By Maya Schmidt
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the eighteenth biweekly Tech News Digest by the GISA Technology and Security Initiative. Our goal is to give you an easy-to-read overview of what has been happening in the world of technology and security. To do so, we have chosen a few of the top news stories from the last two weeks and presented you with a summary. If you are interested in learning more, follow the links below.
AI-Generated Political Ads in the U.S.
In a Republican National Committee advertisement imagining Biden’s second term, a string of fictional crises is depicted with startling realism. The ad did disclaim that it was generated by AI technology, though the potential for fear mongering to rise from AI is clear. A similar situation emerged in March 2023, when images depicting former President Trump in a fight with police officers went viral on Twitter.
Read more about the RNC’s video ad on NPR and about the AI-generated images of Trump on ArsTechnica.
ChatGPT is restored in Italy.
The Italian data protection authority (Garante) recently cleared ChatGPT for the country. OpenAI rolled out a tool to verify users’ ages to protect those under thirteen, as well as a form for EU users to object to the technology using their data for machine learning training.
Read more about it on the BBC.
Trudeau accuses China of slavery.
The U.S. Labour Department has found that cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are primarily operated and/or owned by China, often use child labour. (Cobalt is a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries.) Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, declared at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York that “If we’re honest, the lithium produced in Canada is going to be more expensive. Because we don’t use slave labour.”
Read more on Reuters, but know also that Canada’s recent legislation to combat modern slavery in supply chains, bill S-211, is a quite recent development; it passed on April 28th, 2022.
An Open Letter Calling for AI Consciousness Studies
The Association for Mathematical Consciousness Science (ACMS) has compiled an open letter, which has been signed by academics around the world, calling for a greater focus on studying consciousness as a field.
Read more about it on the BBC.
U.S. Departments and Agencies Begin Steps to Regulate AI
Heads of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Justice Department’s civil rights unit, and the Federal Trade Commission have spoken out about the risks of bias and discrimination in the use of machine learning technologies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau began seeking technology sector whistleblowers.
Read more on Reuters.
Muzmatch Sued
Muzmatch, a Muslim dating app, has criticised a ruling from the UK Court of Appeal that stated that the average consumer would think that the company was part of the Match Group (which owns Tinder). The company has since changed its name to Muzz.
You can read more on the BBC.
Whilst you are here!
The Graduate Press is currently raising funds for our 5th-anniversary print edition and we need your help. The last 5 years at the institute have seen some incredible highs and lows and TGP has been there for them all. Now TGP wants to immortalise that history.
If you can, we are currently accepting donations via our GoFundMe page.And if you would like to be involved with The Graduate Press and the 5th anniversary edition you can email us at gisa.thegraduate@graduateinstitute.ch or via Instagram.
The Graduate Press - La Gazette de la Paix 
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