The Darkside of AI No One Is Talking About

Good morning! Happy almost Friday. We’re excited to have all you new AI’ers join us. Welcome in!

Here's what’s cookin’ today.

• 😰 The Filipino 'Taskers' Powering AI

• 👨🏽‍💻 Google Unveils Advanced AI Solutions for Large Enterprises

• 🚨 Why Sam Altman Wants To Regulate AI

If you’re ready, let's get into it!

The Human Faces Behind the AI Revolution

😰 Behind the Code: The Filipino 'Taskers' Powering AI's Dark Side

Overview

AI is booming in the Philippines, with over 2 million individuals, referred to as "taskers", playing a crucial role in annotating data to train AI models. Unfortunately, these taskers, spread across the 'Global South', often face exploitation, with American AI companies accused of not meeting basic labor standards. San Francisco start-up Scale AI is one such company, with informal government estimates suggesting around 10,000 Filipino workers scrutinizing data on its platform, Remotasks, often for less than the minimum wage, amidst reports of delayed, reduced, or canceled payments.

These people are rarely talked about, yet, they are a core part of how AI functions today.

Key Points

• Start-up Scale AI's platform 'Remotasks' has been highlighted for employing thousands of Filipino 'taskers' who often earn below the minimum wage.

• Criticism surrounds Scale AI with accusations of delayed or withheld payments and poor recourse channels, highlighting labor exploitation in the AI sector.

• Regulation of platforms like Remotasks is challenging, with government officials in the Philippines unsure about how to successfully ensure fair labor practices in this new frontier.

Why It Matters

The increasing exploitation of workers in the 'Global South' underlines a key ethical issue challenging the booming AI sector, and calls for firm regulation to ensure basic labor standards are met. The case of Filipino 'taskers' working for Remotasks highlights the need to address the 'human-free machine learning' misconception of AI and acknowledge the crucial role of underpaid and exploited human workforce in data preprocessing. The proliferation and implications of these 'digital sweatshops' bring to the fore a significant global labor issue.

Source: The Washington Post

Google and OpenAI Are At War

👨🏽‍💻 Google Unveils Advanced AI Solutions for Large Enterprises

Overview

Google has introduced new AI technology and partnerships aimed at incorporating more AI into large businesses. This comes right after OpenAI announced its Enterprise plan.

The series of announcements made at the Google Next conference include acquiring new customers for its cloud software, unveiling new AI chips, and launching enterprise-scale tools for image watermarking and AI.

Key Points

• In addition to the introduction of new AI strategies, Google has also added 20 AI models to its collection, making a total of 100 AI models to bolster its enterprise cloud service.

• Launch of SynthID, a tool capable of watermarking AI-generated images. The technology alters digital images in ways invisible to the human eye and remains intact even after the image is tampered with.

• Unveiling new versions of its own foundational AI infrastructure with improved performance and additional features. The launch includes an AI-powered tool that can switch databases from Oracle to an open-source version.

Why It Matters

Google's advancements in AI technology and their targeted deployment in large businesses highlight the fast-paced growth of AI in the corporate world. The introduction of these tools and models can offer improved performance and increased processing capabilities, paving the way for businesses to incorporate AI strategies effectively. The watermarking technology can also be crucial in ensuring the integrity of digital images in various sectors such as media and e-commerce.

Source: Reuters

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Navigating Threats and Regulation in AI Landscape

🚨 Why Sam Altman Wants AI Regulation

Overview 

We love AI. We also have to face the facts. There are real cybersecurity threats like weaponization of generative AI and ChatGPT.

OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, acknowledges the need for regulation to curb AI-generated misinformation that threatens to disrupt democracy. However, the calls for regulation from the top AI companies could be to stifle competition and consolidate power in the hands of a few larger organizations.

We’ve seen this playbook before cough Google cough. We’re not saying that this is Sam's intention, however, we have to wonder with so many different companies entering the AI race and stealing market share from OpenAI, if could regulations help him long term.

Or does he really want to stop misinformation from spreading? I guess we will find out soon.

Key Points

• OpenAI's CEO supports regulatory efforts amid growing concerns over AI-generated misinformation; however, he notes the potential misuse of regulation to stifle competition.

• Struggles in achieving global cooperation and the challenge of detecting AI-generated content add to the complexity of regulating AI.

• The article suggests fostering competition by providing compliance guidelines that ensure transparency, security, and accountability while not burdening smaller companies.

Why It Matters 

The growing threat of AI-generated misinformation requires action, but careful balance is necessary to prevent stifling innovation or creating a power imbalance in the industry. As governments look to regulate this technology, they must ensure this doesn't come at the expense of undermining the larger AI ecosystem. Enhancing transparency, accountability, and security without inhibiting smaller companies can help foster a diverse and resilient AI landscape.

Source: VentureBeat

Trending

📰 News Around The Web

• Facebook Meta Allows Deletion of Data Used for AI Training

• DoorDash Integrates AI for Effortless Restaurant Reservations

• Survey finds relatively few Americans actually use (or fear) ChatGPT

• U.S. Copyright Office Seeks Public Opinion on AI Issues

• Runway announces ‘Creative Partners Program’

Tool Highlight From Our Database

Chord

Within our extensive database of over 8,000 tools, today's featured AI tool is just one of the standout innovations.

Chord is an advanced AI tool that plays a significant role in the research process by vetting the relevance and authenticity of sources. It also assists in composing final articles, making the uncovered sources easier to understand. The tool is free to use and offers users the option to associate generated articles with their account or keep them anonymous.

The Funding Corner

💰The Companies Of Tomorrow

1. AI21 Labs Raises $155M to Expand Language Model Services

2. Rockset Raises $44M to Expand Real-Time Indexing Capabilities

3. ConverSight Secures $9M to Intensify Data Analytics Tools

That’s it for today! Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this issue head over to https://bestofai.com to find more tools, tricks, insights, and news.

Until next time, stay safe.

-Best of AI Team

Note: This issue was written in collaboration with ChatGPT and edited by a human. Welcome to the future.