— Hal Abelson, a renowned computer scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was working the classroom, coffee cup in hand, pacing back and forth. The subject was artificial intelligence, and his students last week were mainly senior policymakers from countries in the 36-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Next came a description of how the technology works, a hands-on project using computer-vision models and then case studies. The class was part of a three-day gathering at M.I.T., including expert panels, debate and discussion, as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development seeks to agree on recommendations for artificial intelligence policy by this summer. Artificial intelligence seems to be everywhere, much hyped, much feared yet little understood.

Source: New York Times January 20, 2019 17:13 UTC