Tag Archives: AI

Discord Quietly Removed Privacy Policies – Then Added Bad Ones

AI,

Last week, Discord announced new AI features powered by Midjourney’s image generator and chatbot technology powered by OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT. The company’s existing chatbot, named Clyde, is now super-charged with artificially intelligent language parsing capabilities and there are other fun features.

Those features appeared to come at a cost: in the fine print of the company’s privacy policy, Discord made subtle changes that disturbed users. It revoked promises not to collect data about screen recording and voice and video chats. One day after getting called out, though, Discord undid those changes, Gizmodo reported.

TechRadar reported that a Discord spokesperson contacted TechRadar to provide the following statement: “Discord is committed to protecting the privacy and data of our users. There has not been a change in Discord’s position on how we store or record the contents of video or voice channels. We recognize that when we recently adjusted language in our Privacy Policy, we inadvertently caused confusion among our users. To be clear, nothing has changed and we have reinserted the language back into our Privacy Policy, along with some additional clarifying information.”

Discord continued: “The recently-announced AI features use OpenAI technology. That said, OpenAI may not use Discord user data to train its general models. Like other Discord products, these features can only store and use information as described in our Privacy Policy, and they do not record, store, or use any voice or video content from users.”

According to TechRadar, the biggest issue with this AI integration is the fact that it comes bundled with very deliberate changes to Discord’s privacy policy. The previous privacy policy, which is still in effect until March 26, 2023, had two important statements under the “The information we collect” section.

The first states that “We generally do not store the contents of video or voice calls or channels” and the second is “We also don’t store streaming content when you share your screen”

But, TechRadar reported, when you check the new privacy policy, which is set to take effect on March 27, 2023, both those statements as well as the one claiming that “if we were to change that in the future (for example, to facilitate content moderation), we would disclose that to you in advance,” are now completely wiped.

Discord appears to have changed it to the following: “Content you create: This includes any content you upload to the service. For example, maybe you write messages or posts (including drafts), send voice messages, create custom emojis, create short recordings of GoLive activity, or upload and share files through the services. This also includes your profile information and the information you provide when you create servers.”

In addition, TechRadar reported that it could be possible for Discord to let its AI bots engage in rampant art theft by stealing the art creators have already posted on Discord. This, alone, makes me want to remove all the art I’ve posted there.

AI-Created Images Lose U.S. Copyrights In Test For New Technology

Technology, ,

Images in a graphic novel that were created using the artificial-intelligence system Midjourney should not have been granted copyright protection, the U.S. Copyright Office said in a letter seen by Reuters.

“Zarya of the Dawn” author Kris Kashtanova is entitled to a copyright for the parts of the book Kashtanova wrote and arranged, but not for the images produced by Midjourney, the office said in its letter, dated Thursday.

According to Reuters, the decision is one of the first by a U.S. court or agency on the scope of copyright protection for works created with AI, and comes amid the meteoric rise of generative AI software like Midjourney, Dall-E and ChatGPT.

The Copyright Office told Kashtanova in October it would reconsider the book’s copyright registration because the application did not disclose Midjourney’s role.

The United States Copyright Office sent a letter to Mr. Van Lindberg. From the letter:

“The United States Copyright Office has reviewed your letter dated November 21, 2022, responding to our letter to your client, Kristina Kashtanova, seeking additional information concerning the authorship of her work, titled Zarya of the Dawn (the “Work”). Ms. Kashtanova had previously applied for and obtained a copyright registration for the World, Registration #VAu001480196. We appreciate the information provided in your letter, including your description of the operation of the Midjourney’s artificial intelligence (“AI”) technology and how it was used by your client to create the Work.

The Office has completed its review of the Work’s original registration application and deposit copy, as well as the relevant correspondence in the administrative record. We conclude that Ms. Kashtanova is the author of the Work’s text as well as the selection, coordination, and arrangement of the Work’s written and visual elements. That authorship is protected by copyright. However, as discussed below, the images in the Work that were generated by the Midjourney technology are not the product of human authorship. Because the current registration for the Work does not disclaim its Midjourney-generated content, we intend to cancel the original certificate issued to Ms. Kashtanova and issue a new one covering only the expressive material she created…

…Rather than a tool that Ms. Kashtanova controlled and guided to reach her desired image, Midjourney generates images in an unpredictable way. Accordingly, Midjourney users are not the “authors” for copyright purposes of the images the technology generates. As the Supreme Court has explained, the “author” of a copyrighted work is the one “who has actually formed the picture,” the one who acts as “the inventive or master mind.” … A person who provides text prompts to Midjourney does not “actually form” the generated images and is not the “master mind” behind them…

…Nor does the Office agree that Ms. Kashtanova’s use of textual prompts permits copyright protection of restyling images because the images are the visual representation of “creative, human-authored prompts.” Because Midjourney starts with randomly generated noise that evolves into a final image, there is no guarantee that a particular prompt will generate any particular visual output. Instead, prompts function closer to suggestions than orders, similar to its contents…”

In my opinion, this decision is a huge win for all of the artists whose work Midjourney was given to iterate upon. From what I’ve read, the artists whose work Midjourney was trained on were not asked permission for use of their artwork by Midjourney, (or other AI art programs), and certainly were not paid for the use of their work.

I fully agree that Ms. Kashtanova wrote the text of her comic book herself. However, she should not have relied entirely on Midjourney to create the images in her comic book. There are plenty of human artists out there whom she could have hired instead.

Would You Call Your Child Alexa?

Opinion, , , ,

…or perhaps not naming digital assistants would be better.

The weather was glorious in the UK on Easter Monday, breaking the record for the warmest Easter on record. The whole country went out to the beach, local parks, stately homes and other visitor attractions and as a dad with two young ‘uns, I inevitably ended up in a children’s playground watching over swings, slides and the odd scrape. It was a happy family moment.

And then I heard a voice going, “Alexa, Alexa!” At first, I thought was someone talking to the app on their phone but then I realised this was a mother calling her toddler daughter. OMG! What were they thinking?

Now it’s easy to criticise the parents for their choice of name but perhaps Alexa was their favourite for years and then it got hijacked by an uncaring Silicon Valley giant.

There’s another point here and I feel slightly vindicated. My Amazon Echo is programmed to respond to “Computer”, not because I’m a Star Trek geek, but because I’m concerned about the anthropomorphism of technology – that’s making something seem human when it’s not.

The issue is how we treat machines compared to people and I think it’s particularly relevant when all of the digital assistants – Alexa, Siri and Cortana – speak with a female voice. How many of us have shouted “Alexa, shut up!” when it blurts out irrelevant nonsense, and I’ve heard “Stupid woman” addressed to an in-car GPS asking for u-turn on motorway. I’m concerned that these abusive behaviours will cross over into real life, as it were. Will boys think that it’s ok to yell “Shut up!” at girls?

This problem is only going get worse as the assistants become smarter and robots more life-like. Machines should be thought of as the tools they are. We need to consider the future consequences of pretending that they are more.

Photo by Grant Ritchie on Unsplash

 

AI is Coming to Take Your Jobs

AI,

President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence.

Reuters summarized it as “an executive order asking federal government agencies to dedicate more resources and investment into research, promotion and training on artificial intelligence, known as AI.” Reuters pointed out that there was no specific funding announced for the initiative.

According to Reuters:

AI and deep machine learning raise ethical concerns about control, privacy, cybersecurity, and is set to trigger job displacements across industries and companies experts say.

The executive order comes after the White House held a meeting on AI in May with more than 30 major companies including Ford Motor Co., Boeing Co., Amazon.com, Inc., and Microsoft Corp.

Personally, this makes me feel uncomfortable. I’ve no idea what these companies (and others like them) will spend on replacing their current systems with AI – but I suspect it will cost them less than paying a human worker to do the same job. Robots and AI systems don’t need sick days, or health insurance coverage, or raises.

The executive order appears to require grants for training programs in high school, undergraduate programs, graduate fellowship, and alternative education. It does not include any AI training for people who are currently working in industries that are likely to invest in AI.

American workers now have to worry not only about robots coming to take their jobs, but also being replaced by AI.

Titan Platform Brings AI Companion to CES

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Titan LogoVoice-activated digital assistant devices have become somewhat commonplace in recent years, with the most well-known being developed by Amazon, Google, and Apple. These assistants can be good for getting help with basic tasks. But we’ve all had disappointing experiences with these platforms where it just felt like they weren’t “smart” enough to do what we wanted.

Todd met with Frank of Titan AI. Frank talked about his company’s up-and-coming “AI companion” device that can do much more than just turn on the lights or order a pizza. Titan’s device uses both voice recognition and visual cues (courtesy of its built-in camera) to determine a user’s mood. Come home from a rough day at the office? Titan might suggest entertainment options that’ll put you in a better place of mind.

Pricing is not yet available for Titan’s AI device. It is expected to go on sale between the third and fourth quarters of 2018.

Todd Cochrane is the host of the twice-weekly Geek News Central Podcast at GeekNewsCentral.com.

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Autoaid Put a Camera in Car Headlight for CES 2018

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At CES 2018, autoaid will be showing off the new Automotive Bulb Camera, combining a high resolution camera and car headlight into standard H7 and H4 lamp fittings. Consequently the camera system can be retrofitted to the vast majority of cars on the road, avoiding expensive specialist redesigns or clunky dashboard attachments. The Berlin-based startup expects the cameras to record traffic video for the training and development of autonomous driving systems. In addition the camera can provide real-time data to in-car driving assistance systems.

Aiming at developers of autonomous driving systems, the autoaid Automotive Bulb Camera is a high-resolution camera which is integrated into a halogen or LED automotive lamp using standard fittings. There’s no need to change anything in the headlight itself and the car still looks like a standard model. The camera communicates with autoaid’s new telematics platform, recording video and joining other driving information, such as steering, acceleration, braking, location, to the dataset. This is passed onto autoaid’s servers, which then uses object recognition to pick out vehicles, traffic lights, signs and so on. This detailed information on driver behaviour can be used to training autonomous systems. For car buyers, the solution also offers attractive driving aids such as a lane-keeping assistant or a collision warning system.

Moritz Funk, founder and CEO of autoaid, sums up the benefits: “The Automotive Bulb Camera can be retrofitted into virtually all vehicles more easily and seamlessly than any other prior
camera. Without visible changes to the car, new assistance systems are enabled for the end customers, while the industry is provided with the urgently needed data pool for the further development of autonomous driving.”

If you want to know more, autoaid are at booth 2401 at CES 2018 or watch the video below.

A.I. Might Not Be All Bad

AI, machine learning, ,

Much as the steam engine ushered in the Industrial Revolution, A.I. and intelligent machines will bring unimaginable change to the latter part of the  21st Century. Visionaries suggest that A.I. is more Pandora’s Box than Prometheus’ stolen fire, with many jobs likely to be consigned to the history books and it’s already clear that the transport industry is going to require far fewer people.

It’s not all doom-and-gloom though. Pushing back against the “A.I. equals job losses” trend, a recent study by Oneserve, a field service management company, suggests that UK-based manufacturing industries that take advantage of A.I. could boost productivity by the equivalent of nearly 7 days production per annum. That might not sound like much – it’s an increase of 2.5% – but when dealing with companies that turnover millions, it’s a healthy extra margin.

It’s still early days, though. The survey asked the management of manufacturing companies about A.I. and their responses were interesting.  Of the senior business leaders consulted, 93% said their workforce would be more productive as a direct result of moving towards A.I.-enabled systems….but the research also found there is a concerning lack of understanding around A.I. in the industry. Seven out of ten (72%) senior decision makers who took part said A.I. is important to the future of manufacturing, yet 67% also said the benefits are not clear.

Ideally, there’s opportunities for A.I. to reduce machine downtime, manage resources efficiently, and improve customer relations, all based on historical data analysis rather than guesstimates. The attached infographic (courtesy Oneserve) shows the impact of machine downtime in manufacturing and while the infographic is an oversimplification of the impact, the problem is still significant. Let’s hope A.I. can help keep the machines running, increase productivity and keep people in jobs.