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1. Emily M. Bender (she/her) (emilymbender@dair-community.social)'s status on Tuesday, 14-Mar-2023 10:09:33 JST Emily M. Bender (she/her)

   • Casey Newton
   • Zoë Schiffer

   MSFT lays off its responsible AI team

   The thing that strikes me most about this story from @zoeschiffer and @caseynewton is the way in which the MSFT execs describe the urgency to move "AI models into the hands of customers"

   https://www.platformer.news/p/microsoft-just-laid-off-one-of-its

   >>

   • Adrian Cochrane and Aral Balkan repeated this.
   • Emily M. Bender (she/her) (emilymbender@dair-community.social)'s status on Tuesday, 14-Mar-2023 10:09:32 JST Emily M. Bender (she/her)

     in reply to

     • Casey Newton
     • Zoë Schiffer

     @zoeschiffer @caseynewton

     There is no urgency to build "AI". There is no urgency to use "AI". There is no benefit to this race aside from (perceived) short-term profit gains.

     It is very telling that when push comes to shove, despite having attracted some very talented, thoughtful, proactive, researchers, the tech cos decide they're better off without ethics/responsible AI teams.

     >>

     Adrian Cochrane repeated this.
   • Adrian Cochrane (alcinnz@floss.social)'s status on Tuesday, 14-Mar-2023 10:33:28 JST Adrian Cochrane

     in reply to

     • Casey Newton
     • Zoë Schiffer

     @emilymbender @zoeschiffer @caseynewton And for any software developer: You likely will find yourself roped into this.

     Try to keep a balanced view, assessing where it fills an actual need & where it's just hype.

     Ignore anyone who worries about you getting left behind, they don't know what they're talking about!

   • Emily M. Bender (she/her) (emilymbender@dair-community.social)'s status on Tuesday, 14-Mar-2023 10:33:29 JST Emily M. Bender (she/her)

     in reply to

     • Casey Newton
     • Zoë Schiffer

     @zoeschiffer @caseynewton

     I call on everyone who is close to this tech: we have a job to do here. The techcos where the $, data and power have accumulated are abandoning even the pretext of "responsible" development, in a race to the bottom.

     At the very least, we should be working to educate those around us not to fall for the hype---to never accept "AI" medical advice, legal advice, psychotherapy, etc.

   • Emily M. Bender (she/her) (emilymbender@dair-community.social)'s status on Tuesday, 14-Mar-2023 10:33:30 JST Emily M. Bender (she/her)

     in reply to

     • Casey Newton
     • Zoë Schiffer

     @zoeschiffer @caseynewton

     And they will tell us: You can't possibly regulate effectively anyway, because the tech is moving too fast.

     But (channeling Ryan Calo here): The point of regulation isn't to micromanage specific technologies but rather to establish and protect rights. And those are enduring.

     >>

     Adrian Cochrane and Aral Balkan repeated this.
   • Emily M. Bender (she/her) (emilymbender@dair-community.social)'s status on Tuesday, 14-Mar-2023 10:33:31 JST Emily M. Bender (she/her)

     in reply to

     • Casey Newton
     • Zoë Schiffer

     @zoeschiffer @caseynewton

     So, what can we do as researchers and otherwise, in this moment?

     I have to believe there is value in calling out #AIhype when we see it, in declining to participate in the #AIhype, and in advocating for regulation.

     And those who are making buck off of this will try to tell us: You can't regulate this --- that will stifle progress!

     To which I ask: Progress towards what, exactly?

     >>

     Adrian Cochrane and Aral Balkan repeated this.
   • Emily M. Bender (she/her) (emilymbender@dair-community.social)'s status on Tuesday, 14-Mar-2023 10:33:32 JST Emily M. Bender (she/her)

     in reply to

     • Casey Newton
     • Zoë Schiffer

     @zoeschiffer @caseynewton

     Self-regulation was never going to be sufficient, but I believe that internal teams working in concert with external regulation could have been a really beneficial combination.

     https://twitter.com/emilymbender/status/1336517038525665280?s=20

     >>

     Adrian Cochrane and Aral Balkan repeated this.
   • Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Tuesday, 14-Mar-2023 17:22:00 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • Casey Newton
     • Zoë Schiffer

     @emilymbender Almost as if these initiatives by trillion-dollar companies are always public relations campaigns and the folks who allow themselves to be used by them only end up legitimising entities that exist solely to make the line go up or something.

     *mumbles something about ethics and late-stage capitalism as he slouches towards the door*

     @zoeschiffer @caseynewton