Michael Brian Cotter

What will AI regulation look like for businesses?

Unlike food, medicine, and cars, we have yet to see clear regulations or laws to guide AI design in the US. Without standard guidelines, companies that design and develop ML models have historically worked off of their own perceptions of right and wrong.

This is about to change.

As the EU finalizes its AI Act and generative AI continues to rapidly evolve, we will see the artificial intelligence regulatory landscape shift from general, suggested frameworks to more permanent laws.

The EU AI Act has spurred significant conversations among business leaders: How can we prepare for stricter AI regulations? Should I proactively design AI that meets this criterion? How soon will it be before similar regulation is passed in the US?

Continue reading to better understand what AI regulation may look like for companies in the near future.

How the EU AI Act will impact your business

Like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) released in 2018, the EU AI Act is expected to become a global standard for AI regulation. Parliament is scheduled to vote on the draft by the end of March 2023, and if this timeline is met, the final AI Act could be adopted by the end of the year.

It’s highly predicted that the effects of the AI Act will be felt beyond the EU’s borders (read: Brussels effect), albeit it being European regulation. Organizations operating on an international scale will be required to directly conform to the legislation. Meanwhile, US and other independently-led companies will quickly realize that it’s in their best interest to comply with this regulation.

We’re beginning to see this already with other similar legislation like Canada’s Artificial Intelligence & Data Act proposal and New York City’s automated employment regulation.

AI system risk categories

Under the AI Act, organizations’ AI systems will be classified into three risk categories, each with their own set of guidelines and consequences.

Unacceptable risk. AI systems that meet this level will be banned. This includes manipulative systems that cause harm, real-time biometric identification systems used in public spaces for law enforcement, and all forms of social scoring.
High risk. These AI systems include tools like job applicant scanning models and will be subject to specific legal requirements.
Limited and minimal risk. This category encompasses many of the AI applications businesses use today, including chatbots and AI-powered inventory management tools, and will largely be left unregulated. Customer-facing limited-risk applications, however, will require disclosure that AI is being used.

What will AI regulation look like?

Because the AI Act is still under draft, and its global effects are to be determined, we can’t say with certainty what regulation will look like for organizations. However, we do know that it will vary based on industry, the type of model you’re designing, and the risk category in which it falls.

Regulation will likely include scrutiny with a third party, where your model is stress tested against the population you’re attempting to serve. These tests will evaluate questions including ‘Is the model performing within acceptable margins of error?’ and ‘Are you disclosing the nature and use of your model? ‘

For organizations with high-risk AI systems, the AI Act has already outlined several requirements:

Implementation of a risk-management system.
Data governance and management.
Technical documentation.
Record keeping and logging.
Transparency and provision of information to users.
Human oversight.
Accuracy, robustness, and cybersecurity.
Conformity assessment.
Registration with the EU-member-state government.
Post-market monitoring system.

We can also expect regular reliability testing for models (similar to e-checks for cars) to become a more widespread service in the AI industry.

How to prepare for AI regulations

Many AI leaders have already been prioritizing trust and risk mitigation when designing and developing ML models. The sooner you accept AI regulation as our new reality, the more successful you will be in the future.

Here are just a few steps organizations can take to prepare for stricter AI regulation:

Research and educate your teams on the types of regulation that will exist, and how it impacts your company today and in the future.
Audit your existing and planned models. Which risk category do they align with and which associated regulations will impact you most?
Develop and adopt a framework for designing responsible AI solutions.
Think through your AI risk mitigation strategy. How does it apply to existing models and ones designed in the future? What unexpected actions should you account for?
Establish an AI governance and reporting strategy that ensures multiple checks before a model goes live.

In light of the AI Act and inevitable future regulation, ethical and fair AI design is no longer a “nice to have”, but a “must have”. How can your organization prepare for success?

(Photo by ALEXANDRE LALLEMAND on Unsplash)

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Mozilla.ai picks up OpenAI’s founding mission

Mozilla’s new startup will build “trustworthy” AI that benefits humanity. If that sounds familiar, it was OpenAI’s founding mission.

The startup, Mozilla.ai, aims to create an independent and open-source AI ecosystem that addresses society’s most pressing concerns about the rapidly-advancing technology.

Mark Surman, President of the Mozilla Foundation, wrote in a blog post:

“This new wave of AI has generated excitement, but also significant apprehension. We aren’t just wondering ‘What’s possible?’ and ‘How can people benefit?’ We’re also wondering ‘What could go wrong?’ and ‘How can we address it?’ Two decades of social media, smartphones and their consequences have made us leery.

Mozilla has been asking these questions about AI for a while now — sketching out a vision for trustworthy AI, mobilizing our community to document what’s broken and investing in startups that are trying to create more responsible AI.”

The rush to get AI solutions to market has been likened to a new “arms race,” in reference to the dangerous period when the US, Soviet Union, and their respective allies raced to achieve nuclear supremacy.

OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit with the state mission of ensuring that its research makes positive long-term contributions to humanity. Many believe the company has strayed from this mission.

Just today, a ChatGPT glitch leaked users’ conversation histories. OpenAI’s chief executive tweeted that there would be a “technical postmortem” soon.

Mike Kiser, Director of Strategy and Standards at SailPoint, commented:

“Sharing information with ChatGPT is not like talking to another adult, it is much more like sharing sensitive details with an overly-chatty three-year-old. If you don’t want your organisation’s secrets used to train the platform and then be reused by ChatGPT, discretion is recommended.

In addition, ChatGPT generates content, but it is difficult to prove its veracity. Even when references are used or cited, ChatGPT is learning from these links and assuming that information is true. It then uses well-written language and formatting to give those “facts” more weight. This trust in the written word may have implications for disinformation or other phishing-related attacks.”

Microsoft has invested tens of billions in OpenAI and has rolled out integrations with its popular products at a rapid pace. That partnership appears to have led OpenAI to take more risks and the company is now firmly a for-profit (capped at 100 times any investment.)

Elon Musk was one of OpenAI’s founders but resigned from its board in 2018. Musk has publicly questioned OpenAI’s transformation:

I’m still confused as to how a non-profit to which I donated ~$100M somehow became a $30B market cap for-profit. If this is legal, why doesn’t everyone do it?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2023

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Hopefully, Mozilla.ai won’t forget its founding principles.

“The vision for Mozilla.ai is to make it easy to develop trustworthy AI products. We will build things and hire/collaborate with people that share our vision: AI that has agency, accountability, transparency and openness at its core,” added Mozilla Foundation President Mark Surman.

“Mozilla.ai will be a space outside big tech and academia for like-minded founders, developers, scientists, product managers and builders to gather. We believe that this group of people, working collectively, can turn the tide to create an independent, decentralized and trustworthy AI ecosystem — a real counterweight to the status quo.”

Mozilla.ai will be led by Moez Draief, Managing Director of Mozilla.

(Photo by Astrid Schaffner on Unsplash)

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Google plays it safe with initial Bard rollout

Google has begun rolling out early access to its Bard chatbot in the US and UK.

The ChatGPT rival was announced via a blog post in February, seemingly to get ahead of Microsoft’s own big reveal event the next day.

Microsoft’s plans to integrate a new version of ChatGPT into its Bing search engine set off alarm bells at Google. In response, Google CEO Sundar Pichai invited the company’s founders – Larry Page and Sergey Brin – to return for a series of meetings to review its AI strategy.

In stark contrast to Microsoft’s polished event, a last-minute event held by Google the day after was a mess. Previous announcements were rehashed, a presenter’s phone went missing, and Pichai was nowhere to be seen.

Googlers took to the internal forum ‘Memegen’ to criticise Pichai’s leadership. One wrote, “Dear Sundar, the Bard launch and the layoffs were rushed, botched, and myopic” and called on Pichai to “please return to taking a long-term outlook.”

During a Bard promo video, an incorrect answer was shown that sent Google’s shares plummeting and wiped $120 billion from its value.

Google AI Chief Jeff Dean had allegedly even warned colleagues ahead of the reveal that it cannot rush products like Bard to the market because the company has more “reputational risk” in providing wrong information.

The contrast between Microsoft’s and Google’s announcements was stark. Microsoft looked unstoppable while Google appeared to be in absolute chaos. However, things shifted in the coming weeks.

Users began reporting “unhinged” responses from Microsoft’s chatbot—including not just incorrect information, but also the bot appearing to be in a depressive state, wanting to be human, and even claiming to spy on people through their webcams.

Suddenly, that one error in Bard’s promo video didn’t look so bad. Furthermore, it justified Google’s decision to hold fire on releasing Bard to the public.

Google now appears to be comfortable with Bard being ready for public testing:

We're expanding access to Bard in US + UK with more countries ahead, it's an early experiment that lets you collaborate with generative AI. Hope Bard sparks more creativity and curiosity, and will get better with feedback. Sign up: https://t.co/C1ibWrqTDr https://t.co/N8Dzx1m0fc

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) March 21, 2023

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“Our work on Bard is guided by our AI Principles, and we continue to focus on quality and safety,” wrote Google in a blog post.

“We’re using human feedback and evaluation to improve our systems, and we’ve also built in guardrails, like capping the number of exchanges in a dialogue, to try to keep interactions helpful and on topic.”

In a quick test, Bard (left of screenshot) is subjectively more concise with its responses than Bing (right of screenshot) while the latter is slightly more comprehensive:

However, there are currently a few key differences:

Bing’s chatbot wants to continue the conversation and suggests possible follow-up questions.
Bing’s chatbot makes it clear where it’s getting its information so users can get more background.
Bard reminds the user before starting a conversation that it has “limitations” and “won’t always get it right”. Furthermore, the page always displays a warning that Bard “may display inaccurate or offensive information that doesn’t represent Google’s views.”

You can sign up to try Bard here. Google is currently rolling out access in the US and UK but will be expanding to other countries and languages over time.

(Image Credit: Google)

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Ways You Can Enforce Diverse Leadership | Michael Brian Cotter

In order to have a diverse workplace, there are a number of questions that must be answered. Things like:

How is diversity defined for you?
What are the benefits for both individuals and the organization as a whole?

Answering these questions while also establishing the correct onboarding and hiring processes can draw in a number of people from different backgrounds. Today, we’re going to be talking about different ways that you can build a diverse workforce.

Make sure your workplace is a supportive one

Having a diverse workforce can have both personal and professional advantages in the workplace. Most likely, when leaders understand the benefits that come with a diverse workforce, they’ll be more likely to embrace the change. If you’re in a leadership position, create a roadmap with resources for building change so that being inclusive can happen naturally and it doesn’t feel like a burden. Your roadmap could include a number of things, such as

Diversity-friendly policies
Employee-led task forces
Diverse opportunities to help people connect outside of the workplace
Structured feedback mechanisms

Enforce strong values

Unfortunately, not everyone is going to be on the same page when it comes to diverse leadership. So, when it’s undoubtedly going to be challenged, use your leadership skills to influence the leaders around you. Encourage them when they communicate strong values like courage, humility, and discipline. Upholding and enforcing these ideals when it comes to the organization’s culture, strategies, and communications allow people to embrace diversity just that little more. The results can be astounding:

Afford more opportunities for innovation
Increased productivity and sales
Higher levels of cross-functional learning experiences

Recognize the accomplishments of everyone

Team building is so important, and it doesn’t stop once we build a diverse workforce. Giving people the recognition that they deserve, no matter where they are in the company, can be super beneficial. This allows employees to be seen and heard and also allows them to have a stake in the company. Feeling appreciated will undoubtedly make people want to further their development.

Education is important

Diversity and inclusion don’t start just anywhere. In order to understand just how important it is, you’re going to need solid and consistent education. This doesn’t mean an intro training course or a refresher on diversity. Education should start at the beginning before someone becomes a leader and should grow with time.

Diverse leadership is incredibly important to a company, and when done right, it can be super beneficial to the company as a whole. These are just a few of the ways that you can begin to foster diversity within your leadership team!

Why Strategic Leadership is Needed | Michael Brian Cotter

Strategic leadership is one form of leadership that doesn’t come naturally. Education is absolutely key to becoming a better leader. When paired with well-implemented strategic decisions, strategic leadership can become an essential asset to an organization, aiding in long-term success. Here are some reasons why strategic leadership is necessary for organizations to succeed.

This type of leadership is incredibly important for a number of reasons:

Strategic leaders tend to think ahead, giving them a leg up over competitors
Leaders can streamline processes, promote innovation, and boost strategic productivity
Allows employees to be productive, independent, and push ideas
Integrate vision, creativity, and innovation for long-term success

Strategic leadership is used to change the trajectory of the organization. This is a process involving developing and implementing strategies correctly. Developing strategies correctly uses the understanding of the external forces that are affecting the organization itself, explores strategic opportunities, and makes an informed decision based on strategic intent. Then we implement the strategy by engaging with people intellectually, physically, and emotionally.

Because strategic leadership is not something people are born with, it’s like a muscle that needs to be trained and developed through practice. There are a number of roles that a strategic leader in an organization includes, like

Decision-making: Strategic leaders should be good at taking calculated risks. These people can see the best possible solution for the situation at hand.
People skills: Strategic leaders are great at communicating, which in turn, drives motivation.
Driving force: Strategic leaders often have a driving personality, which can drive motivation, allowing their employees to stay business-minded and pay attention to the end goal.
Goal setting: These leaders understand how to set achievable goals and survey current trends in order to achieve the necessary growth.
Develop human capital: Because employees are an integral investment, strategic leaders want to ensure that employees are trained adequately to ensure they have a competitive advantage.
Emphasizing ethical practices: Leaders with strong moral foundations are going to improve the overall effectiveness of their strategies. Without this, people may act opportunistically in order to benefit themselves.

Strategic leadership is an incredibly important capability that should be used as quickly as possible. If organizations refuse to develop this type of leadership, they will most likely find that strategies will stay stagnant, the effort will be wasted, and wealth will most likely be lost.

What Are the Health Benefits of Turmeric? | Michael Brian Cotter

If you’re looking for something to spice up your food that also benefits your health, look no further than turmeric. Turmeric is made from the root of the Curcuma longa plant, which is known to be a staple in the ginger family. Today, we will be looking at some of Turmeric’s most important health benefits.

Great anti-inflammatory

If you have a chronic illness that affects the tissues in your body, including turmeric in your everyday foods could possibly be beneficial. According to a study of patients that had ulcerative colitis, ingesting 2 grams of curcumin a day in combination with their prescription medication helped patients stay in remission. While it won’t necessarily help during flare-ups that are actively happening, it’ll help lengthen the remission period.

Memory Improvement

In another study, it was found that adults without dementia who took 90 milligrams of curcumin twice a day for 18 months had an improvement in their memory performance. It’s been thought that because of curcumin’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, there was less of a decline in neurocognition. Neurocognition is most known for the ability to think and reason. Not only that, though it needs more research, curcumin could also play a role in preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

Lessens Pain

While you shouldn’t rely on a curcumin supplement alone for pain, turmeric has incredibly deep roots in Chinese traditional medicine as well as Ayurveda in order to treat arthritis. According to research, you could even potentially reduce your pain with osteoarthritis with turmeric.

Lowers risk of heart disease

There are a number of studies that show that because of turmeric’s ability to reduce inflammation and oxidation, it could help lower the risk of heart disease. Not only that, but studies have shown that ingesting turmeric could help reverse the heart disease process. In healthy middle-aged and older adults that took curcumin supplements for 12 weeks, resistance artery endothelial production– something that plays a huge role in high blood pressure– was increased.

Not only that, but in another study following people who had coronary artery bypass surgery, those who took 4 grams of curcumin a day for a couple of days before and after the surgery saw a 65% decreased risk of having a heart attack. Turmeric could also be helpful in conjunction with managing cholesterol levels, though more research is needed.

It’s incredible to think that spice from the ginger family is so beneficial to our health! These are just a few of the health properties that benefit people.

How Technology Provides Innovative Solutions for Water Problems | Michael Brian Cotter

People everywhere are trying to create more cutting-edge technology to help make it so that clean water is more accessible throughout the world. Here are a few things that people are creating to expand our access to clean drinking water.

Vapor condensation

We’ve been using solar distillers for our water since pre-Columbian times. It’s actually pretty simple to use. Water is evaporated through the use of solar energy, and then the vapor is condensed on a surface, collecting clean water. Now, there are more advancements tot he technology that improves its performance. For example, the company Sunny Clean Water uses a system of carbon paper evaporators and condensers that are made from polydimethylsiloxane. These condensers in full sunlight emit more energy than they absorb, which reduces the temperature to below the dew point and makes vapor condensation possible.

Water from the desert air

Some people are fighting water scarcity simply because it’s just not there. According to the UN, over 2.1 billion people live in arid places that make up 41.3% of the world’s land. Because of the desertification of our climates because of climate change, there are a number of things that people are doing to alleviate water scarcity in the area. There’s even been a team of researchers from MIT and the University of California at Berkeley, led by chemist Omar Yaghi that has designed a passive system that can extract water from the air only using solar energy.

This is called Metal-Organic Frameworks, or MOF. This would be embedded between a solar panel and a vapor condenser and has the ability to collect 100 milliliters of water per kilo of MOF daily in places like Arizona’s desert.

Fresh water from the sea

It’s almost ironic how much of our world’s population lacks access to clean water despite living next to massive oceans. Unfortunately, that’s because desalination of seawater is still expensive and inefficient, as large plants use polymer membranes, which consume an abundance of energy. However, that’s not the only thing that is in use. New technologies are being developed that can radically change our current desalination plants. For example, scientists from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom have created a graphite oxide sieve that will allow only the fresh water to pass through, retaining all the salts from the water. These sieves have the potential to radically improve desalination technology, making it more affordable for those who do not have access to desalination plants.

These are just a few of the many technologies that are currently being produced that can help people have access to potable water.

The Process of Wastewater Treatment Operations | Michael Brian Cotter

Wastewater runs down our drains in homes, schools, businesses, and factories– but where does it go? Well, most likely, it’ll go down into a sewage system. In places like New York City, it’ll come together and flow into a wastewater treatment facility. Here are the ways that wastewater is treated.

Preliminary Treatment

First, influent, or incoming wastewater, flows into the treatment facility through the sewer system. As it enters, it passes through bar screens and removes leaves, twigs, and litter (plastic bags, food wrappers, bottles, sanitary wipes, etc.) from the water itself. The trash is subsequently collected and transported to landfills. Then sewage pumps push the wastewater from the screens to the beginning of the facility.

Primary Treatment

Then, the wastewater moves through the primary settling tanks, slowing the water flow down. This is where the lighter solids, like grease and small plastic material, are skimmed from the surface. Not only that, but the primary sludge (feces, food, and paper fibers) sinks down to the bottom of the settling tank. It’s then removed for thickening and digestion.

Secondary Treatment

Throughout the secondary treatment, air is added to aeration tanks in order to help provide a good and healthy environment for the oxygen-loving microorganisms that are present in the sewage. These microorganisms will eat the wastewater’s organic material, yielding heavy particles that can be removed easier.

The aerated wastewater flows to the final settling tanks, where secondary sludge settles to the bottom. It’s then removed and combined with the primary sludge for thickening and digestion. However, some of the secondary sludge is moved back into the aeration tank to help aid the microorganisms and process the incoming wastewater.

Disinfection

Sodium hypochlorite, the same chemical that’s found in household bleach, is used to disinfect the wastewater and remove the remaining disease-causing bacteria and microorganisms. It’s then released into local waterways.

Sludge Treatment

The sludge that is collected in the primary and secondary treatments is thickened and used to separate the water from the solid material. The sludge is put into a tank called a digester, a low-oxygen environment heated to 98ºF. These microorganisms that thrive in a hot environment will digest the sludge and are converted into methane gas or biogas. After 15 days, the sludge goes through a dewatering process, further removing water from solids using large centrifuges. The remaining solids– biosolids– will be composted, added to agricultural soils, or processed even further for beneficial uses.

Which Technologies Have Enhanced Application Of Domestic Water Reuse And How?

As we go through the years, water-related issues are unfortunately becoming more prevalent day in and day out. Threats such as water pollution and even water scarcity have increased insurmountably. For this reason, domestic water reuse has become more necessary. Luckily, some technologies have become essential for domestic water reuse.

Technological advancements

Technologies have come a long way from the beginning of water reuse. For example, several biological processes have been instrumental in removing unnecessary nutrients from the water– specifically, the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus has been incredibly effective.

Biological Excess Phosphorus Removal (BEPR) technologies are the most helpful and recommended for reusing water. However, those aren’t the only technologies that are helpful. There are a number of physiochemical processes, such as membrane filtration that can help people on a more industrial scale. Deep bed filtration has been used in industries as well. Not only that but there have been companies that create water treatment systems to help meet the needs of emergencies in more remote locations.

Moreover, hybrid processes for domestic water reuse have been heralded as the most effective, as they can be used on an industrial scale for a better outcome. Hybrid process is the use of filtering water through both physiochemical and biological processes. In more special situations, they also can use bioreactors.

Traditional processes

Even though technology has come a long way throughout the years, there’s something to be said about the tried and true traditional physiochemical methods for water reuse. One method that’s preferred through ease of use is deep bed filtration. However, if there’s a situation that requires more extensive filtration, technologies like membrane filtration are more often used and are preferred because of their greater effluent quality. Not only that, but the disinfectant needs are minimal, as it’s been claimed that these processes can generate no sludge whatsoever.

Greater Applications

Going through domestic water treatment and reuse is not only incredibly significant in treating drinking water, but they also work well in the agricultural sectors. Productivity and efficiency have been found to have increased through the use of treated water. Not only that but the use of chemical fertilizers can be avoided. Treated wastewater can also be used to irrigate golf courses and other public places.

The True Benefits of Corporate Wellness Programs

Over the past couple of years, we have been under insurmountable stress. Unfortunately, when you look at how stress affects your life, more than likely, you’ll see that it’s bleeding into your work life. Luckily, there are some ways to combat that! Employee wellness programs are one way that you can help your employees elevate their energy, health, and even productivity. Here are some benefits of corporate wellness programs.

Health risks can improve

Did you know that just 10 minutes of exercise can help your body in the long run? Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States today and is often a preventable condition, so investing in a way to get your employees active for just 150 minutes a week can help you in the long run. Studies have shown that with exercise, 5 out of 7 health risks were improved after just one year!

Reduce healthcare costs

When you make the jump to be more invested in your employees’ health, it pays off in lower healthcare premiums. Using a wellness program can help your employees become healthier, leading to fewer doctor appointments and less money that needs to be paid. Healthy people don’t go to the doctor. Simple as that!

Motivation improves

Motivation to set goals and follow through with them is easier when you have a support system with you. It’s true in the business world and especially in the fitness and wellness world. Whether it’s friends, family members, or coworkers, people have a built-in support system to do anything, from dieting to exercise to even overall well-being. A little encouragement goes a long way.

Reduced number of absences

When people feel well, they can stay on the job and do their best work. On the other hand, if people aren’t feeling their best, be it sluggish, stressed, or sick, they’ll do poor work or not even show up at all. At the beginning of 2022, the number of absences for the month of January showed that 7.8 million people missed work because of an illness, injury, or other medical issues. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, that number is up almost 4 million from January 2021. By offering people wellness programs such as biometric screenings, flu and COVID shots, and other campaigns, you can see your company benefit from reduced absences.

When looking to create a corporate wellness program, you’ll want to see what the needs of your workforce are and then mold your company to that extent. You’ll see success in different ways, like the level of engagement or the employee’s increased healthy behaviors. You may also see a boost in productivity and morale as well.