#32 Weekend reads – are you paying attention to Artificial Intelligence?

Are you paying attention to Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Do you understand how it will become part of every aspect of our lives? And have you paid attention when it goes wrong?

The first time it got my attention was about two years ago, when Amazon announced it would halt the use of AI in its recruiting process, because the results were sexist. I found this a really interesting story, because the technology is only as good as the data that it uses, and in this case, the hiring history of Amazon was reflected in the results.

If everything you use is backward looking, how do you create change moving forward, right?

Then in the last week, the story of Dr. Timnit Gebru, a globally respected AI researcher, especially in the area of ethics, was fired by Google. I dug into this story a bit and recommend reading this article:

We read the paper that forced Timnit Gebru out of Google. Here’s what it says.

My biggest surprise was the emissions – mind blowing!!! A topic that is not nearly getting enough attention.

Someone else I follow, Sree Sreenivasan, shared some compelling articles on AI which talks about the very real challenges and social impact.

Redlined by Algorithm

How the Racism Baked Into Technology Hurts Teens

Rise of the racist robots – how AI is learning all our worst impulses

Millions of black people affected by racial bias in health-care algorithms

Who’s to Blame When Algorithms Discriminate?

I know most people don’t spend a lot of time digging into the issues of our times, but when it comes to AI, I definitely recommend we all should. This will be a huge part of our lives and it’s not all good.

It really is time to ask the question – are we willing to live at the mercy of algorithms? We saw more about this in The Social Dilemma, but it’s a story bigger than social media. It is time to recognize that there are big questions to be answered, and it’s on all of us to stay aware, keep educating ourselves, and challenge what needs to be challenged!

Charity

If you can spare some money, please donate where it makes sense to you, or to global programs that matter – the UN Refugee Program and World Food Program. There is also PowerOf which is worth checking out. Another organization I adore is Kiva.org – I just upped my contribution there and my original donation has been reloaned multiple times over the last decade. You can really empower people through Kiva.

Content to read

And here’s the content I’ve been reading this last week. Scan the headlines, read the ones that jump out at you, read or watch them all. Knowledge is power, and global knowledge is even more powerful.

Climate Crisis / 6^th Mass Extinction

Project Honey Bees – Adopt a Bee this is the best! We have adopted Historia, a Queen Bee from Loiza, Puerto Rico. A great gift this festive season.

Podcast: Is it too late to stop climate change?

Climate change: UK to end aid for fossil fuel projects abroad

Human-made materials now outweigh Earth’s entire biomass – study

Global human-made mass exceeds all living biomass

The biomass distribution on Earth

Emissions Gap Report 2020

Congress rejects expansion of Nevada Test and Training Range into wildlife refuge

Special Report: How oil majors shift billions in profits to island tax havens

Sixth Carbon Budget

The State of Climate Tech 2020: The next frontier for venture capital

UN defends excluding Morrison from climate summit, Canberra livid with Johnson over snub

Australia bushfire: Fraser Island residents told to leave immediately

Shell aims to become world’s largest electricity company

These Trees Are Not What They Seem

Beer and crisps used to help tackle climate change

Trump administration rejects tougher standards on soot, a deadly air pollutant

Passing gas: why renewables are the future tks Willie Wahlin

How Ireland is abandoning its dirty fuel

Little pygmy possum found on Australian island for first time since fires

The Number of Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Is on The Verge of Exploding. What Happens Now? tks Susanna Hasenoehrl

Venice floods as weather catches city off-guard

Scot Squad: Sea-Class Drugs tks Jerome Boyd-Kirkup

The Northern Lights May Be Visible Over New Jersey This Week Due To A Solar Storm tks Bob Hooey

Resource: Paris Reinforce

Emissions Gap Report 2020: An Inflection Point

COVID19

GUARDIANS of the year – Dr. Anthony Fauci and frontline health workers

Grim Day in U.S. as Covid-19 Deaths and Hospitalizations Set Records tks David Lim

Covid-19 in the US: Bleak winter ahead as deaths surge

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani admitted to hospital with Covid-19

It’s Time to Scare People About Covid tks Patrice Robinet

Bergamo’s Pandemic Survivors Carry Scars Unseen and Incalculable

Covid-19 vaccine: First person receives Pfizer jab in UK

Medical Expert Says COVID-19 May Cause Erectile Dysfunction tks Gina Giachetti

Rich countries hoarding Covid vaccines, says People’s Vaccine Alliance

It’s the Mask, Stupid

‘There’s No Place for Them to Go’: I.C.U. Beds Near Capacity Across U.S.

The Hidden ‘Fourth Wave’ of the Pandemic tks Denise Chai

More People Died From Covid-19 In The U.S. On Wednesday Than During 9/11 Attacks

Biden will have White House disinfected after Trump leaves tks Bob Hooey

Royal Caribbean case tests negative for Covid-19 in retests shortly after passengers disembark from ship tks David Lim

Global Politics

Trump Named ‘Loser Of The Year’ By German News Magazine Der Spiegel

US Supreme Court rejects Trump-backed bid to overturn election

House Democrat Calls To Exclude 126 Republicans From Next Congress For Supporting Texas Lawsuit

Australia accuses China of undermining trade agreement

Biden and Harris Are Time’s Persons of the Year for 2020

In Trump’s final days, a rush of federal executions

What If Trump Is Trying To Break the GOP?

Trump rants about his election grievances in Georgia, even though it may hurt the GOP

Decline and fall: what Donald Trump can learn from the Roman emperors tks David Lim

Ivanka Trump was deposed Tuesday in DC attorney general’s inauguration lawsuit

Attorney General Barr considering leaving post before Trump exits office, source says

Supreme Court Rejects Republican Challenge to Pennsylvania Vote

Trump And The GOP Have Now Lost More Than 50 Post-Election Lawsuits

As Trump Rails Against Loss, His Supporters Become More Threatening

GOP congressman to Republicans: What is going on? tks Roshini Ganesan

Business and Technology

Here’s the case for Elon Musk, Warren Buffett and the rest of America’s billionaires sending $3,000 stimulus checks to everybody tks Shaun Mcewan

The world’s 100 most powerful women

21 Predictions for 2021

Secular Outlook 2021-2029: Which forces will shape the decade?

The Grim Conclusions of the Largest-Ever Study of Fake News tks David Lim

When Failure Creates Leadership

We read the paper that forced Timnit Gebru out of Google. Here’s what it says.

How COVID-19 undid Duterte’s poser government in the Philippines tks Joyce Ano

Singapore to host World Economic Forum Special Annual Meeting in May

U.S. and States Say Facebook Illegally Crushed Competition tks Brian Sibley

NOCOOKIES tks Graham Harvey

Social issues (#BlackLivesMatter) and humanity

Podcast: ‘Something Terrible Has Happened’

Hawkers in Singapore scammed by fake screenshots of e-payments from customers

FKA twigs sues ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf over alleged abuse

Soup, soap and socks: Volunteers bring cheer to ill students tks Michelle Giamusso Regal

Andhra Pradesh: ‘Mystery’ illness puts hundreds in hospital

France, Belgium and Austria Move into the Frontline of a Battle for the Soul of Islam

Why Freedom Became Free-Dumb in America tks David Lim

The UDHR, Digital Authoritarianism, and Human Rights after Trump

Passion, humour, history

‘Galactic Federation’ of aliens hiding until humanity is ‘ready’: Former space chief

Astronomy: ‘Odd radio circles’ in the sky a ‘genuine mystery’

Meet TIME’s First-Ever Kid of the Year

How coronavirus lockdown boredom led Melbourne mathematician Samuel Blake to cracking a Zodiac Killer cipher tks Shaun Mcewan

Let me know if anything jumped out at you?

Cheers

Andrea

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