I debated whether or not to send out a newsletter on Turkey Week, but nothing is sacred to the news cycle so here I am! First of all, don’t forget to download the new ISS tracking app. It’s a great way to change the subject during any awkward Thanksgiving conversations.
Now onto the news! Remember when the AI Executive Order was all we could talk about? Forget it.1 Altman was in, Altman was out, back in again? No, he’s headed to Microsoft. There is definitely a lot to unpack here.
In other news, Meta announced their support for legislation that would require app stores to verify the age of users wishing to download social media apps.2 Finally, the OMB has released the final updated version of Circular A-4.
Public Comments
NTIA Kids Online Health and Safety Request for Comment
Nonprofit
Industry and Trade Associations
In the News
Artificial Intelligence
What to Know About OpenAI’s Chaotic Weekend | John Koblin and Kevin Granville, New York Times
OpenAI’s Misalignment and Microsoft’s Gain | Ben Thompson, Stratechery
OpenAI Employees Threaten to Quit Unless Board Resigns | Keach Hagey, Wall Street Journal
Overregulating AI Will Disrupt Markets and Discourage Competition | Adam Thierer and Neil Chilson, Bloomberg Law
The Man Behind Biden’s Sweeping AI Executive Order | Nancy Scola, Politico
Statement to the U.S. Senate AI Insight Forum on “AI: Privacy and Liability” | Daniel Castro, Center for Data Innovations
Inspired By Online Dating, AI Tool for Adoption Matchmaking Falls Short for Vulnerable Foster Kids | Sally Ho and Garance Burke, Associated Press
Children’s Safety Online
Meta Wants Apple, Google Responsible for Teens Downloading Unwanted Apps | Cristiano Lima and Naomi Nix, The Washington Post
Overcoming Fear and Frustration with the Kids Online Safety Act | John Perrino, Tech Policy Press
Getting Hooked on Social Media Addiction Lawsuits: What to Know and Some Points to Consider | Clay Calvert, AEI
Artificial Intelligence and Morphed Sexual Imagery of Real Minors: Pushing the Free-Speech Envelope Too Far | Clay Calvert, AEI
More Tools, More Control: Lessons from Young Users on Handling Unwanted Messages Online | Michal Luria, Center for Democracy and Technology
Regulation
Comparing the Draft and Final Circular A-4 | Mark Febrizio, Sarah Hay, and Zhoudan Xie, Regulatory Studies Center
Research
Algorithmic Recommendations and Human Discretion
Human decision-makers frequently override the recommendations generated by predictive algorithms, but it is unclear whether these discretionary overrides add valuable private information or reintroduce human biases and mistakes. We develop new quasi-experimental tools to measure the impact of human discretion over an algorithm on the accuracy of decisions, even when the outcome of interest is only selectively observed, in the context of bail decisions. We find that 90% of the judges in our setting underperform the algorithm when they make a discretionary override, with most making override decisions that are no better than random. Yet the remaining 10% of judges outperform the algorithm in terms of both accuracy and fairness when they make a discretionary override. We provide suggestive evidence on the behavior underlying these differences in judge performance, showing that the high-performing judges are more likely to use relevant private information and are less likely to overreact to highly salient events compared to the low-performing judges.
Don’t actually, but it certainly should have taken a back seat in your mind this weekend.
I had thought that this would be the big news of the week, but boy was I wrong.