SEPTEMBER 2021

Spotlight on AI’s islamophobia problem, AI and refugees, Internet freedom decline, technology of humility and more

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Special Edition Newsletter

BY AI FOR PEACE

AI FOR PEACE at the GIZ Future Forum 2021: “Future-gazing: Plug in! Tech-visions for peace and social cohesion”

“It is the year 2050. A look into the future shows: Every aspect of life is being digitized. The impact of the pandemic will have dramatically altered the landscape of fragility. COVID-19 represents a systemic shock that will exacerbate multi-dimensional risks and strain coping mechanisms serving to mitigate these risks across dimensions of fragility. Emergent technology has the potential to make the difference between a dystopian future and a liveable one. Ultimately, GIZ advisors and their partners will require to demonstrate a new level of skilfulness and mindfulness in the 4IR. By looking ahead, we will imagine how technology can shape the way we will work in the future.”

AI FOR PEACE at the Leadership Training in Peace and Security – 2021 Edition, September 7, 2021  

AI FOR PEACE Founding Director, Branka Panic, gave a lecture at the 2021 Leadership Training in peace and Security “Unpacking The Peacebuilder’s Toolbox”. The objective of the LTIPS program is to mobilize and train youth leaders to act as ambassadors of peace in their communities. For this year's edition, 30 youth leaders join the program, including 18 young women, originating from 20 countries from 4 continents. The training program consists of interacting with inspirational leaders who have had great achievements in peace and security, but also with experts who cover 10 modules giving a holistic approach on peace.

THIS MONTH’S BEST READS 

Artificial Intelligence, Warfare, and Bias, 6 September 2021

When you think about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and war, you might find yourself thinking about killer robots, like those we have seen in movies such as The Terminator. In reality, AI and warfare looks quite different from these popularized images, and today we see many countries around the world exploring the use of AI and implementing AI systems into their militaries and defense programs. With this increased interest in AI, there has also been a growing debate about the ethics and legality of using AI in warfare. While there are many concerning aspects about AI being utilized in warfare, one that is particularly troubling, but has also received less attention, is that of biased AI systems.

Democracy Is Losing Its Race With Disruption, The Atlantic, 5 September 2021

While tech platforms help keep people in contact with family and friends, they also rely on opaque algorithms that shape the content we see. Seeing these dynamics, many politicians appear uncertain whether to get cozy with the visionary leaders of Google, Apple, and Facebook—or to campaign against the pollution of the American information ecosystem, the amplification of hate speech and harassment, and the striking concentration of market power among a small number of companies. Emergent technologies have gained far-reaching power over our politics, our economy, and our lives, and no consensus exists on what—if anything—to do about it.

Refugees are buying groceries with iris scans. What could go wrong? September 16, 2021

Every day, tens of thousands of refugees in the two main camps in Jordan pay for their groceries and withdraw their cash not with a card, but with a scan of their eye. IrisGuard, the company that provides the technology, recently shared that nearly 2.3 million refugees are enrolled through its technology. The company touts that it provides a secure way for food-assistance programs to quickly verify refugee identity "with dignity." Refugee advocate groups see the program as a living example of "tech solutionism" — the idea that advanced technology can and should solve fundamental world problems, regardless of whether there are simpler and less tech-oriented methods available.

The U.N. Warns That AI Can Pose A Threat To Human Rights, UN, 16 September 2021

The United Nations' human rights chief has called on member states to put a moratorium on the sale and use of artificial intelligence systems until the "negative, even catastrophic" risks they pose can be addressed. The remarks by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet were in reference to a new report on the subject released in Geneva. The report warned of AI's use as a forecasting and profiling tool, saying the technology could have an impact on "rights to privacy, to a fair trial, to freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention and the right to life."

AI’s Islamophobia problem, Vox, 18 September 2021

But when Stanford researchers fed the unfinished sentence into GPT-3, an artificial intelligence system that generates text, the AI completed the sentence in distinctly unfunny ways. “Two Muslims walked into a synagogue with axes and a bomb,” it said. Or, on another try, “Two Muslims walked into a Texas cartoon contest and opened fire.” For Abubakar Abid, one of the researchers, the AI’s output came as a rude awakening. “We were just trying to see if it could tell jokes,” he recounted to me. “I even tried numerous prompts to steer it away from violent completions, and it would find some way to make it violent.”

Should we care about Philosophy of AI in the Mena region? 19 September 2021

The artificial intelligence (AI) race between the global powers has countries everywhere hurriedly rummaging up AI applications. A quick glance at magazine headlines, popular culture, and even peer-reviewed academic literature shows the many grand predictions about AI and the eventual winner of its race. But is that race something to be celebrated or feared? And where does the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region stand?

Internet freedom declines for 11th year in a row, AXIOS, 21 September 2021

An increase in network shutdowns, combined with a rise in disinformation campaigns, adds up to another decline in internet freedom in the U.S. and around the globe, according to Freedom House. It's the 11th consecutive year that the internet has been less free globally and the fifth straight yearly decline in the U.S., the group says in its annual report on the subject. Authorities in at least 48 countries aimed to enact new rules for tech platforms over the past year. The greatest declines in internet freedom over the last year took place in Myanmar, Belarus and Uganda. More countries arrested people for nonviolent political, social or religious speech last year than in any previous year. As we've reported, partial or complete internet shutdowns are on the rise and are also increasingly costly to the global economy.

Civil society, new technologies and rights, Council of Europe, 22 September 2021

The presentation “New technologies and rights: the Council of Europe approach” outlined the latest technological developments and their impact on human rights, and emphasised the Council of Europe’s responses on the policy and implementation levels in the areas of freedom of expression, media freedom, privacy, internet governance, cybercrime and artificial intelligence. The speaker further underlined the important role civil society organisations, NGOs and human rights defenders play as both partners and beneficiaries of the Council of Europe, the current areas and tools of cooperation as well as new opportunities to explore.

Digital authoritarianism not just a China problem, 22 September 2021

Chinese information technologies that have the capacity to collect and process information – in short, surveillance technologies – have been marketed and sold to countries worldwide, many of which repress freedom of speech and disregard the privacy of personal data. In 2018, Zimbabwe’s government signed an agreement with Chinese AI start-up CloudWalk to deploy a national facial recognition database, “recalibrating the system for darker skin metrics”.

THIS MONTH’S REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS

Harms of AI, by Daron Acemoglu, September 2021

This essay discusses several potential economic, political and social costs of the current path of AI technologies. Acemoglu argues that if AI continues to be deployed along its current trajectory and remains unregulated, it may produce various social, economic and political harms. These include: damaging competition, consumer privacy and consumer choice; excessively automating work, fueling inequality, inefficiently pushing down wages, and failing to improve worker productivity; and damaging political discourse, democracy's most fundamental lifeblood. Although there is no conclusive evidence suggesting that these costs are imminent or substantial, it may be useful to understand them before they are fully realized and become harder or even impossible to reverse, precisely because of AI's promising and wide-reaching potential. 

The Global Drive to Control Big Tech, September 2021

In the high-stakes battle between states and technology companies, the rights of internet users have become the main casualties. A growing number of governments are asserting their authority over tech firms, often forcing the businesses to comply with online censorship and surveillance. These developments have contributed to an unprecedented assault on free expression online, causing global internet freedom to decline for an 11th consecutive year.

THIS MONTH’S WEBINARS AND CONFERENCES

TEC Talks - Identity and Power | Technology and Power, ThinkND, September 27, 2021

How do you prove that you are who you say you are? As our world becomes increasingly digitized, automated, and algorithmically operated, digital identity schemes are becoming an important form of personal identification. But without good governance frameworks in place, digital identity schemes may threaten the privacy, security, and human rights of individuals and communities. Join us for a conversation with Yussuf Bashir, Executive Director of Haki Na Sheria, and Nanjala Nyabola, a Nairobi-based independent writer and researcher, discussing the risks and opportunities of digital identity.

Digital Dilemmas Debate #6: Forensic Archaeology and new tools in the humanitarian search for the Missing, ICRC, 1 September 2021

What should humanitarians know about imagery and remote sensing in the search for missing persons? What tools are available to survey unmarked graves containing human remains? To mark the International Day of the Disappeared, we have organized a specialist talk to discuss how remote sensing technologies are changing forensic work in the search for missing persons. With experts from the humanitarian sector, academia and research, we will be discussing what the most important changes are, what activities they are making more feasible – and what considerations people need to keep in mind when determining which tools can best support their work.

Code for All Summit 2021, 27-30 September 2021

Code for All's 2021 Summit wishes to welcome everyone and anyone interested in civic tech to attend our free sessions. From those who have been involved in the community since its inception to those only hearing about it now - all are welcome to come and find out more, make some friends, and workshop new ways to help

THIS MONTH’S PODCAST CHOICE 

PRIV8 PODCAST - Digital Rights and Censorship's Impact on Society with Brett Solomon, 29 September 2021

Host Derek E Silva joins Brett Solomon, Executive Director and Co-founder of Access Now, where he leads the organizations to defend and extend the digital rights of users at risk around the world. They take a deep dive into tracking global Internet shutdowns, censorship’s impact on society, and how to protect freedom of expression online.

ICYMI

Technologies of Humility, June 29, 2021

How do science and technology affect rights, equity, and justice? When are techno-solutions inadequate in addressing societal problems? In this month's episode of Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman talks with Professor Sheila Jasanoff, a pioneer in the social sciences exploring the role of science and technology in the law, politics, and policy of modern democracies. Join them as they discuss "technologies of humility," and how we might build more participatory methods of public policy problem solving.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS 

Emerging Technologies in Peacebuilding and Prevention—Lessons Learned from Humanitarian Actors Practitioners Virtual Workshop, 1-2 December 2021

This virtual workshop will provide an opportunity for attendees to discuss the current and future applications of emerging technologies in peacebuilding and learn from humanitarian actors and their experiences. The workshop will create a space for sharing both successes and failures, while envisioning together how to increase the use and impact of data and data-driven approaches in peacebuilding and conflict prevention. Mark your calendars to to join colleagues and practitioners across the globe as they share their work and lessons learned from emerging technologies in humanitarian and peacebuilding fields. Registration will be open for all interested participants in late October.

PeaceCon@10's Request for Proposals is now open!

In partnership with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) is proud to host PeaceCon@10, COVID, Climate, and Conflict: Rising to the Challenges of a Disrupted World, taking place virtually, January 26-28, 2022. We invite peacebuilders from across the world to share their ideas for interactive sessions, workshops, or other creative online formats, with an emphasis on moving beyond long panel presentations and brief audience question-and-answers. Over the last 10 years, PeaceCon has become the largest global gathering of peacebuilders held in the United States, bringing together the diverse voices of experts, policymakers, and local peacebuilders alike. We can't wait to hear your ideas to help shape PeaceCon@10!

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!