Mini Episode: Clearview, the G7, Shopping, and AI-Assisted Journalism
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Hello and welcome, this is Daniel Bashir here with Sky News Today's Week in AI. This week we'll look at surveillance, policy, shopping, and the news. First off, a CNN business report from May 29th states that the American Civil Liberties Union is suing Clearview AI, the infamous maker of a facial recognition tool used by law enforcement groups across the United States.

Clearview has long deflected criticism arguing that its technology has been vetted for legal compliance and tested for accuracy. But while Clearview states the tool is not for private use, its search engine for faces can pick up and use any photo you post online. Its operations have drawn censure from the ACLU, which alleges that Clearview's failed to take even basic steps to establish the legality of its conduct.

Clearview's founder continues to express his wishes to create a safe tool that does not wrongly incriminate citizens. But the privacy implications of the technology alone have been enough to draw sharp criticism from many sides.

But issues with surveillance aren't just confined to US law enforcement. The US's feud with China has extended beyond coronavirus-related issues into the world of artificial intelligence, where greater scrutiny into Beijing's crackdown on the country's Muslim minority has been a factor in the US's decision to blacklist dozens of Chinese companies working on AI and facial recognition.

Defense News reports that the U.S. had previously been the lone holdout among the world's seven wealthiest democracies in establishing the global partnership on AI, arguing that a regulative approach would hamper innovation.

But in its push to scrutinize China's AI-assisted surveillance tools, the US has joined the group, whose stated goal is to guide the responsible adoption of AI based on shared principles of human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and economic growth.

In addition to its standoff with China, the US has been affected by many lockdowns recently due to the coronavirus. The resulting change in shopping habits is funneling even more money into the pockets of retail giants like Amazon. This has been a death knell for small and local businesses. Those that haven't already gone under are struggling.

But a report from the MIT Technology Review points out that small businesses may be able to take advantage of micro versions of the large automated warehouses that larger retailers use.

This push, in addition to the need for social distancing, seems likely to create a greater force for the use of robotics and automation in these businesses. A number of services are popping up to help with this transition, and in their struggle to stay afloat, it seems likely that more and more local businesses will be willing to take the plunge.

Now, it's a good thing that I'm not working for pay here at Skynet today, because people who do similar work for a career may be on their way out the door. The Verge reports that Microsoft has laid off dozens of journalists and editorial workers from Microsoft News and MSN in a push to use AI to pick news and content for both organizations. In addition to using AI to curate content for its own news networks, Microsoft has been encouraging publishers and journalists to make use of AI as well.

That's all for this week. Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed the podcast, be sure to rate and share. If you'd like to hear more news like this, please check out skynetoday.com, where you can find our weekly news digests with similar articles.