Hillary Clinton and others call for 'international cooperation' on artificial intelligence



Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and various former foreign ministers from around the globe joined together in a statement calling for "international cooperation" regarding the field of artificial intelligence, according to the Aspen Institute.

"As the technologies evolve and permeate all aspects of society, we feel it is important to move quickly to ensure international cooperation on what will be one of the most important policy challenges of our time," the statement reads. "As former foreign ministers, we are by no means experts on Artificial Intelligence, but we deeply understand how important it is to communicate and collaborate globally for issues as complicated and critical to the future of our societies and the international order."

The statement was posted online by the Aspen Institute. Clinton's name is listed along with 21 others.

The statement calls for establishing "an international agency and national agencies to increase capacity and oversight in AI governance," as well as "an international organization to fund, coordinate, and conduct research on AI safety, including research in support of regulatory measures."

"We applaud UN Secretary-General António Guterres' recent launch of the High-Level Multistakeholder Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence and look forward to their contributions in this space," the statement notes.

"This is a time to come together to take creative collective and ambitious actions. These risks should be neither political nor geopolitical footballs. The Aspen Ministers' Forum is ready to contribute to this objective by actively reaching out to our national governments, briefing UN, EU, AU, and other regional organization leaders, continuing to study this issue, and contribute on this critical issue wherever we can," the statement concludes.

Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, has previously served as a U.S. senator from New York and as secretary of state during a portion of President Barack Obama's White House tenure. She lost the 2016 presidential election to Republican Donald Trump.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Soros-Funded Nonprofit Played Key Role In Twitter’s Preparation For Dealing With Hunter Biden Story, Docs Reveal

First News Draft was funded by George Soros' Open Society Foundations

Harry And Meghan’s ‘Concerns’ About Joe Rogan Could Drive Anti-Speech Aspen Institute Project

The couple released a statement from the Archewell Foundation founded by the pair in 2020 raising alarm over 'hundreds of millions of people.'

7 Media Lies Katie Couric And The Aspen Institute Would Decry If They Really Hated Disinformation

Instead of cheering more censorship, Katie Couric and the journalists her report praises should look at some of the misinformation they've peddled over the years.

Aspen Institute’s ‘Commission On Information Disorder’ Silent On Couric’s Censorship Of RBG Quotes

Members of the Aspen Institute's Commission on Information Disorder remained silent on its co-chair's deliberate censorship to 'protect' Justice Ginsburg.

A Who’s Who Of Left-Wing Hacks: Behind The Aspen Institute’s Upcoming Report On Silencing Dissent

For the past six months, this liberal Dream Team has been hard at work on their big report to help the federal government work with corporations to squash news they call 'disinformation.'

Report: NYT columnist David Brooks failed to disclose financial ties to think-tank project that paid him



New York Times columnist David Brooks earned a second salary from a think tank he promoted in his columns without disclosing the relationship to readers, according to a report.

According to BuzzFeed News, Brooks was earning a second salary for his work on Weave: The Social Fabric Project, a project of the Aspen Institute that he founded and serves as the executive director for. The Aspen Institute is a prominent think tank in Washington, D.C. Brooks has been a paid contributor to the New York Times since 2003.

In 2018, the Weave project reportedly received funding from Facebook and though Brooks has written about Facebook in several of his columns, he has never disclosed the financial relationship he shares with the social network.

From BuzzFeed News:

In Dec. 2018, Facebook earmarked a $250,000 gift to the Aspen Institute for the project. Three months later, Brooks introduced Times readers to his concept of "Weavers," which he described as people who fight social isolation by "building community and weaving the social fabric" across the US.

"We need to create a shared Weaver identity," Brooks wrote in the column "A Nation of Weavers." To make that happen, Brooks explained, he had started Weave at the Aspen Institute.

Brooks has published multiple columns that promote Weave, in addition to writing pieces that mention Facebook, its founder Mark Zuckerberg, and the company's products without disclosing his financial ties to the social networking giant.

The amount and timing of Facebook's funding, which had not been previously reported, combined with Brooks's promotion of Weave in the Times, has raised questions about the columnist's conflicts of interest. Last Friday, BuzzFeed News reported that Brooks wrote a blog post for Facebook's corporate website that was timed with the release of a New York University–led study about Facebook Groups that was funded by the social media giant. Brooks did not tell his editors he was writing for Facebook, according to a Times spokesperson.

Brooks did not respond to BuzzFeed News' request for comment.

A spokeswoman for the New York Times said Brooks' work with Weave is under internal review.

"We're in the process of reviewing David's relationship with the Weave Project and the Aspen Institute, and what disclosures, if any, should be added to David's columns going forward," said Eileen Murphy, the senior vice president of corporate communications for the Times.

Last week, BuzzFeed News reported that Brooks published a 900-word blog post to Facebook's corporate website to promote a new study of groups that was funded by the company. Brooks also reportedly appeared on a Facebook-produced video panel about the study.

The Times told BuzzFeed News that it was not aware of Brooks' work with Facebook and that he was not compensated for it.