Sunday, June 21, 2020


I might even read the whole book!
On the path to AI
This open access book explores machine learning and its impact on how we make sense of the world. It does so by bringing together two ‘revolutions’ in a surprising analogy: the revolution of machine learning, which has placed computing on the path to artificial intelligence, and the revolution in thinking about the law that was spurred by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr in the last two decades of the 19th century. Holmes reconceived law as prophecy based on experience, prefiguring the buzzwords of the machine learning age—prediction based on datasets. On the path to AI introduces readers to the key concepts of machine learning, discusses the potential applications and limitations of predictions generated by machines using data, and informs current debates amongst scholars, lawyers and policy makers on how it should be used and regulated wisely. Technologists will also find useful lessons learned from the last 120 years of legal grappling with accountability, explainability, and biased data.




I’ll have to study this a bit...
How to Design AI for Social Good: Seven Essential Factors
The idea of artifcial intelligence for social good (henceforth AI4SG) is gaining traction within information societies in general and the AI community in particular. It has the potential to tackle social problems through the development of AI-based solutions. Yet, to date, there is only limited understanding of what makes AI socially good in theory, what counts as AI4SG in practice, and how to reproduce its initial successes in terms of policies. This article addresses this gap by identifying seven ethical factors that are essential for future AI4SG initiatives. The analysis is supported by 27 case examples of AI4SG projects. Some of these factors are almost entirely novel to AI, while the signifcance of other factors is heightened by the use of AI. From each of these factors, corresponding best practices are formulated which, subject to context and balance, may serve as preliminary
... To anticipate, these seven factors are: (1) falsifability and incremental deployment; (2) safeguards against the manipulation of predictors; (3) receiver-contextualised intervention; (4) receiver-contextualised explanation and transparent purposes; (5) privacy protection and data subject consent; (6) situational fairness; and (7) human-friendly semanticisation.




Automating lawyers.
Is the Dawn of the Robot Lawyer upon us? The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Future of Lawyers
The practice of law has been largely shielded from technological developments in the course of the past 50 years. While the ways in which legal professionals process and share information have evolved with new technologies — primarily with the emergence of personal computers, email and the internet — these technologies have not fundamentally transformed it. However, if media reports are to be believed, advances in technology in general — and the field known as "Artificial Intelligence" (AI) in particular — are on lawyers' doorsteps, and the legal industry is on the cusp of radical change. Fuelled by big data, increased computing power and more effective algorithms, AI has the potential to fundamentally transform the way in which legal work is done, the way in which law firms conduct business, and the way in which lawyers deal with clients. A number of technologies that fall under the AI umbrella, such as machine learning, natural language processing, deep learning and others, have already brought about the automation of many tasks that were, until recently, performed exclusively by humans because they required human intelligence. AI systems can also be used to perform many tasks that lawyers routinely perform, such as contract analysis, case prediction and e-discovery. And, according to proponents, these emerging technologies can do it cheaper, faster and more efficiently. This contribution examines the notion that recent advances in technology will "disrupt" the legal profession. It first describes the astonishing advances in technological progress, especially the recent rise of AI. It then considers the technologies and areas of legal practice most susceptible to this disruption. It concludes by envisaging what AI might mean for the legal profession, and how current technological trends might, in a relatively short period of time, transform the way in which legal services are delivered.




For my classes…
Dangers of Bias in Data-Intensive Information Systems
Data-intensive information systems (DIS) are pervasive and virtually affect people in all walks of life. Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are the backbone of DIS systems. Various types of biases embedded into DIS systems have serious significance and implications for individuals as well as the society at large. In this paper, we discuss various types of bias—both human and machine—and suggest ways to eliminate or minimize it. We also make a case for digital ethics education and outline ways to incorporate such education into computing curricula.



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