An AI is training counselors to deal with teens in crisis

What is an "algorithm"? It depends who you ask

Sponsored by Darktrace The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Trained by AI 02.26.21 Good morning! Today: an AI is training counselors to deal with teens in crisis, and two experts discuss the increasingly urgent question of how we define algorithms. Don't forget to get friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. I hope you have a great weekend.  An AI is training counselors to deal with teens in crisis   Counselors volunteering at the Trevor Project have to be trained in how to talk to an LGBTQ teen who may be thinking about suicide. So first, they practice. One of the ways they do it is by talking to fictional personas like “Riley,” a 16-year-old from North Carolina who is feeling a bit down and depressed. With a team member playing Riley’s part, trainees can drill into what’s happening. Now, though, Riley isn’t being played by a Trevor Project employee but is instead being powered by AI. Just like the original persona, this version of Riley still needs to be coaxed a bit to open up, laying out a situation that can test what trainees have learned about the best ways to help LGBTQ teens.   Crisis hotlines and chat services are inundated. The Trevor Project believes that 1.8 million LGBTQ youth in America seriously consider suicide each year. The existing 600 counselors for its chat-based services can’t handle that need. That’s why the group—like an increasing number of mental health organizations—turned to AI-powered tools to help meet demand. It’s a development that makes a lot of sense, while simultaneously raising questions about how well current AI technology can perform in situations where the lives of vulnerable people are at stake. Read the full story.  —Abby Ohlheiser and Karen Hao What is an “algorithm”? It depends who you ask Defining terms: Describing a decision-making system as an “algorithm” is often a way to deflect accountability for human decisions. For many, the term implies a set of rules based objectively on data. It also suggests a system that is highly complex. In reality, many algorithms are very simple. And, of course, they’re always designed by humans. So what is an algorithm? While there’s no universally accepted definition, a common one comes from a 1971 textbook written by computer scientist Harold Stone, who states: “An algorithm is a set of rules that precisely define a sequence of operations.” But this definition would include everything from recipes to complex neural networks. In machine learning, an algorithm is the set of instructions a computer executes to learn from data.  Why it matters: Rather than trying to agree on a common definition of "algorithm" or a particular universal auditing technique, we suggest evaluating automated systems primarily based on their impact. By focusing on outcome rather than input, we avoid needless debates over technical complexity. What matters is the potential for harm. Read the full story. By Kristian Lum, an assistant research professor in the Computer and Information Science Department at the University of Pennsylvania, and Rumman Chowdhury, the director of the Machine Ethics, Transparency, and Accountability (META) team at Twitter. We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + Happy dancing!   + This baby stoat got very excited about meeting another baby stoat.   + An ode to walking.   + Goats and cold water swimming in one video? Am I in heaven?   + Want to turn a poem into a collectible piece of digital art? Now you can.   + Draw an iceberg and see how it will float.   + A lovely balancing good boy. Sponsor Message Cyber Security is Now a Machine Fight New technological innovations are helping drive stealthier, faster and more effective cyber-attacks, which blend into background activity. Autonomous Cyber AI learns ‘normal’ for your organization and stops advanced threats in their tracks.  Learn more > The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 What you need to know about covid-19 variants and vaccines Vigilance is sadly still very much necessary. (Quanta)   + You'll probably never know if you catch a covid-19 variant. (KHN)   + Germans are shunning the AstraZeneca vaccine. (NYT $)   + The Queen says you should get vaccinated. (The Guardian)   + A new website aims to make it easier for Americans to get their covid-19 shots. (NYT $)   + We still don't know how well vaccines stop transmission. (Wired $)  2 Facebook is considering adding facial recognition to its smart glasses Who wants this? (Buzzfeed)   + The sovereign state of Facebook vs the world. (Axios)  3 India has introduced new regulations for online content The government has been increasingly tightening its grip over social media in the past few years. (NBC)   + Here's a list of all the new rules India is introducing. (The Next Web)   + They present a major problem for Signal. (Quartz)  4 The man who keeps celebrities' embarrassing secrets off the internet 🤫 For a (presumably high) price. (Wired $)   5 Would you pay to read my tweets? I'm skeptical, but Twitter reckons you might. (The Verge)   + It's also planning a way to let users automatically block and mute abusive accounts. (The Verge)  6 The pandemic has pushed virtual reality into the mainstream Demand for escapism has never been higher than in the past year. (New Statesman $)   7 Streaming services are obsessed with having a + in their name Come on, people. We can and should do better than this. (NYT $)   8 Black doctors are being attacked for debunking anti-vaxxers on Clubhouse This must be utterly exhausting. (Vice)   + Can Clubhouse move fast without breaking things? (NYT $)  9 Scarily good Tom Cruise deepfakes are all over TikTok The giveaways that they're not real are there, but only if you know how and where to look for them. (The Daily Beast)   + A new AI tool turns photos of dead relatives into videos. (FT $)   10 How livestreaming is transforming the stage 🎭 A lifeline, a boost to creativity and collaboration—but perhaps also a threat? (The Guardian) Shape and deliver on your AI strategy.  If you're developing your AI strategy, implementing AI solutions, or looking for the latest advancements in AI technology, you need to join us at EmTech Digital, our virtual event focused on AI. Register now. Quote of the day “Let’s be clear here. When we as academics write that we have a ‘concern’ or find something ‘worrying’ and a Google lawyer requires that we change it to sound nicer, this is very much Big Brother stepping in.” —A 1,200-word email sent by Nicholas Carlini, a research scientist at Google, to hundreds of colleagues, obtained by Reuters. Top image credit: MS TECH | UNSPLASH, PEXELS Please send icebergs to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up for free The age of implementation Join us virtually | March 23–25, 2021   Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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