AI reproduces human bias in US justice system

Mark Zuckerberg has admitted mistakes will be made whilst AI is moderating Covid-19 posts on Facebook.

As France prepares to hold a ceremony honouring slain history teacher Samuel Paty, papers focus on the struggle teachers face in addressing Islamist extremism. We also look at Canada's "lobster war" between commercial and indigenous fishermen, plus reports that artificial intelligence is being used to create fake nude photos of thousands of everyday women. And in a rare show of US bipartisan camaraderie, rival candidates running for governor of Utah release a joint campaign ad calling for "civility".

Research in artificial intelligence is turning to money-making mass applications for consumers in the physical world. The next 10 years could be crucial.

Fundamental human rights could be at risk if AI technologies are used without due caution, the EU's rights agency says. It said AI can lead to discriminatory biases and perversions of justice if safeguards are lacking.

From Guatemala to Iceland and Reunion Island, several volcanoes erupted last month, prompting us to ask what kind of technology is now helping scientists monitor and predict their activity. From satellites to drones but also artificial intelligence, volcanologists have a variety of high-tech tools at their disposal.

The transformative AlphaFold neural network has predicted the structures of more than 350,000 proteins from various organisms. This could "fundamentally change biological research."

Millions break up the isolation of urban life with virtual chatbots created by XiaoIce, an artificial intelligence system designed to create emotional bonds with its users.

Inspired by Beethoven's unfinished 10th symphony, a computer has generated 'BeethovANN Symphony 10.1', imagining how the mysterious piece might have sounded, with ANN referring to the artificial neural network that created it.

A UN body has called for a halt on the sales and use of AI technologies that "pose a serious risk to human rights until adequate safeguards are put in place." It singled out some facial recognition programs.

US cyber defense capabilities are at "kindergarten level" in some government departments, the Pentagon's former chief software officer told a British newspaper.

On this week's Tech 24 show, we bring you the the latest on the metaverse, the enhanced version of reality that Meta (formerly Facebook) founder Mark Zuckerburg is staking his legacy on. Meta's AI Research SuperCluster was announced this week. When it comes to completion in July, it could be the world's most powerful supercomputer. Built in an undisclosed location for an undisclosed cost, Meta wants it to help bring the metaverse to life. Our Technology Editor Peter O'Brien explains.

He is the most famous Chinese dissident and one of the best-known contemporary artists in the world. Ai Weiwei was harassed by the Chinese authorities, who bulldozed his Shanghai studio, sent him to jail without charge and drove him out of his country. After the February 2 publication of the French translation of his memoir, "1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows", the artist sat with Eve Jackson to talk about the moment in a Chinese prison when he decided to write his life’s story for his son and what he learned growing up in a labour camp with his persecuted father, the poet Ai Qing.