Analysis

The Playground is Open: Questions, Dangers, and Opportunities Related to the Widespread Availability of OpenAI’s Large Language Model

New Executive Order on Signals Intelligence: A Meaningful—but Insufficient—Step Forward

ITEM 10: How a Small Legal Aid Team Took on Algorithmic Black Boxing at Their State’s Employment Agency (And Won)

In June 2022, Legal Aid of Arkansas won a significant victory in their ongoing work to compel Arkansas’ employment agency to disclose crucial details about how it uses automated decision-making systems to detect and adjudicate fraud. In August, I s…

A Look at EPIC’s Report to the FTC on Commercial Surveillance & Data Security

EPIC recently published Disrupting Data Abuse, our initial report on the Federal Trade Commission's commercial surveillance rulemaking. The 230-page filing calls for rules on data minimization, algorithmic fairness, security, and more.

Greater Legal Protections Needed for Phone Geolocation Data

Mobile carriers' responses to FCC inquiry further underscore the urgent need for Congress to enact laws that safeguard the privacy of Americans’ location data.

What’s in a name? A survey of strong regulatory definitions of automated decision-making systems

With regulation and enforcement starting to take shape over AI and automated decision-making systems, it’s essential that we understand and build common definition(s) that can protect individuals today and in the future. EPIC believes an expansive …

The Rise of Chinese Surveillance Technology in Africa (Part 6 of 6)

There is no robust empirical evidence that the adoption of Chinese surveillance tools results in the reduction of crime. The continual procurement of these tools despite lack of evidence of efficacy raises a series of questions: why are local elites …

AI Bill of Rights Provides Actionable Instructions for Companies, Agencies, and Legislators

Last week, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a “Blueprint” for an “AI Bill of Rights.”The five major principles are Safe and Effective Systems; Freedom from Algorithmic Discrimination; Data Privacy; Notice and E…

The Rise of Chinese Surveillance Technology in Africa (part 5 of 6)

Digital initiatives have widened the range of personal data collected by African states. In 2011, the Nairobi government employed a French company, Imprimerie Nationale, to create a biometric data system for their national identity card program. This…

The Rise of Chinese Surveillance Technology in Africa (part 4 of 6)

The spread of smart cities is a key area facilitating the spread of Chinese surveillance technology globally. Simply put, the smart city is a computational model of urban planning that purports to optimize operational efficacy and promote economic ac…