US introduces new AI chip export restrictions

NVIDIA has revealed that it’s subject to new laws restricting the export of AI chips to China and Russia.

In an SEC filing, NVIDIA says the US government has informed the chipmaker of a new license requirement that impacts two of its GPUs designed to speed up machine learning tasks: the current A100, and the upcoming H100.

“The license requirement also includes any future NVIDIA integrated circuit achieving both peak performance and chip-to-chip I/O performance equal...

1 September 2022 | Companies

UK eases data mining laws to support flourishing AI industry

The UK is set to ease data mining laws in a move designed to further boost its flourishing AI industry.

We all know that data is vital to AI development. Tech giants are in an advantageous position due to either having existing large datasets or the ability to fund/pay for the data required. Most startups rely on mining data to get started.

Europe has notoriously strict data laws. Advocates of regulations like GDPR believe they’re necessary to protect consumers, while...

29 June 2022 | Artificial Intelligence

Clearview AI agrees to restrict sales of its faceprint database

Clearview AI has proposed to restrict sales of its faceprint database as part of a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The controversial facial recognition firm caused a stir due to scraping billions of images of people across the web without their consent. As a result, the company has faced the ire of regulators around the world and numerous court cases.

One court case filed against Clearview AI was by the ACLU in 2020, claiming that it violated...

10 May 2022 | Applications

US appeals court decides scraping public web data is fine

The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided that scraping data from a public website doesn’t violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

In 2017, employment analytics firm HiQ filed a lawsuit against LinkedIn’s efforts to block it from scraping data from users’ profiles.

The court barred Linkedin from stopping HiQ scraping data after deciding the CFAA – which criminalises accessing a protected computer – doesn’t apply due to the information being...

19 April 2022 | Ethics & Society

The EU’s AI rules will likely take over a year to be agreed

Rules governing the use of artificial intelligence across the EU will likely take over a year to be agreed upon.

Last year, the European Commission drafted AI laws. While the US and China are set to dominate AI development with their vast resources, economic might, and light-touch regulation, European rivals – including the UK and EU members – believe they can lead in ethical standards.

In the draft of the EU regulations, companies that are found guilty of AI misuse...

17 February 2022 | Applications

Democrats renew push for ‘algorithmic accountability’

Democrats have reintroduced their Algorithmic Accountability Act that seeks to hold tech firms accountable for bias in their algorithms.

The bill is an updated version of one first introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) in 2019 but never passed the House or Senate. The updated bill was introduced this week by Wyden alongside Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representative Yvette Clarke (D-NY)

Concern about bias in algorithms is increasing as they become used for ever more...

4 February 2022 | Artificial Intelligence

EU regulation sets fines of €20M or up to 4% of turnover for AI misuse

A leaked draft of EU regulation around the use of AI sets hefty fines of up to €20 million or four percent of global turnover (whichever is greater.)

The regulation (PDF) was first reported by Politico and is expected to be announced next week on April 21st.

In the draft, the legislation’s authors wrote:

“Some of the uses and applications of artificial intelligence may generate risks and cause harm to interests and rights that are protected by Union law....

14 April 2021 | Ethics & Society

California introduces legislation to stop political and porn deepfakes

Deepfake videos have the potential to do unprecedented amounts of harm so California has introduced two bills designed to limit them.

For those unaware, deepfakes use machine learning technology in order to make a person appear like they’re convincingly doing or saying things which they’re not.

There are two main concerns about deepfake videos:

Personal defamation – An individual is made to appear in a sexual and/or humiliating scene either for blackmail...

7 October 2019 | Ethics & Society