Tom Simonite
WIRED
San Francisco, CA, United States
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Past articles by Tom:
Google Has a Plan to Stop Its New AI From Being Dirty and Rude
The future of computing is AI-powered chatbots that have read the entire internet—if Google can figure out how to tame them. → Read More
Twitter Insiders Fear Elon Musk Heralds a Troll Takeover
Employees and moderation advisers say loosening the platform’s rules would bring on an era of increased toxicity, causing users from marginalized backgrounds to flee. → Read More
Online Sleuths Are Using Face Recognition to ID Russian Soldiers
It takes five minutes to put a name to a soldier's face using little more than a screenshot, but there's a catch. → Read More
This App Can Diagnose Rare Diseases From a Child's Face
Doctors often struggle to identify rare conditions they may only see once in a lifetime. Face2Gene helps specialists find others with the same condition. → Read More
YouTube's Captions Insert Explicit Language in Kids' Videos
The AI that transcribes spoken dialog on the platform's standard version can render “corn” as “porn,” “beach” as “bitch,” and “brave” as “rape.” → Read More
It's Not Just the IRS—the US Government Wants Your Selfies
A controversial new program that uses facial recognition is part of a national effort to verify identities and reduce fraud. → Read More
Synthetic Voices Want to Take Over Audiobooks
As computer-generated voices become more sophisticated, the number of audiobooks—including from Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—is set to explode. → Read More
When It Comes to Health Care, AI Has a Long Way to Go
Medical information is more complex and less available than the web data that many algorithms were trained on, so results can be misleading. → Read More
This AI Software Nearly Predicted Omicron’s Tricky Structure
New algorithms that decipher complex sequences of amino acids offered an early view of the coronavirus variant. They could point the way to future drugs. → Read More
Face Recognition Is Being Banned—but It’s Still Everywhere
Two dozen cities and states prohibit use of the tech. But it’s on phones and is increasingly used in airports and in banks. → Read More
Facebook Says Its New AI Can Identify More Problems Faster
The “Few-Shot Learner” system doesn't need to see as many examples to identify troublesome posts, and works in more than 100 languages. → Read More
Ex-Googler Timnit Gebru Starts Her Own AI Research Center
The researcher, who says Google fired her a year ago, wants to ask questions about responsible use of artificial intelligence. → Read More
This Company Tapped AI for Its Website—and Landed in Court
Under pressure to make their sites accessible to visually impaired users, firms turn to software. But advocates say the tech isn't always up to the task. → Read More
The Government Wants to Bolster Its Tech—Starting With Workers
Robin Carnahan, head of the agency that manages the federal government's offices and IT, is revamping job descriptions and pushing remote work. → Read More
A New Formula May Help Black Patients' Access to Kidney Care
The prior algorithm adjusted calculations for Black patients—making it harder for them to qualify for transplants and other treatments. → Read More
These Deepfake Voices Can Help Trans Gamers
Players of online games can be harassed when their voices don't match their gender identity. New AI-fueled software may help. → Read More
Now That Machines Can Learn, Can They Unlearn?
Privacy concerns about AI systems are growing. So researchers are testing whether they can remove sensitive data without retraining the system from scratch. → Read More
Deepfakes Are Now Making Business Pitches
The video technology, initially associated with porn, is gaining a foothold in the corporate world. → Read More
These Algorithms Look at X-Rays—and Somehow Detect Your Race
A study raises new concerns that AI will exacerbate disparities in health care. One issue? The study’s authors aren’t sure what cues are used by the algorithms. → Read More
As the Use of AI Spreads, Congress Looks to Rein It In
The White House, lawmakers from both parties, and federal agencies are all working on bills or projects to constrain potential downsides of the tech. → Read More