<ul class="summary-list"><li>Several major digital privacy groups pulled their support for an Uber-backed influence campaign after learning of the company's involvement, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/uber-moves-stealthily-gain-allies-fight-cities/">WIRED</a> first reported Thursday.</li><li>The campaign, <keyword id="9547978" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="communities-against-rider-surveillance">Communities Against Rider Surveillance</keyword>, is a coalition of 25 organizations that <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> helped form to steer the debate around cities' use of scooter and e-bike trip data.</li><li><keyword id="2649474" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="fight-for-the-future">Fight for the Future</keyword> deputy director Evan Greer told Business Insider she shared concerns about trip data and privacy but that the group backed out of CARS because Uber's involvement was not "clearly disclosed."</li><li>CARS spokesperson Keeley Christensen told Business Insider that "any suggestion by proponents of real-time location tracking that there is some sort of sleight-of-hand here is both misleading and an effort to cloud the serious privacy issues at stake."</li><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-sues-los-angeles-over-data-sharing-rules-11585104223">Uber sued Los Angeles</a> earlier this year over its use of trip data, an issue that has drawn pushback from CARS and a bevy other privacy advocates who worry how cities and law enforcement might abuse it.</li></ul>Uber's quiet involvement with a group trying to shape public debate around cities' use of scooter and e-bike trip data has scared off several of its big-name supporters, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/uber-moves-stealthily-gain-allies-fight-cities/">WIRED</a> first reported Thursday.The group, Communities Against Rider Surveillance, is backed by 25 organizations including Uber and aims to "raise awareness of real-time location tracking and encourage a public dialogue before cities implement surveillance tools that put people at risk," CARS spokesperson Keeley Christensen told Business Insider.But despite sharing some of the same worries about <keyword id="803848" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Data-privacy">data privacy</keyword>, advocacy groups Fight for the Future and <keyword id="9547977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="algorithmic-justice-league">Algorithmic Justice League</keyword> withdrew from CARS after learning that Uber is one of its main backers, according to WIRED. Racial equality group MediaJustice told Business Insider it similarly "immediately pulled out" after becoming aware of the connection."It was frustrating to have to pull out of this coalition," Fight for the Future deputy director Evan Greer told Business Insider."We share their concerns about the ways that <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="transportation">transportation</keyword> data, even when anonymized, could be abused by government agencies, law enforcement, and others," Greer said, "But Uber's involvement and backing of the effort was not clearly disclosed to us. We think companies should engage in advocacy transparently."Uber and CARS both refused to disclose the sources of the coalition's' funding. Christensen referred Business Insider to her statement to WIRED, which said that CARS "is grateful to have support from a wide and diverse group of organizations" and that Uber had been listed on its website "since day one.""Any suggestion by proponents of real-time location tracking that there is some sort of sleight-of-hand here is both misleading and an effort to cloud the serious privacy issues at stake," Christensen told Business Insider.Other members of CARS contacted by Business Insider raised similar worries about Uber's track record as a company, but said they would continue to support the coalition's work around privacy."I have concerns about Uber, of course (rotten pay for drivers, horrible corporate environment, etc, etc)," said Patient Privacy Rights President Dr. Deborah Peel, but she added that "the rest of the coalition is organizations that speak for the public's best interest."Tracy Rosenberg of Oakland Privacy said she took issue with Uber's "corporate performance in many aspects" but that she was aware of its involvement in CARS. "On the limited issue of whether raw mobility trip data should be transferred to cities directly or to third parties, we believe unequivocally that it should not be."An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider that the company is glad to be a founding member of CARS and to see more organizations speaking out on the issue, saying Uber believes government demands for trip-level data violate riders' privacy.CARS' advocacy is focused specifically on Mobility Data Specification, a data-sharing standard developed by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation that is used by cities to <a href="https://ladot.io/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/What-is-MDS-Cities.pdf">track scooter and e-bike locations</a>. As urban streets have become increasingly crowded with ride-share companies' vehicles, cities like Los Angeles have passed regulations on their use, some of which have included requirements that companies like Uber — which until recently owned scooter and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happened-to-jump-bike-rise-and-fall-uber-2020-6">e-bike startup Jump</a> — share anonymous, near-real-time data on individual trips.That approach has prompted concerns from the ride-hail companies, citing rider privacy and, implicitly, the potential it will <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/why-uber-fighting-cities-data-about-scooters/">expose their trade secrets</a>. In March, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-sues-los-angeles-over-data-sharing-rules-11585104223">Uber sued LADOT</a> over its collection of trip-level data."Some cities are taking a responsible approach to transportation planning. They're starting by asking what problems they want to solve, and what information they need to get there," Christensen said. "But Los Angeles is moving in the wrong direction" by not being more transparent about how it will use, store, and secure data.Meanwhile, privacy advocates ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation <a href="https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-aclu-file-lawsuit-stop-los-angeles-collecting-real-time-gps-tracking-data">filed their own lawsuit</a> against the city in June, saying it was an overreach of government surveillance and could lead to misuse of the data by law enforcement agencies. (Los Angeles city officials have released "<a href="http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2019/19-1355_rpt_DOT_6-14-2020.pdf">data protection principles</a>" that discuss how they intend to ensure people's privacy).In their heated battle with ride-hail companies over which data they should be required to provide, cities' distrust of the companies has been fueled in part by Uber's own checkered history around transparency and data privacy as well as its <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetwburns/2019/11/08/will-platforms-like-uber-and-lyft-ever-stop-fighting-the-law-or-their-workers/">persistent opposition to regulation</a>. In 2017, The New York Times revealed Uber was intentionally deceiving authorities by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-program-evade-authorities.html">serving up a fake version of its app</a> to local officials. Later that year, WIRED reported that Uber tried to cover up a data breach involving 57 million users by <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/uber-paid-off-hackers-to-hide-a-57-million-user-data-breach/">paying the hackers a $100,000 ransom</a>.<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetwburns/2019/11/08/will-platforms-like-uber-and-lyft-ever-stop-fighting-the-law-or-their-workers/"></a>

An Uber-backed influence campaign against bike and scooter 'rider surveillance' lost the support of major privacy groups once they found out the company was involved

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"<keyword id="10813122" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Zack-Snyders-Justice-League">Zack Snyder's Justice League</keyword>" debuts on <keyword id="7849400" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="HBO-Max">HBO Max</keyword> on Thursday.</li><li>The social app <keyword id="2301443" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="VeRO">Vero</keyword> was Snyder's platform of choice to connect with fans leading up to the movie.</li><li>Vero's CEO explained how the app played an essential role in making the "Snyder Cut" a reality.</li></ul>When Ayman Hariri walked onto the set of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" in 2015, he had no idea what the experience would mean for the next six years of his life.Hariri is the founder and CEO of the social platform Vero, which played an essential role in making <a href="https://www.insider.com/deborah-snyder-justice-league-zack-snyder-cut-joss-whedon-2021-3">"Zack Snyder's Justice League"</a> a reality. The movie, which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zack-snyders-justice-league-release-date-details-hbo-max-2021-1">debuts on HBO Max on Thursday</a>, was born out of calls from Snyder's devoted fans to see his version on screen after the theatrical cut of "Justice League" disappointed financially and critically in 2017. Vero was Snyder's go-to platform to connect with those fans.But when Hariri won a role as an extra in Snyder's "Batman v Superman" in 2015 through a charity auction, Vero hadn't launched yet (it would launch later that year).After meeting Snyder, though, Hariri gave him a peek at the app and the two quickly formed a close friendship (a representative for Snyder confirmed this account). After Vero launched, Snyder became one of its biggest users, and his passionate fanbase followed him.<div type="image" title="zack snyder justice league" height="2160" width="2880" msid="81557009" hostid="261"></div>Snyder exited "Justice League" late into production after his daughter Autumn died by suicide in March 2017. Joss Whedon was brought in for significant reshoots, which fans say altered Snyder's original vision. Fans' appetite for the "Snyder Cut" intensified as Snyder regularly teased behind-the-scenes images and concept art on Vero, and the "Release the Snyder Cut" movement was born.For instance, in October 2019, Snyder confirmed on Vero that his <a href="https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2481653/zack-snyder-confirms-the-major-martian-manhunter-reveal-planned-for-justice-league">initial plan</a> for actor Harry Lennix's character was for him to become the superhero Martian Manhunter. That December, he <a href="https://ew.com/movies/2019/12/04/zack-snyder-snyder-cut-photo/">fanned the flames</a> even more by posting an image on Vero that said "Is it real? Does it exist? Of course it does" referring to his cut of "Justice League.""I choose to be on Vero because it allows me an honest and real interaction with my fans," Snyder told Insider through a representative. <div type="image" title="Ayman Hariri vero" height="1310" width="988" msid="81557013" hostid="261"></div>Users can choose to publish individual posts to Vero publicly, in which all of a person's followers can see that content. They can also label connections as close friends, who can see everything, or friends and acquaintances, who see less. Hariri said that Vero also has a chronological feed rather than one based on an algorithm, which he said attracted Snyder.Hariri said that Vero has over 5 million users. It's a small platform compared to social giants like Facebook and Twitter. But Hariri pushed back on the notion that it's a "niche" platform. He said it's not being built as a niche app, but "with niches in mind.""I'd love to have more creators, whether filmmakers or other, come on Vero," Hariri said. "It's a part of how we think and the strategy of the company."But even if Vero caters to creators, couldn't Snyder have just brought his audience to another platform and reached more people?"I think there is a lot of noise on a lot of different platforms," Hariri said. "Those would present challenges for somebody wanting to create a certain momentum ... All I know is that Zack and [his wife and producing partner] Deborah both believe that Vero played a role in getting ['<keyword id="442750" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Zack-Snyder">Zack Snyder</keyword>'s Justice League'] made."A representative for Snyder confirmed to Insider that the filmmaker regards Vero as being essential in getting "Zack Snyder's Justice League" off the ground.<h2>Restoring the SnyderVerse? Not so fast</h2>As the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-justice-league-snyder-cut-movement-got-momentum-joker-momoa-2019-10">"Release the Snyder Cut" movement gained momentum online</a>, "Justice League" <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ben-affleck-gal-gadot-call-justice-league-snyder-cut-release-2019-11">stars began joining calls</a> for Snyder's movie to see the light of day.Aquaman actor Jason Momoa was the most vocal, saying in August 2019 that he had seen the cut<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aquaman-jason-momoa-says-hes-seen-justice-league-snyder-cut-2019-8"> and that it was "sick."</a>Warner Bros., the studio behind "Justice League," repeatedly denied the movie's existence or that a cut would be released. But in May 2020, Snyder announced after a "Man of Steel" watch party on Vero that his cut of the film would debut in 2021.Now the four-hour movie, which Snyder assembled from footage he shot before departing the project, will premiere on HBO Max on Thursday. "It's very exciting to see him achieve his vision, especially after what he and his family have gone through," Hariri said.<div type="image" title="zack snyder's justice league" height="1460" width="2332" msid="81557016" hostid="261"></div>Hariri said he hasn't seen the movie yet and is waiting to watch it with his kids. In the meantime, Vero is celebrating the movie's release with a <a href="https://vero.co/site/zsjl">cosplay contest</a> judged by Snyder and "Zack Snyder's Justice League" costume designer Michael Wilkinson that runs through March 22.But even with the release of the movie, fans are still clamoring for more.The "#RestoretheSnyderVerse" hashtag has made the rounds on social <keyword id="6354777" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Media">media</keyword>, referring to Snyder's original vision that his "Justice League" be a two-part movie and lay the groundwork for the rest of the "DC Extended Universe." "Zack Snyder's Justice League" even <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/zack-snyder-justice-league-cliffhanger-ending-explained-despite-no-sequel">ends on a cliffhanger</a>.But Warner Bros. and parent company <keyword id="6868021" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="WarnerMedia">WarnerMedia</keyword> have moved in a different direction with its DC movie franchise, and Snyder has expressed in interviews that he won't be involved in anymore DC movies."They [WarnerMedia] are 100% moving away," Snyder told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/14/movies/zack-snyders-rough-and-tumble-ride-with-justice-league.html">The New York Times</a>. "They consider the theatrical cut of 'Justice League' as canon. That's their decision. I wish them all the best, and I hope the whole thing is a giant blockbuster on top of blockbuster on top of blockbuster."Hariri isn't sure what Vero's involvement in any sort of continued movement would be. But as a fan, he wants to see more."Zack would be in charge of how he wants to move forward, but as a fan, I hope he continues because he has a vision and I'd love to see that vision continue," Hariri said.

'Zack Snyder's Justice League' is now streaming on HBO Max after a 3-year fan campaign. Here's why Snyder credits the app Vero with helping to make it a reality.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-giving-users-unhinged-answers-no-one-knows-why-openai-2024-2">OpenAI's ChatGPT</a> showed racial bias when screening resumes for jobs, a Bloomberg investigation found.</li><li>The AI tool over-selected Asian women candidates and under-select Black men, Bloomberg reported.</li></ul>If you're looking for a job, beware: The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-tools-changing-content-creators-work-2024-1">AI tool</a> screening your resume might have a racial bias similar to some human recruiters.OpenAI's ChatGPT has become a popular tool for recruiters as hiring ramps up at the start of 2024, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-openai-gpt-hiring-racial-discrimination/?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTcwOTg1NjE0OCwiZXhwIjoxNzEwNDYwOTQ4LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTQTA1Q1FUMEFGQjQwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiI2NDU1MEM3NkRFMkU0QkM1OEI0OTI5QjBDQkIzRDlCRCJ9.MdkSGC3HMwwUYtltWq6WxWg3vULNeCTJcjacB-DNi8k">Bloomberg reported</a> on Friday. But the news outlet's investigation found that the tool seemed to prefer names generally associated with Asian applicants more than those associated with Black job seekers.Bloomberg created resumes for fictitious candidates, then asked <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chat-gpt-2023-1">ChatGPT</a> 3.5 to rank them for multiple different job listings, from "financial engineer" to "HR specialist."After it ran the experiment 1,000 times, Bloomberg found that resumes using names associated with Asian women were ranked as the top candidate 17.2% of the time — the highest percentage out of the eight race- and gender-based groups that the investigation tested.The same could be said of Black men just 7.6% of the time, according to the results."If GPT treated all the resumes equally, each of the eight demographic groups would be ranked as the top candidate one-eighth (12.5%) of the time," Bloomberg reported.OpenAI did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the report. The company told Bloomberg that companies may adjust ChatGPT when using it to screen resumes. Recruiters can add their own safeguards against bias, the company said, like stripping names out of the screening process.Hiring processes usually involve more than screening names and resumes, the report says. But applicants of certain genders or races "would be adversely impacted" if a company used only an AI tool, the report says, referencing the federal government's standard for hiring discrimination.BI previously reported how some have hoped that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-help-recruit-hire-employees-tech-women-bias-job-seeking-2024-1">AI could reduce bias in hiring</a> — though they've cautioned that the technology should be just one tool that human recruiters use to fill positions.But AI's bias is a big challenge for the technology — potentially even larger than the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-discrimination-bias-worse-problem-than-sentience-2022-6">risk that it will become sentient.</a>For example, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-faces-indistinguishable-from-real-humans-study-finds-2023-11">AI-generated faces of white people were more convincing</a> than similar images of people of color, researchers found last year. One explanation: AI models are trained more on white faces than those of other racial groups.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/unmasking-ai-review-joy-buolamwini-big-tech-ai-bias-2024-2">Joy Buolamwini</a>, a computer scientist and founder of The Algorithmic Justice League, found that AI can hurt and discriminate against marginalized communities, including through facial recognition.

Don't expect ChatGPT to take the bias out of job recruiting just yet

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Multiple federal agencies use unregulated <keyword id="447510" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="60" keywordseo="facial-recognition-technology">facial recognition technology</keyword> to aid criminal investigations.</li><li>Facial recognition technology is more likely to misidentify Black, Asian, and Indigenous persons.</li><li>13 agencies did not have up-to-date information on what non-federal systems are used by their employees,</li></ul>The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?513341-1/hearing-police-facial-recognition-technology">met Tuesday to discuss the unfettered use of facial recognition technology</a> by federal law enforcement.Both experts and committee members from both parties expressed concerns about the current use of facial recognition technology, including its invasion of individual and community <keyword id="6355135" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Privacy">privacy</keyword>, procurement of images without proper consent, and high misidentification rates of nonwhite individuals.From its <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-518.pdf">survey</a> of 42 federal agencies that employ law enforcement officers, the <keyword id="389509" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Government-Accountability-Office">Government Accountability Office</keyword> (GAO) found that 20 federal agencies own systems with facial recognition technology or use systems owned by other entities. GAO Director <keyword id="11636763" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gretta-goodwin">Gretta Goodwin</keyword> testified that these systems can contain millions or billions of photos. Of the 14 agencies that reported using facial recognition technology during criminal investigations, 13 did not have completely up-to-date information on what systems are used by their employees, meaning they may rely on systems owned by other entities to support their operations. The agencies themselves do not regularly track this information or have mechanisms in place to do so."Facial recognition technologies capabilities are only going to grow stronger. If law enforcement agencies do not know if or how their employees are using the technology, then they cannot ensure that the appropriate protections are in place," Goodwin said.The <keyword id="6355946" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="fbi">FBI</keyword> has access to over 640 million photos, in some cases through the use of private companies that scrape social media sites, according to Kara Frederick, a <keyword id="6358815" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="tech">tech</keyword> policy research fellow for the Heritage Foundation.The United States also nearly matches China and its surveillance coverage with one camera for every 4.6 people compared to China's one for every 4.1 individuals, Frederick added."Authoritarian powers like China are at the bleeding edge of using facial recognition for internal control," Frederick said. "The demonstrated inclination by governments to expand these powers in democratic nations renders the slope a slippery one. And we know that once these powers expand, they almost never contract."Bertram Lee, media and tech counsel for the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, cited research showing how facial recognition further entrenches <keyword id="4806893" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Racial-disparities">racial disparities</keyword> in the legal system. Algorithmic Justice League founder Joy Buolamwini and Black in AI cofounder Timnit Gebru found that <a href="http://proceedings.mlr.press/v81/buolamwini18a.html">some facial analysis algorithms misclassified Black women nearly 35% of the time</a>, while white men were almost always correctly identified."Even if the accuracy of facial recognition technology was improved, the fundamental issue remains: Facial recognition technology dangerously expands the scope and power of law enforcement," Lee said. "When combined with existing networks of surveillance cameras dotting our urban and suburban landscapes, facial recognition algorithms could enable governments to track the public's movements, habits, and associations of all people at all times merely with the push of a button."Robert Williams, a Black man who was wrongfully arrested on a felony larceny charge due to facial recognition technology, urged politicians to put safeguards in place.Williams was taken into custody by the Detroit Police Department and later pleaded not guilty. During a court recess, Williams said he met with detectives and viewed photos of the suspect at the scene of the robbery."I held that piece of paper up to my face and said, 'I hope you don't think all Black people look alike.' [A detective] turned over another piece of paper and said, 'So, I guess the computer got it wrong.'"The GAO report included recommendations such as implementing mechanisms to track what non-federal systems with facial recognition technology are used by employees to support investigative activities and assessing the privacy- and accuracy-related risks of such systems.

20 federal agencies use facial recognition technologies that store billions of photos

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d8126c12e22af4c67077d83-2400/rtr4a1hl.jpg" border="0" alt="job fair career fair recruiter" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Rick Wilking" data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZJVMBEQF&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1452&amp;RH=901&amp;RW=1452&amp;RH=901#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZJVMBEQF&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1452&amp;RH=901&amp;POPUPPN=1&amp;POPUPIID=2C0408WNYYMMG" /><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZJVMBEQF&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1452&amp;RH=901&amp;RW=1452&amp;RH=901#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZJVMBEQF&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1452&amp;RH=901&amp;POPUPPN=1&amp;POPUPIID=2C0408WNYYMMG">REUTERS/Rick Wilking</a></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Employers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence-driven tools to carry out recruitment and hiring. Companies like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/amazon">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/fedex">FedEx</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/target">Target</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/capital-one">Capital One</a> have tested or used <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/ai">AI</a> hiring software.</li><li>These tools sift through heaps of resumes quickly, evaluate candidates' answers to written questions and interactive games, and conduct video interviews with candidates.</li><li>Vendors tout AI hiring tools as a way to root out discrimination, but experts and activists warn that AI-driven hiring tools are just as biased as the humans who train them.</li><li><a href="https://businessinsider.com">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>The next time you apply for a job, the fate of your application may not be in human hands - instead, an algorithm could determine whether or not you make the cut.Employers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence-driven tools to carry out recruitment and hiring. Target, Hilton, Pepsi, Amazon, and Ikea are among the companies who have <a href="https://www.upturn.org/static/reports/2018/hiring-algorithms/files/Upturn%20--%20Help%20Wanted%20-%20An%20Exploration%20of%20Hiring%20Algorithms,%20Equity%20and%20Bias.pdf">tested or used algorithms</a> to determine who to hire, and the list is growing across the employment spectrum from low-wage jobs to white-collar positions. Advocates say AI is the key to rooting out human bias and ending discrimination in the hiring process. But its critics warn that AI-driven hiring tools are just as biased as the humans who train them.Predictive hiring tools are mostly used to weed out candidates deemed unfit for hire, rather than affirmatively choose who gets a job. These tools sift through huge numbers of resumes in short time periods, evaluate candidates' answers to written questions and interactive games, and conduct video interviews with candidates.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-ai-is-changing-everything-2019-7">How AI is changing everything</a>Companies who sell the AI tools say they expect that the job of human recruiters will soon be entirely replaced by robots in some sectors, and investor interest in these vendors is growing. Researchers at Cornell <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3408010&amp;download=yes">found</a> that there are at least 19 companies providing AI-driven hiring tools worldwide, with funding ranging from $1 million to $93 million per vendor. But AI experts have raised concerns about the technology's rapid growth."Technology is rapidly changing how people find jobs, learn about jobs, apply to those jobs, and are evaluated for those jobs," Aaron Rieke, managing director at tech equity nonprofit <a href="https://www.upturn.org/">Upturn</a>, told Business Insider. "The fear is if that is not done very carefully and thoughtfully, there could be problems down the road."Meanwhile, AI-driven hiring tools haven't drawn much scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers. However, the House Education and Labor Committee is <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/congress-plays-catch-up-on-artificial-intelligence-at-work">holding a series of hearings</a> on the impact of AI on the workforce this fall, which could be a precursor to legislation.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d24d11ea17d6c0f4a3048bc-1201/rise of deepfakes 4x3.png" border="0" alt="rise of deepfakes 4x3" data-mce-source="Samantha Lee/Business Insider" />Samantha Lee/Business Insider</div></div></div><h2>AI hiring tools could automatically discriminate against certain job applicants</h2>Just like all algorithms, AI hiring tools are trained by humans, typically using data sets from the real world meant to help AI recognize the features of a "good" or "bad" candidate. Accordingly, tech experts and activists have warned that AI hiring tools might pick up on preexisting human biases, especially in fields like tech, where progress towards diversity <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/infographic-tech-diversity-companies-compared-2017-8">has been slow</a>. In a <a href="https://www.upturn.org/static/reports/2018/hiring-algorithms/files/Upturn%20--%20Help%20Wanted%20-%20An%20Exploration%20of%20Hiring%20Algorithms,%20Equity%20and%20Bias.pdf">report</a> published in December, Upturn researchers highlighted how these assumptions could lead to unintentional discrimination by AI hiring tools."What can naturally happen is you build a model that identifies common characteristics of your current workforce, which isn't diverse," Rieke said. "Or might reflect the fact that hiring managers have traditionally given preference to male candidates over women."Employers also tend to blindly trust AI as an objective standard-bearer without questioning its potential for bias, according to Joy Buolamwini, a computer scientist based at the MIT Media Lab. Buolamwini founded the Algorithmic Justice League, which conducts research and advocacy on AI bias."Even if a company has good intentions, products that are trained on data collected from current employees deemed successful could learn discriminating characteristics that are due to identity traits instead of job competency," Buolamwini wrote in an email to Business Insider. "Data is not necessarily neutral."<h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d9ca24a591bb74a572cbd79-2400/rtsha85.jpg" border="0" alt="korea resume job application fair" data-mce-source="Lee Jae Won/Reuters" />Lee Jae Won/Reuters</div></div></div></h2><h2>Can AI be trained to root out human bias?</h2>Vendors of AI-driven hiring tools argue the opposite, claiming that AI is the most surefire way to ultimately eliminate human bias in the hiring process.Eric Sydell, the executive vice president of innovation at Modern Hire, told Business Insider he believes algorithms can be programmed with the specific goal of ruling out the unfair preferences that humans act on. Modern Hire sells a software that allows companies to put candidates through interviews and "virtual job tryouts," and is used by companies including Capital One, Allstate, SunTrust, and FedEx."AI has tremendous potential to make things more fair and more valid," Sydell said. "There's a million of those [biases] that humans are holding in their heads at all times … with AI we can eradicate human biases."Rieke said it's too soon to tell whether AI-driven hiring tools are already working against bias, but he believes it's possible that such tools could one day prove less biased than human recruiters."The old-fashioned, human way of doing this is a process that has consistently yielded staggering bias against people," Rieke said. "I think there's the possibility for hiring tools to fairly and equitably hire people … but the devil's in the details."<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=amazon&amp;itm_campaign=40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019-3"><img src="https://static.businessinsider.com/image/5d5ecdddad2b472c89086704" alt="Exclusive FREE Slide Deck: 40 Big Tech Predictions for 2019 by Business Insider Intelligence" border="0" style="width: 100% !important" /></a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/veggie-burger-taste-test-burger-king-impossible-burger-beyond-meat-2019-9">We compared 13 veggie burgers and Burger King's Impossible Burger was the only one that stood out</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/j2KWU4JV-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

AI could be the key to ending discrimination in hiring, but experts warn it can be just as biased as humans

<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/davos-2019"><img src="https://static.businessinsider.com/image/5c3fb2e87196712b8847b5c4-1200/davos banner.png" border="0" alt="Davos Banner" data-mce-source="Business Insider" /></a><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c48c6b92bdd7f5ef23eb8b3-2160/joy buolamwini.jpg" border="0" alt="Joy Buolamwini" data-mce-source="TED" />TEDAlgorithmic Justice League founder Joy Buolamwini.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Joy Buolamwini is an MIT researcher working to compel organizations to make facial recognition software more ethical and inclusive.</li><li>The AI that runs facial recognition software learns from data during its development, and its accuracy in assessing faces reflects that data set.</li><li>After Buolamwini shared research with IBM about its software's poor scores in assessing darker male and female faces, IBM developers were able to drastically improve accuracy scores through adjustments.</li><li>This article is part of Business Insider's ongoing series on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/better-capitalism">Better Capitalism</a>.</li></ul>When we talk about algorithms and automation, <a href="https://breakermag.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-is-absolutely-right-about-racist-algorithms/">we can't assume</a> that handing responsibilities over to a machine will eliminate human biases. Artificial intelligence, after all, is constructed and taught by humans.MIT Media Lab researcher and <a href="https://www.ajlunited.org/">Algorithmic Justice League</a> founder Joy Buolamwini has made it her mission not only to raise awareness of bias in facial recognition software, but also to compel companies around the world to make their software more accurate and to use its capabilities ethically.Buolamwini coined the term "the coded gaze." She says the coded gaze is a "reflection of the priorities, the preferences, and also sometimes the prejudices of those who have the power to shape technology," she told an audience at the World Economic Forum's 2019 annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.There are real stakes here. As she noted in a viral <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/joy_buolamwini_how_i_m_fighting_bias_in_algorithms?language=en">TED Talk</a> and a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/opinion/facial-analysis-technology-bias.html">New York Times editorial</a>, it's one thing to have Facebook confuse people when analyzing a photo, but another when law enforcement or a potential employer is utilizing such software.Buolamwini has Ghanian heritage, and as a graduate student, she found that facial recognition software she was researching could detect the faces of light-skinned classmates but not her own, darker skin. She showed the Davos crowd a shot from her TED talk, in which she demonstrated the way that same software recognized her face when she wore a plain white mask over it.Different companies use different software for facial recognition, but the AI involved learns through images fed to it during its development. If it's shown primarily white, male faces, it will become an expert at identifying white, male faces and can pick up subtle details; meanwhile, it will struggle to identify or differentiate faces with different skin hues, and will have a more difficult time assessing female features.Buolamwi and MIT colleagues embarked on a thorough assessment of leading facial recognition programs - those from Microsoft, Face++, and IBM - to see how they fared. There were differences in exactly how accurate each program was, but all three generally had the same order of best to worst accuracy: lighter male, lighter female, darker male, darker female (Face++ had a .1% increase in accuracy for darker male than lighter male).Before making her research public, Buolamwi sent the results to each company. IBM responded the same day, she said, and said developers would address discrepancies. She assessed IBM's updated software last year and found a notable improvement. The accuracy for correctly assessing darker males went from 88.0% to 99.4%, for darker females from 65.3% to 83.5%, and for lighter females from 92.9% to 97.6%, and lighter males stayed the same at 97.0%."So for everybody who watched my TED Talk and said, 'Isn't the reason you weren't detected because of, you know, physics? Your skin reflectance, contrast, et cetera,' - the laws of physics did not change between Dec. 2017, when I did the study, and 2018, when they launched the new results," Buolamwi said. "What did change is they made it a priority."Buolamwi then recognized that while software primed for lighter males presented its own problems, even perfect software was at the whim of its handlers.She noted <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/09/06/nypd-surveillance-camera-skin-tone-search/">an Intercept investigation</a> published last summer that found IBM had worked with the New York City Police Department for years on a surveillance project utilizing facial recognition, which was never made public while in use. (The NYPD told the Intercept it never used the software's ability to distinguish skin color, IBM declined to comment on the project, and the NYPD ended its partnership with IBM in 2016.)She then pointed out how <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hirevue-ai-powered-job-interview-platform-2017-8">HireVue</a>, a company that makes software that allows large employers like Unilever and Hilton Worldwide to rapidly assess many job applicants' video interviews, learns from "top performers" for a particular role. That means it will naturally be biased toward those with traits shared by people already in the role."So it's not just the question of having accurate systems," she said. "How these systems are used is also important." It's why she launched the <a href="https://www.safefacepledge.org/">Safe Face Pledge</a>, with four commitments: show value for human life, dignity, and rights; address harmful bias; facilitate transparency; and embed commitments into business practices. It launched with three signatories, but has yet to land a major corporation.Facial recognition software is here to stay, and has potential for useful applications like protecting users from identity theft. As Buolamwi's research suggests, it poses less of a threat to citizens' rights the more accurate it is, and as its use becomes more widespread, companies must take the ethics around its use very seriously.<a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting/sessions/compassion-through-computation-fighting-algorithmic-bias">You can see Buolamwi's full presentation at WEF's website »</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-alexis-ohanian-elon-musk-robot-paranoia-terminator-artificial-intelligence-2018-12">Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian isn't worried about Elon Musk's vision of 'Terminator'-like robots taking over humanity</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/wGfXU87H-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

An MIT researcher who analyzed facial recognition software found eliminating bias in AI is a matter of priorities

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Hulu and <keyword id="128682" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Netflix">Netflix</keyword> launched in 2007, but <keyword id="7849400" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="HBO-Max">HBO Max</keyword> and <keyword id="7448675" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="disney-plus">Disney Plus</keyword> have since joined the fray.</li><li>For a month, I compared each app's interface, content, and user experience. </li><li>I loved HBO Max and <keyword id="46161" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Disney">Disney</keyword> Plus, and it's clear why as they're biting into Netflix's lead.</li></ul>Netflix launched in 2007 and quickly became a ubiquitous part of household <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="entertainment">entertainment</keyword>.It's become a household name and an indelible aspect of popular culture. After all, there's a reason we say "Netflix-and-chill" and not "Hulu-and-chill."And while Netflix - and its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/average-us-household-now-subscribes-to-4-streaming-services-analysis-2021-1">200 million global subscribers</a> - retains its place on the streaming throne, the market has become increasingly crowded. Hulu debuted in 2007, and Disney Plus launched 12 years later in late 2019. HBO Max joined the fray in mid-2020 when platforms saw a surge in new signups thanks to the pandemic.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-streaming-service">And those are just some of the many players.</a>What once seemed like a one-and-done streaming menu - with Netflix being many viewers' sole streaming platform - has now become an a-la-carte scenario, where customers can mix and match platforms, depending on the offerings they want most.Over the course of four weeks, I took a closer look at Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, and Disney Plus and put them head-to-head. I compared the apps' user interfaces and their most appealing selections to decide which ones I could live without.The bottom line: If I was forced to pick two of the four, it would be Disney Plus and HBO Max. It isn't that I don't want or value Netflix and Hulu, the oldest of the bunch. But I've grown to love their two competitors so much that I wouldn't want to let them go.My findings are in line with what data shows is occurring in the streaming world. Netflix may still be the top dog, but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-streaming-market-share-shrank-in-2020-data-2021-1">its market share is shrinking as Disney Plus and HBO Max keep biting into it.</a><h2>Each service has unique movies and shows to entice viewers.</h2><div type="image" title="disney plus screenshot marvel" height="1204" width="1605" msid="82858981" hostid="261"></div>For Disney, there will always be an appeal for customers who grew up with classics like "Tarzan" and "Beauty and the Beast." I still get a rush knowing I have Disney and Pixar's entire catalog of movies at my fingertips. Disney Plus also has the complete Marvel universe and "Star Wars" franchises.HBO Max, meanwhile, has its arsenal of licensed programs, like "The Sopranos," "Sex and the City," and "Game of Thrones," though the latter is available on other sites as well.A beloved trilogy is also available on the service - one that many would arguably dish out the subscription fee solely for: the entire "Lord of the Rings" collection, including the extended editions. It's the only streaming service that currently offers the three movies, though Netflix has in the past.<div type="image" title="HBO Max screenshot" height="964" width="1286" msid="82858984" hostid="261"></div><h2>Hulu has leaned heavily into licensed programs over the years.</h2>That means that older shows, like the ever-popular "Seinfeld," are available for viewers to binge without cable. It also has an extensive movie selection, as well as things like "The Handmaid's Tale," "Little Fires Everywhere," and "Parasite," which were all <a href="https://press.hulu.com/news/2020/12/16/hulu-2020-year-end-report/">big hits in 2020.</a>And then there's Netflix, the platform whose releases manage to bring the world together as it did during the pandemic with "Tiger King," "The Queen's Gambit," and "Bridgerton." When a popular Netflix show drops, it's difficult to escape the discourse that takes over social media and watercooler conversations.Perhaps Netflix has always had FOMO working for it, but its dilemma is that other platforms have started to as well with releases like "Wonder Woman 1984" and "Zack Snyder's Justice League." Netflix has also lost major attractions, like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-office-leaving-netflix-fans-may-have-to-pay-peacock-2020-12">"The Office" to NBC's Peacock in January,</a> and "Portlandia" is <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-whats-coming-to-netflix-in-june-2021-and-whats-leaving-11621459247">exiting the platform in June.</a><h2>Netflix and Disney have the best apps for browsing. HBO Max and Hulu's aren't so great.</h2><div type="image" title="netflix screenshot browse" height="1119" width="1492" msid="82858986" hostid="261"></div>The Netflix experience is smooth, with categories that are appealing and easy to understand, like "Romantic Comedies" and "Movies from the 1990s." Its "Top 10" program reel is also clean and inviting, and all of its tiles are of similar size, save for its reel promoting Netflix Originals. Netflix also uses a recommendation algorithm to suggest content based on your watching habits, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-execs-on-espns-streaming-recommendation-engine-algorithms-2019-7">others like Disney do something similar. </a><h2>Disney's is organized and intuitive.</h2><div type="image" title="Disney Plus" height="1301" width="1735" msid="82858988" hostid="261"></div>I appreciated how buttons are positioned right at the top to take you to Disney, Pixar, Marvel, or Star Wars' specific collections. Its categories are also comprehensible, like "Reimagined Classics" featuring the live-action versions of animated oldies (think "Aladdin" and "Mulan.")It also has the ever-helpful "Marvel Cinematic Universe in Timeline Order" reel.<h2>HBO Max has some of the best content, but the app layout is wonky and unwelcoming.</h2>The disproportionately sized tiles are irritating, and poorly defined categories like "Underdog Tales" and "Small Town, Dark Secrets" aren't doing the platform any favors.HBO Max doesn't make it easy to find its stellar assortment of movies - you've got to hunt for them, but that can be half the fun of opening the app.<div type="image" title="hbo max screenshot" height="1277" width="1702" msid="82858990" hostid="261"></div>Tip: Patiently go through the entire movie collection from A-to-Z and save the ones that even remotely interest you to your watchlist. Then slowly work your way through them over time. Rinse and repeat every now and again.I've rediscovered gems like "Rocky," "Cold Mountain," "Independence Day," "The Mummy," and Monsterverse movies like "King Kong: Skull Island" and "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" with that method.<h2>Hulu's interface has gotten better, but its home screen still irks me.</h2><div type="image" title="hulu screenshot" height="1149" width="1532" msid="82858995" hostid="261"></div>The movie tiles and categories are incongruous and busy. But when you narrow your search and toggle to Movies or TV, the layout is more streamlined and agreeable.<h2>HBO Max has the most refreshingly unexpected film content.</h2>I grew up in a household with a cable package that included HBO, so my Saturdays consisted of sifting through the channels and giving titles like "A League of Their Own," "When Harry Met Sally," "Speed," "13 Going On 30," and "Practical Magic" a try.So I'm drawn to HBO Max for what feels like a robust offering of films that I'm familiar with.Hulu is appealing for a similar reason: it has an entirely different offering of movies that you might have forgotten about, like "No Strings Attached" and "The Wedding Planner." And like HBO Max and "Lord of the Rings," Hulu lets me watch one of the all-time greatest classics whenever I want to: Shrek. It's the only streaming platform that offers the beloved 20-year-old movie and its sequel.<div type="image" title="hulu screenshot" height="1092" width="1456" msid="82858996" hostid="261"></div>Netflix's movie selection is not its strongest suit. Instead, the company has emphasized its original TV programming as of late, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-streaming-services-for-exclusives-originals-netflix-disney-plus-2021-2">a feat that it excels at.</a>Disney's film selection is stellar, but it's mostly predictable - subscribers flock to the service because they want Disney, Pixar, and Marvel movies. And thanks to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-axes-fox-from-20th-century-fox-diminishes-murdoch-legacy-2020-1">Disney's 2019 acquisition of 20th Century Studios</a>, there are some good films that I wouldn't expect to find on the platform, like "Never Been Kissed" and "Ever After."<h2>I'd give up my Netflix subscription for HBO Max and Disney Plus if I had to.</h2>At the end of the day, looks aren't everything, which is why HBO Max's clunky app layout doesn't bother me in the slightest. It's what it offers that interests me the most.And having my entire childhood VHS Disney collection on a digitized platform is too much of a thrill to abandon. So if I were hypothetically forced to choose two out of the four platforms, I'd choose HBO Max and Disney Plus. <div type="image" title="disney plus screenshot" height="1298" width="1731" msid="82858998" hostid="261"></div>However, I likely won't be faced with that decision as long as my budget continues to allow. And I'm not alone. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/average-us-household-now-subscribes-to-4-streaming-services-analysis-2021-1">The average American household subscribes to four streaming services</a>, according to a January report from the research firm Ampere <keyword id="6357018" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Analysis">Analysis</keyword>. But the first apps I open in the evening will continue to be either HBO Max or Disney Plus, with Netflix and Hulu acting as supplements.With so many streaming services to choose from, some may favor others over Netflix - which is why the giant should be worried if viewers ever decide to cut costs in their streaming budgets and narrow their subscriptions.

After using Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, and HBO Max for a month, I'm convinced Netflix could lose its crown

<ul><li>Tracking down protestors who were present at the Red Fort on January 26 is only the most recent example of how <keyword id="447510" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="facial-recognition-technology">facial recognition technology</keyword> is being used by law enforcement in India. </li><li>A civil liberties organisation, the <keyword id="3457213" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="internet-freedom-foundation">Internet Freedom Foundation</keyword> (IFF), has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a discussion with experts and stakeholders to ascertain how this may violate the rights of millions of Indians.</li><li>Concerns around the use of <keyword id="30939" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="facial-recognition">facial recognition</keyword> aren’t just centered in India, but are a global worry as its use becomes more widespread.</li></ul>The Indian government is using facial recognition technology to track down the protestors who were present at the Red Fort during the ruckus on January 26. But, that’s only the most recent example of how the use of facial recognition is accelerating in India as the law plays catch up. In the state of <keyword id="6357713" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uttar-Pradesh">Uttar Pradesh</keyword> (UP), for instance, the police are using an AI-based facial recognition system to alert the police whenever a woman is in distress. However, there is no clarity on who will access the surveillance footage from these ‘smart cameras’ and where that data will be stored. The same software, called Trinetra, was also used by the UP police to run surveillance on anti-CAA protestors following which more than 1,100 arrests were made. In another example, the Central Board of Secondary Education (<keyword id="6356155" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="cbse">CBSE</keyword>) used facial recognition to match admit card photos on record to match students logging in to give their board exams — an exercise that was carried out without any additional consent from the students of their parents. The IFF estimates that there are currently 42 ongoing facial recognition projects in India, front he Automated Multimodal Biometric Identification System (AMBIS) in Maharashtra to FaceTagr in Tamil Nadu. Of these, at least 19 are being developed and deployed by state-level police departments and the NCRB for the specific purpose of security and surveillance. Regardless of where one stands on the farmers’ protests, the use of such technology has much wider implications since it falls into a vague and undefined category with no specific laws to address how this technology is being used and on whom. The use of facial recognition technology goes beyond the farmers’ protests The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), as a part of the <a href="https://panoptic.in/petition">Project Panoptic</a>, has written to the government asking them to address the ongoing concerns around the use of facial recognition technology and to call stakeholders and privacy experts for consultation on how this affects individual fundamental rights. According to the non-government organisation (NGO), the deployment of facial recognition is in violation of the right to privacy set out by the Supreme Court in 2017. “Nowhere are these risks more evident than the large scale of deployment of facial recognition technology that is causing certain harm by restricting the liberty and autonomy of millions of Indians,” said the IFF in its letter to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. What is facial recognition technology? Facial recognition can be a lot of things. It’s an umbrella term used to describe a suite of applications that perform a specific task using a human face to verify or identify an individual. It can also be scaled up to identify and categorise people based on physical features like race, ethnicity, gender, age or disability status. And, in recent years, it has been increasingly used in the realm of law enforcement without adequate checks and balances in place. “To ensure security in high crime areas, the simple solution would be to install more police personnel there. Installation of these cameras and the subsequent constant surveillance will only lead to more harm than benefits," said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/news/a-scary-proposal-to-use-facial-recognition-and-ai-by-an-indian-state-has-experts-fuming/articleshow/80421935.cms">Anushka Jain</a>, Associate Counsel (Transparency &amp; Right to Information) at IFF told Business Insider in an earlier interview. Creation of a national database for facial recognition In India, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) which invites bids for the creation of a National Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS). It has an estimated budget of ₹308 crore to create a national database of photographs. According to the proposal, this database is purported to be used to swiftly identify criminals by gathering existing data from various other databases. In the US, there was nationwide outrage when Amazon decided to outsource the use of its facial recognition software, Rekognition, to the police. “Just because technology could be misused doesn’t mean we should ban it and condemn it,” Andy Jassy, set to step in as Jeff Bezos replacement as CEO of the company, told <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/6/10/18660224/amazon-facial-recognition-rekognition-federal-regulation-andy-jassy-aws">Recode</a> during a 2019 interview. Misuse of facial recognition technology is a global concern Concerns around the misuse of facial recognition technology are not specific to India. The <a href="https://www.aclu.org/issues/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/face-recognition-technology">American Civil Liberties Union</a> has also expressed its apprehension that using facial recognition can be used “in a passive way that doesn’t require the knowledge, consent, or participation of the subject.” Other civil society organisations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Algorithmic Justice League and <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2020/06/amnesty-international-calls-for-ban-on-the-use-of-facial-recognition-technology-for-mass-surveillance/">Amnesty International</a> have also called for a ban on the use of this technology. The question isn’t only of consent but also that facial recognition is known to deliver biased results. “The impact on marginalised communities gains special importance for us locally due to the wide inequality and diversity present in our society,” said the IFF’s letter. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/tech-mahindra-cfo-says-talent-is-getting-expensive-but-clients-are-willing-to-pay-the-premium/articleshow/80779844.cms">EXCLUSIVE: Tech Mahindra CFO says talent is getting expensive but clients are willing to pay the premium</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/indian-space-startup-agnikul-cosmos-has-become-the-worlds-first-company-to-successfully-test-a-fully-3d-printed-rocket-engine/articleshow/80762695.cms">Indian space startup fires world’s first fully 3D printed rocket engine as others play catch up</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/income-tax/news/with-the-new-tds-rule-every-time-you-make-a-payment-you-must-ask-if-the-receiver-has-filed-tax-returns-in-last-two-years/articleshow/80765802.cms">With the new TDS rule, every time you make a payment, you must ask if the receiver has filed tax returns in last two years</a>

India is ramping up the use of facial recognition to track down individuals without any laws to keep track of how this technology is being used

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13098507" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="id-me" source="Orion">ID.me</keyword> is an identity verification service that has contracts with many federal agencies, including the IRS.</li><li>The Department of <keyword id="12353257" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="veterans-affairs" source="Orion">Veterans Affairs</keyword> has been using ID.me since 2019 as part of a $32 million contract.</li></ul>ID.me, a company founded by a former Army officer, has been blocking hundreds of <keyword id="11900013" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="veterans" source="Orion">veterans</keyword> from accessing benefits and getting other crucial help, according to an investigation by Insider.The startup offers an identity-verification service that promises to help agencies across the US root out fraud. While ID.me and many of its customers say the company has successfully done this, the technology has also hindered people's access to government support. A public record request by Insider revealed more than 700 complaints about ID.me to the Department of Veterans Affairs from October 2021 to January 2022. Those four months featured sometimes-harrowing stories of aging former military members suffering in VA hospital beds while their spouses or children tried desperately to jump through inscrutable technical hoops to prove their identity. In recent years, states and government agencies have embraced new technology to help deal with a surge of applications for unemployment support and other benefits. ID.me has sold its identity verification tool to <a href="https://help.id.me/hc/en-us/categories/360004475354-Verifying-for-State-Benefits">27 state unemployment programs</a> and several federal agencies, including the VA. The VA says more than 1 million people logged in via ID.me in roughly the past year.The complaints highlight other problems with the service, especially for caregivers, family members and veterans with limited access to technology and who are elderly, poor, or live outside of the US. For these veterans and their families, ID.me represented a new technical hurdle over an already complex and sprawling system of benefits and services. <blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">HELP! I am trying to apply for health benefits as well as the financial benefits for my 90-year-old father who has Alzheimer's and is also a veteran. He is unable to do the application himself and ... I can't verify his identity through ID me.</q></blockquote>ID.me's technology and approach have also raised privacy concerns and at least one agency, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/irs-idme-facial-recognition-verification-taxes-2022-2">Internal Revenue Service</a>, is considering alternatives now. "We are deeply committed to a good customer experience," said Patrick Dorton, who runs a PR firm that represents ID.me. He said that ID.me helped agencies remotely verify identities through the pandemic, a time when in-person verification options were limited. The VA started using ID.me in 2019 as part of a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-01-20/cybersecurity-company-id-me-is-becoming-government-s-digital-gatekeeper?sref=BWbpWjRm">$32 million contract</a>. In October, the agency set up a new helpline called Ask VA that requires veterans to authenticate themselves through ID.me or two government-run verification options. Insider's public record request found 734 complaints about ID.me submitted to Ask VA from its launch to January 2022. <h2>'Intrusive and undignified'</h2>In January 2020, an 85-year-old veteran had a stroke that left him unable to see or speak. As he lay in a VA hospital bed, his child tried to access his medical records. ID.me required the patient to verify his identity. "He's laying in a hospital bed in a hospital gown, blind, unable to talk, hooked up and drugged up," the child wrote to the VA's helpline. "This is far too personally intrusive and undignified, to conduct a video conference with some unknown support <keyword id="6358815" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tech" source="Orion">tech</keyword> and ID.me."This person's mother had power of attorney over the veteran, but she was struggling with the technology. "I have to do this for them because my parents are not tech savvy at all," the child wrote. "My father has never even sat down at a computer or used a keyboard. They're countryfolk." After answering all necessary questions, uploading the required documents, and submitting a selfie, this person said ID.me wouldn't validate their father's identity."Now they want to do a video conference call with my father from his hospital bed," the child said. This person went so far as to contact the CEO of ID.me, Blake Hall. The executive said "the law prevents him from validating identity with anyone but the individual," and that they needed to be registered as his caregiver within the VA's system, according to the child's complaint to the VA. The VA says ID.me doesn't require a selfie for validating VA accounts. Dorton, ID.me's outside spokesman, told Insider that it's an organization's responsibility (in this case, the VA's) to approve someone as a caregiver and give them access to someone's documents. That caregiver would have to make their own ID.me account, Dorton said.The episode, and similar issues uncovered by Insider's public record request, are particularly concerning for a company that got its start catering to former members of the military. Hall, the former Army officer, founded the business as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/veteran-minded-troopswap-shifts-from-daily-deals-to-digital-identification/2012/11/09/a964aed6-29eb-11e2-b4e0-346287b7e56c_story.html">TroopSwap</a>, a marketplace for veteran discounts, before shifting it to an identity verification tool. More than 19 million Americans and their families rely on the VA for services like healthcare, banking, retirement, education, and GI bill payments, and the agency claims to operate the <a href="https://www.va.gov/health/">largest integrated health system</a> in the US. Even small fractures in someone's ability to access these sprawling benefits can have outsized effects.<blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">My records already state that I am homeless and have no phone. My VA records are up-to-date. And the closest [Regional Office] is three hours away… ID.me told me to contact the Department of Veteran Affairs.</q></blockquote>These issues were compounded by Ask VA's reliance on ID.me. Veterans seeking help with creating an account or verifying their identities were often met with dead ends from the agency, which required they verify their identities before being helped.One woman, who said she was struggling to create an account while dealing with her veteran husband's illness, was told she was "unauthenticated" and would first need to log in through ID.me or another service before asking a question. Many complaints in the document about verification through ID.me received similar responses."Is there anyone there that can help me. This is a frustrating matter that, when you are dealing with a dying husband, it's just too much to deal with," she wrote. "He's in hospice at home and he's on oxygen and barely breathing… We are a family in crisis and we could really use help."In a statement to Insider, a VA spokesperson confirmed that the agency would not provide specific answers "if the inquirer is unauthenticated" but that "customers can use Ask VA (AVA) without providing authentication to ask generic questions about their VA benefits and services." They added that someone needing help with ID.me should contact ID.me customer support or visit a <a href="https://www.va.gov/resources/signing-in-to-vagov/">VA-specific help article</a>..<h2>Technical hurdles to proving identity</h2>Several people said they encountered technical issues with ID.me, such as an error with two-factor authentication or web page timeouts. Others said they were rejected from making an ID.me account without reason, or that ID.me customer service was unhelpful. Veterans living abroad found particular difficulty. They said ID.me rejected identity documents from outside the US, reported their logins as fraudulent, refused to recognize international phone numbers, and in some cases blocked access completely."I have a German phone number and the option of putting +49 in the country is not offered," one veteran living abroad wrote. "I've been unable to access and apply for my education benefits as well as my healthcare for over three months due to the ID.me authentication app not working."Another veteran based in Colombia accused ID.me of forgetting that "there are thousands of US [veterans] that're overseas."Dorton, the spokesperson, said that ID.me does accept non-US documents, though he acknowledged that the company had blocked IP addresses "from certain countries associated with cyberattacks." He said those restrictions had since been removed. The VA's other options for identity verification — a Premium My HealtheVet account, or a Premium DS Logon account — may not be easier. In order to get <a href="https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhv-portal-web/home">a Premium My HealtheVet account</a>, a person either has to make an ID.me account, or verify their identity at one of the VA's health facilities, which can be difficult for some veterans, especially those living abroad. A video call with a VA health facility is also an option.To get a <a href="https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhv-portal-web/st20161202">Premium DS Logon</a> account, a person has to enroll in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, which similarly requires verification at one of the VA's physical facilities, or by reading social security and banking information over the phone.While ID.me doesn't currently use <keyword id="12320770" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="facial-recognition" source="Orion">facial recognition</keyword> for its VA contract, its use of facial recognition and other business practices have come under scrutiny from privacy-focused and anti-surveillance advocacy groups.A coalition of <a href="https://epic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Coalition-Letter-ID.me-and-Face-Verification-Feb2022.pdf">more than 40 activist groups</a> — including the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Algorithmic Justice League — published a letter on Monday imploring all federal and state agencies to stop using ID.me. <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/idme-announces-options-for-selfie-deletion-and-identity-verification-without-automated-facial-recognition-301478140.html">ID.me recently announced that</a> beginning March 1, all users "will be able to delete their selfie or photo." ID.me also said that people can opt out of submitting a selfie for facial recognition, and instead have a video call with a human — a step normally reserved for when ID.me can't verify an identity through a face and document match. Dorton told Insider that the announcement "addresses some of the feedback" from activists.<hr />Do you work for ID.me or have experience using ID.me? Got a tip?Contact this reporter via email at <a href="mailto:chaskins@insider.com">chaskins@insider.com</a> or <a href="mailto:caroline.haskins@protonmail.com">caroline.haskins@protonmail.com</a>, or through secure messaging app Signal at +1 (785) 813-1084. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/insider-guide-to-securely-sharing-whistleblower-information-about-powerful-institutions-2021-10">Check out Insider's source guide</a> for suggestions on how to share information securely.

Identity verification service ID.me has a lucrative contract with the VA. Veterans and their families say it’s locked them out of disability payments and emergency assistance.

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the new edition of <keyword id="9095853" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="insider-today">Insider Today</keyword>. Please <a href="https://www.insider.com/insider-today">sign up here</a>.<h2>QUOTE OF THE DAY</h2>"When we take the court and represent Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we are expected to play at a high level, give maximum effort and hold each other accountable. We hold ourselves to that standard, and in this moment, we are demanding the same from our lawmakers and law enforcement." —<a href="https://www.nba.com/article/2020/08/26/milwaukee-bucks-players-statement-following-boycott-game-5">The players of the Milwaukee Bucks</a>, after deciding not to play their game against the Orlando Magic due to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.<h2>WHAT'S HAPPENING</h2>President Trump will accept the GOP nomination tonight in a White House speech. He'll speak on the South Lawn of the White House to a crowd of 1,500. Wednesday night's message, amplified by VP <keyword id="264959" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mike-Pence">Mike Pence</keyword>, was law and order. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pences-rnc-convention-speech-no-covid-testing-19-2020-8">crowd at Pence's speech was not tested</a> for COVID, and mingled maskless with Trump and Pence. Kenosha was quieter last night, and armed counterprotesters stayed away. The FBI is going to investigate the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha officer, and state officials have charged a 17-year-old Trump supporter with the murder of two protesters. Strikes have spread through the world of professional <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword>, and the <a href="https://www.insider.com/lakers-clippers-lebron-james-boycott-season-meeting-2020-8">NBA playoffs appeared on the brink of collapse</a> but seem to be back on track after a meeting among players this morning. Many players wanted to end the season unless team owners and the league take more tangible action to oppose police violence and systemic racism. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-ceo-kevin-mayer-resigned-trump-app-ban-2020-8">TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has resigned.</a> The company has been besieged since Trump demanded that it sell its US operations or be banned here. Mayer, who is also leaving as COO of parent company ByteDance, indicated that the political environment and possible forced sale have made the job not what he signed up for. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-weekly-jobless-claims-insurance-filings-coronavirus-unemployment-labor-market-2020-8">More than one million new unemployment claims again this week. </a>Claims have stayed high after briefly dipping below 1 million. More than 58 million people have filed for unemployment since the pandemic started. Speaker Pelosi and Trump Chief of Staff Meadows are meeting today for the first time since relief bill talks collapsed in early August. <a href="https://www.insider.com/tropical-storms-marco-laura-path-track-forecast-2020-8">Hurricane Laura has weakened to Category 1 after making landfall in Louisiana.</a> The storm is one of the most powerful ever to hit the US. Winds have dropped to 85 miles per hour, though it will still bring an enormous, life-threatening storm surge into coastal Louisiana and Texas. <h2>VIEWS OF THE DAY</h2><div type="image" title="U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrives with his wife Karen Pence to deliver his acceptance speech as the 2020 Republican vice presidential nominee during an event of the 2020 Republican National Convention held at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., August 26, 2020." height="640" width="1280" msid="77791500" hostid="261"></div>Law and Order for thee, but not for meLaw and Order was a big theme at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, with keynote speaker Vice President Mike Pence touting the President's dedication to cops — those who walk the "thin blue line." This is rich. Trump and a slew of people around him have a long history of violating the law, breaking rules, ignoring things like subpoenas, and lying under oath. Here's a list of just some of the people the supposedly "law and order" president has surrounded himself with or defended:<ul><li>The president's campaign head, Steve Bannon, allegedly ran a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/20/politics/bannon-build-the-wall-indictment/index.html">scam bilking money</a> from Trump supporters who want a wall built on the border with Mexico. </li><li>The president's other campaign head, Paul Manafort, was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/paul-manafort-sentenced-washington-dc-mueller-probe-2019-3">convicted of bank fraud</a>, tax fraud, and other crimes. </li><li>The president's former National Security Adviser <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/us/politics/michael-flynn-appeals-court.html">Michael Flynn plead guilty to lying to</a> law enforcement and the president has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-allies-rejoice-after-doj-drops-michael-flynn-case-2020-5">still fought for him</a>.</li><li>The president's friend and and advisor, Roger Stone, was convicted of lying to law enforcement and got his sentence <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-commutes-roger-stone-sentence-longtime-ally-2020-7">commuted by the president</a>.</li><li>The president's son, Eric Trump, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/24/new-york-sues-trump-organization-401012">has refused to comply with subpoenas</a> from the NY Attorney General, Leticia James, about the Trump Organization's financial statements.</li><li>The president also defended violent white supremacists because <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/05/08/very-fine-people-charlottesville-who-were-they-2/">they were "very fine people."</a></li><li>The president's staff <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/26/mark-meadows-hatch-act-rnc-402194">constantly violates the Hatch Act</a>, trying to blur the lines between what is and is not part of our permanent governmental structure. That seems fine.</li><li>The president's daughter Ivanka Trump has done government work from her <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ivanka-trump-used-a-personal-email-account-to-send-hundreds-of-emails-about-government-business-last-year/2018/11/19/6515d1e0-e7a1-11e8-a939-9469f1166f9d_story.html">personal email address</a>. — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/linette-lopez">Linette Lopez</a></li></ul><div type="image" title="bucks boycott" height="750" width="1500" msid="77791502" hostid="261"></div>A quick glossary of terms to get you through America right nowThings are confusing in America these days, so we thought we'd put together a short glossary of terms that should be clarified.Athletes did not "boycott" because of Jacob Blake's shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin. They were "striking": A boycott is when consumers intentionally do not but a product. By contrast, the athletes who did not play yesterday are workers who provide Americans with a service. That service is not something Americans are entitled to, it is a luxury offered to a functioning society where people can gather civilly and play by a set of rules. Nothing about our society over the last few days (or months) suggests we are capable of that, and there has been little work done in Washington to change those conditions, so the workers decided not to work. That is a strike."Opportunity zones" are looking less like a boon for poor neighborhoods and more like a "billionaire tax break": I only mention this because Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner pushed back on striking athletes in a CNBC interview, citing all his father-in-law has done for minority urban communities. Kushner listed opportunity zones as one of those achievements, but based on reporting by<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/billionaires-keep-benefiting-from-a-tax-break-to-help-the-poor-now-congress-wants-to-investigate"> ProPublica</a>, it looks like those programs are more beneficial for people like him than the communities they are intended to serve.The 17 year-old who murdered protesters in cold blood on Tuesday night was <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/26/21403004/facebook-kenosha-militia-groups-shooting-blm-protest">not part of a "militia"</a> he was part of a "terrorist organization": Any organization that openly encourages people to commit violence against or inspires someone to murder people exercising their First Amendment right should be called a terrorist organization. Full stop.Don't call it an "economic aid package." Call it an "economic stability package": Using the word "aid" to describe a bill that will ensure the entire economy doesn't go to hell seems wrong. Aid is something you give to someone else, this package is for all Americans <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/economic-outlook-janet-yellen-loss-extra-unemployment-benefits-fiscal-growth-2020-8-1029536739">so that the economy doesn't drop out on us</a> — and that's all of us. It seems like the White House is starting to understand that, as after twiddling its thumbs since May. Chief of Staff Mark Meadows<a href="https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1298610912203550720"> wants to restart bill negotiations</a> with House Democrats.Joe Biden is against defunding the police: There's no vocabulary lesson there, it just bears repeating after Vice President Mike Pence <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/08/27/906645647/fact-checking-vice-president-pences-republican-national-convention-speech">cynically claimed the opposite</a> in his RNC speech last night. It was just one among a litany of calumnies. — LLThe RNC is starting to sound like a right-wing Youtube video<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rnc-speeches-turning-into-one-long-right-wing-youtube-video-2020-8">As I wrote in my latest column</a>, watching the Republican National Convention has felt like falling into an algorithmically-driven rabbit hole of right-wing YouTube. The four-day political pageant even kicked off Monday night with a speech by a prominent conservative YouTuber <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfaIu2jO-fppCQV_lchCRIQ">Charlie Kirk</a>.The 26-year-old Turning Point USA co-founder with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-executive-order-college-campus-free-speech-lacks-details-2019-3">close ties to the Trump White House</a> called the president the "<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-charlie-kirk-says-trump-is-guarding-western-civilization">bodyguard of Western civilization</a>." Whatever Kirk meant by "Western civilization" isn't exactly clear, but the term is an obsession of right-wing YouTubers like <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/inside-right-wing-youtube-turning-millennials-conservative-prageru-video-dennis-prager/">Dennis Prager</a>, "Intellectual Dark Web" <a href="https://tnc.news/2020/07/09/ep-10-dave-rubin-the-radical-lefts-crusade-against-western-civilization/">celebrities</a> like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8C7yINj9dA">Jordan Peterson</a>, and the recently banned by YouTube alt-right philosopher <a href="https://www.freedomain.com/2016/11/19/why-globalism-threatens-western-civilization-g-edward-griffin-and-stefan-molyneux/">Stefan Molyneux</a>.When Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones spoke at the RNC of the Democrats' keeping Black people on their "<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/08/25/mental-plantation-jones-rnc-2020-speech-sot-vpx.cnn">mental plantation</a>," I felt like I was listening to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/01/08/how-democratic-plantation-became-one-conservatives-favorite-slurs/">Candace Owens</a>, the YouTube star and Trump favorite who started "Blexit" to convince Black people to abandon the Democratic Party. Patrica and Mark McCloskey — best known for drawing their guns on Black Lives Matter protesters outside their St. Louis home — called congressional candidate and protest organizer <a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/cori-bush-responds-to-the-mccloskeys-who-called-her-a-marxist-liberal-activist-at-the/article_3c0b8aa1-8077-5101-b9c1-c7807ded74ea.html">Cori Bush</a> a "Marxist liberal activist" during their RNC speech. Granted, Bush is a Democratic Socialist, but the McCloskey's deliberate and repeated invocation of Marx made me think of "cultural Marxism" — an obsession of conspiracy theorists like former InfoWars editor-at-large <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/78mnny/unwrapping-the-conspiracy-theory-that-drives-the-alt-right">Paul Joseph Watson</a>.There's nothing particularly novel about hearing these things at an overtly partisan and propagandistic event. Conservatives don't like socialism, they like their "culture," and they can't understand why more Black people won't vote for them. What's striking is how these phrases, which are repeated like mantras on right-wing YouTube, have made it to the big kids' table at the RNC.Hearing these phrases and bugaboos sprinkled throughout RNC speeches feels in some sense like a callback to their original sources. And they may be deliberate or inadvertent signals to young conservatives.The message: We know who the conservative thought leaders are in the Trump era, and we watch their videos, too. — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/anthony-l-fisher">Anthony Fisher</a><h2>BUSINESS &amp; ECONOMY</h2><div type="image" title="abbott rapid coronavirus test card" height="1292" width="2584" msid="77791505" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/abbott-coronavirus-antigen-test-cost-availability-2020-8">Abbott has won approval to market a $5, 15-minute COVID test. </a>Testing experts say that this kind of fast, cheap test could allow millions to safely get back to school and work before a vaccine is available. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-amazons-new-grocery-store-amazon-fresh-photos-2020-8">Amazon opened the first Amazon Fresh grocery store. </a>The Woodland, California, store —the first of probably many — will offer national and private-label Whole Foods brands, a "Dash" cart that will allow customers to skip checkout, and same-day delivery for Prime customers. <h2>LIFE</h2><div type="image" title="mickey waffles" height="1000" width="2000" msid="77791507" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.insider.com/best-food-to-eat-before-workout"></a><a href="https://www.insider.com/disney-food-recipes-to-make-at-home"> 26 Disney theme-park foods you can make at home.</a> Mickey-shaped waffles are easy. The Dole Whip — also not so hard. <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-food-to-eat-before-workout">The four best foods to eat before a workout.</a> Bananas, oatmeal, whole grains, yogurt and fruit. And <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-food-to-eat-after-workout">the five best foods after a workout</a>.<h2>THE BIG 3*</h2><div type="image" title="LeBron" height="1504" width="2005" msid="77791510" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.insider.com/lakers-clippers-lebron-james-boycott-season-meeting-2020-8">The Lakers and Clippers voted to end the NBA playoffs </a>at a contentious meeting about the response to the Blake shooting. <keyword id="112378" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="LeBron-James">LeBron James</keyword> left early, demanding more social-justice reform efforts from owners. The vote was not official, and other teams want the playoffs to continue. <a href="https://www.insider.com/kenosha-chief-protesters-wouldnt-be-shot-obeyed-curfew-2020-8">Kenosha police chief says that the three victims wouldn't have been shot if they hadn't been out after curfew. </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-gun-sellers-stickers-logos-2020-8">People are selling guns on Facebook by pretending they are selling stickers. </a>They are skirting Facebook's ban on private gun sales by displaying stickers with prices and gun brand names. *The most popular stories on Insider today.

'Law and Order' for thee but not for me

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50714298.cms" /> 
He’s a Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences. He’s also a Thomas W. Lamont University Professor, Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, and was the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge until 2004. He’s none other than Mr. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Amartya+Sen">Amartya Sen</a>. 
 Business Insider caught up with this great economist at the Tata Steel <keyword id="911395" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kolkata-Literary-Meet">Kolkata Literary Meet</keyword>, chatting gleefully with fellow Harvard Professor <keyword id="283200" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sugata-Bose">Sugata Bose</keyword> about his latest book – <keyword id="3219241" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="The-Country-of-First-Boys">The Country of First Boys</keyword>. 
 
Over the next hour, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Amartya+Sen">Sen</a> offered valuable socio-economic lessons on several issues. These had significant remarkable relevance for modern India. While the 82 year old economist didn’t name any individual or political group, but it wasn’t impossible to connect the dots. 
 
Sex-specific abortions: 
More girls are born than boys everywhere in the world. All of the States in the East and South of India have birth ratio of girls in the European range. That goes all the way from Assam to Bengal to Orissa all the way to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. However, all states in the north and west have lower than that. Sometimes considerably lower. In the case of Haryana and Delhi it will be in the 80s. That is quite dramatic. Some have gone even worse over the years. 
 
Connection between Sanskrit and Mathematics 
Indian mathematics didn’t flourish in the Vedic period as some nationalists tend to claim now. It flourished 4th-5th Century onwards and there was also quite clearly external impulse in it. I think Babylonian and Greek Mathematics came to India around that time. Then Indian mathematics took off in a dramatic way, and influenced not only India but what was the central area of intellectual excellence – the Middle East. 
 
The Arab and Iranian Mathematicians actually knew Sanskrit. Al-Khwarizmi, from whose name the word Algorithm, and from his book AlJjabr Wal-Muqābala the word Algebra is derived, he knew Sanskrit. 
 
There was a connection between Sanskrit and Mathematics as a conveyance, and I’ll be interested in both. 
 
Sanskrit used as tool for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Intolerance">Intolerance</a> and Communal Animosity 
The Hindu-Muslim divide was cultivated around the 40s. It’s important to recognize that in Bengal Muslim League didn’t win an election until 1946, and by 1952 Bangladesh is agitating about language. 
 
It’s got nothing to do with Sanskrit, really. Sanskrit is also where you have the skeptical documents. It offers all of that. 
 
Most people who advocate Sanskrit don’t know the language. That makes it very easy for them not to read any of these. They don’t have to read, because they couldn’t. So I think it comes as a political thing. 
 
After my Nobel, India Today had an article saying a Westernized Indian gets a Nobel. I asked the Editor that I would like to talk with the author. I would like him to come to my hotel, and to argue on it. The only thing I insist on is that we talk in Sanskrit! 
 
The quest for ‘Nyay’ (Justice) over ‘Neeti’ (Principle) 
I think very often that distinction has been misunderstood. 
 
It’s not compromise It’s accepting something with a gamble, and the gamble is that you wnd up not making that progress at all. What can de done now should be done now. What cannot be done shouldn’t be forgotten. That is what you may call a ‘sequence planning’ rather than a ‘spot planning’. 
 
Small industry as a means of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Sustainable+development">Sustainable development</a> 
Has there been any example of a country which has proceeded to have fairly fast economic expansion without industrial development and by which I do mean industrial development? That would be a good example. 
 
That's not true of America, that's not true of Europe, of Japan, of China, of Korea, of Hong Kong or Singapore. It's not true of Latin America. I think one of the things I have to resist is an imagined that these things are wrong, and there are all kinds of wrong that there is an alternative that is much better. New things have been tried. 
 
I am very suspicious of taking people on what I would call for a ride on the ground that some imagined alternative would be much, much better. What is a country which has no large industry but still is very rich? 
 
Justice and Workers' Rights 
The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=small+industries">small industries</a> are still there but the big industries have withdrawn. When I went to London first, I went by boat - not an adventurous boat, but by a ship - as I could not afford the airfare. In those days, there were 18 flights from Calcutta to London every week. Now there is not one. There is not a single flight to anywhere in Europe. You have to go to Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Bangkok or Singapore and then escape. But you can't go anywhere. 
 
I think that couldn't have been the intention to put so much focus on distribution and the workers' power and so on that you end up not having the industries and there is nowhere to demonstrate the workers' power because you haven't got the workers to demonstrate that with. Pragmatism is an essential approach to practical reasoning. 
 
Industrialization and Activism 
You can do very good <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=environmental+planning">environmental planning</a> along with a programme of industrial expansion. The conflict is not with the economic growth. The conflict is with the type of growth and care we take of the environment. 
 
So, the idea that any kind of attempt at having large industry must be combined with neglect of the environment, that actually is not a good way of thinking about it. Because there is no reason that must be the case. 
 
Revival of Humanities as a discipline 
There has been no decline within Humanities. There has been a shift away from Humanities to the Sciences. 
 
Tagore once complained about the lack of Science education. It could be certainly better, but scientific education has definitely progressed. Our best students and relatively smaller in number, and when there is competing priority they give priority to Science. Humanities tend to fall short. 
 
I think the IITs are good, and so are the likes of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

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