2,200-year-old mysterious script sat undeciphered for decades — until now, experts say


Moira Ritter

MIAMI HERALD
Wed, July 19, 2023

Starting in the the 1950s, archaeologists conducting excavations in central Asia have discovered several dozen inscriptions in a mysterious script.

The writing system was coined “ecriture inconnue” in French and “neizvestnoe pis’mo” in Russian — which translate to “unknown writing” in English. Experts found examples varying in length from just a few characters to several lines of writing.

Since the first inscriptions were discovered, experts have worked to decipher the mysterious ancient language, but it wasn’t until March that a group of researchers from the University of Cologne in Germany successfully deciphered part of the system, according to a July 13 news release from the university.

The team detailed its research and findings about the newly-discovered language — which experts proposed be named “Eteo-Tocharian” — in a study published July 12 in Transactions of the Philological Society. Here’s what they found.

A 2,200-year-old writing system

Experts determined that the writing system was likely used between 200 B.C. and 700 C.E. in parts of Central Asia, the university said. It is associated with early nomadic people who inhabited the Eurasian steppe as well as the Kushan rulers.

Since the 1950s, most evidence of the script has been found in the present-day regions of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, the university said.

Researchers said the system likely consists of between 25 and 30 characters, and is intended to be read from right to left. So far, 15 consonants, four vowels and two ligatures — or sounds — have been identified, according to the study.

How experts cracked the code

The discovery of another ancient inscription in 2022 prompted a renewed look at deciphering what was then known as the “unknown writing.”

A short inscription was discovered on a rock in the Almosi Gorge in Tajikistan, but unlike previous examples of the writing system, this inscription was made in two different scripts, the university said. One version of the inscription was written in the unknown Kushan script while the other version was written in Bactrian script — a system known to researchers.

The 2022 discovery of an inscribed stone in the Almosi Gorge in Tajikistan

 reignited efforts to decipher the unknown writing system, experts said.

Researchers also relied on another multilingual inscription which was discovered in the 1960s at Dašt-i Nāwur in Afghanistan, the university said.

The Dašt-i Nāwur inscription is a trilingual royal stone inscription about a Kushan emperor, according to the study. It includes lines in the Kushan language, Bactrian language and a third ancient script.

Experts used translations of the Bactrian scripts on both inscriptions to help them analyze the Kushan characters and ultimately decipher the system, according to the university.

A historical breakthrough

Experts concluded that the language is a previously unknown Middle Iranian language that likely served as a middle language between the development of two known languages in the region — Bactrian and Khotanese Saka, the university said.

Although it is still unclear where the language was used, there is evidence indicating that it was an official language of the Kushan Empire, according to experts.

Further analysis will grant researchers more insight into the cultural and geographical landscape of the region during the first and second centuries.

The Kushan dynasty

The Kushan dynasty ruled most of northern Indian, Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia for the first three centuries, according to Britannica.

The dynasty was known for its hand in spreading Buddhism and its trade with the Roman empire.

UK

Eleven people arrested in Grangemouth climate protest

BBC
Wed, July 19, 2023 

This Is Rigged protesters staged a protest at the Ineos site near Falkirk

Eleven people have been arrested after police launched an operation to remove climate protesters at Grangemouth petrochemical plant.

Officers used a crane and specialist climbing equipment after several This Is Rigged activists scaled oil tankers and climbed on pipework.

Other protesters blocking gates at the site were taken away in police vans.

This Is Rigged also staged a smaller protest at the Rothesay Dock oil terminal in Clydebank.

Ineos said production at the Grangemouth refinery, near Falkirk, was unaffected but a tanker terminal had been shut as a precaution.

Police Scotland confirmed the arrests and said officers remained at both protests.

Police Scotland used a crane to remove protesters at Grangemouth

This Is Rigged said, in a statement posted on social media: "We are shutting down the oil industry in Scotland to demand that the Scottish government steps up and says no new oil, and implements a fair transition for workers."

They added: "We have no plans to stop."

The demonstrations came three days after Climate Camp Scotland activists "occupied" the Ineos gas power station, which powers the Grangemouth refinery.

Police Scotland said five people had been arrested following the protest.

Protestors climbed on to tankers at the gates

Grangemouth pumps out about 2.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, according to figures campaigners obtained from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

An Ineos spokesperson said emissions had declined by more than 40% since it bought the site in 2005.

They said: "We have a robust roadmap in place that will deliver on our commitments to be a net zero manufacturer by 2045.

"Our products and their applications are helping others to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions too."

The Australian climate protesters cast as extremists

THE FBI HAS BEEN DOING THIS SINCE THE PATRIOT ACT WAS INVOKED AFTER 9/11

Hannah Ritchie - BBC News, Sydney
Wed, July 19, 2023

A protester is arrested for evacuating the office of Australia's largest fossil fuel company using fake gas

Emma Sangalli's heart still stops every time she sees a police car.

"It's a feeling in your gut like panic. Total panic.

"It's hard not to believe that you're a criminal, that you're deserving of this," the Australian climate activist says.

Last month, the 25-year-old had her home in Western Australia raided by counter-terrorism police.

Her alleged crime - helping to flood a global fossil fuel giant's office with non-toxic gas.

Stench gas, which smells like rotten eggs, is let off in mines to alert workers of danger. In this case, it was used by protesters to empty the Perth headquarters of Woodside Energy, to highlight the climate crisis.

Australia's largest oil and gas firm says the protests targeting its brand are "unlawful" activities by "extreme groups".

But environmental campaigners say disruptive protest is key to their mission.

Meanwhile, lawyers warn that the response to climate activism in Australia has become "increasingly militarised".
'Unlawful acts'

Ms Sangalli says officers from Western Australia's State Security Investigation Group (SSIG) - whose duties include counter-terrorism - searched her home for hours, looking for evidence of her involvement in the Woodside protest.

Despite facing no formal charges and not being present at the gas evacuation, she was forced to watch as her personal items were seized - including phones and laptops - and a male officer flicked through her diary.

"That was the most painful part," she told the BBC.

"Violated is a good word for it. You're rendered powerless."

The activist has been involved with two climate protest groups - the global Extinction Rebellion, and the more local Disrupt Burrup Hub, which campaigns against fossil fuel projects on the state's Burrup Peninsula.

Both groups follow a "direct action" strategy intended to end climate complacency, which means engaging in activities such as infiltrating fossil fuel conferences, blocking rush hour traffic, and superficially defacing artworks.

Disrupt Burrup Hub are protesting against some of Australia's largest new fossil fuel projects

Several members of the group are now facing criminal charges over the Woodside protest, with the company alleging four of its employees suffered dizziness, breathing difficulties, rashes, and nausea.

"Woodside condemns unlawful acts that are intended to threaten, harm, intimidate or disrupt our employees," the company said.

But Disrupt Burrup maintains their protest stunt was carried out safely and was a necessary action against one of Australia's most powerful polluters.

Its members are challenging the charges in court.

Fighting the 'petrostate'

Western Australia is a resource-rich state built on mining revenue, particularly iron ore, oil and gas.

Its industry is concentrated in the Pilbara, a desert area in the state's far north. With an annual output of more than A$100bn (£52bn; $67bn), it powers the national economy and is home to global mining giants, including Rio Tinto and BHP.

Some of Australia's most polluting projects are based there, including Woodside's North West Shelf gas facility and its Scarborough development - a controversial offshore drilling venture which scientists say will jeopardise the nation's climate targets.

Both projects have sparked fierce debate and renewed accusations that the gas lobby has an outsized influence over state authorities.

Access to ministers, timing of political donations and movement of mining executives into watchdogs, have all been cited as examples - including three former Woodside employees who chaired the advisory board of Australia's offshore oil and gas regulator.

Woodside's gas facilities on the Burrup Peninsula are some of Australia's largest emitting projects

Gerard Mazza has led protests against Woodside's Pilbara projects, due to their emissions and damage to local ancient Aboriginal rock art.

The 31-year-old's home was recently raided by SSIG police for his alleged role in attempting to evacuate Woodside's annual investors meeting in April, also using stench-gas.

He now faces charges of aggravated burglary, which carry a maximum 20-year sentence.

Mr Mazza argues Western Australia is a "petrostate" designed to "protect fossil fuel companies" due to the money they bring in.

"If it was really all about public safety, the state would be cracking down on Woodside executives making obscene wealth by endangering lives and ecosystems. Instead, they're coming after us."

The state government has routinely dismissed such claims, denying any influence. In response to the BBC's questions, it said it is "committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050".

But Western Australia's emissions continue to rise, while other states have recorded significant reductions over the past decade.

Climate activists cast as 'extremists'

A dozen raids - including those on Mr Mazza and Ms Sangalli's homes - have been carried out by the state's counter-terrorism police against climate protesters this year.

The SSIG collaborates with federal intelligence agencies on matters of national security and is exempt from Freedom of Information laws, meaning its investigations remain secret.

Lawyers such as Julia Grix says politicians and prosecutors are framing climate protesters as a threat to public safety to justify heavy-handed policing.

The solicitor - who defends environmental activists - says her clients are increasingly being referred to as "extremists" in court documents.

"That sort of language is most commonly applied to organised crime of a very sophisticated kind, which I would associate with bikie (motorcycle) gangs, or terrorism," Ms Grix said.

It's a "demonisation strategy" used to justify "extreme measures never intended for regulating protests", Australian legal scholar Luke McNamara says.

The right to protest has long been defended by Australia's courts.

In 2017, a landmark High Court case ruled that Tasmania's anti-protest laws were unconstitutional. And in 2020, a Queensland state court overturned suspended prison sentences against two activists who had blocked access to the major Adani coal mine.

David Mejia-Canales, a lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, an Australian rights group, says those protections are key to a functioning democracy.

"Protest takes many forms, sometimes disruptive. But that's why it's effective, because it disrupts the everyday to demand attention for a cause," he said.

"As citizens of a democratic society, we should exercise a level of tolerance for disruption if the right to protest is going to have its full value."

But Western Australia's emergency services minister, Stephen Dawson, recently argued in parliament that the evacuation of Woodside's offices could be viewed as "an act of terrorism" because "people's health was put at risk by the material released".

And some of Australia's most prominent leaders - including former Prime Minister Scott Morrison - have called for demonstrations which obstruct critical infrastructure to be "outlawed".

"The right to protest does not mean there is an unlimited licence to disrupt people's lives," he said in 2019, labelling environmental campaigners "anarchists".

Australia's broader crackdown

The court cases under way in Western Australia are not taking place in isolation.

They are part of a broader national crackdown which has seen Australian states criminalise disruptive protests through new laws, increased jail terms and penalties. This has sparked public outcry.

In May, after several Extinction Rebellion protests, the South Australia government introduced a A$50,000 maximum fine and three months jail for anyone "recklessly" obstructing public spaces, while laws passed in New South Wales last year created a two-year maximum prison sentence for acts disrupting major roads or facilities.

Protesters say disruption is key to ending climate complacency

England, Wales and states across Canada and the US have also adopted similar laws aimed at blocking disruptive climate activism.

In Western Australia, climate protesters say they have been "disabled" by intimidating raids, strict bail conditions and orders which give authorities access to their devices and ban them from communicating with peers.

According to Ms Grix, these tools were originally intended to deal with gangs and drug dealers.

"To apply [that]... to climate defenders, who are protesting about environmental concerns, seems to be a massive overreach," she says.

Prof McNamara agrees.

"What we see in these situations is the police reaching for whatever is at their disposal," he told the BBC.

"Counterterrorism policing units and associated powers were never intended to be used against protesters."

In the coming days, several court hearings will determine whether Mr Mazza and some of his peers could face prison.

But the 31-year-old says that while "climate and culture" remain under threat, he will "not be deterred" from protesting.

A FREE AND AUTONOMOUS STUDENT PRESS

Stanford's student paper just took down the prestigious school's president

Charles R. Davis
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Stanford University Campus in 2021.David Madison/Getty Images

Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne is resigning, the school said Wednesday.

The resignation comes after student journalists uncovered manipulated data in scientific papers he authored.

Tessier-Lavigne defended his record but said he was stepping down for the good of the school.

An investigation by Stanford's student-run newspaper has taken down Marc Tessier-Lavigne, the prestigious school's president and a prominent neuroscientist.

Tessier-Lavigne announced Wednesday that he'll step down after the school's own investigation found there were serious flaws in some of his published scientific work, including papers that included manipulated data.

While insisting that he never knowingly published inaccurate science and was not aware of the manipulation, Marc Tessier-Lavigne wrote in a statement that he would resign at the end of August "for the good of the university."

Tessier-Lavigne has been the school's president since 2016.

Last year, The Stanford Daily, a student publication, published an investigation identifying serious problems in some of Tessier-Lavigne's published work, including evidence that images were improperly altered.

Stanford later commissioned its own report by an outside law firm after students revealed the fraud in papers affiliated with Tessier Lavigne. The school's investigation found evidence of manipulation and "serious flaws in the presentation of research data," though it also found that the Stanford president himself "did not have actual knowledge" of the manipulation.

In his statement, Tessier-Lavigne insisted that he was unaware of the issues with his scientific papers. But, he said, "I want to be clear that I take responsibility for the work of my lab members."

Stanford University president announces resignation over concerns about his research


Wed, July 19, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The president of Stanford University said Wednesday he would resign, citing an independent review that cleared him of research misconduct but found “serious flaws” in five scientific papers on subjects such as brain development in which he was the principal author.

Marc Tessier-Lavigne said in a statement to students and staff that he would step down Aug. 31.

The resignation comes after the board of trustees launched a review in December following allegations he engaged in fraud and other unethical conduct related to research and papers that are in some cases two decades old (1999, 2001, 2001)

Tessier-Lavigne, a neuroscientist, says he “never submitted a scientific paper without firmly believing that the data were correct and accurately presented.” But he says he should have been more diligent in seeking corrections regarding his work and he should have operated laboratories with tighter controls.

Panelists found multiple instances of manipulated data in the 12 papers they investigated, but concluded he was not responsible for the misconduct. Still, they found that each of the five papers in which he was principal author “has serious flaws in the presentation of research data” and in at least four of them, there was apparent manipulation of data by others.

Tessier-Lavigne said he was aware of issues with four of the five papers but acknowledged taking “insufficient” steps to deal with the issues. He said he’ll retract three of the papers and correct two.

The papers were published before Tessier-Lavigne became Stanford president.

Misconduct allegations about the work were first aired on PubPeer, a website where members of the scientific community can discuss research papers, the report stated. Questions resurfaced after The Stanford Daily, the university's student-run newspaper, published several stories about the integrity of reports published by his laboratories.

The aggressive reporting merited investigations editor and then-college freshman Theo Baker a special George Polk journalism award. Baker told The Associated Press Wednesday that the retractions and corrections would not have occurred otherwise.

“The fact that we’re able to contribute to the scientific record being corrected for five widely cited papers is important,” he said.

The panel cleared Tessier-Lavigne of the most serious allegations, that a 2009 paper published in the scientific journal Nature was the subject of a fraud investigation and that fraud was found. There was no investigation and no fraud discovered, the panel ruled. The paper proposed a model of neurodegeneration, which could have great potential for Alzheimer’s disease research and therapy, the panel wrote in its report.

But the panel also concluded the paper had multiple problems, including a lack of rigor in its development and that the research that went into the paper and its presentation contained “various errors and shortcomings.” The panel did not find evidence that Tessier-Lavigne was aware of the lack of rigor.

“People tend to think of scientists as these individuals that they’ve heard of like Einstein and Marie Curie,” said H. Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the Science family of journals. “The truth is that researchers run laboratories filled with people, and everything that happens in that laboratory is a product of many individuals there.”

While the report cleared Tessier-Lavigne of research misconduct, Thorp said ultimately the boss is responsible for what happens in the lab – and shouldn’t be distracted by doing other jobs. He pointed to the report’s finding that lab culture played a role.

Tessier-Lavigne says he’s stepping down because he expects continued debate about his ability to lead the university. He will remain on faculty as a biology professor. He also said he will continue his research into brain development and neurodegeneration.

The board named Richard Saller, a classics professor, as interim president starting Sept. 1, said board chair Jerry Yang.

In a statement, Yang said Tessier-Lavigne was key to creating the university’s first new school in 70 years, the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, and in 2019, he unveiled a strategic long-range plan that will continue to guide the university’s growth.

Tessier-Lavigne has been president for nearly seven years.

___

Associated Press reporter Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report from Washington.

Janie Har, The Associated Press

Stanford president to resign over concerns about integrity of his research

Guardian staff and agency
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Photograph: Dan Honda/AP

The president of Stanford University, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, has announced he will resign after concerns about the integrity of his research.

Tessier-Lavigne announced his plans to step down on 31 August in a letter to students and staff on Wednesday.

Tessier-Lavigne said he was stepping down because he expected continued debate about his ability to lead the university.

“I’ve never submitted a scientific paper without firmly believing that the data were correct and accurately presented,” he said in a statement. But he added that he should have been more diligent in seeking corrections regarding his work.

The announcement comes after the board of trustees of the historic institution, which sits in the heart of Silicon Valley and is often referred to as the “Ivy of the West”, launched a review late last year into allegations of fraud and ethical misconduct around papers Tessier-Lavigne had authored or co-authored.

The review assessed 12 papers that Tessier-Lavigne worked on, five of them in which he was the principal author.

The misconduct allegations about the work were first aired on PubPeer, a website where members of the scientific community can discuss research papers, the panel’s final report stated.

The panel cleared him of the most serious allegation, that a 2009 paper on a model of neurodegeneration published in the scientific journal Nature was the subject of a fraud investigation and that fraud was found. Neurodegeneration models could have great potential for Alzheimer’s disease research and therapy.

There was no investigation and no fraud discovered, the panel ruled. But it also concluded the paper had multiple problems, including a lack of rigor in its development and that the research that went into the paper and its presentation contained “various errors and shortcomings”. The panel did not find evidence that Tessier-Lavigne was aware of the lack of rigor.

“People tend to think of scientists as these individuals that they’ve heard of like Einstein and Marie Curie,” said H Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the Science family of journals. “The truth is that researchers run laboratories filled with people, and everything that happens in that laboratory is a product of many individuals there.”

While the report cleared Tessier-Lavigne of research misconduct, Thorp said ultimately the boss is responsible for what happens in the lab – and shouldn’t be distracted by doing other jobs.

He pointed to the report’s finding that lab culture played a role. The panel found that “the unusual frequency of manipulation of research data and/or substandard scientific practices” suggested a need for improved “oversight and management”.

Tessier-Lavigne is expected to retract three of the five papers of which he was the principal author and make heavy correction to the other two, the board’s final report says.

Tessier-Lavigne had been the university’s president for nearly seven years. He will remain on faculty as a biology professor and will continue his research into brain development and neurodegeneration.

The board named Richard Saller as interim president starting 1 September, said the board chair, Jerry Yang. In a statement, Yang said Tessier-Lavigne was key to creating the university’s first new school in 70 years, the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, and in 2019, he unveiled a strategic long-range plan that will continue to guide the university’s growth.

Tech and business magnates including Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google and Reed Hastings, who co-founded Netflix graduated from the school.

Tessier-Lavigne did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s requests for comme

UK
TikTok is the most popular news source for 12 to 15-year-olds, says Ofcom


Hibaq Farah UK technology reporter
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

TikTok has become the most popular news source for 12 to 15-year-olds, according to the UK’s communications watchdog.

Ofcom’s latest report on news consumption in the UK has revealed that the viral video app is now the most used single source of news across all platforms for young teenagers, followed by YouTube and Instagram.

TikTok’s popularity is driven by a powerful algorithm which curates what people see on their screen, as well as an effective search function that has made the app a captivating platform for young – as well as older – users.

Interactive

The study found that for children aged 12-15, TikTok is now the most used single source of news across all platforms at 28%, followed by YouTube and Instagram at 25% each. However, the BBC still has the highest reach of any news organisation among this age group when all its news outlets – across BBC iPlayer, radio stations, websites and TV channels – are counted, at 39%.

Related: $7,000 a day for five catchphrases: the TikTokers pretending to be ‘non-playable characters’

Ofcom found that 16 to 24-year-olds are 30% more likely to consume news via social media on their phones than adults and are more likely to consume news online than adults. The study showed that young people in this age group are also less likely to head to traditional news websites (6% v 26%) when compared with adults and are more likely to head to social media. For instance, Instagram is the most used single news source for young people at 44%, though BBC One was tied with Facebook at 33%

.Interactive

The study also showed that TikTok as a news source has become more popular among adults, with one in every 10 adults using it to keep up with news – overtaking BBC Radio 1 and Channel 5 for the first time.

For adults, the study revealed that broadcast TV news is the most popular source, used by 70% of UK adults. BBC One remains the most used news single source across all platforms, followed by ITV. Both channels have declined over the past five years, BBC One by 62% and ITV by 41%. Similarly, Facebook has also declined over the same period.

AI: Digital artist's work copied more times than Picasso

Clare Hutchinson & Phil John - BBC News
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Greg Rutkowski's name has been used as a prompt in AI tools that generate art more than 400,000 times - but without his consent

"My work has been used in AI more than Picasso."

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing life as we know it but for digital artist Greg Rutkowski, it is causing big problems.

He said his name had been used as a prompt in AI tools that generate art more than 400,000 times since September 2022 - but without his consent.

When he checked, his name had been used as a prompt more times than the artists Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci.

Polish-born artist Greg has had his work used in games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering but said his new found AI fame has caused concern for his future work.

Sites like Midjourney, Dall.E, NightCafe and Stable Diffusion are known as generative AI because they can make new, artificially-generated artworks in seconds from prompts that users type in.

They have learned to do this by scraping billions of existing images from the internet. Artists are complaining this has been done without their consent.

Greg said: "The first month that I discovered it, I realised that it will clearly affect my career and I won't be able to recognise and find my own works on the internet.

"The results will be associated with my name, but it won't be my image. It won't be created by me. So it will add confusion for people who are discovering my works."

"All that we've been working on for so many years, has been taken from us so easily with AI," he added.

"It's really hard to tell whether this will change the whole industry to the point where human artists will be obsolete.

"I think my work and future are under a huge question mark."

'Real art has personality'

While the problems are clear, there are some ways AI tools can be used to benefit artists, according to Cardiff-based animator Harry Hambley, who is the creative force behind internet sensation, Ketnipz.

"I think for me the biggest thing generative art can solve is tedium," he said.

"But it can be scary and the internet's already a wild place, and you mix AI in with that… we don't know where it's going to go.

"Do I think that my job will ever be sacrificed to AI or AI will do it better than me? I don't know. I hope not."

Harry added he thought there was more to art than how it looked.

"At the end of the day I think that there's a bigger reason why people are invested in Ketnipz and I don't think it's just the mere aesthetics of it.

"I think there's a personality behind it that I don't think someone imitating can really tap into."
'Just keep making art'

James Lewis's brush control has made him a hit on TikTok

Artist James Lewis, from Cardiff, creates videos of his painting technique for more than seven million followers on TikTok and Instagram.

He has yet to find out if his work has been used by the tools, but said because AI has learned from billions of artworks, it would be hard to trace which artists' works have been used in each image.

"If there was a way to go back and figure out who inspired this style of image that was generated, I think it would be fair for that artist to receive some sort of compensation," he said.

In the meantime he thinks artists should keep being creative.

"I do have hope that as much as AI art will develop and it'll get better, but it will never be able to capture that true human essence, that true creativity that we have as people," he said.

"You will still need your own creative ideas, your own initiative."

For artist and human rights researcher Caroline Sinders, it is for AI companies to address the problem.

She said: "Part of the argument we hear from companies is, 'we have so much data, it would be impossible for us to tell, like searching for a needle in a haystack'.

"I would like to say, well, that's a 'you' problem, not a 'me' problem.

"I have a copyright on the images and I plan to enact my copyright if my images are used without my consent."

She said she was also worried about the bias that these tools created and how it meant AI art was not reflecting the real world.

"Let's say we ask an image generation AI system to generate a doctor assessing care to a family," she said.

"Most likely that doctor will be generated as male and probably as white, and the parent will probably be generated as female.

What is AI and is it dangerous?


AI quiz: Can you tell which person is real?


Elon Musk announces new AI start-up

"And this is not an example I'm randomly making up. There have been tests done by asking these sort of blanket questions without gender being in the text prompt and, more often than not, it's reflecting these stereotypes."

This extends to racial bias and also ableism, said Irene Fubara-Manuel, a lecturer at the University of Sussex.

While they said they were excited about the possibilities provided by generative art, issues such as racial and gender biases in some images created were hard to overcome.

"I was trying to die my hair over the summer, and I was just looking up 'people of colour, blonde locks'," they said.

Irene Fubara-Manuel says they noticed bias when searching for images to try out new hairstyles

"What I got in response was this regal, I would say, fetishized image of black people. You know, chiselled jaw lines, their skin was iridescent.

"It's like, there are black people who are that beautiful, but the images that you see commonly in a lot of AI are very, very fetishized representations of people.

"You would not see people who are plus size, or people who have visible disabilities, for instance."

Artists are now calling on regulators in the UK and worldwide to take more action to protect artists and the industry.

Irene said artists were not against AI but, "the argument is against exploitation".

"But I'm hopeful that it will contribute to human creativity in general, just like how the creation of computers added more to creativity. I'm excited for its contribution," she said.

Caroline added more regulation of the emerging AI industry in the UK would not "stifle" innovation.

"It makes things safer and that's why we have certain laws," she said.

"That's why right now we have seatbelts and airbags for cars and a lot of rules about them. When they were first invented, we didn't have any of that.

"So it's not at all out of step to sort of ask for or to create guardrails and protections."

Additional reporting by Lola Mayor.

AI: Workers need more protection - TUC union

Simon Jack - Business editor

Wed, July 19, 2023 

Woman in office looking at robotic arm

The UK is falling behind in protecting workers from artificial intelligence (AI), a trade union has warned.

The TUC said the UK had no plans, like the EU's AI Act, to regulate its use in hiring, firing and setting work conditions. The union has asked a taskforce to draft legal protections.

The government said it was committed to improving and upholding worker rights.

It comes as the boss of Octopus Energy told the BBC its customers prefer emails written by AI over his staff.

Business leaders are hailing the potential of AI to spur innovation, productivity and improve customer service.

But unions say they are "deeply worried" that UK employment law is not keeping pace with the AI revolution.

Mary Towers at the TUC said it had launched a taskforce to draft its own AI legal protections

Mary Towers, employment rights policy officer at the TUC said: "The types of decisions that are being made by AI are significant and life changing - for example who should get a job, how work is carried out where it's carried out."

A lack of AI specific legislation meant the UK was being left behind, she said. "For example, in the EU, they are in the process of passing an AI Act. In this country, we don't have any equivalent."

'Prefer AI to humans'

At Octopus Energy, AI is used to read, interpret and answer customer service queries. Chief executive Greg Jackson said it was doing work that would otherwise need an extra 250 people.

He said customers appeared to prefer dealing with the AI than with a human.

"An email written by our team members has a 65% satisfaction rating from customers," he said. "An email written by a by AI has an 80 or 85% satisfaction rating. And so what the AI is doing is enabling our team to do a better job of serving customers at a time of great need."

Octopus Energy boss Greg Jackson said emails written by AI score higher for customer satisfaction than those written by humans

He added that a human commanding an AI to write an email "saves a lot of tedious typing".

"But we have to ensure this is all done responsibly. And we need governments and economists and businesses to be ensuring that we're doing this by enhancing and creating jobs, not replacing them."

'Better health outcomes'

AI could lead to huge breakthroughs in science and medicine according to the boss of drug giant GSK. Emma Walmsley told the BBC that the speed with which AI could process data and see patterns would revolutionise drug development.

"Biopharma is difficult. It takes sometimes a decade, billions, and it has a 90% failure rate," she said.

"But we are in the business of data at the heart of what we do. AI is helping us see things in this data faster."

She said this meant drug and vaccine discovery and development should become "more predictive and improve our probability of success".

And she said that could mean better health outcomes for hundreds of millions of people.

"One in three of us is going to be battling with dementia, there are still many cancers that don't have have solutions, infectious diseases are still causing one in six deaths in the world," she said.

Emma Walmsley at GSK said AI could help bring better health outcomes for millions

There was "no doubt" that AI would "help us unlock better solutions to these challenges", she said. "And that's got to be something worth investing in with optimism whilst regulating responsibly."

Ms Walmsley thinks improving productivity through the use of AI will create more jobs and "change some jobs quite meaningfully".

"I think some will need maybe some less headcount on but there'll be other spaces where we need a lot more," she said.

Voice artist Laurence Bouvard said AI was destroying careers

It is sometimes assumed that the creative arts will be the least affected by AI as machine learning will struggle to replicate human creativity.

But that's wrong according to actress and voice over artist Laurence Bouvard who said that AI is being used to sample, analyse and replicate human voices without paying the original artist.

"When we do a job, in order to get paid, we have to sign away all our rights," she said. "And these AI companies are just taking it without asking who it belongs to."

She said AI was a particular threat to the "army" of lesser known artists who voice cartoons, video games, dictionaries and other audio work who could see their careers totally destroyed.

"A writer and an artist and a photographer, even if their work is stolen, they can create new work. If my voice is stolen, if my career is over," she said.

'Urgent action'

AI has great power and is already changing industries and the work place. Last week the OECD said the world was "on the cusp of an AI revolution".

The Paris-based body said: "Urgent action is required to make sure AI is used responsibly and in a trustworthy way in the workplace."

With great power comes great responsibility - and it is not yet clear in the UK or internationally - who will or who should take on that responsibility.

A government spokesperson said: "AI is set to fuel growth and create new highly-paid jobs throughout the UK, while allowing us to carry out our existing jobs more efficiently and safely.

"That is why we are working with businesses and regulators to ensure AI is used safely and responsibility in business settings."

Tech-savvy UK businesses to invest in AI to replace staff and cut costs – HSBC

Anna Wise, PA Business Reporter
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Nearly a third of UK businesses which are focused on becoming more tech-savvy want to use artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to bolster their workforce and replace staff, a survey has found.

A majority of firms are targeting technology to further their growth plans, but smaller businesses who have conflicting priorities are at risk of being left behind in the race to automate, according to a survey by banking giant HSBC UK.

Some 45% of all businesses surveyed said technology was an important area of strategic focus, and a quarter planned to invest in AI and machine learning to boost efficiencies and tackle staffing and cost challenges.

British businesses are looking to better use technology to cut costs, as firms have been hit by worsening economic conditions, HSBC found in its latest survey of 500 firms.

Some 30% of businesses which are focusing on technology said they want to use automation as a labour solution. The proportion jumps to nearly half of companies who are laser-focused on growth.

It comes as more than one million job vacancies were recorded in the latest quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics. Vacancies spiked following the pandemic, driven by a rise in older workers leaving the labour market.

But job postings have been steadily dropping as companies are coming under continued cost pressures, leading recruitment activity to slow.

More than 60% of companies prioritising tech development want to use it to improve experiences for customers, the report revealed.

It comes after telecoms giant BT announced it will be shedding about 10,000 jobs by the end of the decade as it digitises and relies more on automation.

In particular, it wants customers to use its website and app for things like account servicing and upgrades, rather than relying on call centres.

BT said it wants to replace about 10,000 jobs with AI and automated services by the end of the decade (BT/PA)

However, HSBC’s survey revealed that some smaller businesses feel tech innovations are out of reach for them, while large corporations have more access to AI and automation capabilities.

Some 38% of small firms said they lacked optimism about the year ahead and were instead focused on staying afloat.

Stuart Tait, the head of UK commercial banking at HSBC, said: “We have seen a huge rise in the number of ambitious and innovative businesses keen to unlock the potential that technology can bring.

“While technology is not a cure all, it is an enabler to success; it is cause for concern that smaller businesses are struggling to engage and risk being left behind.”

Meanwhile, Hollywood actors have joined picket lines in the US amid the biggest industry strike in 60 years, with unions protesting against decisions by major studios that could see AI tools replace their roles.

Screenwriters are also striking amid fears that AI could be used to write or edit scripts.

UK

Government aims to boost AI skills with experts from private tech firms

Christopher McKeon, PA Political Reporter
Wed, July 19, 2023

The Government could pay the salaries of hundreds of private sector digital experts as it tries to improve its use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data, a minister has said.

Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin said the Government would parachute experts from tech companies into Whitehall departments in a new secondment scheme designed to make the Civil Service more efficient.

In a speech at the Policy Exchange think tank on Wednesday, Mr Quin said: “I know that there are people from the best tech firms in the country who believe in public service, who want to help with the biggest challenges facing society today.

Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin said the new secondment scheme is designed to make the Civil Service more efficient (Richard Townshend/UK Parliament/PA)

“So we will create a pathway for them to join the Civil Service through a secondment and empower them to drive real, tangible change.

“We must attract and retain the best in digital talent so we can harness the power of digital, data and technology to deliver most efficiently and effectively for the public.”

Asked how the Civil Service would attract staff from tech firms, given the disparity in pay between the public and private sectors, Mr Quin said there is scope to be “flexible”, with secondees remaining on their companies’ payrolls and having their salaries recharged to the Government.

He added: “I know we’ve got a lot of good colleagues, I know a lot have come from the private sector, but this is such a fast-moving world, to have the experience of people coming in with fresh ideas straight from the private sector on a secondment basis, I think that has more to add.”

Existing civil servants could also see their pay increased if they can demonstrate particular skills.

Mr Quin said: “I’ve got no problem with paying civil servants more for being more productive.”

During his speech, the minister announced a series of other measures to improve the efficiency of the Civil Service and its digital capabilities, including using AI “confidently and responsibly”.

But he could not say how many jobs he expects to be cut from the Civil Service through greater use of AI and automation.

He said: “The jury is completely out. What we know is that AI will have a revolutionary impact on a whole range of sectors right the way across the economy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can draw an analogy in terms of ‘that means we need to have x thousand fewer people by a certain date’.”

Last month, the former head of human resources for the Civil Service told MPs that AI could see two-thirds of Whitehall jobs under threat.

Artificial intelligence: Experts propose guidelines for safe systems

Zoe Kleinman - Technology editor

BBC
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Automatic image tagging uses machine learning technology to identify the contents of an image

A global group of AI experts and data scientists has released a new voluntary framework for developing artificial intelligence products safely.

The World Ethical Data Foundation has 25,000 members including staff working at various tech giants such as Meta, Google and Samsung.

The framework contains a checklist of 84 questions for developers to consider at the start of an AI project.

The Foundation is also inviting the public to submit their own questions.

It says they will all be considered at its next annual conference.

The framework has been released in the form of an open letter, seemingly the preferred format of the AI community. It has hundreds of signatories.

AI lets a computer act and respond almost as if it were human.

Computers can be fed huge amounts of information and trained to identify the patterns in it, in order to make predictions, solve problems, and even learn from their own mistakes.

As well as data, AI relies on algorithms - lists of rules which must be followed in the correct order to complete a task.

What is AI, is it dangerous and what jobs are at risk?

The Foundation was launched in 2018 and is a non-profit global group bringing together people working in tech and academia to look at the development of new technologies.

Its questions for developers include how they will prevent an AI product from incorporating bias, and how they would deal with a situation in which the result generated by a tool results in law-breaking.

This week shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said that the Labour Party would criminalise those who deliberately use AI tools for terrorist purposes.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has appointed Ian Hogarth, a tech entrepreneur and AI investor to lead an AI taskforce. Mr Hogarth told me this week he wanted "to better understand the risks associated with these frontier AI systems" and hold the companies who develop them accountable.

Other considerations in the framework include the data protection laws of various territories, whether it is clear to a user that they are interacting with AI, and whether human workers who input or tag data used to train the product were treated fairly.

The full list is divided into three chapters: questions for individual developers, questions for a team to consider together, and questions for people testing the product.

Some of the 84 questions are as follows:

Do I feel rushed or pressured to input data from questionable sources?

Is the team of people who are working on selecting the training data from a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences to help reduce the bias in the data selection?

What is the intended use of the model once it is trained?

"We're in this kind of wild west stage"

"We're in this Wild West stage, where it's just kind of: 'Chuck it out in the open and see how it goes'." said Vince Lynch, founder of the firm IV.AI and advisor to the World Ethical Data Foundation board. He came up with the idea for the framework.

"And now those cracks that are in the foundations are becoming more apparent, as people are having conversations about intellectual property, how human rights are considered in relation to AI and what they're doing."

If, for example, a model has been trained using some data that is copyright protected, it's not an option to just strip it out - the entire model may have to be trained again.

"That can cost hundreds of millions of dollars sometimes. It is incredibly expensive to get it wrong," Mr Lynch said.

Other voluntary frameworks for the safe development of AI have been proposed.

Margarethe Vestager, the EU's Competition Commissioner, is spearheading EU efforts to create a voluntary code of conduct with the US government, which would see companies using or developing AI sign up to a set of standards that are not legally binding.

Willo is a Glasgow-based recruitment platform which has recently launched an AI tool to go with its service.

The firm said it took three years to collect sufficient data to build it.

Co-founder Andrew Wood said at one point the firm chose to pause its development in response to ethical concerns raised by its customers.

"We're not using our AI capabilities to do any decision making. The decision making is solely left with the employer," he said.

"There are certain areas where AI is really applicable, for example, scheduling interviews... but making the decision on whether to move forward [with hiring a candidate] or not, that's always going to be left to the human as far as we're concerned."

Co-founder Euan Cameron said that transparency to users was for him an important section of the Foundation framework.

"If anyone's using AI, you can't sneak it through the backdoor and pretend it was a human who created that content," he said.

"It needs to be clear it was done by AI technology. That really stood out to me."

Follow Zoe Kleinman on Twitter @zsk.

Gen Z workers at a medical company are automating tedious jobs and dramatically boosting productivity, exec says

How Gen Z will change the workplace, according to LinkedIn's CMO

Jesse will be 30% of the workforce by 2030 as employees

Beatrice Nolan
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Gen Z is making its mark on the workplace.Maskot/Getty Images

Some Gen Z workers are making AI work for them.

A director at VEM Medical told the BBC that Gen Z workers were boosting productivity with AI.

Derrick Hathaway said young workers were automating tedious jobs and optimizing workflows.

Some Gen Z workers are capitalizing on the rise of generative AI.

Derrick Hathaway, sales director at VEM Medical, told the BBC that Gen Z workers were giving the medical device maker a welcome productivity boost by using AI-powered tools.

He told the outlet: "Young employees' ability to use AI technology to automate tedious jobs and optimize workflows has grown our productivity dramatically."

Representatives for VEM Medical did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.

The remarks come amid concerns that junior positions usually held by young workers entering the workforce are at risk of being lost to increasingly sophisticated AI.

Companies haven't been shy about their excitement around the new tech and many are incorporating AI-powered tools into workflows. CEOs are also starting to be more open about their plans to scale back hiring in favor of AI.

At the same time, the long-projected job losses to AI automation are here for some workers. Employees have begun speaking out about their suspicions, or in some cases direct knowledge, that ChatGPT cost them work.

This trend is worrying young employees in the workforce. In a recent survey by job site ZipRecruiter, 76% of Gen Zers indicated they were concerned about losing their jobs to AI-powered tools like ChatGPT.

On the flip side, Gen Z is also well-placed to capitalize on the AI boom. Known for being the most technological-savvy generation, young workers can also boost their employability by leveraging generative AI skills.

Extreme weather: the climate crisis in four         TWO charts

Josh Nicholas
Wed, July 19, 2023 

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

The climate crisis is moving into uncharted territory as much of the northern hemisphere endures a blistering heatwave, many countries are deluged with rain, sea surface temperatures reach new heights, and Antarctic sea ice new lows. A number of climate records – some unofficial – have tumbled in recent weeks.

Many factors have combined for this to happen, including climate change but also the El Niño weather event, and the northern hemisphere summer.

“The northern hemisphere has a lot more land, it means this time of year just tends to be hotter globally than in southern hemisphere’s summer,” says Dr Kim Reid from Monash University.

“And so this combination of this background warming from global warming, El Niño and the fact that it’s the hottest time of the year for the globe means that we’re just seeing all these records tumbling, all at once.”

While the UN’s World Meteorological Organization and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have both declared a Niño is in place, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has so far held back from declaring one, saying the atmosphere is not yet giving the typical signals.

Related: This heatwave is a climate omen. But it’s not too late to change course | Michael E Mann and Susan Joy Hassol

The record for global average temperature has been broken a couple of times in the past few weeks, according to a model of average air temperatures at two metres, created by the NOAA. Although, as this data is derived from a model and not direct observation, it is not an “official” climate record.

The model is based on observational data from weather stations, balloons, satellites and other sources and allows climate scientists to get an idea of the temperature over a wider area and create an average for the entire globe.

The chart above shows the global average derived from the model, but maps also show the positive temperature anomalies – the difference between current temperatures and the long-run average – spread across much of the Earth’s surface in June.

Interactive

Even as the air temperatures have been elevated, the NOAA models show sea surface temperatures are also higher than in recent decades. Monthly data shows that the temperature anomaly has been positive and on an upward trend for decades.

The ocean stores a lot of the excess heat from global heating – up to 90% in recent decades.

“Because we’ve had La Niña the last few years, a lot of the heat has gone into the ocean,” Reid says. “It’s sort of been hidden from us at the surface for a bit. And now as we’ve flipped from La Niña into El Niño, a lot of this ocean heat is now rising up to the surface.”

Interactive

While the air and sea surface are seeing greater than average heat, new records are being set for sea ice in Antarctica – for how little there is. The lack of sea ice extent is continuing a trend – a new record has been set several times over the past few years.

Satellite data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center shows that not only is 2023 a significant outlier, 2022 ended with some of the lowest sea ice extents on record. But the gap to the long-run average for this time of year appears to be getting larger.

”
But Reid warns that the Earth – the climate – is a complex system, with many moving parts. What is happening to sea ice in Antarctica, for instance, also has to do with winds, storms and pressure systems.

“We’ve got, of course, the background climate change, we’ve got the seasonality, the fact that it’s summer, the fact that it’s now El Niño, and then there’s also what we call effects from aerosols. So these are tiny particles like sulphur dust, sea salt, that can reflect incoming solar radiation. And [all this] can control the planet’s temperature.”

This long-running lawsuit is the latest dispute over Oklahoma tribal relations

Molly Young, Oklahoman
Tue, July 18, 2023 

Oklahoma's tribal gaming industry paid the state $200 million in exclusivity fees over the last year ending in April. A central agreement between the state and tribes, known as the model gaming compact, spells out how much tribal gaming operations must pay in exchange for exclusive gaming rights in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond wants to take the lead in representing the state in a long-running tribal gaming lawsuit. But Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office says he has no plans to hand over the reins.

Drummond called defending the federal suit a “waste of state resources” and asked for approval to enter the ring and end the case in a June 16 letter to legislative leaders. Stitt’s general counsel told lawmakers in his own July 11 letter that Drummond has no standing.

The legal dispute is the latest clash among Oklahoma’s top elected officials over tribal relations.

Stitt has had rocky relationships with many tribal governments since 2019, when he challenged the central state-tribal gaming compact as unfair. Drummond took office in January and has often split from Stitt on key issues involving tribes, which he has described as economic engines for the state.

Both contend their approach to the federal lawsuit is what’s best for Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in June that he has spent many hours meeting with tribal leaders during the first months of his four-year term, which started in January.

More: Oklahoma tribes urge lawmakers to override governor's latest veto
What to know about the case, and the gaming compacts in Oklahoma

The case currently centers on the legal standing of standalone gaming compacts the governor negotiated with the Comanche and Otoe-Missouria nations. Four other tribes with sizable gaming arms — the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Citizen Potawatomi nations — sued in 2020 to stop the agreements from taking effect outside the model gaming compact.

The model gaming compact sets the framework for Las Vegas-style gaming in Oklahoma and gives tribes exclusive rights to operate those facilities in exchange for paying the state a specific cut of revenues. Oklahoma collected $200 million through the agreement from May 2022 through April.

Oklahoma’s highest court ruled the outside compacts signed by Stitt were invalid. Federal gaming regulators did not directly reject the deals, though, which has prompted the legal fight over their future.

The governor clearly acted outside state law when he signed the deals on behalf of the state, Drummond said in his letter. “The Oklahoma Legislature did not approve of or authorize Governor Stitt to bind Oklahoma to these compacts,” Drummond wrote.

His letter to lawmakers was first reported by the online news outlet NonDoc and later provided to The Oklahoman by the attorney general’s office. It was addressed to House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat. Drummond wrote that he believed legislative sign-off would give him the strongest argument to enter the case on Oklahoma’s behalf.

More: A law pressured tribes to give up land in 1898. It doesn't give Tulsa power today, court rules

McCall replied June 26, saying the attorney general already has the power needed to enter the case. “If you, as attorney general, deem it in the best interest of the state of Oklahoma for you to intercede in this litigation, then I and the citizens would expect you to do so,” McCall wrote. “The House will not interfere in that decision.”

A spokesperson for Treat said he is still reviewing the attorney general’s letter, as well as the July 11 response from Stitt’s attorney, Trevor Pemberton.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt sought to rework the model state-tribal gaming compact in 2019. Courts overruled his effort, but are still sorting out the future of separate deals he signed with some tribes.

Oklahoma’s attorney general cannot “unilaterally assume representation of the governor,” Pemberton wrote. He said professional conduct rules and legal precedence bar Drummond from doing so.

“The Oklahoma Supreme Court long ago made clear that, where the governor and the attorney general are at odds over a litigation objective, the governor’s decision prevails under the state’s constitutional framework,” Pemberton wrote in the letter, which the governor’s office provided to The Oklahoman. A spokesperson for the governor declined to comment further on the legal dispute.

More: McGirt v. Oklahoma, 3 years later: How police work on the Muscogee Nation reservation

In his letter, Pemberton pushed back against Drummond’s description of the lawsuit as protracted, noting that the tribal nations who sued could end the proceedings by dropping the case. He also contested Drummond’s assertion that the governor has hired “several Washington, D.C. and New York City law firms” to defend the case.

Pemberton said one such law firm is now leading the case with help from lawyers from a second law firm in Oklahoma City. Court records show the local firm is Ryan Whaley.

In response to Pemberton’s letter, Drummond said he is not trying to represent Stitt, but the state, to end a costly legal fight. “The Oklahoma Supreme Court has issued two opinions that make it clear the governor had no authority to enter into the compacts he is seeking to enforce,” the attorney general’s office said in a written statement.

Drummond has not said if he will move to enter the case without the formal legislative approval he requested. A spokesperson for McCall said his stance is unchanged after receiving Pemberton’s letter.

A different compact dispute is front and center for lawmakers. The Legislature passed a pair of bills in May to renew the state’s tobacco and car tag compacts with tribal nations through 2024. Stitt vetoed the measures in June. The Senate’s first veto override vote failed. Senators plan to vote again July 24.

More: What tribal leaders in Oklahoma are saying about a key Supreme Court decision

Molly Young covers Indigenous affairs. Reach her at mollyyoung@gannett.com or 405-347-3534.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Gaming lawsuit ignites disagreement over tribal relations in Oklahoma