In race to dominate AI, US researchers debate collaboration with China
From a corner office on the top floor of the University of Washington’s Physics and Astronomy Tower, data scientist Bernease Herman looks out on Seattle’s Portage Bay as it flows toward the city’s high-tech hub and Amazon headquarters.
A former Amazon employee, Ms. Herman decided to join dozens of prominent artificial intelligence (AI) researchers last month in urging Amazon to stop selling a facial recognition technology to law enforcement. She was troubled by a study by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher that found that Amazon Rekognition technology is biased because it is less accurate in identifying women and people of color and risks being misused by police to infringe on civil liberties.
After Amazon disputed the studies, Ms. Herman felt compelled to join other AI researchers in speaking out. Raising concerns about possible risks from AI “is a primary part of all of our roles,” says Ms. Herman, who researches bias in the AI field of machine learning at the
High-tech battlegroundRisks for citizens Oversight – and a welcome mat