Over the past week, Facebook and Twitter have codified a dual-class system for free speech: one set of rules for politicians or "world leaders," another for the rest of us.
Why it matters: Social media platforms are privately owned spaces that have absorbed a huge chunk of our public sphere, and the rules they're now hashing out will shape the information climate around elections for years to come.
Chinese telecom giant Huawei has reportedly held early-stage discussions in recent weeks with unnamed U.S. telecoms companies on "licensing its 5G network technology to them," a Huawei executive told Reuters exclusively.
Why it matters: The U.S. and China are locked in a race to get 5G networks up and running to connect devices and machines at lightning speed. U.S. critics have accused Huawei of being complicit in Chinese espionage, a beneficiary of theft of trade secrets and a violator of trade sanctions. Historically, the U.S. preferred European equipment-makers Ericsson and Nokia as suppliers of 5G technology.
The threat of deepfakes to elections, businesses and individuals is the result of a breakdown in the way information spreads online — a long-brewing mess that involves a decades-old law and tech companies that profit from viral lies and forgeries.
AI systems intended to help people make tough choices — like prescribing the right drug or setting the length of a prison sentence — can instead end up effectively making those choices for them, thanks to human faith in machines.
How it works: These programs generally offer new information or a few options meant to help a human decision-maker choose more wisely. But an overworked or overly trusting person can fall into a rubber-stamping role, unquestioningly following algorithmic advice.
Scientists have long tried to use AI to automatically detect hate speech, which is a huge problem for social network users. And they're getting better at it, despite the difficulty of the task.
