Thread by @AlexCEngler

The @StanfordHAI (Human-centered #AI) Conference on #AiEthics, Policy, & Governance is getting started, live stream below. Speaker list is fantastic. Will be tweeting.

#machinelearning #data4good

@StanfordHAI "Silicon Valley, we have a problem" opens @erikbryn

Speaks to the 'great decoupling' - where productivity and GDP expand with technology, but don't take household incomes with them.

Part of the problem is lower-paid occupations have more automate-able tasks.

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn Both @Susan_Athey and @erikbryn speaking to ML adoption in private sector and the important distinction between labor replacing vs. labor augmenting #automation.

The "Suitability for Machine Learning" or SML scores from this
@MIT_IDE is useful here: ide.mit.edu/sites/default/… #ai

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide Moderator @kendenman asks about the #technology talent pipeline - there's a good recent report on this problem from @CSETGeorgetown: cset.georgetown.edu/wp-content/upl…

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown Now onto regulating big tech - @ericschmidt starts by noting upcoming release of reports from (1) DoD on #AiEthics and (2) National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (Congressionally formed commission on national #AI strategy)

#StanfordHumanAI #TechPolicy

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt This is the Defense Innovation Public Board Meeting that @ericschmidt is referring to, at @georgetownsfs:

It's "an independent federal committee advising the defense secretary on issues that focus on people and culture, technology and capabilities, practices & operations"

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs "If we had imagenet for medical data, we'd see tremendous progress in curing diseases" - paraphrasing @ericschmidt (he does note the #privacy issues).

This... is probably true. I need to read the proposed CMS data interoperability standards: edit.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-… #AiEthics

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs "You don't have to yell that there is bias in the data, there is always bias in the data, the real question is what do we do about it" -@ericschmidt

I get his point but this is slightly divorced from the reality - we still need to yell about bias.

https://twitter.com/AlexCEngler/status/1188835628739416065

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs On #deepfakes: "Fake video is a hard problem at social level and technical level... this is a battle that the researchers need to win."

I am sadly skeptical that this is a winnable battle for algorithms, but glad it came up. #disinfo

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs "I start from the premise that this technology is extraordinarily beneficial" and "We are just starting to see the capacity of Ai in #science" -@ericschmidt has cited applications in chemistry & protein folding.

IMO, AI+sciences does seem like something to be optimistic about.

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs Now @MarietjeSchaake, Member of European Parliament and International Policy Director of @Stanford_Cyber:

"We must consider what problems should be public, and not in a market."

#TechPolicy #StanfordHumanAI

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs @MarietjeSchaake @Stanford_Cyber A much more somber speech, @MarietjeSchaake asks

If AI will make undemocratic/authoritative governments more powerful, then why do we have such high expectations of how this technology will benefit us all?

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs @MarietjeSchaake @Stanford_Cyber "I heard Zuckerberg warning capitol hill that #China is the alternative to the Libra cryptocurrency, but Facebook has data sharing agreements with four Chinese companies" -@MarietjeSchaake

She has heard many times from #tech's lobbyists: "Do not regulate us, otherwise China..."

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs @MarietjeSchaake @Stanford_Cyber "But inaction to regulate by democracies has not slowed China..."

👏 "We need more institutions and processes, more than just good intentions or 'scouts honor' from #bigtech" 👏

"I don't know if 'do no evil' is Google's motto anymore..."

#StanfordHumanAI

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs @MarietjeSchaake @Stanford_Cyber "Digitization means privatization - the outsourcing of governance to tech companies." - @MarietjeSchaake

"The shift to private & opaque governance through tech standards is one of the most important consequences of #AI."

Everyone should watch this speech. #StanfordHumanAI

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs @MarietjeSchaake @Stanford_Cyber

https://twitter.com/daniellecass/status/1188867327510499333

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs @MarietjeSchaake @Stanford_Cyber .@math_rachel makes this v. important point more clear than I did, so to +1:
-@jovialjoy up next
-@GoogleAI researchers just put out a paper on #AI bias against people w/ disabilities
-new @nature article on racial bias in health ML affecting 200m people

https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1188882339696218112

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs @MarietjeSchaake @Stanford_Cyber @math_rachel @jovialjoy @GoogleAI @nature "Data is destiny" and the facial datasets on which so much new #ai relies are mostly "pale and male" argues @jovialjoy.

Cites new @IBMWatson / @IBMDataScience paper, I think this: arxiv.org/pdf/1901.10436…

I'm genuinely curious if @ericschmidt is still there.

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs @MarietjeSchaake @Stanford_Cyber @math_rachel @jovialjoy @GoogleAI @nature @IBMWatson @IBMDataScience Also relevant, evidence of "substantial skin type and gender bias in #AI services from companies like Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon."

From @jovialjoy's testimony to House Science Committee: science.house.gov/imo/media/doc/… #StanfordHumanAI #DeepLearning #FacialRecognition

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs @MarietjeSchaake @Stanford_Cyber @math_rachel @jovialjoy @GoogleAI @nature @IBMWatson @IBMDataScience For ~binary~ gender classification, in a ~~commercially~~ sold model, the error rates were nearly _50%_ for people w/ "dark brown to black skin, brownish black eyes, naturally black hair."

This from @jovialjoy's PhD dissertation, 'Gender Shades' proceedings.mlr.press/v81/buolamwini… #aiethics

@StanfordHAI @erikbryn @Susan_Athey @mit_ide @kendenman @CSETGeorgetown @ericschmidt @georgetownsfs @MarietjeSchaake @Stanford_Cyber @math_rachel @jovialjoy @GoogleAI @nature @IBMWatson @IBMDataScience Joy says the original research was well received, and that companies released far better performing models.

This is a good argument for some form of independent #machinelearning auditing - the models certainly can be improved if there is pressure to do so.

Fantastic speech taking a broad look at #AI, #techpolicy, and society - by @MarietjeSchaake

https://twitter.com/marietjeschaake/status/1189170540570759173?s=21