AI Category Archive

Responsible Algorithm Use: The Dutch National and Amsterdam City Algorithm Registers

Leave a reply Jonny Hankins

Artificial intelligence systems rely on algorithms to instruct them on how to analyze data, perform tasks, predict patterns, evaluate trends, calculate accuracy, optimize processes and make decisions. The Dutch government wants its own governmental departments to use algorithms responsibly. People must be able to trust that algorithms comply with society’s values and norms. And there must be an explanation of how algorithms work.

The government does this by checking algorithms before use for how they work and for possible discrimination and arbitrariness, in the belief that when they is open about algorithms and their application, citizens, organizations and media can follow and check whether they (and their use) follows the law and the rules.

According to the government, the following processes, among others, contribute to responsible algorithm use:

  1. The Algorithm Register helps to make algorithms findable, to explain them better and to make their application and results understandable.
  2. The Algorithm Supervisor (the Dutch Data Protection Authority) coordinates the control of algorithms: do the government’s algorithms comply with all the rules that apply to them? Learn more about the regulator .
  3. The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is working on the ‘Use of Algorithms’ Implementation Framework . This makes it clear to governments what requirements apply to algorithms and how they can ensure that their algorithms can meet those requirements.
  4. Legislation: there will be a legal framework for the transparency of algorithms. This was announced in the letter to parliament dated December 2022 .

Find out more at The Algorithm Register of the Dutch government.

The City of Amsterdam also has an AI Algorithm Register 

The Algorithm Register is a window into an overview of artificial intelligence systems and algorithms used by the City of Amsterdam. Through the register, anyone can get acquainted with the quick overviews of the city’s algorithmic systems or examine their more detailed information based on their interests. Individuals can also give feedback and thus participate in building human-centered AI in Amsterdam. At this moment the register is still under development and does not yet contain all the algorithms that the City of Amsterdam uses.

Find out more at Algorithmic systems of Amsterdam.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights

Leave a reply Jonny Hankins

The White House Office of Science and Technology has published the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.

The Blueprint is a set of five principles and associated practices to help guide the design, use, and deployment of automated systems to protect the rights of the American public in the age of artificial intelligence.

Safe and Effective Systems

You should be protected from unsafe or ineffective systems. Automated systems should be developed with consultation from diverse communities, stakeholders, and domain experts to identify concerns, risks, and potential impacts of the system. Systems should undergo pre-deployment testing, risk identification and mitigation, and ongoing monitoring that demonstrate they are safe and effective based on their intended use, mitigation of unsafe outcomes including those beyond the intended use, and adherence to domain-specific standards. Outcomes of these protective measures should include the possibility of not deploying the system or removing a system from use.

Algorithmic Discrimination Protections

You should not face discrimination by algorithms and systems should be used and designed in an equitable way. Algorithmic discrimination occurs when automated systems contribute to unjustified different treatment or impacts disfavoring people based on their race, color, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, gender identity, intersex status, and sexual orientation), religion, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by law. Depending on the specific circumstances, such algorithmic discrimination may violate legal protections. Designers, developers, and deployers of automated systems should take proactive and continuous measures to protect individuals and communities from algorithmic discrimination and to use and design systems in an equitable way.

Data Privacy

You should be protected from abusive data practices via built-in protections and you should have agency over how data about you is used. You should be protected from violations of privacy through design choices that ensure such protections are included by default, including ensuring that data collection conforms to reasonable expectations and that only data strictly necessary for the specific context is collected. Designers, developers, and deployers of automated systems should seek your permission and respect your decisions regarding collection, use, access, transfer, and deletion of your data in appropriate ways and to the greatest extent possible; where not possible, alternative privacy by design safeguards should be used.

Notice and Explanation

You should know that an automated system is being used and understand how and why it contributes to outcomes that impact you. Designers, developers, and deployers of automated systems should provide generally accessible plain language documentation including clear descriptions of the overall system functioning and the role automation plays, notice that such systems are in use, the individual or organization responsible for the system, and explanations of outcomes that are clear, timely, and accessible.

Human Alternatives, Consideration, and Fallback

You should be able to opt out, where appropriate, and have access to a person who can quickly consider and remedy problems you encounter. You should be able to opt out from automated systems in favor of a human alternative, where appropriate. Appropriateness should be determined based on reasonable expectations in a given context and with a focus on ensuring broad accessibility and protecting the public from especially harmful impacts. In some cases, a human or other alternative may be required by law.

Interesting stuff. You can read the full text via the link above.

How to use AI to prepare for a job interview

Leave a reply Christopher Roberts

AI isn’t just for big organisations, there are many ways you can use AI tools to help improve your speed and effectiveness at completing everyday tasks too.

One example is to help you prepare for a job interview. It can be difficult to know how to spend your time effectively, so why not enlist the help of an AI chatbot like Bard or ChatGPT to come up with ideas, and better still, get it to do some of the work for you?

Job Spec

Where to start? First, try feeding ChatGPT the job description you’ve been given, and ask it to suggest how you should approach interview prep. Here are a few examples of prompts to try:

Prompt 1

I've got an interview for the attached role, could you give me a 50 word summary of how you'd advise I prepare?

If you can’t upload documents, just copy the text after the prompt instead.

Prompt 2

I need to prep for an interview tomorrow. I only have 20 mins. Please read the background info doc (attached) and give me a list of 5-10 bullet points walking me through how to use the 20 minutes to get ready. The list should take me no more than 3 minutes to read.

The more specific you are on your requirements, the better the answer will be. For example, you could ask for it to answer in a numbered list, or to display it in a table. You could ask for it to be no more than 50 words, or for it to be written so that it could be easily understood by a five year old.

Prompt 3

Help! I've got an interview and I'm really out of practice. Could you read the job spec and give me some pointers on what I should be doing?

Sometimes being more creative with your prompt can lead to a more interesting response from the AI.

An example conversation you could have with ChatGPT

Gather More Info

Don’t forget, if you don’t get the response you want, or you need more information, try using follow-up prompts. For example, if it tells you to check out the organisation’s website, ask it to do the legwork for you, here are some examples of how you can ask that.

Follow-up prompt 1

That's great, thanks. Here's the library's website, could you read it and provide me a consise summary that I can use to quickly get up to speed before my interview? www.example-library.org/about

Follow-up prompt 2

I don't know if they have a website actually. Could you search the web and see if you can find one? If they don't, how would you suggest I research the libary more, in the most time effective way, given I've only got 20 minutes to prepair?

Most AI chatbots are designed to understand natural language, so write back as though you were talking to a person. Good spelling and grammar will help you get a better response the first time around, but don’t be afraid to be creative with the instructions you use.

Caution: be mindful not to share personal information with an AI chatbot. If you wouldn’t tell something to a random stranger, don’t type (or paste) it into a chatbot either.

Questions

In any interview, you’re going to be asked questions, so why not practice with the help of AI?

Question prompt 1

I haven't interviewed for this sort of position before, could you give me a list of 5 questions that you think I could be asked, based on the job description?

Question prompt 2

Let's role play the interview, you ask me a question the interviewer is likely to ask, and I'll type my reply. You can then give me feedback on my answer and tips to improve.

Question prompt 3

Could you provide a list of the 5 most common interview questions and 2-3 bullets on how to answer them?

It’s also a good idea to turn up with a few questions of your own. You can ask the AI to help you format these, or if you’re running short of ideas, ask it to give you some suggestions!

Follow-up questions prompt

What questions could I ask the interviewer to help them see I'm interested in the role and want to work for this organisation?

Sharing Ideas

Do you have any tips on how to use ChatGPT to prepare for an interview? Why not help others too, by sharing your prompt ideas below.

If you’re early to this post and the comments section is a little empty, why not ask Bard to come up with some ideas for you instead!

Asking Bard how to prompt ChatGPT to get ready for a job interview