4-10-19

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The Pitt News

T h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t ude nt ne w spap e r of t he U niversity of Pittsburgh | PIttnews.com | April 10, 2019 ­| Volume 109 | Issue 139

Q&A: DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER CHRIS PAINE ON AI

STANDING BY SURVIVORS | SEE VIDEO AT PITTNEWS.COM

Griffin Lynch Staff Writer

ees will vote on this fee increase in its upcoming May meeting. SGB Executive Vice President Jahari Mercer said the increase in the student activities fee will ultimately benefit Pitt students. “Even though it’s an increase in the fee, it will help to better serve more organizations that we all interact with,” Mercer said. Wellness Chair Eric Macadangdang announced

Just 50 years ago, computers were barely capable of doing basic math. In the decades since, huge strides in technology and software have made artificial intelligence, or computer programs that attempt to emulate the higher decision-making faculties of intelligent beings, like humans, viable. Companies and researchers have developed artificial intelligence to play arcade games and drive autonomous cars, and it’s the technology that powers Snapchat’s face-recognizing lenses. It also suggests products to buy on Amazon, tells us what to watch next on Netflix and controls what news feeds appear on Facebook, meaning that AI is in control of a lot more than how we look in a video sent to our friends. It can influence our outlook on the world, even going so far as to impact elections. That’s why Chris Paine, an award-winning documentary film director and producer, made the movie “Do You Trust this Computer?” The film takes a look at the possibilities and dangers brought about by the development of AI. Paine has worked on several documentaries in the past, most of which discuss technology in the context of transportation like automotives and bicycles. Although “Do You Trust this Computer?” mentions the automotive industry, where AI is used extensively in self-driving cars, the film focuses on AI generally, apart from any particular implementation. Pitt Cyber will show the film at 6 p.m. on Thursday in the Teplitz Courtroom of the Barco Law Building. A Q&A panel that includes Paine and

See SGB on page 2

See Paine on page 2

Pitt Agents of Cultural Change and Pitt’s Office of Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Education hosted a candlelight vigil Tuesday night in support of survivors of sexual misconduct. Levko Karmazyn | staff photographer

SGB ANNOUNCES COUNSELING CENTER CHANGES

Maureen Hartwell Staff Writer

With the academic year coming to a close, Pitt’s Student Government Board spent its Tuesday meeting passing new legislation and introducing new members for SGB 2019-20. The Board approved four pieces of legislation, postponing the vote for Board Bill 62 until the meeting next Tuesday. Board Bill 63, passed Tues-

day night, clarifies protocol for a tie in the race for executive vice president. Three Board resolutions also passed Tuesday evening, stating SGB’s support for the Choose to Reuse program, use of Venmo for student organizations and a raise in the student activities fee from $80 to $100. The student activities fee was last raised to $80 from $60 by the Board of Trustees in 2004, following a recommendation from SGB. The Board of Trust-


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