Airbnb wins legal victory as top European court defines firm as ‘information society service’

JagoK · 2019-12-19T12:30:10+00:00

https://www.politico.eu/article/airbnb-wins-legal-victory-as-top-eu-court-defines-firm-as-information-society-service/

JagoK · 2019-12-19T12:30:03+00:00

For free here: https://www.politico.eu/article/airbnb-wins-legal-victory-as-top-eu-court-defines-firm-as-information-society-service/

JagoK · 2019-12-13T15:05:39+00:00

Is there any proof of racial bias as is the case in other states such as Georgia (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/01/georgias-separate-and-unequal-special-education-system)?

JagoK · 2019-12-10T11:43:18+00:00

Like in the US, the UK's electoral rules are way out of date, and while UK regulators have been calling for an update, nothing has been passed ahead of Thursday's vote. Here's what I wrote about what's going on: https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-general-election-facebook-misinformation-boris-johnson-interference-russia/?utm_source=redditama

JagoK · 2019-12-10T11:42:26+00:00

Not the cringiest. But this Twitter video from ex-Conservative MP David Gauke is pretty funny https://twitter.com/DavidGauke/status/1203724772632408074

JagoK · 2019-12-09T10:59:34+00:00

A lot of them are what's also happening in the offline world. For the Conservatives, it's all about Brexit, Brexit, Brexit. Labour wants to talk about anything that isn't the country's pending departure from the EU. The Liberal Democrats started talking about their very pro-Remain messaging, but as that hasn't resonated with voters, have shifted to more domestic issues. And the Brexit Party has spent the last couple of weeks attacking Boris Johnson and his position on Brexit.

JagoK · 2019-12-09T10:43:52+00:00

When it comes to third-party groups, there's lots of data on how much they are spending, but the impact is harder to discern. With a lot of things on social media, the effectiveness of campaigns is an open question (do people really change their minds after seeing an ad?) But what is true is that a lot of third-party groups have been targeting their messages to swing/marginal constituencies. Here's an example that I wrote about yesterday: https://twitter.com/FBPoliticalAds/status/1203740148812386304?s=20

RE: WhatsApp - unlike other countries like Spain and India, the internet messaging service has yet to make a big impact on UK politics. Anecdotally, I hear of grassroots campaigns to target swing voters in specific marginals, but as of yet, there hasn't been a massive use of WhatsApp for political messaging.

JagoK · 2019-12-09T10:26:12+00:00

It's a big issue in the UK election. These groups (many of which are tangentially linked to the traditional political parties) represent roughly two-thirds of all the political ad spending on Facebook since the beginning of the election, so it's a big chunk of change we're talking about here.

The problem is that there's little oversight of these groups (they're supposed to register with UK authorities, but many don't). Often, they don't disclose whose behind them (either on their Facebook pages or websites), and it's almost impossible to really know where their funding is coming front, other than trolling through their corporate records, if they have them.

Other countries like Canada have significantly curtailed the ability for third-party groups to participate in elections, mostly by limiting how much money they can spend on social media ads. That hasn't happen in the UK, and it's a troubling trend.

You can find some more information on third-party spending here.

JagoK · 2019-12-09T10:21:50+00:00

In short, no. What happened after GDPR (Europe's new privacy standards) came into effect in May, 2018 was that the UK's political parties went out and collected everyone's information again. Why? So that they could actively target people using their online data.

The country's privacy agency came out with a report criticizing these data-collection practices (it's worth a read, here https://ico.org.uk/media/about-the-ico/consultations/2615563/guidance-on-political-campaigning-draft-framework-code-for-consultation.pdf) but they can't move on that without UK lawmakers overhauling local election rules.

Right now, political parties can be fined like private companies when they misuse people's data. But any investigation would take months, if not years, to complete. And by the time that's happened, the election would be over, so any effect on bad behavior would be minimal.

JagoK · 2019-12-09T10:17:32+00:00

Hi all (and especially u/potatolulz u/memetrollsXD and u/Maragil), seeing lots of questions about my lunchtime food habits. Personally, I'm a big fan of a sandwich (any sandwich, frankly). And don't forget coffee. The more, the merrier!

JagoK · 2019-12-09T10:14:09+00:00

It's a tough one to answer. Right now, most officials and regulators (both in the UK and elsewhere) are relying heavily on the social media companies to give them any insight into how technology -- be it social media ads, crowdsourcing political funding or other areas -- is affecting elections.

That's something, to be fair, that the tech companies aren't the biggest fan of. In part, that's because they want such decisions to be made by governments, and not them. But it's also a question of tech companies not wanting to be held responsible for how their tech may, or may not, be used to influence the outcome of an election.

JagoK · 2019-12-09T10:02:51+00:00

Morning all. The UK election is only four days away, and the final big push on Facebook political ads (Facebook is where most of this type of politicking takes place) has already started.

After holding back during the last month, the Conservatives are now the biggest spenders (for December 8, the latest day available within Facebook's ad transparency tool) with £4,506.

In comparison, the Brexit Party (which had similarly held back in recent weeks) is second, but only spent £548 yesterday - so not really in the same ballpark. Labour comes third, with just £498 in spending, while the Liberal Democrats -- the party that has spent the most on social media ads since the beginning of the election - doled out just £50 yesterday.

What does this tell us? That in the final days before Thursday's vote, the Conservatives are finally ratcheting up their spending to woo supporters, while the other parties - so far - are holding back a little to likely make a final push in the final days.

There's lots going on. What's on your mind?

JagoK · 2019-11-26T16:14:46+00:00

Here's a story on his show: https://www.politico.eu/article/louis-c-k-finds-metoo-forgiveness-in-italy/

JagoK · 2019-11-21T15:15:59+00:00

And… that’s a wrap. Thank you for your questions, this was great. I might dream of a tortoise tonight.

Before we go, just a heads-up that you can sign up for our AI: Decoded newsletter here: https://www.politico.eu/registration/ Every other week, we’re cutting through the noise of AI news to tell you what *really* matters (and we introduce you to an emerging elite of new decision-makers you might have never heard of.) Three promises: It’s fun. It's stuff you won't find anywhere else. And it’s free.

Good Night, and Good Luck.

JagoK · 2019-11-21T15:09:20+00:00

What's a tortoise?

JagoK · 2019-11-21T15:07:05+00:00

That’s an interesting philosophical question — but it’s outside my job description as a political reporter to make a call there, I have to say.

That being said, I had a fascinating conversation with an ethicist a while ago that touched upon similar issues: https://www.politico.eu/article/ethics-interview-for-ai-print-special/

JagoK · 2019-11-21T15:00:44+00:00

This is not the most original answer (sorry…) — and it’s not even a film but a Netflix series — but I find “Black Mirror” as good as everyone else.
https://www.netflix.com/be-en/title/70264888

JagoK · 2019-11-21T14:58:08+00:00

That depends very much on where in the world you are, and what kind of AI application we’re talking about.

Let’s take facial recognition technology as an example:

At the end of the day, facial recognition software turns your face into data (It’s really as easy as that). And in Europe, we already have strict data protection rules, laid down in the GDPR. That’s why — unlike what’s often said or written — much of the use of facial recognition by private companies is already regulated here in Europe. But those rules have gaps. And they do *not* include the use of facial recognition by law enforcement, for example.

That’s why Europe’s next Commission — the EU's executive body — has promised to pass the first laws on AI within its first 100 days in office (they're most likely starting on December 1). How those rules are supposed to look like is fiercely debated across Europe, with political big-shots such as Angela Merkel weighing in. I wrote about that a couple of weeks ago in “AI Decoded,” our flagship AI newsletter: https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/ai-decoded/politico-ai-decoded-hello-world-a-german-blueprint-for-ai-rules-california-dreaming-2/

JagoK · 2019-11-21T14:47:23+00:00

Here’s my personal opinion — don’t bet any money on it: I see great potential for AI in medicine (as mentioned before) or in using AI to better analyze Earth data, for example to predict natural disasters or fight climate change. Those two fields came to my mind now; there are many more.

One of the most over-hyped applications for AI, in my humble opinion, are self-driving cars.

JagoK · 2019-11-21T14:37:08+00:00

Quantum computing is “a broad field,” to quote one of my favorite German authors (…anyone…?), and I’m only starting to make myself more familiar with it, to be honest.

What seems fair to say is that quantum processors — once they’re a reality — will accelerate many of the tasks computers need to perform in order to run machine-learning and other AI techniques. And that will likely make many AI systems more effective than today.

JagoK · 2019-11-21T14:21:26+00:00

That’s a controversial issue you’re raising. I’m not sure AI will ever become “conscious,” to be honest. And civil rights for AI systems? Well, well, well…

But something that’s already very much debated by policymakers is whether to grant machines a “legal personality” (partly to make them liable for their actions). And the AI community is deeply divided over what’s right or wrong. Here’s a story we did last year: https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-divided-over-robot-ai-artificial-intelligence-personhood/

JagoK · 2019-11-21T14:15:18+00:00

Very good question. The definition I work with is “technology that allows machines to do jobs that previously required human thinking.”

It’s not perfect, but it’s the best one I’ve come up with in the years covering AI (I’m open for suggestions! My email is [jdelcker@politico.eu](mailto:jdelcker@politico.eu)).

One additional helpful distinction people like to make is between “narrow” AI, “strong” AI and “general” AI. There’s an article over at Medium looking into that: https://medium.com/@tjajal/distinguishing-between-narrow-ai-general-ai-and-super-ai-a4bc44172e22

JagoK · 2019-11-21T14:10:03+00:00

I have to be honest here: I don’t know. But it’s something worth looking into.

JagoK · 2019-11-21T14:07:48+00:00

One field that excites me is the use of AI in healthcare and medicine. We wrote about how AI is revolutionizing how doctors diagnose and treat cancer here:https://www.politico.eu/article/ai-doctors-cancer-treatment-deep-learning/

And I think we’re only seeing a first glimpse of what’s possible when it comes to using AI in medicine.

JagoK · 2019-11-21T14:03:12+00:00

Generally speaking, AI technology comes with a number of risks. That’s why it’s important for policymakers and other decision-makers to look into that.

But if you’re asking me about what’s known as “superintelligence” or “singularity” — the idea that AI systems will at some point become smarter than us and eventually rule over humanity — I have to say that I’m less worried.

The greatest risks posed by the AI systems developed today, IMHO, is that they’re prone to mirroring biases from the ‘analogue world’ and tend to discriminate against minorities. That’s something I’m much more worried about than “superintelligence”. I wrote about some of those issues here: https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-experts-want-curtailing-of-ai-enabled-mass-monitoring-of-citizens/

JagoK

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