AI Ethics

AI Ethics

Netflix's Reed Hastings Commits $50M to Bowdoin College for AI Ethics Initiative

• 

Chris McKay• March 24, 2025 • 2 min read

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has donated $50 million to his alma mater, Bowdoin College, to launch an initiative that explores the ethical, societal, and academic dimensions of artificial intelligence.

AI Ethics

Character.AI Claims First Amendment Protects AI Chatbot Speech in Teen Suicide Case

• 

Chris McKay• January 24, 2025 • 2 min read

The company maintains that imposing liability for AI chatbot conversations would violate the public's constitutional right to receive protected speech.

Responsible AI AI Ethics

FTC Flags Snap’s AI Chatbot for Potential Harm, Refers Case to DOJ

• 

Chris McKay• January 17, 2025 • 2 min read

The agency indicated it found evidence suggesting Snap "is violating or is about to violate the law," though specific details remain under wraps.

Op-ed AI Ethics

The Business Case For Love: How AI and Tech are Reshaping Relationships—and Threatening Prosperity & Safety

• 

Richard Banfield• November 18, 2024 • 3 min read

While we marvel at the speed of progress, there’s a quieter crisis brewing beneath AI’s eye watering rise: the breakdown of human relationships.

AI Safety AI Ethics

The Character.AI Lawsuit Is a Wake-Up Call for Responsible AI Development

• 

Chris McKay• October 25, 2024 • 4 min read

What happens when these AI-generated relationships become more than just entertaining—when they become emotional crutches for people struggling to connect in the real world?

OpenAI AI Ethics AI Safety

OpenAI Disrupts Iranian Influence Operation That Used ChatGPT

• 

Chris McKay• August 16, 2024 • 2 min read

The operation was using the AI assistant to produce articles and social media posts on subjects ranging from U.S. politics to global events, which were then distributed across multiple platforms.

AI Ethics

San Francisco Sues 16 Websites Over AI-Generated Nonconsensual Nudes

• 

Chris McKay• August 15, 2024 • 2 min read

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu has filed a lawsuit against 16 websites worldwide for creating and distributing AI-generated non-consensual pornography. The suit, a first of its kind, targets websites that use AI to create realistic nude images of women and girls without their consent, often referred to as “deepfakes.

Udio AI Ethics

Udio Responds to Record Labels' Copyright Lawsuit

• 

Richard Banfield• June 25, 2024 • 1 min read

Generative AI models, including our music model, learn from examples. Just as students listen to music and study scores, our model has ‘listened’ to and learned from a large collection of recorded music.

AI Ethics

Bumble's AI Dating Vision Sparks Debate on the Future of Human Connections

• 

Richard Banfield• May 10, 2024 • 2 min read

Bumble's Executive Chair, Wolfe Herd, imagines a future where AI acts as a personal dating concierge, learning about an individual's preferences, values, and insecurities to find compatible matches.

OpenAI AI Ethics Responsible AI

OpenAI to Launch Media Manager for Content Creators to Opt In/Out of AI Research and Training

• 

Chris McKay• May 7, 2024 • 2 min read

The company's goal is to work with creators, content owners, and regulators to establish a standard for content usage in the AI industry.

AI Literacy AI Ethics AI Safety

AI as a "New Digital Species": Thoughts on Microsoft AI Chief's TED Talk

• 

Chris McKay• April 23, 2024 • 4 min read

By proposing the "digital species" metaphor, he offers a new lens through which to view AI's potential and pitfalls. It invites us to consider the long-term implications of this technology and our responsibility in shaping its evolution.

AI Ethics OpenAI Meta Google

Tech Giants Push Boundaries to Access AI Training Data

• 

Chris McKay• April 7, 2024 • 2 min read

AI systems rely on vast amounts of data for training and operation, and the methods used to obtain this data are not always ethical.

Google Gemini AI Ethics

Why Google is Pausing Gemini's Ability to Generate Images

• 

Chris McKay• February 21, 2024 • 3 min read

Some critics have accused Google's culture of pushing a "pro-diversity bias," while others see this as a good faith but imperfect attempt to showcase variety. In any case, the company says it is prioritizing upgrades to improve accuracy.

AI Safety AI Ethics

Leading Tech Companies Pledge to Protect 2024 Elections from Deceptive AI

• 

Richard Banfield• February 16, 2024 • 2 min read

As part of the accord, companies agreed to eight commitments including assessing AI systems that could enable election deception campaigns, seeking to detect deepfakes on their platforms, providing transparency around policies, and supporting public awareness efforts.

AI Policy AI Ethics

USPTO Clarifies When Humans Can Be Granted Patents Using AI

• 

Chris McKay• February 12, 2024 • 3 min read

Central to the USPTO's guidance is the principle that patent law functions to incentivize and reward human ingenuity.

Geopolitics AI Ethics

Jailed Ex-Leader Imran Khan Claims Victory in Pakistan Election With AI-Generated Speech

• 

Chris McKay• February 12, 2024 • 3 min read

The minute-long video, which paired historical images and footage of Khan with his AI-simulated voice, not only celebrated the electoral turnout but also rejected the victory claims of his rival, Nawaz Sharif, urging supporters to defend their win.

Healthcare AI Ethics AI Safety

CMS Bans Medicare Advantage Insurers From Using AI to Deny Care

• 

Chris McKay• February 8, 2024 • 2 min read

CMS worries that AI could perpetuate discrimination or fail to account for unique patient needs.

AI Ethics Responsible AI

Viral Deepfakes of Taylor Swift Highlight Urgent Need for AI Regulation

• 

Chris McKay• January 25, 2024 • 2 min read

This incident should serve as a stark reminder of the urgent need for a concerted effort to address the challenges posed by AI-generated content.

OpenAI AI Ethics

OpenAI Believes the Public Should Have A Say in Steering Powerful AI Models

• 

Richard Banfield• January 16, 2024 • 2 min read

The research lab is forming a “Collective Alignment” team to implement systems that incorporate public input into AI models.

OpenAI AI Ethics

OpenAI Responds to The New York Times Lawsuit: A Clarification of Intent and Practices

• 

Chris McKay• January 8, 2024 • 3 min read

OpenAI defended its use of online content for model training as legally protected fair use and accused The Times of mischaracterizing rare instances of content regurgitation as widespread system flaws.

AI Ethics ElevenLabs

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan Uses AI Voice Clone to Deliver Campaign Speech from Prison

• 

Chris McKay• December 18, 2023 • 3 min read

Next year marks a historical moment in global politics, with over 40 countries preparing for national elections. It is likely that we will also witness the most widespread use of AI to influence campaigns and voters.

Stability AI AI Ethics

UK Court Advances Getty's Copyright Suit Against Stability AI: A Deep Dive into the Legal Battle

• 

Chris McKay• December 5, 2023 • 2 min read

The court found that there were unanswered questions and inconsistencies relevant to the determination of the location of the training and development of Stable Diffusion.

Microsoft AI Policy AI Ethics

Microsoft Announces New Steps to Combat AI-Enabled Misinformation Ahead of Major Elections

• 

Chris McKay• November 8, 2023 • 2 min read

Through multi-pronged steps like content authentication and partnerships, Microsoft aims to promote secure and trustworthy elections.

Meta AI Ethics

Meta will Mandate Disclosure for Political Ads Altered With AI

• 

Chris McKay• November 8, 2023 • 2 min read

This policy will go into effect in the new year and will be required globally.

Google AI Ethics AI Safety

Google DeepMind Proposes Framework for Social and Ethical AI Risk Assessment

• 

Chris McKay• October 20, 2023 • 3 min read

As generative AI systems gain ground, the urgency to evaluate their social and ethical risks escalates. DeepMind introduces a holistic framework, emphasizing the significance of context in AI safety, marking a step forward in responsible AI evolution.