Issues

Do we need humans for that job? Automation booms after COVID

“Many of the jobs that get automated were at the middle of the skill distribution. They don’t exist anymore, and the workers that used to perform them are now doing lower-skill jobs.” — Daron Acemoglu, Professor of Economics, MIT

Daron Acemoglu
Source: AP News
September 5, 2021

‘A lot of people are sleepwalking into it’: the Expert Raising Concerns over AI

“The creation of contemporary AI systems depends on exploiting energy and mineral resources from the planet, cheap labour, and data at scale.” — Kate Crawford, Professor of Communication and Science and Technology Studies, University of Southern California

Kate Crawford
Source: The Age
August 20, 2021

Opinion: The AI We Should Fear Is Already Here

Alas, current AI technologies are not just far from general intelligence; they are not even that good at things that are second nature to humans — such as facial recognition, language comprehension and problem-solving — Daron Acemoglu, Professor of Economics, MIT

Daron Acemoglu
Source: The Washington Post
July 21, 2021

Pandemic Wave of Automation May Be Bad News for Workers

If we automated less, we would not actually have generated that much less output but we would have had a very different trajectory for inequality. — Daron Acemoglu, Professor of Economics, MIT

 

Daron Acemoglu
Source: The New York Times
July 3, 2021

AI’s Future Doesn’t Have to Be Dystopian

The negative impacts of AI on human labor can far exceed the statistical job losses that are directly accountable to automation. — Kate Crawford, Professor of Communication & Journalism, University of Southern California

Kate Crawford
Source: Boston Review
May 20, 2021

AI’s Future Doesn’t Have to Be Dystopian

When it comes to AI’s effect on the workforce, the real challenge is wages, not jobs. While employment has grown over the past forty years, real wages for Americans with a high school education or less have fallen. — Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, Stanford University

 

Erik Brynjolfsson
Source: Boston Review
May 20, 2021

AI’s Future Doesn’t Have to Be Dystopian

AI can be used to increase human productivity, create jobs and shared prosperity, and protect and bolster democratic freedoms—but only if we modify our approach. — Daron Acemoglu, Professor of Economics, MIT

 

Daron Acemoglu
Source: Boston Review
May 20, 2021

Should Alexa Read Our Moods?

“Using the human body for discriminating among people is something that we should not do.” — Joseph Turow, Professor of Media Systems & Industries, University of Pennsylvania

Joseph Turow
Source: The New York Times
May 19, 2021

Shhhh, They’re Listening – Inside the Coming Voice-Profiling Revolution

“Consider, too, the discrimination that can take place if voice profilers follow some scientists’ claims that it is possible to use an individual’s vocalizations to tell the person’s height, weight, race, gender, and health.” — Joseph Turow, Professor of Media Systems, Annenberg School for Communication

Joseph Turow
Source: Fast Company
May 3, 2021

The EU Is Considering a Ban on AI for Mass Surveillance and Social Credit Scores

“If the proposals are passed, said Tene, it will create a “vast regulatory ecosystem.” — Omer Tene, Vice President, Chief Knowledge Officer, IAPP

Omer Tene
Source: The Verge
April 14, 2021