Ali Breland at The Hill:
Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii), the top-ranking Democrat on the Internet subcommittee, targeted technology firms lack of diversity and the harms it could pose to minorities during a hearing about artificial intelligence on Tuesday.
The Hawaii senator argued that Silicon Valley and tech firms' general homogeneity presents potentially dangerous issues as the industry grapples with serious applications of AI, in areas like criminal justice and defense.
...
"I think there’s another part of this discussion which you’ve heard less about which is really important. Which is how AI can be used, not trained and built, but used to lessen bias,” said Victoria Espinel, president and CEO of BSA, a trade association that lobbies on behalf of technology companies.
“There are a number of really interesting examples both in terms of hiring people with conditions like autism or people that are visually impaired, where AI can dramatically transform their ability to interact with society and in workplaces,” she said.
