MARCH 2021

Spotlight on digital authoritarianism, conflict prediction, facial recognition and human rights violations, data for better lives, AI and humanities and more!   

For more resources on Technology, Bias, and Racial Justice look at our

Special Edition Newsletter

curated by 

Amanda Luz, Jeremy Pineda, Loren Crone, Stephanie Hilton

BY AI FOR PEACE  

AI for Peace at Mozilla Festival, 15 March 2021

AI for Peace Founding Director joined 2021 Mozilla Festival, moderating a discussion on “Will new European AI regulation have GDPR-like impact worldwide?”. The European Union is working on regulation that wants to ensure "Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence" by setting rules that would be enforceable in the EU. What will those rules look like, and how will they also guide AI developers outside of Europe? In data protection, the EU managed to set standards with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that inspired other constituencies to bring up their own privacy laws, a process that is still taking shape. While not all tech policies the EU agrees on are that impactful, will its upcoming regulatory approach make AI "work for the wellbeing of citizens" by respecting their rights and eliminating biases and discrimination, potentially globally?

AI for Peace at Word Ethical Data Forum - Using AI and Data Science for Good, 19 March 2021

AI for Peace joined the 2021 edition of World Ethical Data Forum, at the panel “Using AI and Data Science for Good”. Under the eye of public scrutiny, the use of AI, Data Science, and Machine Learning has been criticized for its apparent failure to improve society and tendencies to exaggerate rather than heal social division. Can we use AI and Data Science to drive positive social impact? How we can leverage the power of data for good?

THIS MONTH’S BEST READS 

Myanmar’s Military Deploys Digital Arsenal of Repression in Crackdown, 1 March 2021

Some of this technology, including satellite and telecommunications upgrades, helped people in Myanmar go online and integrate with the world after decades of isolation. Other systems, such as spyware, were sold as integral to modernizing law enforcement agencies. But critics say a ruthless armed forces, which maintained a dominance over the economy and powerful ministries even as it briefly shared power with a civilian government, used the facade of democracy to enable sensitive cybersecurity and defense purchases.

Indian government must correct moves toward digital authoritarianism, allow tech platforms to uphold rights, Access Now, 10 March 2021

Ten international non-profit organizations — Access Now, ARTICLE 19, the Association for Progressive Communications, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Derechos Digitales, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Human Rights Watch, Mnemonic, Reporters Without Borders, and WITNESS — are jointly calling on government authorities and web firms operating in India to cease a crusade of censorship and surveillance across the nation targeting critics speaking online in response to the ongoing #FarmersProtests.

Fighting for a future free of child marriage – how hyper-local data can help drive results, 4 March 2021

There is a widespread appreciation that child marriage looks different from one community to another, but there is highly limited data that consistently describe those localized differences. The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage stressed this challenge during a high-level gathering in September/October 2019. The participants – which include the WHO, UN Population Fund, UNICEF, Girls Not Brides, Population Council, World Bank, and others – called for “better understanding of the prevalence, trends, determinants, correlates and characteristics of child marriage at subnational levels.” In their view, this is a major knowledge gap that is holding back the community’s efforts to end this scourge.

Conflict Cartographer: Conflict expert prediction in Africa, PRIO, March 2021

In order to complement existing quantitative prediction models, we invite participants, through an online app, to draw on a map where they believe violent conflict is likely to take place the next three months. Given that they believe conflict will occur, they will be asked what the intensity will be, in terms of people killed. We will then compare the results from the expert surveys with other prediction models, and compare these results against the actual conflict that occurred in the areas. This way, we are able to assess the predictability of our models, and hopefully improve forecasting. To get as accurate predictions as possible, we hope to attract as many people as possible that have any knowledge on conflict in Africa to share their predictions with us. The exercise is open for all. To participate go to https://conflictcartographer.prio.org/ 

Myanmar: Facial Recognition System Threatens Rights, Camera Surveillance, Mass Data Collection Bolsters Abusive Junta, 12 March 2021

The Myanmar military junta’s access to a new public camera system equipped with facial recognition and license plate recognition technology poses a serious threat to basic rights in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. Increased surveillance abilities through artificial intelligence technology are a heightened concern after the February 1 military coup, as the junta has increasingly used deadly force against protesters and others expressing opposing views.

‘Reclaim Your Face’ Campaign Calls for Facial Recognition Tech Ban in Europe, 12 March 2021

The campaign has 14 months to gather at least one million signatures, which is the number required (by law) to take things to the European Commission and demand a review of the case. AI and facial recognition technologies have been placed in the EDPS workshop’s agenda for the development of a strategy that goes as far as in 2024 – but although the discussion started over a year ago, and although there were rumors about a ban in all public spaces, the EU hasn’t presented a solid proposal that would lay the ground for a legal context.

THIS MONTH’S PUBLICATIONS

Digital dominion: new report exposes the depth of Syrian regime’s mass surveillance, 18 March 2021

The Assad regime controls Syria’s online space, endangering the privacy, freedom of expression, access to information, and personal safety of millions of Syrians. Today, March 18, Access Now and UIC John Marshall Law School International Human Rights Clinic are launching Digital dominion: how the Syrian regime’s mass digital surveillance violates human rights.This report documents the regime’s manipulation and control of the internet, the systematic surveillance of an entire population, tech companies’ compliance, and the devastating consequences for human rights. It is also an open call to the international community: Syrian authorities must be held to account.

World Development Report 2021, DATA FOR BETTER LIVES, March 2021

Today’s unprecedented growth of data and their ubiquity in our lives are signs that the data revolution is transforming the world. And yet much of the value of data remains untapped. Data collected for one purpose have the potential to generate economic and social value in applications far beyond those originally anticipated. But many barriers stand in the way, ranging from misaligned incentives and incompatible data systems to a fundamental lack of trust. World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives explores the tremendous potential of the changing data landscape to improve the lives of poor people, while also acknowledging its potential to open back doors that can harm individuals, businesses, and societies. To address this tension between the helpful and harmful potential of data, this Report calls for a new social contract that enables the use and reuse of data to create economic and social value, ensures equitable access to that value, and fosters trust that data will not be misused in harmful ways.

THIS MONTH’S WEBINARS 

Preventing atrocity crimes: Countering and addressing hate speech, UNDP, 5 March

This event focuses on the prevention of atrocity crimes by zooming in on one of the main risk indicators – hate speech – as per the Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes. The event aims to raise awareness about the importance of countering and addressing hate speech as a way to build societies resilient to the risk of violence including violent extremism and atrocity crimes – genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, with a particular focus on addressing and countering hate speech and its root causes.

The De-Weaponization of Digital Information: What Have We Learned from the Last Year? Alliance for Peacebuilding, 22 March 2021

This event was co-hosted by the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) and FHI 360 to foster a rich discussion on the impact of online hate speech and disinformation on peace and stability in the US and across the globe. The forum provided a platform for practitioners and thought leaders to share lessons they have learned, and to make recommendations for how best to respond to overt digital influence operations by state and non-state actors. Panelists highlighted collective expertise in identifying, countering, and preventing online hate speech, disinformation, and other digital threats that undermine peace and stability.

2021 HAI SPRING CONFERENCE, Intelligence Augmentation: AI Empowering People to Solve Global Challenges, 25 March 2021

Artificial intelligence is poised to change every sector of the economy. How do we ensure that this technology will augment, not replace, humans? During HAI’s 2021 spring conference, scholars and industry professionals in the fields of healthcare, education, art, and others will discuss how AI technology can best support humans as they approach these critical global challenges.

ICYMI

Dr. Roman Yampolskiy on the threats and dangers of unregulated AI systems | INDIAai Conversations, 26 February 2021

Dr. Roman Vladimirovich Yampolskiy is a Russian computer scientist at the University of Louisville, known for his work on behavioral biometrics, security of cyberworlds, and artificial intelligence safety. In this edition of INDIAai Conversations Roman explains the threats and safety challenges unregulated AI models can posses in a conversation with INDIAai Content & Research Lead Jibu Elias.

THIS MONTH’S PODCASTS

PRIO’S PEACE IN A POD - Predictable Surprises: Finding the Next Conflict, 4 March 2021

Conflict prediction has traditionally involved statistical models and large amounts of data to yield information about where violence will take place. There are challenges with that approach though, and PRIO researchers want to improve conflict forecasting. They're trying a new approach with Conflict Cartographer.Find out more about Conflict Cartographer here. Do you have better-than-average knowledge about a country in Africa? You can help out with the project by going to https://conflictcartographer.prio.org and adding your predictions.

Law and the Future of War - The ICRC's perspective on new technology and international humanitarian law, 4 March 2021

In this episode, Dr Eve Massingham talks with Dr Cordula Droege about some of the challenges new technologies pose to international humanitarian law. They discuss nuclear weapons, autonomous weapons systems, cyber operations, and the importance of carrying out weapon reviews. They also consider some of the uses of technology for humanitarian purposes, including the rewards and risks of using biometric data.

MIRROR WITH A MEMORY – Episode 6, Power, 8 March 2021

Do we have the power to refuse mass surveillance? In our final episode, we speak with Forensic Architecture founder Eyal Weizman, who explains how artists, activists, and researchers can use the tools of photography, surveillance, and AI to hold corporations, governments, and other institutions accountable.

EVENTS IN APRIL

IN OUR IMAGE - Artificial Intelligence and Humanities - A virtual conference exploring the critical intersection between the humanities and artificial intelligence, April 7-22

Artificial intelligence has infiltrated our daily lives—in the ways we conduct business, govern, provide healthcare and security, and communicate. The large-scale cultural and societal implications of these changes—and the ethical questions they raise—pose a serious challenge as we embrace a future increasingly shaped by the implementation of AI technology. Join us for a series of virtual events—presentations, conversations, webinars, film screenings, and an art exhibition—highlighting perspectives from leading humanists, scientists, engineers, artists, writers, and software company executives collectively advancing inquiry into key emerging questions. With events and convenings spread out over three weeks, this series of events is intended to foster future cooperation and exploration. All events will be live-streamed and archived for future dissemination.

Online Library 

On our website, AI for Peace, you can find even more awesome content, podcasts, articles, white papers and book suggestions that can help you navigate through AI and peace fields. Check our online library!