S2E6: Protecting Ourselves Against Artificial Intelligence Abuses w/ David Evan Harris

Brian J Matos

Brian interviews David Evan Harris, a Chancellor’s Public Scholar at UC Berkeley and a continuing lecturer at the Haas School of Business. The main topic of the conversation is the race to safeguard against the risks of artifical intelligence misuse. David teaches courses including AI Ethics for Leaders; Social Movements & Social Media; Civic Technology; and Scenario Planning & Futures Thinking. Harris is an affiliated faculty member with the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS); Center for Latin American Studies; Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership (EGAL); and the Business and Public Policy Group at UC Berkeley. In this episode, Brian and David discuss the current state of AI adoption and regulation. A key topic of conversation is the "dual use" of AI and the need for regulations to address both its civilian and weaponized applications. Harris emphasizes the importance of catching up with AI development and implementing guardrails to prevent misuse. He also discusses the regulation race between China and the European Union. In terms of AI's impact on democracies, Harris expresses concerns about deepfakes, AI-generated content, and the use of encrypted messaging platforms for election interference. The conversation covers the use of encrypted messaging platforms for disinformation, the controversy at OpenAI regarding governance issues, the balance between profit motives and ethics in AI companies, and the need for regulation in advanced AI development.

In his previous role at Meta (formerly Facebook), David managed teams of quantitative and qualitative researchers working on responsible AI, social impact, and civic integrity. During his close to five years with the company, he and his teams covered topic areas including AI fairness and inclusion; AI governance and accountability; global election integrity; misinformation; coordinated inauthentic behavior; hate speech; human rights; political violence; harassment and online safety for activists, journalists, and politicians; community organizing; civic participation; racial justice; authoritative information; volunteering and non-profit organizations.

At the Institute for the Future (IFTF), he served as research director, leading research on the future of media, philanthropy, governance, international development, and social movements from 2008-2018. Harris studied at the University of São Paulo (MS, Sociology) and UC Berkeley (BA, Political Economy of Environment & Development). As a student, he was an intern at the White House Council on Environmental Quality and a confidential assistant at the Office of Management and Budget, Natural Resources Division.

To learn more about David Evan Harris:

• UC-BERKLEY BIO: https://haas.berkeley.edu/faculty/harris-david/
• X: http://www.twitter.com/davidevanharris
• LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidevanharris/

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