Sunday Sweep: Week in Review (March 10, 2024)
March 10, 2024
This week, a BBC Panorama investigation uncovered how troubling deepfake images of Trump surrounded by Black supporters found their way across the internet -- yet another example of why A.I. election disinformation regulation is a necessity in the US. In the courts, Microsoft filed a motion to dismiss part of the New York Times' case against it and OpenAI. The case alleges that ChatGPT imperils the very future of journalism. Microsoft compares The Times to Hollywood-types in the 1980s panicking about the doomsday device that was the VCR. Speaking of OpenAI, the company clapped back at Elon Musk's lawsuit by posting a bunch of Musk's emails on its blog which, frankly, leaves Elon looking kind of like a hypocrite. The company also signed an open letter pledging to build AI that will make for a better future for humanity. If those platitudes don't leave you feeling warm and fuzzy, don't worry. It isn't just you. Finally, India signalled a move towards active A.I. regulation with a much-criticised and extremely confusing advisory which requires companies (but apparently not startups!) to obtain government clearance before releasing new unreliable models (i.e., every single model) onto the Indian internet.