Lots of great content this week: we especially recommend Mustafa Suleyman piece in Foreign Affairs on AI containment. Other reading includes the intersection of human trafficking and cybercrime at 'pig-butchering' scam centers in Southeast Asia and a new index to evaluate AI national preparedness.
Mustafa Suleyman: Containment for AI | Foreign Affairs
The sway of tech executives at Davos last week, in combination with the lack of global consensus on AI governance, illustrates the shifting balance of power between governments and BigTech. Deepmind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman lays out a case for how to contain AI, a reference back to Cold War era containment theory, predicting "transformative implications for the nature of power and the world economy." Suleyman argument that containment goes beyond regulation to include "interlinked and mutually reinforcing technical, cultural, legal, and political mechanisms for maintaining societal control of AI."
Don’t Let AI Become the Newest Digital Divide | Council on Foreign Relations
As the speed of technology continues to accelerate, CFR reminds us of the compounding impact of the digital divide. AI optimists hold forth the promise of improved health and educational outcomes – but at present, the profit driven model driving AI development closely resembles the model that has left 2.7 billion people without internet access. "Without urgent action to close the digital divide and promote equitable access to AI technologies," the piece warns, "billions of people around the world will be excluded from the benefits of this technological revolution while suffering its disruptions."
How Cyberscams are Drawing China into Myanmar’s Civil War | Vox
This expose by Vox looks at pig-butchering scams run by organized crime gangs in Southeast Asia, where political instability and corruption have created a haven for cybercrime fueled by human trafficking, sexual violence and economic inequality. The scale is striking: the article cites UN estimates of "100,000 people held in scam centers in Cambodia and 120,000 in Myanmar." The result is "two sets of victims: the scammed and the scammers themselves." Although the scam centers have been run with implicit approval from China, Vox reports on signs that may be changing.
Gen-AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work | International Monetary Fund
This new IMF report highlights uncertainties concerning AI's impacts on labor markets – although significant disruption seems all but certain. The paper features an AI Preparedness Index (AIPI) based on four dimensions (a country's digital infrastructure, human capital/labor market policies, innovation/economic integration, & regulation/ethics) that assesses nations' readiness to harness AI's benefits will mitigating its risks.
Google News Is Boosting Garbage AI – Generated Articles | 404
AI has brought warnings of an internet filled with spammy, AI generated content. 404 Media finds that AI generated news articles are making their way into Google News , with Google stating that the algorithm considers the 'quality' of the content, not means of authorship. Especially in the context of a news aggregator, this a worrisome development from the perspective of media literacy and fact checking.
TikTok owner introduces LEGO language model, OpenAI not happy | Cybernews
TikTok and parent company ByteDance have faced a series of inquiries in the U.S. and Europe concerning the company's ties to the Chinese government. Add to that the latest accusation: that TikTok's forthcoming LLM (LEGO) was allegedly built using ChatGPT's technology in violation of OpenAI terms.