UN study finds female voice assistants reinforce harmful stereotypes

For the record, the appropriate response to being called a slut isn't, "I'd blush if I could." But that's what Siri is programmed to say. According to a report by the United Nations, the fact that most voice assistant are gendered as young women is r...

Artificial intelligence is on the brink of a ‘diversity disaster’

The lack of diversity within artificial intelligence is pushing the field to a dangerous "tipping point," according to new research from the AI Now Institute. It says that due to an overwhelming proportion of white males in the field, the technology...

Senate bill would make tech companies test algorithms for bias

It's well established that algorithms can exhibit bias, however inadvertently, and a trio of US politicians believe they can do something about it. Senators Cory Booker, Yvette Clarke and Ron Wyden have introduced an Algorithmic Accountability Act t...

Tech companies spent more than $64 million on lobbying in 2018

The biggest companies in tech spent more money lobbying the government in 2018 than in any year previous. According to a report from Reuters, Google dropped $21.2 million on lobbying efforts in 2018, a new record for the company and the most it has s...

Microsoft details principles that guide its facial recognition work

In July, Microsoft President Brad Smith published a blog post discussing some of the challenges and risks surrounding facial recognition technology and how his company plans to address them. He said Microsoft was working on developing a set of guidin...