Welcome to the first addition of CCC’s Weekly Computing News series. This week we are analyzing two recent reports which cover current trends in Artificial Intelligence research and public perceptions on how generative AI will impact the upcoming election.  AI and Elections The Elon University Poll, working with the Imagining the Digital Future Center, recently conducted a nationwide survey on Americans’ worries about potential misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. The results reveal widespread concerns, with a striking 78% of adults fearing AI could be exploited to influence the election. People are particularly worried about AI manipulating social media, spreading fake content like videos and […]

Recent years have seen increased awareness of the potential negative impacts of computing technologies, and yet these harms are often unforeseen when the technology is first deployed. The CCC Council formed a task force on Addressing the Unforeseen Deleterious Impacts of Technology (AUDIT) to investigate possible harmful consequences of computing technology, to what extent these outcomes could have been mitigated or avoided, and who should be responsible for negative impacts. The task force, composed of Nadya Bliss, Kevin Butler, David Danks, Ufuk Topcu, and Matthew Turk, brings together diverse expertise across cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, data science, philosophy/ethics, computer vision, and autonomous systems. The group also spoke with multiple […]

Earlier this month The U.S. Air Force Chief Scientist’s inter-agency working group sent out a Request for Information (RFI) on unintended Artificial Intelligence (AI) bias. The group is delving into the critical issue of bias within AI and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, with a primary emphasis on datasets. They are seeking to learn about these biases from academic institutions like minority serving institutions (MSIs) and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), alongside industry, the federal government and other academic institutions. Despite the development of several tools aimed at identifying and addressing bias, such as the Department of Defense (DoD) Responsible AI toolkit, significant challenges persist in combating bias within AI […]

An interdisciplinary group of 50 researchers attended the third Artificial Intelligence/Operations Research (AI/OR) workshop in late March in Washington, DC. Presentations ranging from the opioid epidemic to integrating OR and AI through the optimization lens, discussing challenges that require collaboration between the two communities in Operations Research (OR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).  In 2021, the first AI/OR workshop was convened to establish the joint strategic vision. Researchers from the OR and AI communities presented on theories and applications and discussed ways to foster collaboration between the two communities and make it more widely accepted and promoted. “We needed to make sure that we get greater recognition for the researchers and […]

Last week, the CCC responded to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Request for Information on Dual Use Foundation Artificial Intelligence Models with Widely Available Model Weights. The CCC’s own Daniel Lopresti (CCC Chair and Lehigh University) and David Danks (CCC Executive Committee and University of California, San Diego) helped author this response along with several other members of the computing community. Markus Buehler (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Duncan Watson-Parris (University of California, San Diego), who both spoke at the CCC sponsored AAAS panel this year, titled, Generative AI in Science: Promises and Pitfalls, both contributed to the RFI response, along with Casey Fiesler (University of Colorado, Boulder), who […]

Today, April 1, 2024, the CCC submitted a response to the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Request for Information (RFI) Related to Responsibilities on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. In the solicitation, DOE sought advice on their plan to carry out some of the responsibilities outlined for them in the October Executive order (E.O.), “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence”. The RFI response was written by the following CCC Council Members and staff: Nadya Bliss (Arizona State University), Haley Griffin (CCC), Michela Taufer (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), and Adam Wierman (California Institute of Technology). The authors were impressed with the DOE’s list […]