Archive for Amnesty International
minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects and refrain from unlawful attacks or the collective punishment of civilians [reposted from Amnesty International]
Posted in Kids with tags Amnesty International, Gaza, Palestine, terrorism on October 19, 2023 by xi'an
même pas peur [not afrAId]
Posted in Books, Kids, Travel, University life with tags AI for good, Amnesty International, BBC, book reviews, bots, ChatGPT, doomsday argument, fake news, Paris 2024 Olympics, power to the machines, propaganda, social media, superintelligence, The New York Times on March 30, 2023 by xi'an
Both the Beeb and The New York Times are posting tonight about a call to pause AI experiments, by AI researchers and others, due to the danger they could pose to humanity. While this reminds me of Superintelligence, a book by Nick Bostrom I found rather unconvincing, and although I agree that automated help-to-decision systems should not become automated decision systems, I am rather surprised at them setting the omnipresent Chat-GPT as the reference not to be exceeded.
“AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity (…) recent months have seen AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one – not even their creators – can understand, predict, or reliably control.”
The central (?) issue here is whether something like Chat-GPT can claim anything intelligence, when pumping data from a (inevitably biased) database and producing mostly coherent sentences without any attention to facts. Which is useful when polishing a recommendation letter at the same level as a spelling corrector (but requires checking for potential fake facts inclusions, like imaginary research prizes!)
“Contemporary AI systems are now becoming human-competitive at general tasks, and we must ask ourselves: Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization?”
The increasingly doom-mongering tone of the above questions is rather over the top (civilization, nothing less?!) and again remindful of Superintelligence, while spreading propaganda and untruth need not wait super-AIs to reach conspiracy theorists.
“Such decisions must not be delegated to unelected tech leaders. Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable (…) Therefore, we call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. This pause should be public and verifiable, and include all key actors. If such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in”
A six months period sounds like inappropriate for an existential danger, while the belief that governments want or can intervene sounds rather naïve, given for instance that they lack the ability to judge of the dangerosity of the threat and of the safety nets to be imposed on gigantic black-box systems. Who can judge on the positivity and risk of a billion (trillion?) parameter model? Why is being elected any guarantee of fairness or acumen? Beyond dictatures thriving on surveillance automata, more democratic countries are also happily engaging into problematic AI experiments, incl. AI surveillance of the incoming Paris Olympics. (Another valuable reason to stay away from Paris over the games.)
“AI research and development should be refocused on making today’s powerful, state-of-the-art systems more accurate, safe, interpretable, transparent, robust, aligned, trustworthy, and loyal. In parallel, AI developers must work with policymakers to dramatically accelerate development of robust AI governance systems.”
While these are worthy goals, at a conceptual level—with the practical issue of defining precisely each of these lofty adjectives—, and although I am certainly missing a lot from my ignorance of the field, this call remains a mystery to me as it sounds unrealistic it could achieve its goal.
political executions
Posted in Kids with tags abolition, Amnesty International, Aung Thura Zaw, death penalty, Hla Myo Aung, Human Rights, Kyaw Min Yu, military coup, Myanmar, Phyo Zeya Thaw on July 26, 2022 by xi'an
war crimes [Amnesty report]
Posted in Statistics with tags Amnesty International, cluster munitions, Kharkiv, Russian invasion, Solidarity with Ukraine, Ukraine, war crimes on June 13, 2022 by xi'an
Dear Prosecutor General [AI call]
Posted in Kids, Travel with tags Abortion Dream Team, Amnesty International, European Union, Human Rights, legalisation of abortion, letter, Poland, reproductive rights, World Health Organisation on April 7, 2022 by xi'an
Public Prosecutor General, Mr. Zbigniew Tadeusz Ziobro
ul. Postępu 3
02–676 Warszawa
Poland
Email: biuro.podawcze@pk.gov.pl
Dear Public Prosecutor General,
I am writing to express my deep concern about charges brought against human rights defender Justyna Wydrzyńska that stem solely from her activism to support access to safe abortion. Justyna has been charged with ‘helping in the performance of an abortion’ on the basis of Article 152.2 of the Polish Penal Code, and ‘possession of unauthorised drugs with the aim of introducing them to the market’ under Article 124 of the Pharmaceutical Law. If convicted, she faces up to three years in prison. I am deeply concerned that charges against Justyna appear to be brought in reprisal for her activism and her legitimate efforts to defend access to safe and legal abortions in Poland. Justyna is a doula and an activist who has been outspoken about her own abortion. She is one of the founders of Abortion Dream Team, an activist collective in Poland that campaigns against abortion stigma and provides evidence–based and non–biased abortion–related information, including on World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance on safe self–managed medical abortion.
I would like to stress that laws that restrict access to abortions in Poland –only allowed when the health or the life of the pregnant woman is at risk or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest – and criminalise those who provide or help with an abortion put pregnant people’s health and lives at risk and violate Poland’s obligations under international human rights law and standards. It is precisely because of these harmful laws, that Justyna’s support to people whose health needs have been neglected and denied by the Polish health care system are crucial and can save lives. Her work should be applauded, not criminalised. Justyna’s efforts are part of a growing movement of individuals in Poland and around the world who show solidarity and compassion, while helping others to access the sexual and reproductive health and rights they are entitled to. Poland must take urgent action to ensure that abortion is fully decriminalised and that people defending sexual and reproductive rights, including access to safe abortion, are able to carry out their legitimate work without fear of reprisals or intimidation.
I therefore urge you to immediately drop all charges against human rights defender Justyna Wydrzyńska and refrain from bringing any other charges with the intention to criminalise her or other activists for providing lifesaving support to people seeking an abortion.
Yours sincerely,
