The Memory Hole/Rev V

Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

Everyday, the specter of 1984 becomes evermore present under this administration from hell, this time, the removal of not only images showing DEI in the military or the presence of the word Gay in the Enola Gay pix of the B29 bomber carrying the nuke to Hiroshima but also on how AI should deal with the biases and prejudices of mankind as after all, we're the ones who create this tech in the first place.

Paul Tibbets waving from Enola Gay's cockpit
before taking off for the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued new instructions to scientists that partner with the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (AISI) that eliminate mention of “AI safety,” “responsible AI,” and “AI fairness” in the skills it expects of members and introduces a request to prioritize “reducing ideological bias, to enable human flourishing and economic competitiveness.”

The information comes as part of an updated cooperative research and development agreement for AI Safety Institute consortium members, sent in early March. Previously, that agreement encouraged researchers to contribute technical work that could help identify and fix discriminatory model behavior related to gender, race, age, or wealth inequality. Such biases are hugely important because they can directly affect end users and disproportionately harm minorities and economically disadvantaged groups.

The new agreement removes mention of developing tools “for authenticating content and tracking its provenance” as well as “labeling synthetic content,” signaling less interest in tracking misinformation and deep fakes. It also adds emphasis on putting America first, asking one working group to develop testing tools “to expand America’s global AI position.”

1947 draft manuscript of the first page of Nineteen Eighty-Four,
 showing the editorial development

The memory hole beckons.