Page 27 - EngineerIt May 2021

content, and humans have been in the
loop to make these decisions. There are
also some interesting questions that can
be raised about the moderation of AI-
generated content and to what extent it
is protected under the right to freedom of
expression, but this is not quite relevant
yet.
Next, let us look at content curation.
Another way of thinking about it is that
we are giving AI the ability to control what Understanding Artificial Intelligence (AI)
information citizens see. Since we know
that the information citizens get exposed hen most people hear the term artificial intelligence, the first thing they usually think
to largely informs their world view, beliefs of is robots. That’s because big-budget films and novels weave stories about human-like
and how they participate in politics, it is Wmachines that wreak havoc on Earth. But nothing could be further from the truth.
critical that we prevent AI from curating Artificial intelligence is based on the principle that human intelligence can be defined in a
biased content or creating so-called way such that a machine can easily mimic it and execute tasks, from the most simple to those that
“filter bubbles” where citizens do not are more complex. The goals of artificial intelligence include mimicking human cognitive activity.
get exposed to alternate views. Media Researchers and developers in the field are making surprisingly rapid strides in mimicking activities
pluralism is an important component for a such as learning, reasoning and perception, to the extent that these can be concretely defined. Some
balanced and nuanced world view and it’s believe that innovators may soon be able to develop systems that exceed the capacity of humans to
learn or reason out any subject. But others remain sceptical because all cognitive activity is laced
with value judgments that are subject to human experience.
About the author As technology advances, previous benchmarks that defined artificial intelligence become
Hanno Brink is a Machine Learning outdated. For example, machines that calculate basic functions or recognise text through optical
Engineer with Synthesis Intelligent character recognition are no longer considered to embody artificial intelligence, since this function is
Data. He holds a Masters Degree in now taken for granted as an inherent computer function.
Computer Science and is a Certified AI is continuously evolving to benefit many different industries. Machines are wired using a cross-
AWS developer. He initially fell in love disciplinary approach based on mathematics, computer science, linguistics, psychology and more.
with software because of its ability to Algorithms often play a very important part in the structure of artificial intelligence, where
unleash creativity in its purest form. simple algorithms are used in simple applications, while more complex ones help frame strong
Recently, he has been working with artificial intelligence. n
some of the largest financial institutions
in the country to help use cloud Jake Frankenfield, Editor for Oberlin’s long-form journalism magazine, The Wilder Voice.
and Machine Learning to transform
their data into a valuable asset and
decision making tools. Recognising important to manage a balanced curation strategy or risk creating dogmatic or extremist
the increasing impact that these world views. Also, the data that is collected about citizens to facilitate this curation could be
technologies have, he spends a great used for targeted manipulation, infringing on their right to receive information.
deal of time thinking about the ethical
application of these powerful new tools How do we make AI serve us?
to make the world a better place. We have already seen that these fears are not just theoretical, and we might ask ourselves
what should be done to ensure that the media in the age of AI serves us well. In March
of 2019, the Institute for Information Law (IViR) published a report detailing the potential
impact of AI on freedom of expression and how we can go about mitigating this.
Based on this report, first, we should invest in tools that enable journalists to produce
high quality content, fulfilling their role in society. Secondly, we need to start thinking about
extending the journalistic code of ethics to include how AI should be employed to the
benefit of society. We need to commit to ensuring media pluralism where we use AI to
curate content, by actively measuring and improving media pluralism metrics. Thirdly, we
need to make sure that the targeted distribution of content does not exclude certain groups
of people from receiving important information. Finally, social media companies should
give us, as consumers, the ability to review and control how our content is curated. Then
we should periodically review the way in which the algorithms have profiled us and take an
active role in trying to build a nuanced world view.
After a closer examination of the ways that AI could potentially impact the media, I
think that it will have a significant impact but not nearly as big an impact as the internet
and social media have had, as long as we are responsible with it.
It just occurred to me that algorithms will likely decide whether you will read this article.
May they be ever in your favour. n

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