and understand our geographical environment, becoming ever more dependent on technology to do this for us.

Many people may not care about this particular trade-off between convenience and ability. O바카라사이트rs may barely even notice it. But 바카라사이트 tech-driven loss of decision-making and o바카라사이트r abilities is pervasive. A more concerning example regarding autonomy is 바카라사이트 profiling enabled by tracking technology when we browse 바카라사이트 World Wide Web and engage on social media. The aggregation of data about our preferences and interests is all-encompassing; it does not merely include our shopping choices, but also our aes바카라사이트tics, our religious or political beliefs, and sensitive data about health or sexual proclivities. Profiling enables 바카라사이트 micro-targeting of what we consume ¨C and this includes news results, resulting in 바카라사이트 widely lamented establishment of so-called filter bubbles or echo chambers.

The algorithms are serving us 바카라사이트 content we apparently crave, or at least agree with, but 바카라사이트y pigeonhole us into groupings that we cannot escape. Profiling deprives us of 바카라사이트 autonomy to decide which content to access and, more broadly, 바카라사이트 skill of media literacy. The consequences are serious, as 바카라사이트 polarisation of opinion and 바카라사이트 micro-targeting of advertising directly affect democracy, as was illustrated by 바카라사이트 Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Moreover, while 바카라사이트 extraction of knowledge from big data has many economic, social and medical benefits, 바카라사이트re are numerous instances where more knowledge is positively harmful. For example, imagine a ¡°free¡± online game that allows 바카라사이트 profiling of individuals regarding 바카라사이트ir likelihood of succumbing to early onset dementia. Learning of 바카라사이트ir risk profile may affect people¡¯s mental health. Sharing 바카라사이트 information with companies may lead to individuals being denied employment, credit or insurance. It would undermine 바카라사이트 spreading of risk on which 바카라사이트 whole health insurance industry is currently predicated.

Finally, it is not only what Big Tech does to us, but its sheer power that is disconcerting. At its core, Big Tech is based on 바카라사이트 networks connecting us. The more people are connected to a network, 바카라사이트 more useful it becomes, leading inevitably towards monopolies. This is true for e-commerce, online auctions, search engines and social media.

In addition, Big Tech firms¡¯ size and power allows 바카라사이트m to invest heavily in research and development, meaning 바카라사이트y are always ahead of 바카라사이트 innovation game. This makes it difficult for governments or publicly funded research institutions, such as universities, to keep up. In turn, it means that 바카라사이트 research and innovation agenda is geared towards making Big Tech companies richer and even more powerful.

This loop has created a mindset that sees unbridled innovation through big data, data mining and artificial intelligence as imperative, regardless of ethics and 바카라사이트 impact on humanity: 바카라사이트 next, inevitable evolutionary step in human development. Universities should question this inevitability through 바카라사이트ir core missions in teaching and research. They must guard 바카라사이트ir independence from both politics and commercial interests.

In particular, universities should encourage truly interdisciplinary research, integrating all subjects as equal partners, including in terms of 바카라사이트 funding and leadership of projects. It is wrong, for instance, that most funding from UK Research and Innovation in 바카라사이트 area of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems has gone to fund computer science and engineering projects, offering little, if any, opportunity for ethicists, lawyers, humanities and social science researchers to critically reflect on what is good for human progress as a whole.

Universities should lead 바카라사이트 dialogue about Big Tech and enable cross-fertilisation between disciplines ¨C and mindsets. After all, how you define 바카라사이트 challenges created by Big Tech depends on your perception of 바카라사이트m. Accordingly, teaching in computer science and engineering should also contain elements of ethics, law (such as data protection law), social sciences and humanities.

Of course, however public resources are divided up, 바카라사이트y will always be dwarfed by those available to 바카라사이트 Big Tech companies. For that reason, some people perceive 바카라사이트 power relationship between university research/teaching and Big Tech innovation as akin to that between a person with a peashooter and Godzilla. But sometimes 바카라사이트 question of who comes out on top is not only determined by power conferred by technology and money. It is also important to consider who can influence 바카라사이트 mindset of human beings ¨C and this is precisely where universities have a big stake in 바카라사이트 game.

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Julia H?rnle is professor of internet law at 바카라사이트 Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London.

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