How to safeguard your business from AI-generated deepfakes 

Recently, cybercriminals used ‘deepfake’ videos of the executives of a multinational company to convince the company’s Hong Kong-based employees to wire out US $25.6 million. Based on a video conference call featuring multiple deepfakes, the employees believed that their UK-based chief financial officer had requested that the funds be transferred. Police have reportedly arrested six people in connection with the scam. This use of AI technology is dangerous and manipulative. Without...

3 April 2024 | Artificial Intelligence

UK and US sign pact to develop AI safety tests

The UK and US have signed a landmark agreement to collaborate on developing rigorous testing for advanced AI systems, representing a major step forward in ensuring their safe deployments.

The Memorandum of Understanding – signed Monday by UK Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo – establishes a partnership to align the scientific approaches of both countries in rapidly iterating robust evaluation methods for cutting-edge AI models,...

2 April 2024 | Artificial Intelligence

IPPR: 8M UK careers at risk of ‘job apocalypse’ from AI

A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) sheds light on the potential impact of AI on the UK job market. The study warns of an imminent 'job apocalypse', threatening to engulf over eight million careers across the nation, unless swift government intervention is enacted.

The report identifies two key stages of generative AI adoption. The first wave, which is already underway, exposes 11 percent of tasks performed by UK workers. Routine cognitive tasks like...

27 March 2024 | Artificial Intelligence

UN passes first global AI resolution

The UN General Assembly has adopted a landmark resolution on AI, aiming to promote the safe and ethical development of AI technologies worldwide.

The resolution, co-sponsored by over 120 countries, was adopted unanimously by all 193 UN member states on 21 March. This marks the first time the UN has established global standards and guidelines for AI.

The eight-page resolution calls for the development of "safe, secure, and trustworthy" AI systems that respect human rights...

22 March 2024 | Artificial Intelligence

EU approves controversial AI Act to mixed reactions

The European Parliament today approved the AI Act, the first ever regulatory framework governing the use of AI systems. The legislation passed with an overwhelming majority of 523 votes in favour, 46 against and 49 abstentions.

"This is a historic day," said Italian lawmaker Brando Benifei, co-lead on the AI Act. "We have the first regulation in the world which puts a clear path for safe and human-centric development of AI."

The AI Act will categorise AI systems into...

13 March 2024 | Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI calls Elon Musk’s lawsuit claims ‘incoherent’

OpenAI has hit back at Elon Musk's lawsuit, deeming his claims "convoluted — often incoherent — factual premises."

Musk's lawsuit accuses OpenAI of breaching its non-profit status and reneging on a founding agreement to keep the organisation non-profit and release its AI technology publicly. However, OpenAI has refuted these allegations, stating that there is no such agreement with Musk and branding it as a mere "fiction."

According to court filings, OpenAI asserts...

12 March 2024 | Artificial Intelligence

Google engineer stole AI tech for Chinese firms

A former Google engineer has been charged with stealing trade secrets related to the company's AI technology and secretly working with two Chinese firms.

Linwei Ding, a 38-year-old Chinese national, was arrested on Wednesday in Newark, California, and faces four counts of federal trade secret theft, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The indictment alleges that Ding, who was hired by Google in 2019 to develop software for the company's supercomputing data...

7 March 2024 | Artificial Intelligence

Pace of innovation in AI is fierce – but is ethics able to keep up?

If a week is traditionally a long time in politics, it is a yawning chasm when it comes to AI. The pace of innovation from the leading providers is one thing; the ferocity of innovation as competition hots up is quite another. But are the ethical implications of AI technology being left behind by this fast pace?

Anthropic, creators of Claude, released Claude 3 this week and claimed it to be a ‘new standard for intelligence’, surging ahead of competitors such as ChatGPT and...

7 March 2024 | Enterprise

AIs in India will need government permission before launching

In an advisory issued by India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) last Friday, it was declared that any AI technology still in development must acquire explicit government permission before being released to the public.

Developers will also only be able to deploy these technologies after labelling the potential fallibility or unreliability of the output generated.

Furthermore, the document outlines plans for implementing a "consent popup"...

4 March 2024 | Applications

UK and France to collaborate on AI following Horizon membership

The UK and France have announced new funding initiatives and partnerships aimed at advancing global AI safety. The developments come in the wake of the UK's association with Horizon Europe, a move that was broadly seen as putting the divisions of Brexit in the past and the repairing of relations for the good of the continent.

French Minister for Higher Education and Research, Sylvie Retailleau, is scheduled to meet with UK Secretary of State Michelle Donelan in London today for...

29 February 2024 | Artificial Intelligence