Ann Gibbons, Science; Genetic data on half a million Brits reveal ongoing evolution and Neanderthal legacy
"For years, evolutionary biologists couldn't get their rubber-gloved
hands on enough people's genomes to detect the relatively rare bits of
Neanderthal DNA, much less to see whether or how our extinct cousins'
genetic legacy might influence disease or physical traits.
But a few years ago, Kelso and her
colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in
Leipzig, Germany, turned to a new tool—the UK Biobank (UKB), a large
database that holds genetic and health records for half a million
British volunteers. The researchers analyzed data from 112,338 of those
Britons—enough that "we could actually look and say: ‘We see a
Neanderthal version of the gene and we can measure its effect on
phenotype in many people—how often they get sunburned, what color their
hair is, and what color their eyes are,’" Kelso says. They found
Neanderthal variants that boost the odds that a person smokes, is an
evening person rather than a morning person, and is prone to sunburn and
depression."
Showing posts with label deep learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deep learning. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Friday, November 9, 2018
In Favor of the Caselaw Access Project; The Harvard Crimson, November 7, 2018
The Crimson Editorial Board, The Harvard Crimson; In Favor of the Caselaw Access Project
"We hope that researchers will use these court opinions to further advance academic scholarship in this area. In particular, we hope that computer programmers are able to take full advantage of this repository of information. As Ziegler noted, no lawyer will be able to take full advantage of the millions of pages in the database, but computers have an advantage in this regard. Like Ziegler, we are hopeful that researchers using the database will be able to learn more about less understood aspects of the legal system — such as how courts influence each other and deal with disagreements. Those big-picture questions could not have been answered as well without the information provided by this new database.
This project is a resounding success for the Harvard Library, which happens also to be looking for a new leader. We hope that the person hired for the job will be similarly committed to projects that increase access to information — a key value that all who work in higher education should hold near and dear. In addition to maintaining the vast amounts of histories and stories already in the system, Harvard’s libraries should seek to illuminate content that may have been erased or obscured. There is always more to learn."
"We hope that researchers will use these court opinions to further advance academic scholarship in this area. In particular, we hope that computer programmers are able to take full advantage of this repository of information. As Ziegler noted, no lawyer will be able to take full advantage of the millions of pages in the database, but computers have an advantage in this regard. Like Ziegler, we are hopeful that researchers using the database will be able to learn more about less understood aspects of the legal system — such as how courts influence each other and deal with disagreements. Those big-picture questions could not have been answered as well without the information provided by this new database.
This project is a resounding success for the Harvard Library, which happens also to be looking for a new leader. We hope that the person hired for the job will be similarly committed to projects that increase access to information — a key value that all who work in higher education should hold near and dear. In addition to maintaining the vast amounts of histories and stories already in the system, Harvard’s libraries should seek to illuminate content that may have been erased or obscured. There is always more to learn."
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Artificial Intelligence Shows Why Atheism Is Unpopular; The Atlantic, July 23, 2018
Sigal Samuel, The Atlantic;
"Even harder to sway may be those concerned not with the methodology’s technical complications, but with its ethical complications. As Wildman told me, “These models are equal-opportunity insight generators. If you want to go militaristic, then these models tell you what the targets should be.”...
Nevertheless, just like Wildman, Shults told me, “I lose sleep at night on this. ... It is social engineering. It just is—there’s no pretending like it’s not.” But he added that other groups, like Cambridge Analytica, are doing this kind of computational work, too. And various bad actors will do it without transparency or public accountability. “It’s going to be done. So not doing it is not the answer.” Instead, he and Wildman believe the answer is to do the work with transparency and simultaneously speak out about the ethical danger inherent in it.
“That’s why our work here is two-pronged: I’m operating as a modeler and as an ethicist,” Wildman said. “It’s the best I can do.”"
Artificial Intelligence Shows Why Atheism Is Unpopular
"Even harder to sway may be those concerned not with the methodology’s technical complications, but with its ethical complications. As Wildman told me, “These models are equal-opportunity insight generators. If you want to go militaristic, then these models tell you what the targets should be.”...
Nevertheless, just like Wildman, Shults told me, “I lose sleep at night on this. ... It is social engineering. It just is—there’s no pretending like it’s not.” But he added that other groups, like Cambridge Analytica, are doing this kind of computational work, too. And various bad actors will do it without transparency or public accountability. “It’s going to be done. So not doing it is not the answer.” Instead, he and Wildman believe the answer is to do the work with transparency and simultaneously speak out about the ethical danger inherent in it.
“That’s why our work here is two-pronged: I’m operating as a modeler and as an ethicist,” Wildman said. “It’s the best I can do.”"
Monday, June 4, 2018
4 Big Takeaways from Satya Nadella's Talk at Microsoft Build; Fortune,, May 7, 2018
Jonathan Vanian, Fortune; 4 Big Takeaways from Satya Nadella's Talk at Microsoft Build
"Microsoft Believes in AI and Ethics
Nadella briefly mentioned the company’s internal AI ethics team whose job is to ensure that the company’s foray into cutting-edge techniques like deep learning don’t unintentionally perpetuate societal biases in their products, among other tasks.
He said that coders need to concentrate on building products that use “good A.I.,” in which the “the choices we make can be good choices for the future.”
Expect more technology companies to talk about AI and ethics as a way to alleviate concerns from the public about the tech industry’s insatiable appetite for data."
"Microsoft Believes in AI and Ethics
Nadella briefly mentioned the company’s internal AI ethics team whose job is to ensure that the company’s foray into cutting-edge techniques like deep learning don’t unintentionally perpetuate societal biases in their products, among other tasks.
He said that coders need to concentrate on building products that use “good A.I.,” in which the “the choices we make can be good choices for the future.”
Expect more technology companies to talk about AI and ethics as a way to alleviate concerns from the public about the tech industry’s insatiable appetite for data."
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