2019: A Tech Odyssey

Kara Swisher

Editor-At-Large, Recode; Moderator
Begin: 0:01

Roy Austin

Partner, Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis, LLP
Begin: 5:54

Rebecca Crootof

Executive Director, Information Society Project, Yale Law School
Begin: 2:57

Frank Torres

Director of Consumer Affairs and Senior Policy Counsel, Microsoft Corporation
Begin: 3:30

Ben Wizner

Director, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project
Begin: 2:28

From Siri to smart cars to facial recognition that forestalls terrorist attacks, artificial intelligence (AI) is already affecting everyday life, whether we realize it or not. AI tracks and predicts individuals’ shopping preferences, political preferences, and locations. But we do not understand the full range of rewards and risks that arise from the use of this technology and the data accumulation necessary for it to work effectively. Computers make trillions of decisions each day in search results and newsfeeds. Do these decisions merit First Amendment protection? Should a computer’s prediction about an individual’s propensity to commit a crime be admissible as evidence at trial? If a software program develops racial biases, could the program — or the programmer — be held liable for unlawful discrimination? And does it, or should it, make a difference if issues related to AI arise in the United States, the United Kingdom, or China?

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