During the summer, Facebook Inc., created an artificial intelligence program that had the ability to beat 5 poker players in a Texas Hold’em Tournament, at once!  In the past, artificial intelligence programs have had the ability to beat a poker player one-on-one, however, this is a big step up considering the uncertainty of poker.  AI has to consider strategies in poker like bluffing while battling against live opponents, especially because each opponent contains information about the cards that the other does not (what they have in their hand).  Now, I can understand why this may seem like a silly venture for Facebook to undergo considering the issues they have with explicit content on their website, “fake news,” and the numerous privacy issues that have come to light over the past couple years.  However, there are practical applications to this technology.  The group that created it, which includes a research group from Carnegie Mellon University as well, is looking to apply this technology in other fields.  Since poker is such an intricate game, the act of considering other users information and balancing this with a strategy to win is what the researchers strive to apply to various technologies.  We have begun to see self-driving cars breach the market, and perfecting this type of artificial technology could be a step in making AI more prevalent in society.  What other types of technical applications could you see a technology like this being used for?

“An Artificial Intelligence Program Just Beat 5 Poker Professionals in a Texas Hold’em Tournament:” https://time.com/5624968/facebook-ai-beats-professional-cardplayers/

Ring products are home security systems that contain high definition cameras, motion sensors, and a microphone and speaker for two-way communication. These products are supposed to ensure security and safety in the home. However, these products have been compromised due to hackers breaking into individual’s systems by accessing their account information from third parties. Therefore, Shue, a professor of computer science, encourages Ring individuals to make their passwords more creative and different from other account information that they use. Regardless, these hackings have caused quite a scare for Ring users. In example, there was an instance in Mississippi where an 8 year old girl heard a creepy, older gentleman’s voice coming from the Ring device that was set up in her room. This obviously caused an outcry of worry because this product that is supposed to protecting the home is actually interfering as an effective danger to the inhabitants. Similar issues have been reported in Florida, Texas, and Georgia, asserting that this is not a one time mistake, but yet a flaw in the security of the system.

I find this to be a strong warning against the advancements of technology. With technology progressing at record rates, there has been a steady debate over whether these systems are helpful or harmful for society, and at what point they are too invasive. On the one hand, technologies of this sort have a positive intent, and when operating successfully, can offer strong assistance towards daily life. Yet, on the other hand, when these systems do not function properly, they can become a large threat to communities.  There have been many other instances where new technologies have complicated the wellbeing of the individuals using the product. This Ring mishap should caution users to ensure that they take necessary precautions when utilizing new products to confirm safety in their homes.

“Ring Recommends Users Update Their Home Security System Passwords After String of Hacking Incidents:” https://time.com/5748981/ring-security-cameras-hacked-safe-password/

Bias is an unfortunate subsidiary of all aspects of societal life. We see bias in job selections, school acceptances, social opinions, and now in Artificial Intelligence. Because of the paradigms of modern society, which includes our remnants of biases in all parts of social/professional life, these machine learning systems have picked up on the undertones of these biases and are reproducing them in their systematic functions. For example, individuals coming from lower socioeconomic income households or individuals of color have a higher chance being denied a bank loan that utilized AI technologies. This is a bias that is often acted on by human employees, but is now being replicated from machine learning devices. Additionally, Ogla Russakovsky, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at Princeton University, discussed how “algorithms can amplify the bias in the data,” meaning that predisposed biases in society are even further elaborated on throughout AI systems. Russakovsky explains how “AI researchers are primarily people who are male, who come from certain racial demographics, who grew up in high socioeconomic areas, primarily people without disabilities. We’re a fairly homogeneous population, so it’s a challenge to think broadly about world issues. There are a lot of opportunities to diversity this pool, and as diversity grows, the AI systems themselves will become less biased.” This is a very interesting point, but makes perfect sense when you think about it. AI systems gather information from computer systems and their surroundings, therefore they acknowledge social biases and input them into their own knowledge base and reproduce and elaborate on these paradigms. Unfortunately, this is harming for society because it feeds into existing issues and enhances them by carrying them into a new wave of societal norms, the technology wave. I believe that these systems would be most beneficial if on top of all of their other unbelievably helpful and useful traits, that they also instilled progressive practices into society, mental progressions that we hope to reach within the years to come: inclusion and acceptance. Russakvosky goes onto state how history has not shown the possibility of having an entirely unbiased human, so it seems plausibly unlikely to build a characteristically unbiased AI system. However, improvements must be necessary if we want to see AI operating in major life structures. Conclusively, it is no surprise that AI is the way of the future, but that is also needs much more focused development. I believe that a very important stride in progressing AI technologies, would be to remove these biases to the best of our abilities in order to have these futuristic systems mirror the belief set we are trying to instill at a societal level.