A global affairs awareness service provided by the
Tennessee World Affairs Council
Andie Parry, San Diego, CA
Kathy Ingleson, Brentwood, TN
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Pat Miletich, Nashville, TN
Barbara Gubbin, Jacksonville, FL
Pete Griffin, Nashville, TN
Stephen Friedberg, Boston, MA
Rich Buck, Peoria, IL
Yezzie Dospil, Nashville, TN
Laurie Bergner, Normal, IL
Campbell Lahman, Nolensville, TN
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September 2020 – Quiz Prize
Turning Point: Policymaking in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
by Darrell M. West and John R. Allen
Artificial Intelligence is here, today. How can society make the best use of it?
Until recently, “artificial intelligence” sounded like something out of science fiction. But the technology of artificial intelligence, AI, is becoming increasingly common, from self-driving cars to e-commerce algorithms that seem to know what you want to buy before you do. Throughout the economy and many aspects of daily life, artificial intelligence has become the transformative technology of our time.
Despite its current and potential benefits, AI is little understood by the larger public and widely feared. The rapid growth of artificial intelligence has given rise to concerns that hidden technology will create a dystopian world of increased income inequality, a total lack of privacy, and perhaps a broad threat to humanity itself.
In their compelling and readable book, two experts at Brookings discuss both the opportunities and risks posed by artificial intelligence—and how near-term policy decisions could determine whether the technology leads to utopia or dystopia.
Drawing on in-depth studies of major uses of AI, the authors detail how the technology actually works. They outline a policy and governance blueprint for gaining the benefits of artificial intelligence while minimizing its potential downsides.
The book offers major recommendations for actions that governments, businesses, and individuals can take to promote trustworthy and responsible artificial intelligence. Their recommendations include: creation of ethical principles, strengthening government oversight, defining corporate culpability, establishment of advisory boards at federal agencies, using third-party audits to reduce biases inherent in algorithms, tightening personal privacy requirements, using insurance to mitigate exposure to AI risks, broadening decision-making about AI uses and procedures, penalizing malicious uses of new technologies, and taking pro-active steps to address how artificial intelligence affects the workforce.
Turning Point is essential reading for anyone concerned about how artificial intelligence works and what can be done to ensure its benefits outweigh its harm.
- 297 Pages
- Brookings Institution Press, July 28, 2020
- Hardcover ISBN: 9780815738596
- Ebook ISBN: 9780815738602
LAST WEEK’S QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What in the World? Quiz – Week of Sep 7-13, 2020
1. The UK is preparing legislation that will change the Brexit agreement it signed with the EU last year by reversing London’s position on an open land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. What were the provisions called that maintained an open border on the island of Ireland?
A. Irish Link
B. Backstop
C. Belfast Compact
D. Irish Sea Saw
Correct Response: B. Backstop
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54051933
2. The accusations that Russian agents poisoned leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny has led to pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to reconsider this energy project.
A. Gazprom Link
B. EuroGas Pipeline
C. Russo-Deutsch Energ
D. Nord Stream 2
Correct Response: D. Nord Stream 2
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-politics-navalny-germany-nord/calls-mount-for-germany-to-rethink-nord-stream-2-pipeline-after-navalny-poisoning-idUSKBN25U0UF
3. Protesters angry over an apparent rigged presidential election continued to fill the streets of THIS capital city, as opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova was grabbed off a street by masked men in a van and was said to be in government detention.
A. Minsk
B. Riga
C. Vilnus
D. Bratislava
Correct Response: A. Minsk
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54056634
4. Serbia agreed to normalize economic ties with THIS country in an agreement signed at the White House last week. Belgrade, which also agreed to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, has long had frosty relations with THIS country since its independence.
A. Macedonia
B. Kosovo
C. Slovenia
D. Slovakia
Correct Response: B. Kosovo
https://apnews.com/3b7aca39c6829655d43de30f68497ed1
5. Eight people have been sentenced in Saudi Arabia in connection with the murder of THIS journalist, a Saudi citizen who was living and working in self-imposed exile in the United States.
A. Mohammed bin Salman
B. Jamal Khashoggi
C. Abdullah Rabiah
D. Hamad Al Sheikh
Correct Response: B. Jamal Khashoggi
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-khashoggi/saudi-arabia-sentences-eight-people-to-prison-in-khashoggi-murder-case-idUSKBN25Y1FI?il=0
6. The United States will cut as much as $100 million in aid to THIS country over the construction of a dam on the Nile, known as the GERD.
A. Sudan
B. Egypt
C. Ethiopia
D. Uganda
Correct Response: C. Ethiopia
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54007123
7. The United States is redirecting $80 million it owes to THIS organization to help pay its United Nations debt. President Trump announced the U.S. plans to leave IT next July.
A. Paris Climate Accord Organization (PCAO)
B. World Health Organization (WHO)
C. World Trade Organization (WTO)
D. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Correct Response: B. World Health Organization (WHO)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-who-usa-idUSKBN25T3AS
8. Secretary of State Pompeo announced sanctions against two individuals in THIS organization in an effort to forestall investigations of U.S. individuals on charges of torture in Afghanistan. The sanctions drew criticism from Human Rights Watch, “The Trump administration’s perverse use of sanctions, devised for alleged terrorists and drug kingpins, against prosecutors seeking justice for grave international crimes, magnifies the failure of the US to prosecute torture.”
A. The Afghanistan Tribunal
B. Global Accountability Bureau
C. Assembly of States
D. International Criminal Court
Correct Response: D. International Criminal Court
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/02/908896108/trump-administration-sanctions-icc-prosecutor-investigating-alleged-u-s-war-crim
9. American troops and tanks started arriving in THIS Baltic nation last week for a two-month deployment near the Belarus border. The deployment, including training with forces from France, Italy, Germany, and Poland has been made amid denials by a government spokesman that it was meant to send a message to the Minsk leadership, as they battle post-election protests.
A. Lithuania
B. Moldova
C. Chechnya
D. Kaliningrad
Correct Response: A. Lithuania
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election-us-lithuania/u-s-troops-start-extended-exercises-in-lithuania-amid-tensions-over-belarus-idUSKBN25U1W6
10. A cyclone named Haishen struck the coasts of the Korean Peninsula and Japan causing widespread damage. What are cyclones in the Western Pacific known as?
A. Hurricanes
B. Typhoons
C. Willy Willy
D. Derecho
Correct Response: B. Typhoons
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54046150
Copyright 2020, Tennessee World Affairs Council
THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS AWARENESS AND EDUCATION OUTREACH
THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS AWARENESS AND EDUCATION OUTREACH
THE MISSION of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Tennessee World Affairs Council is to promote international awareness, understanding and connections to enhance the region’s global stature and to prepare Tennesseans to thrive in our increasingly complex and connected world.
THE VISION of the Tennessee World Affairs Council is a well-informed community that thinks critically about the world and the impact of global events.
