Friday, December 13, 2019

REGULATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

As we approach the brink of an artificial intelligence explosion, many countries have stepped back and let the scientists experiment with little to no guidelines. From anywhere to robots, computer algorithms, and autonomous weapons there is not much regulation to prevent something from going wrong. In my opinion, the biggest concern with AI is the creation of autonomous weapons, which once activation can choose and engage targets without having a human operate the computer.

(Dormino) 
Estimations by Financial Times concluded that a least 42 countries have recognized that the advancements of AI are going to be leading the world into a new era and are gearing their economy towards the success that AI will have. Most AI regulations around the world are being discussed about investment rather than governance.

So far, as reported by Forbes, China, the U.S., and India have taken a laid back approach and let corporations govern themselves. As for the UK and Europe, a more regulatory approach has been established. In specific, the UK has created many government-funded groups exploring AI governance and published many reports bout AI policy and what should be done to regulate it. 

There are several possible reasons for why some countries are not regulating the advancements of AI. Most importantly, countries don't want to fall behind in the race. To countries, it is a race to who can create the technology that will make them a world power. With restrictions on advancing this technology, likely, these countries won't be a world power.

Another possible reason why regulations have not been implemented is that the amount of time it takes to make a decision. In the U.S., Congress has to approve a bill before it can become a law. It may sound like a simple task but Congress is divided and indecisive which often causes bills to take a long time to be passed. It could be that some countries are in the works of creating regulations around AI but it is taking a long time to do so. Also, the U.S. Congress has drafted bills for regulations of AI but they have never been discussed. For example, as reported by Forbes, under the Obama presidency a bill was drafted and prepared to be discussed in Congress but never was.

There are fair reasons for why regulations aren't being implemented in countries but isn't it better to be safe than sorry? In my opinion, there are bigger problems that countries should be worried about other than being a world power. If there is no world to live on in 20 years than what good will have come from the advancements of AI unless they can transfer us to a new planet.



Works Cited

Dormino, Marc. UN Photo with Autonomous Weapons . 2019 . UN News , United
     Nations , 25 Mar. 2019 , news.un.org/en/story/2019/03/1035381. Accessed 13
     Dec. 2019.

Insights Team. "Wrestling With AI Governance Around The World." Forbes , 27 Mar.
     2019 , www.forbes.com/sites/insights-intelai/2019/03/27/
     wrestling-with-ai-governance-around-the-world/#266672e21766. Accessed 11
     Dec. 2019.

Murgia, Madhumita, and Siddarth Shirkanth. "How governments are beginning to
     regulate AI ." Financial Times , 29 May 2019 , www.ft.com/content/

     025315e8-7e4d-11e9-81d2-f785092ab560. Accessed 11 Dec. 2019.

Thursday, December 5, 2019

IMPEACHMENT VS. A SEA OF GLOBAL PROBLEMS

With the impeachment inquiry on President Trump underway, I can't help but wonder if other countries are going through the same political issues as America. As I researched the situations in other countries it became clear that we need to be focusing on what is going on around the world as well as what is happening here.

Media stations on television, like Good Morning America, are great at reporting problems in the U.S. but when issues outside our borders arise they are hesitant to even discuss what is happening. As a trusted news source they should be reporting about all news, even if it is not directly affecting us. Most of the problems happening in other countries are situations that America could learn from, but instead, we turn a blind eye.

In Algeria, The Washington Post reports, people are protesting the president who has been in power for two decades. As of April this year, the president stepped down. People protesting were doing so because they want political and social reforms to take place. Similarly in America, marches and small rallies are happening in response to social reforms such as abortion. Algeria and the US are going through the same issues right now but Algeria's problems are much more intense.
"Man Holds Algerian Flag during a Protest" 

Learning from what is happening in their country would prepare us for the possibility of large and continuous protests to begin in our own country.

In America, we are currently in the process of impeachment of President Trump. National Public Radio states that the call for impeachment occurred after Trump asked the Ukrainian President to dig up the past on competitor for the 2020 elections, Joe Biden. To get what he wanted, Trump withheld $391 million in security assistance, pressuring Ukraine to agree.
"U.S. House of Representatives"
The House is responsible for making the decision on whether the convicted should be impeached. 
In an article published by The Washington Post, the new president elected of Sri Lanka has violated the law just as President Trump. His violations are against human rights and are much more severe than that of President Trump but, they both have committed serious crimes.

The similarities between events happening outside our borders and our own country are evidence that we need to be more open to the world's problems and report about them. If anything, spreading the word about these events would only educate the public more on what is happening.

It is on media and television outlets to take the leap and bring global news into the light.





Works Cited
Berger, Miriam. "Beyond the U.S., these countries are immersed in their own
     election dramas." The Washington Post , Washington Post , 21 Nov. 2019,
     www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/11/21/
     beyond-us-these-countries-are-immersed-their-own-election-dramas/. Accessed
     3 Dec. 2019.


Farrington, Dana. "Trump Impeachment Inquiry: A Guide To Key People, Facts And
     Documents." National Public Radio , NPR , 28 Oct. 2019 , www.npr.org/2019/
     10/28/771287237/
     trump-impeachment-inquiry-a-guide-to-key-people-facts-and-documents.
     Accessed 3 Dec. 2019. 


"Man Holds Algerian Flag during a Protest ." NPR , 15 Mar. 2019 , www.npr.org/
     2019/03/15/703856745/
     protests-mount-in-algeria-even-as-president-promises-transitional-government.
     Accessed 5 Dec. 2019.


"U.S. House of Representatives ." 31 Oct. 2019. ABC News , 31 Oct. 2019,
     abcnews.go.com/Politics/sad-day-country-dem-house-debates-impeachment-resolution/
     story?id=66661743. Accessed 5 Dec. 2019.