Record-breaking technology can sequence an entire human genome in a matter of hours. The work could be a lifeline for people suffering from the more than 5,000 known rare genetic diseases.
Endangered Timneh parrots in illegal trade in West Africa.
Rowan Martin/World Parrot Trust
Social media platforms have enabled wildlife traders to connect as never before. Some operate legally, within the boundaries of international laws. Others are less scrupulous.
Can translation software that uses artificial intelligence to automatically translate texts ever replace human beings?
The increasing use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in public decision making is raising critical issues around fairness and human rights.
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The increasing use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in public decision making is raising critical issues around fairness and human rights.
A UK controversy about school leavers’ marks shows algorithms can get things wrong. To ensure algorithms are as fair as possible, how they work and the trade-offs involved must be made clear.
A CCTV camera sculpture in Toronto draws attention to the increasing surveillance in everyday life. Our guests discuss ways to resist this creeping culture.
Lianhao Qu /Unsplash
Mass data collection and surveillance have become ubiquitous. For marginalized communities, the stakes of having their privacy violated are high.
A photo of art work by Banksy in London comments on the power imbalance of surveillance technology. Guests on this episode discuss how AI and Facial recognition have been flagged by civil rights leaders due to its inherent racial bias.
Niv Singer/Unsplash
Once analysts gain access to our private data, they can use that information to influence and alter our behaviour and choices. If you’re marginalized in some way, the consequences are worse.
Facebook’s Ego4D project will help computers see the world from your point of view - for better or worse.
When employees step into a workplace or shoppers into a shopping mall, they’re unaware of the presence of the smart technology that surrounds them.
Denys Nevozhai/Unsplash
You have evolved to tap into the wisdom of the crowds. But on social media, your cognitive biases can lead you astray, something organized disinformation campaigns count on.
Training an algorithm to play proteins like Chopin can produce more melodious songs.
Frederic Chopin/Wikimedia Commons
Peng Zhang, The Rockefeller University and Yuzong Chen, National University of Singapore
Many features of proteins are analogous to music. Mapping these features together creates new musical compositions that help researchers learn about proteins.
A human rights-based approach is essential in regulating artificial intelligence technologies.
(Shutterstock)
Applications of artificial intelligence have been shown to include discriminatory practices. This creates a need for meaningful rights-based regulations to ensure that AI will not exacerbate inequalities.
Facebook has known that its algorithms enable trolls to spread propoganda.
STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images
You have evolved to tap into the wisdom of the crowds. But on social media your cognitive biases can lead you astray, something organized disinformation campaigns count on.
Reconstruction of the execution of the Arnolfini portrait. Top: Postures of the painter during the painting process. Bottom: views obtained from the four lenses.
Université de Lorraine
Researchers have long tried to unravel the puzzle of Jan van Eyck’s use of perspective in his masterpiece, the Arnolfini Portrait. New research suggests he may have had help from a novel machine.
People tend to view social media posts more favorably when more people have liked, commented on or shared them, regardless of the quality of the posts.
Sai Aung Main/AFP via Getty Images
You have evolved to tap into the wisdom of the crowds. But on social media your cognitive biases can lead you astray.
Government agencies are increasingly using facial recognition technology, including through security cameras like this one being installed on the Lincoln Memorial in 2019.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Politicians of all stripes, computer professionals and even big-tech executives are calling on government to hit the brakes on using these algorithms. The feds are hitting the gas.
Harisu Abdullahi Shehu, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Hedwig Eisenbarth, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and Will Browne, Queensland University of Technology
Robots are more likely than people to misclassify emotions when reading faces that are partially covered. This could lead to unexpected behaviours when they interact with people wearing masks.
Ireland is the latest country to make the mistake of thinking that algorithms by themselves are the route to untold prosperity.
Seeing through walls has long been a staple of comics and science fiction. Something like it could soon be a reality.
Paul Gilligan/Photodisc via Getty Images
The murky blobs visible with today’s wall-penetrating radar could soon give way to detailed images of people and things on the other side of a wall – and even measure people’s breathing and heart rate.