EU Lawmakers Lay Groundwork for 'Historic' AI Regulation

Consider too future development

 EU Lawmakers Lay Groundwork for 'Historic' AI Regulation

Deutsche Welle (Germany)

June 14, 2023

On June 14, the European Parliament voted to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems across the European Union, laying the groundwork for the passage of the first-of-its-kind AI Act. The proposed legislation is intended to both foster AI innovation and minimize AI threats to health and safety. AI systems would be categorized based on four risk levels, from minimal to unacceptable. Among other things, the law would take aim at "social scoring systems" that make judgments based on a person's behavior or appearance, applications that subliminally manipulate children and other vulnerable groups, and predictive policing tools. Said European Parliament member Dragos Tudorache, "We as a union are doing something that I think is truly historic.”  ... ' 

Good News! China and the US Are Talking About AI Dangers

This apparent change sounds good, if our own Gvt does not stifle us.

Good News! China and the US Are Talking About AI Dangers

ACM NEWS     By Wired  June 16, 2023

Wherever you stand on the doomsday debate, there’s something nice about the U.S. and China sharing views on AI.

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, recently said that China should play a key role in shaping the guardrails that are placed around the technology.

"China has some of the best AI talent in the world," Altman said during a talk at the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI) last week. "Solving alignment for advanced AI systems requires some of the best minds from around the world—and so I really hope that Chinese AI researchers will make great contributions here."

Altman is in a good position to opine on these issues. His company is behind ChatGPT, the chatbot that's shown the world how rapidly AI capabilities are progressing. Such advances have led scientists and technologists to call for limits on the technology. In March, many experts signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on the development of AI algorithms more powerful than those behind ChatGPT. Last month, executives including Altman and Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, signed a statement warning that AI might someday pose an existential risk comparable to nuclear war or pandemics.

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The Global Battle to Regulate AI Is Just Beginning

The Global Battle to Regulate AI Is Just Beginning

By Wired, May 11, 2023

At the core of the debate about regulating AI is the question of whether it's possible to limit the risks it presents to societies without stifling the growth of a technology that many politicians expect to be the engine of the future economy.

Dan Nechita has spent the past year shuttling back and forth between Brussels and Strasbourg. As the head of cabinet (essentially chief of staff) for one of the two rapporteurs leading negotiations over the EU's proposed new AI law, he's helped hammer out compromises between those who want the technology to be tightly regulated and those who believe innovation needs more space to evolve.

The discussions have, Nechita says, been "long and tedious." First there were debates about how to define AI—what it was that Europe was even regulating. "That was a very, very, very long discussion," Nechita says. Then there was a split over what uses of AI were so dangerous they should be banned or categorized as high-risk. "We had an ideological divide between those who would want almost everything to be considered high-risk and those who would prefer to keep the list as small and precise as possible."

But those often tense negotiations mean that the European Parliament is getting closer to a sweeping political agreement that would outline the body's vision for regulating AI. That agreement is likely to include an outright ban on some uses of AI, such as predictive policing, and extra transparency requirements for AI judged to be high-risk, such as systems used in border control.

From Wired 

The Global Battle to Regulate AI Is Just Beginning

The Global Battle to Regulate AI Is Just Beginning

By Wired, May 11, 2023

At the core of the debate about regulating AI is the question of whether it's possible to limit the risks it presents to societies without stifling the growth of a technology that many politicians expect to be the engine of the future economy.

Dan Nechita has spent the past year shuttling back and forth between Brussels and Strasbourg. As the head of cabinet (essentially chief of staff) for one of the two rapporteurs leading negotiations over the EU's proposed new AI law, he's helped hammer out compromises between those who want the technology to be tightly regulated and those who believe innovation needs more space to evolve.

The discussions have, Nechita says, been "long and tedious." First there were debates about how to define AI—what it was that Europe was even regulating. "That was a very, very, very long discussion," Nechita says. Then there was a split over what uses of AI were so dangerous they should be banned or categorized as high-risk. "We had an ideological divide between those who would want almost everything to be considered high-risk and those who would prefer to keep the list as small and precise as possible."

But those often tense negotiations mean that the European Parliament is getting closer to a sweeping political agreement that would outline the body's vision for regulating AI. That agreement is likely to include an outright ban on some uses of AI, such as predictive policing, and extra transparency requirements for AI judged to be high-risk, such as systems used in border control.

From Wired

The Global Battle to Regulate AI Is Just Beginning

Where is it all going?

The Global Battle to Regulate AI Is Just Beginning

By Wired, May 11, 2023

At the core of the debate about regulating AI is the question of whether it's possible to limit the risks it presents to societies without stifling the growth of a technology that many politicians expect to be the engine of the future economy.

Dan Nechita has spent the past year shuttling back and forth between Brussels and Strasbourg. As the head of cabinet (essentially chief of staff) for one of the two rapporteurs leading negotiations over the EU's proposed new AI law, he's helped hammer out compromises between those who want the technology to be tightly regulated and those who believe innovation needs more space to evolve.

The discussions have, Nechita says, been "long and tedious." First there were debates about how to define AI—what it was that Europe was even regulating. "That was a very, very, very long discussion," Nechita says. Then there was a split over what uses of AI were so dangerous they should be banned or categorized as high-risk. "We had an ideological divide between those who would want almost everything to be considered high-risk and those who would prefer to keep the list as small and precise as possible."

But those often tense negotiations mean that the European Parliament is getting closer to a sweeping political agreement that would outline the body's vision for regulating AI. That agreement is likely to include an outright ban on some uses of AI, such as predictive policing, and extra transparency requirements for AI judged to be high-risk, such as systems used in border control.

From Wired    View Full Article  

Google releases Bard to the world – but leaves the EU behind

Example of how Country/region regulation can stall uses, increase training, mauntenance needs. 

 Google releases Bard to the world – but leaves the EU behind    in Nextweb

The bloc's frosty reception of generative AI could be to blame

May 11, 2023 - 12:26 pm

During its I/O 2023 event yesterday, Google announced it had officially removed the waitlist for its AI-powered chatbot Bard and made the service available in 180 countries and territories.

Sadly for most Europeans keen on testing the tech giant’s contribution to the generative AI race, the countries of the European Union are not included in the list. 

The company has not made any comments on why the EU has been left out. However, it would not be too far-fetched to assume it has something to do with how members of the bloc have reacted to the introduction of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

In all likelihood, Google is also waiting for the finalisation of the EU’s much-anticipated AI Act, before unleashing Bard across the continent. The leading European Parliament committees gave their approval for the act earlier today, with a tentative plenary adoption date scheduled for 14 June. 

While not offering any specific plans for increased geographical access, Google says it will “gradually expand to more countries and territories in a way that is consistent with local regulations and our AI principles.” 

Trained on Google’s new model

Along with the release of Bard to much of the world (and sharp VPN wielders), Google also introduced a range of new features to the chatbot. First of all, it is now powered by Google’s newest large language model: PaLM2, an upgraded version of PaLM, released in April. Meanwhile, Bard was still introduced as a “conversational AI experiment.”

Everyone Wants to Regulate AI. No One Can Agree How

Clear, but essential. 

Everyone Wants to Regulate AI. No One Can Agree How,  By Wired, May 31, 2023

Clamping limits on such a nascent technology, even one whose baby steps are shaking the earth, courts the danger of hobbling great advances before they’re developed.

As the artificial intelligence frenzy builds, a sudden consensus has formed. We should regulate it!

While there's a very real question whether this is like closing the barn door after the robotic horses have fled, not only government types but also people who build AI systems are suggesting that some new laws might be helpful in stopping the technology from going bad. The idea is to keep the algorithms in the loyal-partner-to-humanity lane, with no access to the I-am-your-overlord lane.

Though since the dawn of ChatGPT many in the technology world have suggested that legal guardrails might be a good idea, the most emphatic plea came from AI's most influential avatar of the moment, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. "I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong," he said in a much anticipated appearance before a US Senate Judiciary subcommittee earlier this month. "We want to work with the government to prevent that from happening."

That is certainly welcome news to the government, which has been pressing the idea for a while. Only days before his testimony, Altman was among a group of tech leaders summoned to the White House to hear Vice President Kamala Harris warn of AI's dangers and urge the industry to help find solutions.

From Wired  (listening here to an interview with Sam Altman)

Europe Takes Regulatory Aim at ChatGPT

TECH

Europe takes aim at ChatGPT with what might soon be the West’s first A.I. law. Here’s what it means

Ryan Browne

A key committee of lawmakers in the European Parliament have approved a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence regulation — making it closer to becoming law.

The approval marks a landmark development in the race among authorities to get a handle on AI, which is evolving with breakneck speed. The law, known as the European AI Act, is the first law for AI systems in the West. China has already developed draft rules designed to manage how companies develop generative AI products like ChatGPT.

The law takes a risk-based approach to regulating AI, where the obligations for a system are proportionate to the level of risk that it poses.

The rules also specify requirements for providers of so-called “foundation models” such as ChatGPT, which have become a key concern for regulators, given how advanced they’re becoming and fears that even skilled workers will be displaced.

What do the rules say?

The AI Act categorizes applications of AI into four levels of risk: unacceptable risk, high risk, limited risk and minimal or no risk.

Unacceptable risk applications are banned by default and cannot be deployed in the bloc.

They include:

AI systems using subliminal techniques, or manipulative or deceptive techniques to distort behavior

AI systems exploiting vulnerabilities of individuals or specific groups

Biometric categorization systems based on sensitive attributes or characteristics

AI systems used for social scoring or evaluating trustworthiness

AI systems used for risk assessments predicting criminal or administrative offenses

AI systems creating or expanding facial recognition databases through untargeted scraping

AI systems inferring emotions in law enforcement, border management, the workplace, and education

Several lawmakers had called for making the measures more expensive to ensure they cover ChatGPT.

To that end, requirements have been imposed on “foundation models,” such as large language models and generative AI.

Developers of foundation models will be required to apply safety checks, data governance measures and risk mitigations before making their models public.

They will also be required to ensure that the training data used to inform their systems do not violate copyright law.

“The providers of such AI models would be required to take measures to assess and mitigate risks to fundamental rights, health and safety and the environment, democracy and rule of law,” Ceyhun Pehlivan, counsel at Linklaters and co-lead of the law firm’s telecommunications, media and technology and IP practice group in Madrid, told CNBC.

“They would also be subject to data governance requirements, such as examining the suitability of the data sources and possible biases.”

It’s important to stress that, while the law has been passed by lawmakers in the European Parliament, it’s a ways away from becoming law.

Why now?

Privately held companies have been left to develop AI technology at breakneck speed, giving rise to systems like Microsoft

-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.

Google on Wednesday announced a slew of new AI updates, including an advanced language model called PaLM 2, which the company says outperforms other leading systems on some tasks.

Novel AI chatbots like ChatGPT have enthralled many technologists and academics with their ability to produce humanlike responses to user prompts powered by large language models trained on massive amounts of data.

But AI technology has been around for years and is integrated into more applications and systems than you might think. It determines what viral videos or food pictures you see on your TikTok or Instagram feed, for example.

The aim of the EU proposals is to provide some rules of the road for AI companies and organizations using AI.

A Look at China's Ambitious Generative AI and related Regulations.

Fascinating, regarding direction and regulation ....  Here just an overview. 

Freedom to Tinker

Research and commentary on digital technologies in public life

Decoding China’s Ambitious Generative AI Regulations

APRIL 16, 2023 BY JUSTIN CURL LEAVE A COMMENT   By Sihao Huang and Justin Curl

On April 11th, 2023, China’s top internet regulator proposed new rules for generative AI. The draft builds on previous regulations on deep synthesis technology, which contained detailed provisions on user identity registration, the creation of a database of undesirable inputs, and even the generation of “special objects and scenes” that may harm national security. 

Whereas past regulations from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) focused on harmful outputs that threatened national security, this new draft regulation goes a step further. It mandates that models must be “accurate and true,” adhere to a particular worldview, and avoid discriminating by race, faith, and gender. The document also introduces specific constraints about the way these models are built. Addressing these requirements involves tackling open problems in AI like hallucination, alignment, and bias, for which robust solutions do not currently exist. 

The news coverage in the United States thus far has been relatively superficial and misses the breadth and complexity of the proposed regulations. An article in The Wall Street Journal, for example, hones in on a requirement to adhere to a particular worldview (Art. 4, Sec. 1) — a provision that appeared back in the 2016 cybersecurity law — and primarily focuses on China’s move towards AI censorship. A Bloomberg story focuses on the draft regulation’s potential impact on the speed of AI development by highlighting the need for security reviews (Art. 6).

This post aims to highlight the aspects of the draft regulation that are novel in both the Chinese and International contexts. (Our full unofficial translation of the document from Chinese to English is available here.)  .... ' 

MEPs Vote in Amendments to EU AI Act

Expect more regulation to emerge.

MEPs vote in raft of amendments to EU AI Act

The proposed amendments to the EU’s AI Act have garnered a mixed reception from both industry and civil society, with the former seeing it as too stringent and the latter as not stringent enough in many areas, despite positive progress in others

By  Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Senior reporter

Published: 12 May 2023 16:30

MEPs in two European Parliament committees have overwhelmingly voted for a raft of amendments to the Artificial...  (intro) 

EU Regulating Tech Platforms

New Broad EU Regulation

EU names 19 large tech platforms that must follow Europe’s new Internet rules

Rules apply to five Google sites, Facebook, Apple, Bing, Twitter, TikTok, etc.

JON BRODKIN - 4/25/2023, 2:49 PM  in ArsTechnica

Enlarge / Google's booth at the Integrated Systems Europe conference on January 31, 2023, in Barcelona, Spain.

The European Commission will require 19 large online platforms and search engines to comply with new online content regulations starting on August 25, European officials said. The EC specified which companies must comply with the rules for the first time, announcing today that it "adopted the first designation decisions under the Digital Services Act."

Five of the 19 platforms are run by Google, specifically YouTube, Google Search, the Google Play app and digital media store, Google Maps, and Google Shopping. Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram are on the list, as are Amazon's online store, Apple's App Store, Microsoft's Bing search engine, TikTok, Twitter, and Wikipedia.

These platforms were designated because they each reported having over 45 million active users in the EU as of February 17. The other listed platforms are Alibaba AliExpress, Booking.com, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, and German online retailer Zalando.

Companies have four months to comply with the full set of new obligations and could face fines of up to 6 percent of a provider's annual revenue. One new rule is a ban on advertisements that target users based on sensitive data such as ethnic origin, political opinions, or sexual orientation. ... ' 

Advanced AI Faces New Regulatory Push in Europe

More regulatory pressure arises.

Advanced AI Faces New Regulatory Push in Europe

By The Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2023

The European Parliament in session.

Members of the European Parliament have been charged with hammering out a new draft of what the European Union calls its AI Act.

In an open letter published April 17, a group of EU lawmakers said regulators should be given authority to govern the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

The lawmakers, tasked with developing a draft of the AI Act, said the bill will direct AI development "in a direction that is human centric, safe, and trustworthy."

They added that the bill "could serve as a blueprint for other regulatory initiatives in different regulatory traditions and environments around the world."

The letter called for a high-level global AI summit with a focus on preliminary governing principles for deploying AI, and requested the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council develop an agenda for the summit at its next meeting.

From The Wall Street Journal    View Full Article -  

AI Regulation Examined

Looking at how AI may be regulated.

AI News

What will AI regulation look like for businesses?

 Unlike food, medicine, and cars, we have yet to see clear regulations or laws to guide AI design in the US. Without standard guidelines, companies that design and develop ML models have historically worked off of their own perceptions of right and wrong. 

This is about to change. 

As the EU finalizes its AI Act and generative AI continues to rapidly evolve, we will see the artificial intelligence regulatory landscape shift from general, suggested frameworks to more permanent laws. 

The EU AI Act has spurred significant conversations among business leaders: How can we prepare for stricter AI regulations? Should I proactively design AI that meets this criterion? How soon will it be before similar regulation is passed in the US?

Continue reading to better understand what AI regulation may look like for companies in the near future.  

How the EU AI Act will impact your business 

Like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) released in 2018, the EU AI Act is expected to become a global standard for AI regulation. Parliament is scheduled to vote on the draft by the end of March 2023, and if this timeline is met, the final AI Act could be adopted by the end of the year. 

It’s highly predicted that the effects of the AI Act will be felt beyond the EU’s borders (read: Brussels effect), albeit it being European regulation. Organizations operating on an international scale will be required to directly conform to the legislation. Meanwhile, US and other independently-led companies will quickly realize that it’s in their best interest to comply with this regulation.

We’re beginning to see this already with other similar legislation like Canada’s Artificial Intelligence & Data Act proposal and New York City’s automated employment regulation. 

AI system risk categories

Under the AI Act, organizations’ AI systems will be classified into three risk categories, each with their own set of guidelines and consequences. 

Unacceptable risk. AI systems that meet this level will be banned. This includes manipulative systems that cause harm, real-time biometric identification systems used in public spaces for law enforcement, and all forms of social scoring. 

High risk. These AI systems include tools like job applicant scanning models and will be subject to specific legal requirements. 

Limited and minimal risk. This category encompasses many of the AI applications businesses use today, including chatbots and AI-powered inventory management tools, and will largely be left unregulated. Customer-facing limited-risk applications, however, will require disclosure that AI is being used. 

What will AI regulation look like? 

Because the AI Act is still under draft, and its global effects are to be determined, we can’t say with certainty what regulation will look like for organizations. However, we do know that it will vary based on industry, the type of model you’re designing, and the risk category in which it falls. 

Regulation will likely include scrutiny with a third party, where your model is stress tested against the population you’re attempting to serve. These tests will evaluate questions including ‘Is the model performing within acceptable margins of error?’ and ‘Are you disclosing the nature and use of your model? ‘

For organizations with high-risk AI systems, the AI Act has already outlined several requirements: 

Implementation of a risk-management system. 

Data governance and management. 

Technical documentation.

Record keeping and logging. 

Transparency and provision of information to users.

Human oversight. 

Accuracy, robustness, and cybersecurity.

Conformity assessment. 

Registration with the EU-member-state government.

Post-market monitoring system. 

We can also expect regular reliability testing for models (similar to e-checks for cars) to become a more widespread service in the AI industry.   .....    '

EU Digital Strategy

 So many directions to regulate.    Note considering the influence US Law

The EU digital strategy: The impact of data privacy on global business

McKinseu:  March 1, 2023 | Commentary

By  Daniel Mikkelsen, Sebastian Scheurle,   Henning Soller , and Malin Strandell-Jansson

New data regulations from the European Union require organizational attention, and three key steps can help navigate the data privacy landscape.

The data regulations in the European Union (EU) have recently received significant attention specifically due to the advent of the General Data Protection Regulation and the rulings around Schrems II—whereby the Court of Justice of the European Union found that the protection of personal data had limitations due to domestic law in the United States—as well as the access and use by US public authorities of personal data transferred from the EU, and recent developments such as e-privacy.

While these developments have led to major changes in data privacy, one of the other goals of the regulation—to establish a market for data and facilitate data exchange between companies—has not been reached to date.

This lack of action has led to the potential for further regulatory activity to define an agenda for how to uplift the data capabilities of European companies, create a market for data, and regulate activities around AI. These activities are typically summarized as the EU digital strategy. While regulation adds further requirements and obligations to any data-enabled business, it also creates an opportunity for competitive advantages for those that best derisk their data transformations.

The EU digital strategy offers organizations both challenges and opportunities, but these regulations will likely continue to evolve, so organizations should remain aligned with the regulatory process. ... ' 

German Constitutional Court Strikes Down Predictive Algorithms for Policing

Noting specially algorithms.  Meat to control a that level of specification?   Specifications of prediction? 

German Constitutional Court Strikes Down Predictive Algorithms for Policing

By Euractiv, February 17, 2023

Surveillance cameras at a German police station. 

In its ruling, the German Federal Constitutional Court struck down acts providing a statutory basis for police to process stored personal data through automated data analysis, in the case of Hesse, or automated data interpretation, in Hamburg.

The German Federal Constitutional Court declared the use of Palantir surveillance software by police in Hesse and Hamburg unconstitutional in a landmark ruling.

The ruling concludes a case brought by the German Society for Civil Rights (GFF) last year, hearings for which began in December. The plaintiffs argued that the software could be used for predictive policing, raising the risk of mistakes and discrimination by law enforcement. 

The German state of Hesse has been using the software since 2017, though it is not yet in place in Hamburg. The technology is provided by Palantir, a US data analytics firm which received early backing from intelligence agencies, including the CIA, FBI and NSA. 

The case was brought on behalf of 11 plaintiffs and rested on the argument that the software programme – named 'Hessendata' – facilitates predictive policing by using data to create profiles of suspects before any crime has been committed.

From Euractiv

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UK as a Crypto Hub?

UK Government promises robust crypto regulation

Ministers want to make the UK a crypto hub,   By Tom Singleton, Technology team

The government has published proposals for crypto-asset regulation it hopes will "manage" the risks of the "turbulent industry".

The sector has had a calamitous year, with assets collapsing in value by an estimated 75% from their peak of about $3 trillion in November 2021.

Ministers estimate up to 10% of UK adults now own some form of crypto.  They plan to use existing regulations for the industry, rather than creating a bespoke regime.

The Treasury says that will allow crypto to benefit from the "confidence, credibility and regulatory clarity" of the existing system for financial services, as set out in the UK's Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

It wants to create a level playing field between traditional and emerging financial services, where the principle is "same risk, same regulatory outcome". But it also acknowledges some crypto businesses may simply choose to continue operating in offshore jurisdictions that "do not impose equivalent market-abuse rules".

'Fair standards'

The Treasury says its proposals - which it's now consulting on - will:

 - lay down rules on crypto-asset promotions which are fair, clear and not misleading

 - enhance data-reporting requirements, including with regulators.

 - implement new regulations to prevent so-called pump and dump, where an individual artificially inflates the value of a crypto asset before selling it.  

Ministers say the measures will "mitigate the most significant risks" of crypto technologies, while "harnessing their advantages".   Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith said the government remained "steadfast in our commitment to grow the economy and enable technological change and innovation - and this includes crypto-asset technology".

"But we must also protect consumers who are embracing this new technology - ensuring robust, transparent and fair standards," he added.  ... ' 

Netherlands Regulating Tech

Another instructive regulation example.

How the Netherlands Is Taming Big Tech  By The New York Times, January 20, 2023

Microsoft chief privacy officer Julie Brill, at left, during in a 2018 White House discussion on childrens use of the Internet.

Microsoft chief privacy officer Julie Brill, at left, worked with the Dutch government on privacy issues.

In the Netherlands, government and educational institutions have pushed big tech companies to make significant privacy changes using a carrot-and-stick approach that involves negotiating their compliance with European data privacy standards.

After the Dutch Data Protection Authority said schools would have to discontinue use of Google's education apps if privacy risks were not addressed, Google responded with new privacy measures and transparency tools that will be rolled out in the Netherlands and elsewhere later this year.

Zoom also announced substantial changes to its data protection practices and policies after talks with a Dutch cooperative, SURF, that negotiates tech vendor contracts on behalf of the nation's universities and research institutions.

Now other nations are looking to the Dutch approach as they seek to regulate big tech.

From The New York Times       View Full Article - May Require Paid Subscription

Opinion on the CHIPS Act

 Short Opinion piece from ACM site.  Have not reviewed further, but plan to

The False Promise of America's CHIPS Act

By Project Syndicate, November 28, 2022

The CHIPS Act is flawed in many ways.  (Opinion) 

The U.S. CHIPS and Science Act allocates more than $50 billion to strengthen the semiconductor industry in the hope of making the U.S. self-sufficient. But it is doubtful that the CHIPS Act will achieve its stated goals, much less that it should be used as a model for similar support to other industries.

While it is understandable that the U.S. wants to maintain its technological lead in chips, subsidizing large existing firms and government management of the industry almost certainly will not achieve that goal.

From Project Syndicate

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Regulating Bossware

 Had not seen this term for some time, but it is real. Can be more powerful now. Gvt regulation? 

ACM NEWS

U.S. Government to Crack Down on "Bossware" That Spies On Employees' Computers

By Futurism, November 7, 2022

The use and abuse of worker surveillance tech in general — not just bossware — has been "growing by the minute," said Mark Gaston Pearce, executive director of the Workers' Rights Institute at Georgetown Law School.

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic drove a wave of working from home, companies have been relentless in their efforts to digitally police and spy on remote employees by using what's known as "bossware." That's the pejorative name for software that tracks the websites an employee visits, screenshots their computer screens, and even records their faces and voices.

And now, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), an agency of the federal government, is looking to intervene.

"Close, constant surveillance and management through electronic means threaten employees' basic ability to exercise their rights," said NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, in a Monday memo. "I plan to urge the Board to apply the Act to protect employees, to the greatest extent possible, from intrusive or abusive electronic monitoring and automated management practices."

From Futurism

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The Fight Over Which Uses of AI Europe Should Outlaw

Some good examples.   This will be a difficult thing,  comparing privacy considerations versus the protection and security.  

The Fight Over Which Uses of AI Europe Should Outlaw,   By Wired, July 7, 2022

In 2019, guards on the borders of Greece, Hungary, and Latvia began testing an artificial-intelligence-powered lie detector. The system, called iBorderCtrl, analyzed facial movements to attempt to spot signs a person was lying to a border agent. The trial was propelled by nearly $5 million in European Union research funding, and almost 20 years of research at Manchester Metropolitan University, in the UK.

The trial sparked controversy. Polygraphs and other technologies built to detect lies from physical attributes have been widely declared unreliable by psychologists. Soon, errors were reported from iBorderCtrl, too. Media reports indicated that its lie-prediction algorithm didn't work, and the project's own website acknowledged that the technology "may imply risks for fundamental human rights."

This month, Silent Talker, a company spun out of Manchester Met that made the technology underlying iBorderCtrl, dissolved. But that's not the end of the story. Lawyers, activists, and lawmakers are pushing for a European Union law to regulate AI, which would ban systems that claim to detect human deception in migration—citing iBorderCtrl as an example of what can go wrong. Former Silent Talker executives could not be reached for comment.

From Wired

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