Tag: AI

Kensington Palace’s family snap did the world a great service

It was one hell of a way to do it, but Kensington Palace did society a huge favour by releasing a digitally altered photograph of the Princess of Wales and her children.

The photograph – distributed then withdrawn by picture agencies around the world – may have finally brought home to the general public the fact that they can no longer take ‘reality’ for granted. And it sent a message to the media-knocking public that charges should not always be laid at the feet of journalists.

The amateurish nature of the manipulation (I doubt the palace has the latest version of Photoshop) made it easy for the public to see that the picture of the family had been altered. Poor Prince Louis appears to have had a terrible accident to his right hand. Princess Charlotte’s wrist appears to have suffered a nasty sideways fracture. And shock, horror: Kate’s wedding ring seems to be missing. Continue reading “Kensington Palace’s family snap did the world a great service” →

EU framework for AI laws: First steps to taming a beast

The European Union has agreed to pass the world’s first laws governing the use of artificial intelligence. It is one step on a long and winding road.

It is unsurprising that this initiative came out of the EU. It has been the only governing body to consistently put its people ahead of the wishes of the companies that control the search and social media platforms that intrude into virtually every nation on the planet.

The historic agreement came after 36 hours of solid negotiation among the EU member states and it sets out the parameters on which the laws will be based.

The move is hugely significant, but it should not be seen as a full solution to curbing negative impacts while allowing the positive aspects of AI to flourish.

It aims to ensure that AI systems used inside the EU are safe and respect fundamental rights. In other words, it is based on a harm principle. That means it will target high impact AI systems that pose potential risks and strictly limit the use of potential AI tools for state surveillance. Continue reading “EU framework for AI laws: First steps to taming a beast” →