From Digital Age to Nano Age. WorldWide.

Tag: impact

Atoms Lanka Solutions > impact
Robotic Automations

Will a TikTok ban impact creator economy startups? Not really, founders say | TechCrunch

April 28, 2024 2:35 AM0


President Joe Biden signed a bill on Wednesday that could ban TikTok – for real this time. After so many false starts and stops, some creator economy founders and their clients are rolling their eyes. They’ve been through this before.

“I think two years ago, this would have been devastating,” Karat Financial co-founder and co-CEO Eric Wei told TechCrunch. “Now… Eh.”

When creators succeed, the startups that work in the creator economy generally succeed as well. Still, Wei isn’t particularly concerned that the friction from a TikTok ban would impact his business, a Series B startup that provides financial services to creators.

“If you build products in startups that help creators make money, then actually, from an addressable market point of view, this is good for you,” Wei said. “Your framing can be like, ‘TikTok is gone, as a creator, you need to be thinking about diversifying and how to support yourself, so here’s XYZ things you can do.’”

The threat of the TikTok ban feels a bit like “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” even though this time, it’s different. This isn’t just political theater in the form of ongoing Senate hearings. This bill, which would force ByteDance to sell TikTok if it can’t find an American buyer within nine months, made its way through the House and the Senate to Biden’s desk, where he signed it into law.

But the creator landscape looks different now than it did in 2020, when former President Donald Trump tried banning the Chinese-owned app (and, as he runs for president again, he now says he’s opposed to the ban, because it would give Meta too much power). Established creators have had about three years of legal back-and-forth and two different presidencies to prepare their businesses for a world without TikTok.

As Wei scrolls through a large group chat he’s in with other creators, he notes that no one’s too panicked.

“I’m looking through, and there’s some jokes – one guy jokes, ‘My Snapchat shares are about to pop,’ and another said, ‘Let’s make a skit: when TikTokers protest the TikTok ban – who’s in?’” he said. “A third says, ‘TikTok’s about to sue, I’ve been talking with their internals,’ and a fourth one replied, ‘Where’s my popcorn?’”

This isn’t the case for all kinds of creators. Wei notes that TikTok livestreamers and creators that monetize via TikTok Shop could be hit the hardest, since platforms like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels aren’t as invested in those features as TikTok. The ban could also be detrimental to politically-oriented creators, since Instagram Reels isn’t a viable alternative for them – the Meta-owned platform has begun limiting the reach of political content. And while the more established creators in Wei’s group chat have been preparing for this for years, the transition away from TikTok could be a huge gut-punch to newer creators who don’t have followings on multiple platforms yet.

“To be clear, no one’s like, ‘This is good for us!” Wei said. But the amount of time creators have had to prepare for this moment has made them better poised to weather the storm.

“This is something that’s been talked about for a very long time, so creators are aware – this is not new,” Harry Gestetner, co-founder and CEO of creator monetization platform Fanfix, told TechCrunch. “The second thing is, this is not an overnight ban. Creators still have about a year to transfer their following, so I am optimistic.”

James Jones – the CEO of Bump, another financial services company for creators – is looking at the situation in parallel.

“There will undoubtedly be a ripple effect amongst the creator community as a result of the TikTok ban,” Jones told TechCrunch. “But creators are getting better at diversifying the ways that they monetize across multiple platforms. We’ve also seen this movie before in the case of Vine, which paved the way for TikTok to fill the void that it left.”

TikTok’s secret sauce is its power to help creators get discovered – more so than other platforms, anyone can blow up on the For You Page. But while Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts could have been likened to “Kirkland brand TikTok” in 2021, the platforms have since matured.

In TikTok’s initial Creator Fund, a static pool of money distributed among a growing number of eligible creators, few people were supporting themselves on TikTok views alone. This has only recently changed as TikTok transitioned creators into its Creativity Program, which offers a better deal to eligible creators – but not all creators are making videos that fit the bill for that program. So, to make content creation a stable career, they’d have to transition onto other platforms anyway. YouTube Shorts has started sharing ad revenue on short-form videos, similar to its longstanding Partner Program, while Instagram Reels only has occasional, unreliable bonus programs.

Gestetner told TechCrunch that some creators he works with have been disillusioned by TikTok anyway.

“The problems with TikTok go past just the ban,” he said. “Creators so often get their accounts removed on TikTok, or get shadow banned, or get reported, and it’s very difficult to get an answer from TikTok. So we’ve dealt with problems there for years now.”

It’s not as though other platforms don’t share these transparency issues. But these risks have made it essential for creators to not put all their energy into one platform.

“Five years ago, creators were generally on one platform,” he said. “Now, every creator has a minimum of three, and up to five, six or seven platforms they use.”

This necessity of diversification extends beyond just the platforms creators use. Creators also need to generate income from a variety of sources, whether that be through fan memberships, product sales, live performances or courses.

“I think on our business, there will be no impact, or potentially kind of a positive impact,” Gestetner said. “It helps our case, because creators are all skeptical of the big platforms, and they don’t want all of their monetization to be tied to a particular platform.”

In theory, the ban on TikTok could create room in the market for another short-form video app – perhaps one that is not owned by a massive corporation like Meta or Google. But this likely won’t pose another situation like what happened when Elon Musk bought Twitter, and several microblogging apps cropped up seemingly overnight.

“I think a really good example of this is like, remember Triller?” Wei said. “For a while, we were all excited about it, like ‘Oh my god, TikTok’s going away, let’s put money toward Triller!’ But then everyone realized TikTok is not going away. And now it’s years later, and does anyone talk about Triller anymore?”

Well, they might not be talking about Triller either because the company is a walking red flag. In any case, creators won’t have the patience to invest in a nascent platform that might not last, so they’ll have to make due with Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. That doesn’t mean TikTok won’t be missed, though.

“I think the fans will be affected the most overall,” Gestetner said. “But I do think the Shorts experience and Reels experience is getting very good.”

Gen Z is losing its political voice on social media


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

The impact of TikTok's ban in other countries could signal what's ahead for the U.S. | TechCrunch

April 25, 2024 7:25 PM0


On April 24, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill that would ban TikTok if its owner ByteDance doesn’t sell the app.

The bill requires ByteDance to secure a deal within nine months, with a 90-day extension available to close it. After this deadline, the U.S. will bar app stores from listing the app.

TikTok will challenge this decision in courts with a long legal battle ahead of us. But many countries worldwide have already banned the app, and ByteDance hasn’t had a chance to revive it. These moves impacted ByteDance’s operations in those countries, creators, as well as startups related to the creator economy.

Here’s how those bans are playing out in other markets.

  • India: This is perhaps the most well-known TikTok ban as India is one of the biggest consumer markets in the world. In June 2020, the Indian government banned the short video app along with many other Chinese apps citing national security reasons. ByteDance’s other popular app Helo was also a part of the list of banned apps at that time.

Members of the Working Journalist of India (WJI) hold placards urging citizens to remove Chinese apps and stop using Chinese products during a demonstration against the Chinese newspaper Global Times, in New Delhi on June 30, 2020. – TikTok on June 30 denied sharing information on Indian users with the Chinese government, after New Delhi banned the wildly popular app citing national security and privacy concerns.
“TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and have not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese Government,” said the company, which is owned by China’s ByteDance. (Photo by Prakash SINGH / AFP) (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images)

  • Afghanistan: In 2022, the Taliban banned TikTok along with PlayerUnkown’s Battleground (PUBG) for “misleading youth.” In February, Wired reported that many creators in the country used VPNs to make videos and reach different audiences through TikTok. The report noted that TikTok users in Afghanistan were estimated to be anywhere between 325,000 to 2 million.
  • Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan has placed restrictions on TikTok’s usage in the country since July 2021. In 2022, lawmakers proposed a complete ban after several people used VPNs to use the service.
  • Senegal: In August 2023, Senegal blocked TikTok in the aftermath of the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. Citizens used the platform to register dissent resulting in a ban. In October, authorities demanded that ByteDance create a way for officials to remove accounts.
  • Somalia: Somalia banned TikTok — along with Telegram and betting site 1xBet — around the same time as Senegal. However, Somali authorities cited that these platforms were used to “spread horrific content and misinformation to the public.”
  • Kyrgyzstan: August 2023 wasn’t a great month for TikTok. Kyrgyz authorities also barred the platform, deeming it harmful to “the health and development of children.” The country’s culture ministry added that teens were trying to reenact certain videos, causing danger to their lives.
  • Nepal: Nepal banned TikTok in November 2023 because the government believed the app disrupted “social harmony” and had an impact on “family and social structures.” The authorities were also concerned about growing cybercrime on the platform, with local media reporting 1,600 TikTok-related cases in the last four years. According to a BBC Media action report published in 2023, TikTok was the country’s third most popular social media platform after YouTube and Facebook.
  • Other bans: Iran has banned most major social networks in the country, including TikTok. However, the exact date of the ban is unknown. Apart from that, several countries and regions, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Belgium, the EU, New Zealand and Australia have barred TikTok from official devices.

Impact of the bans

Multiple reports have captured the impact of the TikTok ban on creators who were reliant on the short video platform for reach and even money making. Many small businesses also use TikTok to promote their brands in different ways.

In many ways, India banning TikTok was a pivotal moment as Instagram rushed to release Reels in India to replace the platform. Meta (then Facebook) launched Reels in the U.S. a few months later. YouTube also followed suit by introducing Shorts in India.

However, TikTok’s ban also gave rise to many local short video apps. Twitter and Google-backed local social network ShareChat released Moj; Verse Innovation (parent company of news aggregator DailyHunt) launched Josh, Times Internet launched MX Takatak and eventually merged it with Moj in 2022; ad company InMobi released Roposo with other rivals like Mitron, Chingari, and Trell also trying to capture the market.

Developers in Nepal also launched a TikTok rival called Ramailo in November 2023, but its lifespan was short-lived.

Because of multiple apps, creators have had to invest in putting their content on multiple platforms. Critically, these platforms might not be putting short videos front and center like TikTok, and their recommendation algorithm might also differ, causing creators to lose their audience. A similar impact could occur in the U.S., as creators scramble to find a new platform or platforms for their work — even if only to hedge against the possibility that TikTok’s influence wanes under the threat of a ban.

In the aftermath of India banning TikTok, ByteDance had to scale back its operations. Earlier this year, the company’s music streaming service, Resso, was also shut down in India after the government asked app stores to pull the app.

Aside from the impact on creators, digital rights activists have also made arguments that banning platforms like TikTok curtails free speech. Some of these angles might play out in the U.S., too, as the government and ByteDance will indulge in legal battles.

Last year, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said that India set an “incredibly important precedent” by banning TikTok in 2020. Carr mentioned at that time that the U.S. needs to follow India’s lead to remove nefarious apps.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

As Microsoft unbundles Teams, it might not have the impact on Slack you think | TechCrunch

April 13, 2024 8:55 AM0


One of the primary reasons that Slack joined forces with Salesforce in 2021 in a $28 billion deal was to give the communications company the clout to compete with Microsoft. For years, company co-founder Stewart Butterfield railed against Microsoft bundling Teams with Office 365, calling it anticompetitive and saying at one point that Microsoft was “unhealthily obsessed with killing Slack.”

The company went so far as to file a complaint against Microsoft with the European Union in 2020.

This morning, Microsoft announced it was finally unbundling Teams from Office 365 in the future, although current customers could continue to use the bundled license.

Butterfield stepped down from Slack at the end of 2022, but he seemed less concerned about Microsoft after he became part of the CRM giant, telling TechCrunch’s Connie Loizos in 2021 that Teams seemed to be more focused on meeting software like Zoom than Slack, and he wasn’t aware of the status of the complaint his company filed before becoming part of Salesforce.

Salesforce, for its part, didn’t have any comment on the unbundling announcement, but Microsoft’s bundling strategy seems to have worked quite well, with the company reporting it has over 320 million users worldwide. Compare that with Slack, which has 32 million users or 10% of Microsoft’s total. It’s hard to know what exactly that means given the differences in how the two companies count their users, but it’s clear that Microsoft has opened up a significant lead.

Maybe Butterfield was right, but it’s probably too late to matter. “While Microsoft is unbundling Teams simply to avoid an antitrust mess, it’s good for Salesforce/Slack for sure, but in many ways it may be a Pyrrhic victory,” Alan Pelz-Sharpe, founder and principal analyst at Deep Analysis, told TechCrunch. The market has matured to the point that many larger firms have made their choice, and since swapping out solutions isn’t a trivial matter, unbundling Teams is unlikely to have an appreciable impact on market share.

Microsoft’s announcement seemingly allows them to have their cake and eat it too, keeping their existing customers under the existing Office 365 bundling agreement, while charging future customers for using the product, and presumably giving the company an argument with regulators that they’ve unbundled Teams and are not in violation of any anticompetition rules.

In fact, Holger Mueller, an analyst at Constellation Research, says that this could be the first occurrence where an anticompetitive regulation helps the vendor’s business. “Microsoft has simply sold Teams to enough companies with its existing Office accounts and now no longer needs the energy and power of the enterprise license agreement,” Mueller said.

What’s more, rather than aiding Slack, he sees this as helping Microsoft to get Teams into more accounts where companies weren’t buying Office 365 licenses. Redmond can now sell standalone Teams licenses into non-Microsoft shops much more easily, all while building goodwill with regulators, and still sticking it to Slack in the stand-alone market battle.

That is probably not the outcome that Butterfield envisioned when he started complaining about Microsoft all those years ago, but the regulatory outcome doesn’t always come out in the way you expect, especially when the market shifts so dramatically in the intervening years — or Microsoft’s bundling strategy simply worked.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Autism Impact Fund closes $60M first fund and broadens its scope | TechCrunch

April 13, 2024 2:18 AM0


Millions of people around the world are affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Both as kids and later in life, these individuals and their families need better detection, treatment and support solutions that will help them live with autism. But until recently, that wasn’t a space that startups and investors ventured into.

Autism Impact Fund (AIF) was a pioneer when it emerged in 2021, three years after the son of its co-founder and managing partner, Chris Male, was diagnosed with ASD. A joint effort of Male and others, AIF strove to become “the investment and innovation arm of the autism community,” Male told TechCrunch.

Since then, startups in the neurodiversity space gathered momentum, and so did AIF, which recently closed its first fund at $60 million. As a first-of-its-kind fund, exceeding its target is no small feat, especially in an incredibly difficult environment. (The original target was $50 million.)

New venture fund aims to become the ‘investment and innovation arm’ of the autism community

AIF is a VC fund, not a charity, and Male is also vocal about it. “We’ve got great collaborations with the nonprofits, with the foundations, and we are very intentional in our regard to drive returns. … We aim to deliver really strong returns while revolutionizing the status quo for autism and everything in the space through the venture capital model.”

AIF’s limited partners include Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi; Brian Jacobs from Emergence Capital Partners; and Bob Nelsen, a co-founder and managing director of Arch Venture Partners, who also sit on its advisory board. Male didn’t want to tell their personal stories for them, but AIF’s individual backers often have personal connections to autism.

However, institutional LPs such as investment firms Fairfield-Maxwell and Ferd also support AIF, “which obviously was very helpful to get us to that scale,” Male said. It is also one more sign of change. “The operators that are entering the space are no longer just family members wanting to help; it’s really sophisticated business operators that are seeing an opportunity to affect wholesale change, and it’s really cool.”

A broad portfolio

Some VC funds wait for a full close to start deploying capital, but not AIF. Because it needed to prove itself and its thesis, it started investing since its first close. With 12 startups in its portfolio, it will start raising its second fund in the next six to nine months, and Male already reports inbound interest.

That companies in AIF’s portfolio raised follow-on rounds from other investors is a strong validation signal. For instance, CVS Health Ventures led a $40 million Series D extension round of investment into healthcare startup Cortica in October. Other signals are harder to measure but are still important. Male told TechCrunch that AIF has strong access even to oversubscribed deals, and even when its check is not the largest, there’s a sense that it’s “a stamp of approval to the market and to the community that this is a validated, well-run entity.”

AIF still has resources in its first fund to do a “handful” more deals as well as follow-on investments. After several “strong bets,” its portfolio is giving it motive to double down. And, Male added, “there is a very high likelihood of us having exits within the next six months; so, soon, because we [starting deploying] in 2021.”

AIF’s portfolio is already quite diverse, although its website groups companies in two categories: life sciences and data- and tech-enabled services. It also goes beyond the U.S. with Germany-based consulting firm Auticon, which describes itself as an “autism-majority company,” and British telehealth platform Healios. But it will now diversify it further, and not because there isn’t enough deal flow or issues to address with autism alone.

AIF’s decision to broaden its scope has to do with autism itself, Male said.

The definition of autism is so vague and so broad that there’s really no [biologically precise] understanding of exactly what’s happening, so in order for us to help the individuals as well as the families, we have to broaden that aperture. And it’s behavioral and mental health, it’s all of those but it’s also a broader healthcare issue at lens. The societal cost is in the trillions of dollars right now, and if the rise of incidence increases at the rate it is, it’s $15 trillion societal costs. Lack of employment and being [un]able to work is factored into that. But it’s as if society is sleepwalking into this incredible crisis, for which there is no current plan.

Rising awareness

The fund will now allow itself to invest in “behavioral health data-driven platforms, innovative healthcare solutions, as well as value-based care frameworks,” and AI is “impossible to ignore,” Male said. It will also keep on investing in addressing autism comorbidities, for instance gastrointestinal issues. And then there’s the “independence bucket,” whether that’s employment, financial independence or housing.

That independence is on the list is a reminder that autism is a spectrum that needs to be addressed as such and that there is a business opportunity for startups that don’t solely focus on kids.

One startup focusing on adults, neurodiversity employment network Mentra, is backed by Sam Altman and others but not by AIF. No beef there: Mentra partnered with AIF-backed Auticon, and Male called the work they are doing “incredible.”

It’s arguably a good sign that AIF isn’t one of Mentra’s investors: The space is getting too big to find the same VC on all cap tables. It’s also global, with health tech Genial Care raising $10 million to help kids with autism and their families in Brazil.

When asked if there wasn’t some momentum about company creation in this space recently, Male laughed. Compared to five years ago, he explained, “it’s just fun to see the momentum and the shift.” As the investment side gets busier, too, there will likely be more to come.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

TechCrunch Early Stage 2024 Women's Breakfast: Exploring AI's impact on founders | TechCrunch

April 13, 2024 1:12 AM0


In the world of tech, innovation knows no bounds. And at the forefront of this ever-evolving landscape, AI stands tall, casting its transformative spell on everything it touches. But amid the buzz, one crucial question emerges: How is AI shaping the journey of founders?

TechCrunch’s Early Stage conference is set to delve deep into this inquiry, and we’re thrilled to announce a special Women’s Breakfast event on April 25 in Boston. This exclusive gathering will focus on exploring the intricate ways in which AI is reshaping the entrepreneurial path for women in tech.

Women in Tech Sunrise Breakfast: How AI is impacting founders

AI is not just a tool; it’s a paradigm shift, redefining the rules of engagement in the startup realm. From revolutionizing product development to influencing investor sentiment, AI’s impact is profound and far-reaching. Our distinguished panelists will navigate these waters, offering insights, strategies, and personal anecdotes from their journey as trailblazing founders.

Meet our esteemed panelists:

  • Lily Lyman: Partner, Underscore VC
  • Rudina Seseri: Co-founder and managing partner, Glasswing Ventures
  • Milo Werner: General partner, Engine Ventures

Together they’ll unravel the mysteries of AI adoption, the challenges it poses, and the opportunities it unlocks for visionary entrepreneurs. This is not just a discussion; it’s a roadmap for navigating the AI-driven future of entrepreneurship.

TechCrunch Early Stage 2024 promises to be a landmark event, and the Women’s Breakfast is your gateway to unlocking the full potential of AI in your entrepreneurial journey. All women can join us on April 25 for a morning of inspiration, empowerment, and actionable insights by purchasing your ticket today. See you there!

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TechCrunch Early Stage 2024? Reach out to our sponsorship sales team by completing this form.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Women in AI: Urvashi Aneja is researching the social impact of AI in India | TechCrunch

April 13, 2024 12:12 AM0


To give AI-focused women academics and others their well-deserved — and overdue — time in the spotlight, TechCrunch is launching a series of interviews focusing on remarkable women who’ve contributed to the AI revolution. We’ll publish several pieces throughout the year as the AI boom continues, highlighting key work that often goes unrecognized. Read more profiles here.

Urvashi Aneja is the founding director of Digital Futures Lab, an interdisciplinary research effort that seeks to examine the interaction between technology and society in the Global South. She’s also an associate fellow at the Asia Pacific program at Chatham House, an independent policy institute based in London.

Aneja’s current research focuses on the societal impact of algorithmic decision-making systems in India, where she’s based, and platform governance. Aneja recently authored a study on the current uses of AI in India, reviewing use cases across sectors including policing and agriculture.

Q&A

Briefly, how did you get your start in AI? What attracted you to the field?

I started my career in research and policy engagement in the humanitarian sector. For several years, I studied the use of digital technologies in protracted crises in low-resource contexts. I quickly learned that there’s a fine line between innovation and experimentation, particularly when dealing with vulnerable populations. The learnings from this experience made me deeply concerned about the techno-solutionist narratives around the potential of digital technologies, particularly AI. At the same time, India had launched its Digital India mission and National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence. I was troubled by the dominant narratives that saw AI as a silver bullet for India’s complex socio-economic problems, and the complete lack of critical discourse around the issue.

What work are you most proud of (in the AI field)?

I’m proud that we’ve been able to draw attention to the political economy of AI production as well as broader implications for social justice, labor relations and environmental sustainability. Very often narratives on AI focus on the gains of specific applications, and at best, the benefits and risks of that application. But this misses the forest for the trees — a product-oriented lens obscures the broader structural impacts such as the contribution of AI to epistemic injustice, deskilling of labor and the perpetuation of unaccountable power in the majority world. I’m also proud that we’ve been able to translate these concerns into concrete policy and regulation — whether designing procurement guidelines for AI use in the public sector or delivering evidence in legal proceedings against Big Tech companies in the Global South.

How do you navigate the challenges of the male-dominated tech industry, and, by extension, the male-dominated AI industry?

By letting my work do the talking. And by constantly asking: why?

What advice would you give to women seeking to enter the AI field?

Develop your knowledge and expertise. Make sure your technical understanding of issues is sound, but don’t focus narrowly only on AI. Instead, study widely so that you can draw connections across fields and disciplines. Not enough people understand AI as a socio-technical system that’s a product of history and culture.

What are some of the most pressing issues facing AI as it evolves?

I think the most pressing issue is the concentration of power within a handful of technology companies. While not new, this problem is exacerbated by new developments in large language models and generative AI. Many of these companies are now fanning fears around the existential risks of AI. Not only is this a distraction from the existing harms, but it also positions these companies as necessary for addressing AI-related harms. In many ways, we’re losing some of the momentum of the “tech-lash” that arose following the Cambridge Analytica episode. In places like India, I also worry that AI is being positioned as necessary for socioeconomic development, presenting an opportunity to leapfrog persistent challenges. Not only does this exaggerate AI’s potential, but it also disregards the point that it isn’t possible to leapfrog the institutional development needed to develop safeguards. Another issue that we’re not considering seriously enough is the environmental impacts of AI — the current trajectory is likely to be unsustainable. In the current ecosystem, those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change are unlikely to be the beneficiaries of AI innovation.

What are some issues AI users should be aware of?

Users need to be made aware that AI isn’t magic, nor anything close to human intelligence. It’s a form of computational statistics that has many beneficial uses, but is ultimately only a probabilistic guess based on historical or previous patterns. I’m sure there are several other issues users also need to be aware of, but I want to caution that we should be wary of attempts to shift responsibility downstream, onto users. I see this most recently with the use of generative AI tools in low-resource contexts in the majority world — rather than be cautious about these experimental and unreliable technologies, the focus often shifts to how end-users, such as farmers or front-line health workers, need to up-skill.

What is the best way to responsibly build AI?

This must start with assessing the need for AI in the first place. Is there a problem that AI can uniquely solve or are other means possible? And if we’re to build AI, is a complex, black-box model necessary, or might a simpler logic-based model do just as well? We also need to re-center domain knowledge into the building of AI. In the obsession with big data, we’ve sacrificed theory — we need to build a theory of change based on domain knowledge and this should be the basis of the models we’re building, not just big data alone. This is of course in addition to key issues such as participation, inclusive teams, labor rights and so on.

How can investors better push for responsible AI?

Investors need to consider the entire life cycle of AI production — not just the outputs or outcomes of AI applications. This would require looking at a range of issues such as whether labor is fairly valued, the environmental impacts, the business model of the company (i.e. is it based on commercial surveillance?) and internal accountability measures within the company. Investors also need to ask for better and more rigorous evidence about the supposed benefits of AI.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Back
WhatsApp
Messenger
Viber