🔅 Generative AI... Generating Pre-Existing Biases?
Plus: 🇸🇳 Senegal Gas: A Boon for Oil Giants but a Bust for Fishermen, 🇸🇩 Sudan's Conflict, 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe: How Gold Could Help Stabilize the Currency, And much more... ☕
Photo of the day: Mbabane, Eswatini
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*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
TECHNOLOGY
Generative AI... Generating Pre-Existing Biases?
The tech world has been going crazy for generative AI, which is artificial intelligence that can generate entirely new content.
But with the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT and tools like Stable Diffusion that generate images, it seems like the technology might come with some worrying issues.
What's the problem?
The former often feature gaunt faces and crude tools, while the latter feature happy, affluent Caucasians.
Why is this happening?
The AI is learning from data sets and images that are available on the internet. This means existing biases are being reflected in the AI’s output.
For example, Lensa faced criticism for sexualising female avatars its AI created. It's not just the AI; similar images come up on a simple Google search.
What's the solution?
Some academics have suggested collecting better training data that wouldn't perpetuate problematic stereotypes.
But manual data collection at the scale required to train a model would be prohibitively expensive.
So are we stuck?
The tech industry is moving into generative AI with the same "move-fast-and-break-things" mentality it did at the launch of social media platforms, but proponents argue that the benefits of AI to do things like improve productivity ultimately outweigh the negatives.
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OTHER HEADLINES
Across the Continent
🇸🇳 Senegal Gas: A Boon for Oil Giants, a Bust for Fishermen | A deal between global gas and oil giants BP and Kosmos Energy and Senegal and Mauritania’s state-owned oil companies was supposed to bring prosperity to the fishing town of Saint-Louis in Senegal. But, instead of bringing a wave of opportunity, the deal has pushed people into desperation—forcing some women to turn to prostitution to support their families. The deal is expected to produce around 2.3 million tons (2.08 million metric tons) of liquified natural gas a year. But locals say they haven’t seen the benefits yet. The deal has restricted access to fertile fishing areas, meaning fishermen can’t make a living on the water. This has forced some women to turn to prostitution to support their families, as it’s faster and more reliable than working in a shop or restaurant.
🇸🇩 Sudan's Conflict: Tensions Flare, Evacuations Abound | After two generals declared war on each other in April, 459 people (including civilians and fighters) have been killed, and 4,000+ injured. The UN has warned that the power struggle is setting the country’s future at risk, and might even set development back by decades. As of Wednesday, there’s a three-day ceasefire in place, which means that people are emerging from their homes to stock up on food and water, and many are evacuating the country. But no one is sure how long the relative calm will last. What's more, the fate of Sudan’s former autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir is still a little unclear, but the military has confirmed he is no longer in jail. The 72-hour ceasefire announced by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to last until late Thursday night. Many fear that fighting will only escalate once evacuations of foreigners, which appeared to be in their last stages, are completed.
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe: How Gold Could Help Stabilize the Currency | Zimbabwe is trying to turn its financial woes into a golden opportunity. The country is looking to gold reserves to help stabilize its currency and make its proposed bullion-backed digital currency a reality. It’s estimated that they need $100 million of gold to get the job done. If it works, it could be a much-needed shot in the arm for Zimbabwe’s currency. After all, the foreign US dollar is the unit of choice in the southern African nation.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“A hyena does not change its spots even if it moves to a different forest.”
— Malawian Proverb.