IBM and Meta Platforms have launched the AI Alliance, a coalition of companies and educational institutions committed to responsible, transparent development of artificial intelligence. The group launched this week with more than 50 global founding participants from industry, startup, academia, research and government. Among the members and collaborators: AMD, CERN, Cerebras, Cornell University, Dell Technologies, Hugging Face, Intel, Linux Foundation, NASA, Oracle, Red Hat, Sony Group, Stability AI, the University of Tokyo and Yale Engineering. The group’s stated purpose is “to support open innovation and open science in AI.” Continue reading IBM and Meta Debut AI Alliance for Safe Artificial Intelligence

Meta Platforms’ workaround to European privacy laws regarding ad-targeting has run afoul of watchdog agencies, resulting in two complaints filed with the EU’s network of consumer protection authorities against the U.S. tech giant. Meta contends its so-called “pay-or-consent model” — requiring users of its social platforms to choose between agreeing to be tracked for ad-targeting purposes or pay a monthly subscription fee for ad-free service — falls within permissible parameters set by EU authorities. The more than 20 groups that have jointly filed suit say the strategy is illegal under EU law, describing it as “unfair, deceptive and aggressive.” Continue reading Meta’s EU Social Media Subscription Plan Draws Complaints

Germany, France and Italy have reached an agreement on a strategy to regulate artificial intelligence. The agreement comes on the heels of infighting among key European Union member states that has held up legislation and could potentially accelerate the broader EU negotiations. The three governments support binding voluntary commitments for large and small AI providers and endorse “mandatory self-regulation through codes of conduct” for foundation models while opposing “un-tested norms.” The paper underscores that “the AI Act regulates the application of AI and not the technology as such” and says the “inherent risks” are in the application, not the technology. Continue reading Germany, France and Italy Strike AI Deal, Pushing EU Forward

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris warned global leaders that the existential threats posed by artificial intelligence are very real and urgently need to be addressed. Harris’ remarks, delivered in a speech at the U.S. Embassy in Britain, summarized the prevailing view of world governments participating in the first global AI Safety Summit. The two-day event kicked off Wednesday with news that 27 nations — including the U.S., European Union member states and China — signed the Bletchley Declaration on AI, committing to voluntary guidelines to work as a group toward responsible and ethical AI. Continue reading Nations Sign the Bletchley Declaration in Support of Ethical AI

President Biden has signed a far-ranging executive order establishing guardrails for artificial intelligence. Companies are now required to report to the federal government on risks related to their AI systems should they fall into the hands of terrorists or be used for weapons of mass destruction. The order also attempts to mitigate the dangers of deepfakes that could be used to manipulate elections or defraud consumers. “Deepfakes use AI-generated audio and video to smear reputations, spread fake news and commit fraud,” Biden said as he signed the order at the White House. Continue reading President Biden Signs Executive Order to Contain Risks of AI

New York-based facial recognition software company Clearview AI has had a $9.1 million fine and order to delete UK citizen data reversed by Britain’s General Regulatory Tribunal. The case against Clearview was brought by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, which scored a victory round in May 2022, claiming Clearview violated privacy laws under the General Data Protection Regulation because it did not inform or gain consent of UK citizens before collecting their data. Clearview appealed, and the tribunal found that the selfie-scraping AI firm was not subject to the ICO’s jurisdiction due to a loophole for firms servicing foreign law enforcement. Continue reading Facial Recognition Firm Clearview AI Wins Appeal of UK Fine

In a move to put “generative AI at the fingertips of every business, from startups to enterprises,” Amazon Web Services is commercially rolling out the Bedrock service it announced in April. Bedrock offers a wide range of foundation models from Amazon’s own Titan to products from Anthropic, Stability AI and soon Meta Platforms. The fully managed Bedrock service makes its generative FMs operable through a single, simple API. This means customers can experiment with various leading FMs and customize simple apps in-house, without the need for a third-party diving into their proprietary data. Continue reading AWS Rolls Out Bedrock Generative AI Service, Adds Llama 2

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced a TikTok fine of about $368 million today based on how the popular social platform processes data of younger users. DPC announced in 2021 that it was investigating TikTok’s compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy and security laws. The investigation identified specific problems with TikTok’s default account settings, the Family Pairing settings, and its age verification process (although the age verification model did not violate GDPR, the probe found that TikTok did not sufficiently protect the privacy of children under 13 who were able to create an account). Continue reading Ireland Fines TikTok $368 Million for Mishandling of User Data

The Federal Communications Commission has issued a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark labeling program for smart devices announced in July with the Biden administration. The voluntary program to provide certification for baseline cybersecurity standards is designed to help consumers make informed purchase decisions regarding Internet of Things (IoT) products. The FCC, which proposes to own the new Cyber Trust trademark and administer it in conjunction with third parties, is now officially soliciting comments from industries and the public on the scope of the proposed program. Continue reading FCC Advances ‘U.S. Cyber Trust Mark’ to Foster IoT Security

Launched two years ago, C2PA is an open-source Internet protocol that cryptographically encodes origin metadata into content. The protocol, a more secure form of watermarking, is being put forth as a way of disclosing when material has been created wholly or in part using artificial intelligence, something the White House has said it wants companies to do. Impending European Union regulations will also mandate that some tech platforms label images, audio, and video generated by artificial intelligence using “prominent markings.” More than 1,500 companies are involved with C2PA through the Content Authenticity Initiative, making it a viable solution. Continue reading Cryptographic C2PA Protocol Pursues Labeling of AI Content

Advancing President Biden’s push for responsible development of artificial intelligence, top AI firms including Anthropic, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI have launched the Frontier Model Forum, an industry forum that will work collaboratively with outside researchers and policymakers to implement best practices. The new group will focus on AI safety, research into its risks, and disseminating information to the public, governments and civil society. Other companies involved in building bleeding-edge AI models will also be invited to join and participate in technical evaluations and benchmarks. Continue reading Major Tech Players Launch Frontier Model Forum for Safe AI

The European Union has agreed to a data sharing agreement with the United States, bringing to a close a years-long negotiation that saw U.S. national security concerns bump up against European privacy rights. The new EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework — which replaces a previous iteration, the Privacy Shield, invalidated by EU courts in 2020 — was a focus of Big Tech. Under the new agreement, Europeans can lodge formal objections when they feel their personal information has been improperly accessed by American intelligence agencies, with an independent judicial review body, the Data Protection Review Court, established to evaluate such claims. Continue reading U.S. and EU Formally Adopt Long-Awaited Data Sharing Deal

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled his approach toward regulating artificial intelligence, beginning with nine listening sessions to explore topics including AI’s impact on the job market, copyright, national security and “doomsday scenarios.” Schumer’s plan — the SAFE (Security, Accountability, Foundations, Explainability) Innovation framework — isn’t proposed legislation, but a discovery roadmap. Set to begin in September, the panels will draw on members of industry, academia and civil society. “Experts aren’t even sure which questions policymakers should be asking,” said Schumer of the learning curve. “In many ways, we’re starting from scratch.” Continue reading Schumer Shares Plan for SAFE AI Senate Listening Sessions

The European Parliament on Wednesday took a major step to legislate artificial intelligence, passing a draft of the AI Act, which puts restrictions on many of what are believed to be the technology’s riskiest uses. The EU has been leading the world in advancing AI regulation, and observers are already citing this developing law as a model framework for global policymakers eager to place guardrails on this rapidly advancing technology. Among the Act’s key tenets: it will dramatically curtail use of facial recognition software and require AI firms such as OpenAI to disclose more about their training data. Continue reading European Union Takes Steps to Regulate Artificial Intelligence

Entertainment and communications leaders explored the impact of artificial intelligence and anticipated the larger changes ahead at the inaugural Synthetic Media Summit, presented by the Entertainment Technology Center at USC in partnership with NAB Amplify, SMPTE and sponsor Wizeline, in conjunction with the USC School of Cinematic Arts and USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Speakers addressed how new technology will make VFX cheaper and faster for studios, while for indies it will open new frontiers. Teaming AI with tools such as Unreal Engine is expected to level the playing field and launch a new era of virtual production. Continue reading Thought Leaders Analyze AI at ETC Synthetic Media Summit