Interview with Michael Woolridge, Head of Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford: Faced with AI applications, we may need to compromise on privacy

Source: Daily Economic News

On December 7, at the 2019 T-EDGE Global Innovation Conference co-sponsored by Titanium Media and the National New Media Industry Base, the godfather of the multi-intelligent system attending the event, Michael wooldridge, director of the Department of Computer Science at Oxford University Interviewed by reporters from the Daily Economic News (hereinafter referred to as NBD).

Michael Wooldridge is also the former chairman of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. He is known as Europe's first artificial intelligence authority and is familiar with the entire chain of artificial intelligence production, learning and research. He is also a member of the International Computer Society (ACM), the American Association of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), the European Association of Artificial Intelligence (EURAI), the Association for Artificial Intelligence and Behavioral Simulation (AISB), the British Computer Society (BCS), and the European Academy of Sciences.

At what stage has China's artificial intelligence developed? How does the application of artificial intelligence deal with privacy issues? As an authoritative scholar in the field of artificial intelligence, what kind of answer will Michael Woldridge give? "We have to give up our view of privacy as we grow up, but this certainly doesn't mean we should give up more." Michael Woldridge admits.

Photo by Michael Woolridge

Cultural differences are also changing privacy issues

NBD: There are many topics in this forum focusing on data privacy. What do you think of the personal privacy issues brought by the information age?

Michael Wooldridge: This is a very big problem we face. Technology has brought great changes to people's communication and communication. For example, Facebook allows us to easily connect with others, but enjoying the convenience of technology At the same time, we will sacrifice some of our personal information.

Applications in the field of artificial intelligence also have this problem. For example, Apple's watch may test my health, my stress tolerance, or stroke-related indexes in the future. This requires collecting and processing my privacy data. The future situation is: I realized that my cell phone and watch could know if I had a heart attack, which might be an abnormal feeling.

However, young people's attitudes towards personal privacy are very different from those of the older generation. They are more accustomed to uploading their data and information to the Internet than older people. This cultural difference is also changing privacy issues.

I think we need to figure out what is acceptable and unacceptable in our society, and let artificial intelligence find an acceptable way to survive. We may need to compromise, and we have to give up our view of privacy as we grow up, but this certainly doesn't mean we should give up more.

NBD: There are already some application scenarios of face recognition in China, such as check-in at work, access control system, but many people are worried about the leakage of information caused by face recognition, or the binding of face information to their own capital account, which involves security Question, what do you think of this application?

Michael Wooldridge: Face recognition is a powerful technology. If applied properly, it will bring great convenience to people's lives. For example, the future home may not have a door lock and the door can identify you. s face.

However, face recognition has also brought huge controversy. For example, in the London subway, face recognition is put into use. Londoners are very angry. They think that their every move is monitored by the face recognition system.

There is another case in the UK, where face recognition is used to find criminal suspects at rock festivals, and everyone is monitored for face when the audience enters the venue. However, the system identified a lot of mistakes and mistakenly identified many people as suspected criminals. The police had to question many people to rule it out. This was a case where the technology was not properly applied, which was very dangerous.

Of course, we are not trying to abandon this technology, but also to use it reasonably and appropriately.

Industry associations should be involved in developing AI application rules

NBD: How do you see the development of artificial intelligence in China?

Michael Waldridge: The development of artificial intelligence in China has undergone particularly great changes. 30 years ago, this field was completely dominated by the United States, which was then a gathering place for AI investment and innovation.

In 1998, the annual meeting of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), when China published only one paper, published by the University of Hong Kong. This year, China is also the world's largest number of accepted papers by AAAI (382 in total), 118 more than the second-ranked United States, and this growth is very rapid.

I think there are many reasons, such as China's opening up to the outside world and increased participation in international affairs; the rapid development of large companies such as Tencent, Ali, and Baidu; the biggest factor is China's market size advantage, which has promoted the development of many AI projects.

NBD: You have participated in the advisory activities of the British Parliament on artificial intelligence legislation. What role do you think the government should play in artificial intelligence legislation?

Michael Waldridge: The most important and fundamental role of the government is to protect people's rights and prevent and respond to the various potential hazards brought by AI technology. At present, the collection and use of private data and other issues have caused a lot of concerns. The government should clarify the rules on how data is collected and used in legislation. In addition, some professional industry associations should also play a role, such as the medical industry, insurance industry, automotive industry, etc., they should participate in the formulation of rules for the application of AI technology.

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