Artificial Intelligence: The Risks and Benefits To Peace and Social Justice

KUNM Airdate:
September 1, 2024
KUNM Airdate:
Part 1 —
September 1, 2024
Part 2 —
September 8, 2024
National Airdate:
Week of Sep 01, 2024
National Airdate:
(29-minute)
Part 1 —
Week of Sep 01, 2024
Part 2 —
Week of Sep 08, 2024
National Airdate:
(59-minute)
Week of Sep 01, 2024
Half-hour Program
Half-hour Program — Part 1
Half-hour Program — Part 2
Hour Program

Artificial intelligence is no longer merely a far-fetched feature of sci-fi, but a daily fixture in most Americans’ lives — whether we’re aware of it or not. Corporations and authorities are increasingly using A.I. in everything from employment and hiring, to economic decisions, to surveillance and war. Police departments in some of the largest cities in the U.S. use “predictive policing,” to “forecast criminal activity,” which often results in racial profiling and bias. Militaries use AI systems to help determine targets, with little human oversight to catch errors. And online, A.I.-powered search engines push results for predatory lending on users with “Black sounding” names, chatbots make “racist judgements on the basis of dialect,” and generative A.I. programs consistently portray women in positions of servitude. Yet humanitarian institutions and peace advocates are growing more interested in using A.I. to promote social good and peace. Proponents of A.I. for peace say that it could be harnessed for “early warning [of violence], combating hate speech, human rights investigations, and analyzing the effects of climate change on conflict.” How do we build a world where A.I. is no longer a weapon of warfare, but a powerful tool for peace? Correspondent Mary Steffenhagen speaks with Yeshi Milner, founder and CEO of Data for Black Lives, and Branka Panic, founding director of A.I. for Peace, to find out.

Guests

Our intention is to look into another application, this potential positive application and utilization of AI, different AI technologies to assist the work of human rights defenders. And I'm very excited about this because I see this as general human rights and international law as another way of preventing wars.

Branca Panic
Branka Panic is a political scientist, expert in international security, international development policy, and peacebuilding. She is a CIC Non-Resident Fellow focusing on researching the utilization of data-driven approaches to peacebuilding and prevention, conflict early warning/early action, and designing the pathways to establishing a Peacebuilding Data Hub.
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I believe that is important to demystify, and to pull the curtain back from the Wizard of Oz, people should understand that behind these technologies are people. And a lot of these people are very much working in spaces where they're in bubbles, in isolation, and they need pushback, they need feedback..I think it's our role to create spaces for people to be able to come into community with each other, but on an everyday basis, being conscious of where an algorithm is being used, how it's being used, and feeling empowered and opting out when it's appropriate.

Yeshi Milner
Yeshimabeit “Yeshi” Milner is the Founder & CEO of Data for Black Lives. She has worked since she was 17 as a movement builder, technologist and data scientist.
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Episode Transcript