Department of Defense discusses the ethics of AI use at Carnegie Mellon; Pittsburgh Business Times, March 15, 2019

Julia Mericle, Pittsburgh Business Times;

Department of Defense discusses the ethics of AI use at Carnegie Mellon

"As artificial intelligence looms closer and closer to inevitable integration into nearly every aspect of national security, the U.S. Department of Defense tasked the Defense Innovation Board with drafting a set of guiding principles for the ethical use of AI in such cases. 

That DIB wants to know what the public thinks.

The DIB’s subcommittee on science and technology hosted a public listening session Thursday at Carnegie Mellon University focused on “The Ethical and Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence for the Department of Defense.” 

It’s one of three DIB listening sessions scheduled for across the U.S. to collect public thoughts and concerns. Using the ideas collected, the DIB will put together its guidelines in the coming months and announce a full recommendation for the DoD later this year."

Pittsburgh is filled with people trying to win patents. PPG is at the front of the line. One of an occasional series: Patented in Pittsburgh; The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 20, 2018

Courtney Linder, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Pittsburgh is filled with people trying to win patents. PPG is at the front of the line.
One of an occasional series: Patented in Pittsburgh
 

"Between 2005 and 2015, PPG was awarded 583 patents, the most in the Pittsburgh region, and certainly enough to warrant the structure PPG has crafted to protect its secrets until it has the force of a U.S. patent seal...

Pittsburgh universities churning out patents

Between 2008 and 2017, Pittsburgh's research universities have tripled their patent generation and doubled the number of technology licenses granted for commercial use."

Pittsburgh's smart city efforts include autonomous driving, open data, and renewable energy; TechRepublic, 11/18/16

Teena Maddox, TechRepublic; Pittsburgh's smart city efforts include autonomous driving, open data, and renewable energy:

"Pittsburgh is the home for CMU and it has helped with the push to add new technology. Pittsburgh is partnering with the university to serve as an urban lab for CMU's research and development. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CMU and the city serves as a formal partnership to allow CMU to try new tech around Pittsburgh without undergoing a lengthy approval process, similar to how the city is able to send maintenance crews out to do small projects without first seeking funding, Peduto explained...

The city has formed partnerships with county and universities to create an open data platform. Pittsburgh is providing the public with real-time data about crime, emergency calls, building permits, or anything else being measured."

Healthful alliance: UPMC, Pitt and CMU join forces in a big way; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/19/15

Editorial Board, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Healthful alliance: UPMC, Pitt and CMU join forces in a big way:

"The announcement Monday by the heads of UPMC, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University that they were forming the Pittsburgh Health Data Alliance was the unveiling of no mere partnership or collaboration. The alliance aims to marshal the strengths of all three institutions on behalf of the public’s health and well-being.

The initiative, which will be funded largely by UPMC to the tune of $10 million to $20 million a year, will process massive amounts of electronic health data — from insurance records, patient information, genomic profiles, wearable sensors and other sources — to help guide an individual’s medical treatment. This “big data” could also help physicians detect when a new outbreak in a personal ailment might occur and respond more rapidly, before a health problem grows larger.

Success of the alliance will hinge on UPMC’s vast patient data, Pitt’s health science research capabilities and CMU’s leadership in computer science and machine learning. Beyond the real-world diagnosis and care benefits for individual patients, the effort also seeks to spin off commercial businesses and create jobs."