Awesome, not awesome.

#Awesome
“The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering a wide range of options, including new rules and guidelines, to tackle data privacy concerns and algorithmic discrimination.

FTC´s Chair Lina Khan, in a letter to Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), outlined her goals to “protect Americans from unfair or deceptive practices online” and in particular, Khan said that the FTC is considering rulemaking to address “lax security practices, data privacy abuses and algorithmic decision-making that may result in unlawful discrimination.”

The FTC´s letter comes in response to a letter from several lawmakers, including Senator Blumenthal, who urged the FTC to start a rulemaking process that would “protect consumer privacy, promote civil rights and set clear safeguards on the collection and use of data in the digital economy.”” - Learn More from PMNTS.com >

#Not Awesome
“In South Florida, failure to buckle a seatbelt can be enough for police to run a person through a facial recognition database. So can harvesting saw palmetto berries while trespassing on protected lands. Or being accused of stealing plants from a garden store. Or planning a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality.

Despite a rising national trend to limit or ban the use of facial recognition — especially related to minorities, misdemeanors, and First Amendment activities — police agencies in South Florida widely deploy the troubled technology on residents via one of the nation’s oldest and largest image databases, Face Analysis Comparison & Examination System, or FACES.

A review of thousands of images in which race was identified revealed that about 80% of scans by the Broward Sheriff’s Office and nearly 60% run by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office involved Black individuals. Such rates exceed the region’s Black population and rates of arrest.” - Joanne Cavanaugh Simpson, Journalist Learn More from South Florida Sun-Sentinel >

What we're reading.

1/ Artificial intelligence was the most discussed technology in 2021, with over 175,000 online articles written about it. Machine learning came in second with over 100,000 articles written. Learn More from tvtech >

2/ The US Senate has approved a bill that will add additional training for federal employees who manage artificial intelligence technologies. Learn More from FEDweek >

3/ The field of machine learning is expected to reach revenues of $80.3 billion by 2023. Learn More from Analytics Insight >

4/ AI was a huge talking point this year. How will it fare in 2022? Learn More from Forbes >

5/ As mainstream adoption of facial recognition technologies continues to grow, experts warn that we must continue to weigh the risks and consequences along the way. Learn More from The Next Web >

6/ Toronto police had used controversial company Clearview AI's technology in 84 criminal investigations in 3.5 months before being ordered to stop. The co-chair of the Criminal Lawyers' Association's criminal law and technology committee says cases where it was used are now at risk. Learn More from CBC >

7/ A new app called Dream is able to use AI to turn text prompts into original artwork. Learn More from TechCrunch >

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