How will we govern super-powerful AI?
The AI constitution can mean the difference between war and peace—or total extinction.
08 January, 2021
- The question of conscious artificial intelligence dominating future humanity is not the most pressing issue we face today, says Allan Dafoe of the Center for the Governance of AI at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute. Dafoe argues that AI's power to generate wealth should make good governance our primary concern.
- With thoughtful systems and policies in place, humanity can unlock the full potential of AI with minimal negative consequences. Drafting an AI constitution will also provide the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of past structures to avoid future conflicts.
- Building a framework for governance will require us to get past sectarian differences and interests so that society as a whole can benefit from AI in ways that do the most good and the least harm.
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The woman who created the technology behind internet calls explains what it takes to innovate
She's the reason you're able to work and chat from home.
19 December, 2020
New America / Wikimedia Commons
If you've ever wondered how a Zoom call works, you might want to ask Marian Croak, Vice-President of Engineering at Google.
<p>This is the woman who invented "Voice over Internet Protocol": the technology that has enabled entire workforces to continue to communicate and families and friends to remain in touch throughout 2020's lockdowns – and inevitably beyond.</p><p>It is a lifeline technology that was developed in the 1990s. Croak describes how at the time "many people were sceptical – and they were right for that time. But with a lot of work and a lot of testing and experimentation, you see what we've accomplished today."</p><p>She joined moderator, Eniola Mafe, Lead, Vision 2030 at World Economic Forum to talk alongside <a href="https://www.schwabfound.org/" target="_blank">Schwab Foundation</a> awardee, Lindiwe Matlali, Chief Executive Officer at Africa Teen Geeks and Schwab Foundation awardee at the<a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/pioneers-of-change-summit-2020" target="_blank"> Pioneers of Change Summit</a>. They revealed insights into what it takes to innovate, why kids are an inspiration and how not fitting in can be an advantage.</p><p>Here's what they said.</p>
<h3>Is the worst of times the best of times for innovation?</h3><p>Croak spoke about history and seeing this moment in time as part of a trajectory of bursts of innovation that happen at difficult times. "There are scientific revolutions where people have these amazing paradigm shifts. It typically happens at periods of great turmoil – everyone is very motivated for something new and something to alleviate the chaos."</p><blockquote>In my own personal life, most of what I've done that has an impact on others is typically at times of stress and difficulty. I think we can benefit from this horrible time in history.<br><cite>—Marian Croak, Vice-President of Engineering at Google</cite><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?via=wef&text=In%20my%20own%20personal%20life%2C%20most%20of%20what%20I%E2%80%99ve%20done%20that%20has%20an%20impact%20on%20others%20is%20typically%20at%20times%20of%20stress%20and%20difficulty.%20I%20think%20we%20can%20benefit%20from%20this%20horrible%20time%20in%20history.%20%E2%80%94Marian%20Croak%2C%20Vice-President%20of%20Engineering%20at%20Google&url=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a></blockquote><h3>If at first you don't succeed, what's next?</h3><p>Both women spoke of hard work and determination. Matlali said, "You are often focused on arrival – but the journey is just as important. The only way to get doors to open is to be impressive and work so hard that you can't be ignored."</p><p>While for Croak, it is about having the right mindset and the confidence to know that you can fix things that are broken.</p><p>"You don't have to be a victim of trouble. You can rise above problems and fix them. In the journey to fix them, it involves failure. Things evolve and you have to keep experimenting and perfecting them."</p><p>She says the current situation might appear to be a kind of stasis, but that things can and will change because human beings have the power to imagine different scenarios.</p><p>"Inventors are just humans. Anyone can have innovative ideas. But we have to share those ideas and collaborate with each other so that they can be realized."</p>
<h3>How do you get a seat at the tech table?</h3><p>With characteristic modesty, Croak admitted that "leaving a pathway for others to step in" is important, but also revealed that she is quite comfortable with being an outsider.</p><p>"Many times I've felt it's really to our advantage that we don't fit in and that we don't have that seat at that table. That to me is often a benefit because it allows us to step back and really observe in quite an objective way as to where the gaps are and what's needed for change. Being part of the group spoils your perspective because there's a need to confirm, but invention requires you to be different."</p><p>But she conceded, "It's fine to be the only one – but you don't want to remain in that position – you want others to come along. I make sure that the generation behind me can climb the ladder as well."</p><p>For Matlali, the example of Marian Croak – a woman of colour succeeding in the tech world – has been significant.</p><p>"I have to sell myself all the time," she said, "If you are black and a woman, you have to prove that you are competent. Moving forward there are ways that we can change that – making sure that people like (Marian) are visible will make it easier for someone like me."</p><blockquote>If you are black and a woman, you have to prove that you are competent.<br><cite>—Lindiwe Matlali, Chief Executive Officer at Africa Teen Geeks</cite></blockquote>
<h3>What can kids teach tech innovators?</h3><p>Wonder and naivete are powerful tools. Croak argues that children have rich imaginations – which is the fuel of invention. "You need to be childlike. A little naïve and not inhibited by what's possible."</p><p>Matlali's work with disadvantaged teenagers brings her directly into this world, where she sees that "children are passionate but hopeful for the future. For them, everything is possible. You want kids to have the imagination and passion for them to achieve their dreams."</p><p>Croak said her motivation for 2021 was to keep her own childlike curiosity going, forgetting about her personal circumstances and focusing on the "painpoints".</p>
<h3>What's the biggest opportunity for change in a post-pandemic world?</h3><p>"The most significant thing that I see that will cause things to change – and we hope that they will – is the increased awareness of inequities." Croak urged the tech community to zero in on that "gift" to see what the world is truly like and where the gaps are. "To address that huge amount of inequity."</p><p>Matlali's work in education in Africa is one such gap. She said, "knowing that no matter how small the contributions I am making – it makes a difference. Even if it helps one child to have the opportunities that I've had – it all came through education. For me, that's what I want to try do and make sure that as many children as possible can break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage."</p><p>Reprinted with permission of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Economic Forum</a>. Read the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/the-woman-who-put-voice-on-the-internet-explains-what-it-takes-to-innovate/" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.<br></p>
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"Clean meat" approved for sale in Singapore
Singapore has approved the sale of a lab-grown meat product in an effort to secure its food supplies against disease and climate change.
04 December, 2020
Credit: Adobe Stock / Big Think
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<p>Singapore faces a problem. The city-state currently imports the bulk of its food from overseas, producing <a href="https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-farming/singapore-food-supply/the-food-we-eat" target="_blank">only 10 percent domestically</a>. This state of affairs leaves Singapore in a vulnerable position. An outbreak of disease, for example, could have outsized consequences on the country's food supply. So could the souring of fruitful political or economic partnerships. Looking into the future, climate change and population growth could see today's trade-friendly ports shuttered with closed signs as global food supplies become more tenuous.</p><p>In light of this reality, Singaporean leaders are doing something drastic and unprecedented for a world government—they're planning ahead.</p><p>Under the "<a href="https://earth.org/singapore-30-by-30-plan/" target="_blank">30-by-30</a>" Plan, Singapore aims to produce 30 percent of its food by the year 2030. But unlike the dominant <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/100615/4-countries-produce-most-food.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">food-producing countries</a>—China, India, the U.S., and Brazil—this tiny island nation lacks the acreage to dedicate to traditional agriculture, so they've turned to modern technology. To produce more with less, the Singapore Food Agency is experimenting with rooftop gardens, high-rise hydroponic farms, and high-yield genetic crops.</p><p>Singapore is also looking at lab-grown meat as a sustainable, secure alternative to today's factory farming. In a recent step toward that future, its officials have given regulatory approval <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lab-grown-chicken-bites-cultured-meat-product-gets-worlds-first-regulatory-approval/ar-BB1byNEA?li=BBnbfcL" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to sell lab-grown meat</a>.</p>
Approve for your dining pleasure
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dd3f57f8baf14e654812d30a309d1f17"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/307gysA18_E?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p><a href="https://www.ju.st/en-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eat Just</a>, a company that produces animal-alternative food products, announced the news earlier this week. In what the company is calling a world first, Singapore has given it permission for a small-scale commercial launch of their GOOD Meat brand product line. For the initial run, the cultured chicken meat will be sold as an ingredient in "chicken bites."</p><p>"Singapore has long been a leader in innovation of all kinds, from information technology to biologics to now leading the world in building a healthier, safer food system. I'm sure that our regulatory approval for cultured meat will be the first of many in Singapore and in countries around the globe," Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just, <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201201006251/en/Eat-Just-Granted-World%E2%80%99s-First-Regulatory-Approval-for-Cultured-Meat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said in a release</a>.</p><p>According to the release, Eat Just underwent an extensive safety review by the Singapore Food Agency. It provided officials "details on the purity, identity and stability of chicken cells during the manufacturing process, as well as a detailed description of the manufacturing process which demonstrated that harvested cultured chicken met quality controls and a rigorous food safety monitoring system." It also demonstrated the consistency of its production by running more than 20 cycles in its 1,200-liter bioreactors.</p><p>While Eat Just did not offer details on its propriety process, it likely follows <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24032080-400-accelerating-the-cultured-meat-revolution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">one similar to other lab-grown meats</a>. It starts with muscle cell samples drawn from a living animal. Technicians then isolate stem cells from the sample and culture them <em>in vitro</em>. These cultured stem cells are then placed in a bioreactor, essentially a fermenter for fleshy cells. The bioreactor contains scaffolding materials to keep the growing tissue from falling apart as well as a growth material—the sugars, salts, and other nutrients the tissue needs to grow. As the cells grow, they begin to differentiate into the muscle, fat, and other cells of meat tissue. Once grown, the tissues are formed into a meat product to be shipped to restaurants and supermarkets.</p>An abattoir abatement?
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg2Mjg5OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyODg1NDI3N30.AYmFJfWQbPjK-o1IatyFHL-OLjcfXBMmQKYyvz4oT3s/img.jpg?width=980" id="8a82d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="93f824fe4c6f397ab2b65e4665847e71" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="913" data-height="420" />A graph showing the number of animals slaughtered in the United States per year from 1961–2018.
Credit: Our World in Data
<p>Singapore's approval is an important step in support for clean meats—so-called because they don't require animal slaughter and would likely leave a reduced carbon footprint—but hurdles remain before widespread adoption is possible.</p><p>The most glaring is the price. The first lab-grown hamburger was eaten in London in 2013. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23576143" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">It cost roughly $330,000</a>. As with any new technology, investment, iteration, and improved manufacturing will see the price drop substantially and quickly. For comparison, Eat Just's chicken will be priced equivalent to premium chicken.</p><p>Other hurdles include up-scaling production, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00373-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the need for further research</a>, and developing techniques to reliably produce in-demand meats such as fish and beef. Finally, not all countries may be as receptive as Singapore. Countries with large, entrenched meat industries may protect this legacy industry through a protracted and difficult regulatory process. Though, the meat industry itself is investing in lab-grown meat. Tyson Foods, for example, has <a href="https://euromeatnews.com/Article-Tyson-Foods-announces-investment-in-clean-meat/697" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">invested in the food-tech startup Memphis Meats</a>, the company that debuted the world's first beef meatball.</p><p>"I would imagine what will happen is the U.S., Western Europe and others will see what Singapore has been able to do, the rigours of the framework that they put together. And I would imagine that they will try to use it as a template to put their own framework together," <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eat-just-singapore/singapore-approves-sale-of-lab-grown-meat-in-world-first-idUSKBN28C06Z" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tetrick told Reuter's during an interview</a>.</p><p>Regardless of the challenges, the demand for meat substitutes is present and growing. In 2020, plant-based substitutes like Beyond Meat and Impossible foods <a href="https://bigthink.com/coronavirus/plant-based-meat" target="_self">gained a significant foothold in supermarkets</a> as meat-packing factories became coronavirus hotspots. The looming threat of climate change has also turned people away from meat as animal products. Livestock production is environmentally taxing and leaves <a href="http://css.umich.edu/factsheets/carbon-footprint-factsheet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a much larger carbon footprint</a> than grain and vegetable production. </p><p>Then there's the moral concern of animal cruelty. In 2018 alone, 302 million cows, 656 million turkeys, 1.48 billion pigs, and a gob-smacking 68 billion chickens were <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/animals-slaughtered-for-meat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">slaughtered for meat worldwide</a>. And those figures do not include chickens killed in dairy or egg production.</p><p>If brought to scale and widely available, clean meats could become serious competitors to traditional meat. <a href="https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/meat-alternatives" target="_self">One report has even predicted</a> that 60 percent of the meat people eat by 2040 won't come from slaughtered animals. It could be just the thing for people looking for a meat substitute but who find tofurkey as distasteful as, well tofurkey.</p>
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How has technology changed — and changed us — in the past 20 years?
Apple sold its first iPod in 2001, and six years later it introduced the iPhone, which ushered in a new era of personal technology.
30 November, 2020
PEDRO UGARTE/AFP via Getty Images
Just over 20 years ago, the dotcom bubble burst, causing the stocks of many tech firms to tumble.
<p> Some companies, like Amazon, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0711/5-successful-companies-that-survived-the-dotcom-bubble.aspx" target="_blank">quickly recovered</a> their value – but many others were left in ruins. In the two decades since this crash, technology has advanced in many ways.
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Many more people are online today than they were at the start of the millennium. Looking at broadband access, in 2000, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/entertainment/tech-generations/" target="_blank">just half</a> of Americans had broadband access at home. Today, that number sits at <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">more than 90%</a>.
</p><p><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-internet-users-by-country" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="More than half the world's population has internet access today" src="https://assets.weforum.org/editor/RFvQOMpk00odIJmWpcD0jq4mOqzV4qEEoVnrFXhDuxA.png"></a>More than half the world's population has internet access today (Image: Our World in Data)</p>
<p>This broadband expansion was certainly not just an American phenomenon. Similar growth can be seen on a global scale; while <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/internet" target="_blank">less than 7%</a> of the world was online in 2000, today <a href="https://www.axios.com/more-than-half-of-world-population-on-the-internet-mary-meeker-c4d623d6-32c1-47c0-b30e-5f934af88744.html" target="_blank">over half the global population</a> has access to the internet.</p><p>Similar trends can be seen in cellphone use. At the start of the 2000s, there were <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/262950/global-mobile-subscriptions-since-1993/" target="_blank">740 million</a> cell phone subscriptions worldwide. Two decades later, that number has surpassed 8 billion, meaning there are now <a href="https://qz.com/1608103/there-are-now-more-cellphones-than-people-in-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more cellphones</a> in the world than people</p><p>At the same time, technology was also becoming more personal and portable. Apple sold its first iPod in 2001, and six years later it introduced the iPhone, which ushered in a new era of personal technology. These changes led to a world in which technology touches nearly everything we do.</p><p>Technology has changed major sectors over the past 20 years, including media, climate action and healthcare. The World Economic Forum's <a href="https://www.weforum.org/communities/technology-pioneers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Technology Pioneers</a>, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary, gives us insight how emerging tech leaders have influenced and responded to these changes.</p>
<h2>Media and media consumption</h2><p>The past 20 years have greatly shaped how and where we consume media. In the early 2000s, many tech firms were still focused on expanding communication for work through advanced bandwidth for video streaming and other media consumption that is common today.</p><p>Others followed the path of expanding media options beyond traditional outlets. Early Tech Pioneers such as PlanetOut did this by providing an outlet and alternative media source for LGBTQIA communities as more people got online.</p><p>Following on from these first new media options, new communities and alternative media came the massive growth of social media. In 2004<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">, fewer than 1 million</a> people were on Myspace; Facebook had not even launched. By 2018, Facebook had more 2.26 billion users with other sites also growing to hundreds of millions of users.</p><p><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img alt="The precipitous rise of social media over the past 15 years" src="https://assets.weforum.org/editor/ryXIj-cPbpKTUKzmi9Jtd5bkN-A7E2GnZX-xEWlQnq4.png"></a>The precipitous rise of social media over the past 15 years (Image: Our World in Data)</p><p>While these new online communities and communication channels have offered great spaces for alternative voices, their increased use has also brought issues of increased disinformation and polarization.</p><p>Today, many tech start-ups are focused on preserving these online media spaces while also mitigating the <a href="https://www.eu-startups.com/2020/03/10-european-startups-fighting-fake-news-and-disinformation/" target="_blank">disinformation</a> which can come with them. Recently, some Tech Pioneers have also approached this issue, including <a href="https://truepic.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TruePic</a> – which focuses on photo identification – and <a href="https://www.twohat.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Two Hat</a>, which is developing AI-powered content moderation for social media.</p>
<h2>Climate change and green tech</h2><p>Many scientists today are <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/climate-solutions-technologies-to-slow-climate-change/a-51660909" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">looking to technology</a> to lead us towards a carbon-neutral world. Though renewed attention is being given to climate change today, these efforts to find a solution through technology is not new. In 2001, green tech offered a new investment opportunity for tech investors after the crash, leading to a boom of investing in renewable energy start-ups <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/2001-when-green-tech-was-born" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">including Bloom Energy</a>, a Technology Pioneer in 2010.</p><p>In the past two decades, tech start-ups have only expanded their climate focus. Many today are focuses on initiatives far beyond clean energy to slow the impact of climate change.</p><p>Different start-ups, including Carbon Engineering and Climeworks from this year's Technology Pioneers, have started to roll out <a href="https://www.climatecentral.org/news/first-commercial-co2-capture-plant-live-21494" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">carbon capture</a> technology. These technologies remove CO2 from the air directly, enabling scientists to alleviate some of the damage from fossil fuels which have already been burned.</p><p>Another expanding area for young tech firms today is food systems innovation. Many firms, like Aleph Farms and Air Protein, are creating innovative meat and dairy alternatives that are much greener than their traditional counterparts.</p>
<h2>Biotech and healthcare</h2><p>The early 2000s also saw the culmination of a <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2000/02/22/companies/biotech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">biotech boom</a> that had started in the mid-1990s. Many firms focused on advancing biotechnologies through enhanced tech research.</p><p>An early Technology Pioneer,<a href="https://www.actelion.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Actelion Pharmaceuticals</a> was one of these companies. Actelion's tech researched the single layer of cells separating every blood vessel from the blood stream. Like many other biotech firms at the time, their focus was on precise disease and treatment research.</p><p>While many tech firms today still focus on disease and treatment research, many others have been focusing on healthcare delivery. Telehealth has been on the rise in<a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/digital/telehealth-53-growing-faster-any-other-place-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> recent years</a>, with many young tech expanding virtual healthcare options. New technologies such as virtual visits, chatbots are being used to delivery healthcare to individuals, especially during Covid-19.</p><p>Many companies are also focusing their healthcare tech on patients, rather than doctors. For example Ada, a symptom checker app, used to be designed for doctor's use but has now shifted its language and interface to prioritize giving patients information on their symptoms. Other companies, like 7 cups, are focused are offering mental healthcare support directly to their users without through their app instead of going through existing offices.</p><p>The past two decades have seen healthcare tech get much more personal and use tech for care delivery, not just advancing medical research.</p>
<p>In the early 2000s, many companies were at the start of their recovery from the bursting dotcom bubble. Since then, we've seen a large expansion in the way tech innovators approach areas such as new media, climate change, healthcare delivery and more.</p><p>At the same time, we have also seen tech companies rise to the occasion of trying to combat issues which arose from the first group such as internet content moderation, expanding climate change solutions.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/technology-pioneers-2020/" target="_blank">Technology Pioneers' 2020 cohort</a> marks the 20th anniversary of this community - and looking at the latest awardees can give us a snapshot of where the next two decades of tech may be heading.</p><p>Reprinted with permission of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Economic Forum</a>. Read the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/heres-how-technology-has-changed-and-changed-us-over-the-past-20-years/" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.</p>
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The 3 keys to solving complex global problems
We have the money to change the world. What's standing in the way?
23 November, 2020
- What does it actually take to drive large-scale change? Co-Impact founder and CEO Olivia Leland argues that it takes more than money, voting in elections, and supporting your favorite nonprofit. Solving complex global issues takes philanthropy in concert with community advocacy, support from businesses, innovation, an organized vision, and a plan to execute it.
- Leland has identified three areas that need to be addressed before real and meaningful change can happen. To effectively provide support, we must listen to the people who are already doing the work, rather than trying to start from scratch; make it easier for groups, government, and others to collaborate; and change our mindsets to think more long-term so that we can scale impact in ways that matter.
- Through supporting educational programs like Pratham and its Teaching at the Right Level model, Co-Impact has seen how these collaborative strategies can be employed to successfully tackle a complex problem like child literacy.
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