Social media

One of the most watched events of the year got Cynthia Weber wondering: can the use by Sky News of artificial intelligence (AI) at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle be a good thing?

For the first time in history, a news broadcaster used AI facial recognition technology during a live broadcast. Cynthia, a professor of international relations and gender studies at the University of Sussex, explained that using software to name wedding guests may be a nifty trick, but there are worries about the implications.

“Some claim that this technology can identify a person’s sexual orientation,” Cynthia said while speaking during an event for the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in Geneva at UNAIDS headquarters.

Referring to a Stanford University study that analysed more than 35 000 images on a United States dating website of white, able-bodied, 18–40-year-olds, the researchers compared their AI-generated sexual orientations against sexual orientations researchers found in dating profiles. The study claimed that AI facial recognition technology could determine a person’s sexual orientation with up to a 30% greater accuracy than people can.

Cynthia said that LGBTI advocacy organizations labelled the study junk science—the study used a skewed sampling in terms of race and age and the study equates sexual orientation with sexual activity. “The result is that the study’s artificial intelligence algorithm only finds what it was programmed to find: stereotypes about straights, gays and lesbians,” said Cynthia.

Cynthia believes that AI knowledge may generate opportunities in many fields, but sees far more risks and dangers than advantages for LGBTI people.

When AI meets facial recognition technology and a sexual orientation algorithm, at least four issues arise. First, privacy. In national and international law, a person’s face is not protected by privacy laws. That allows faces to be scanned and read by everyone, from governments to Sky News.

Secondly, accuracy. “In a world beyond the royal wedding, artificial intelligence facial recognition technology is far from perfect, even when it just tries to match names with faces, much less when it tries to match presumed sexual orientations with faces,” Cynthia said.

For Cynthia, the key issue is knowledge. How does a sexual orientation algorithm know better than an individual his or her sexuality? Cynthia considers the binary approach of code and computer-readable data not compatible with the vast gender and sexuality spectrum.

Finally, the issue of what the AI information will be used for worries Cynthia. “Let Sky News use it for wedding commentary, but what if the police use it in countries where homosexuality is outlawed?” Cynthia asked.

For Cynthia, AI and sexual orientation are not necessarily mutually beneficial. Cynthia understands that AI influences imagination and drives innovation, but believes that categorization of people usually introduces more harms than benefits.

Cynthia concluded by saying, “People have to make sure that artificial intelligence is ethically driven, not just technologically driven.”

The event was organized with the Swiss LGBTI Pride@Work association and UN Globe, a United Nations-wide LGBTI organization, and was held on 16 May.

New information and communication technologies are changing the way in which gay men and other men who have sex with men meet their sexual partners. Today, men who have sex with men, including those who are not openly gay or who fear stigma, are able to arrange to meet other men, look for entertainment, find health information and mobilize through dating applications, the Internet and other digital media.

Such technologies also represent an important resource for extending the reach and enhancing the effectiveness of HIV prevention programmes among gay men and other men who have sex with men. They hold the potential to drive measurable programmatic improvements by collecting and disseminating information, linking virtual content to physical services and complementing offline components of HIV programmes.

In order to improve the reach of HIV services and the impact of HIV prevention programmes, UNAIDS, in collaboration with the Global Forum on MSM & HIV, the USAID funded LINKAGES programme and Health Policy Project, organized a consultation to develop a framework to engage the private and public sectors and communities in using new media technologies for HIV prevention among gay men and other men who have sex with men.

Participants

The participants included experts in the area of new media and HIV among gay men and other men who have sex with men, including some of the largest private companies that own dating platforms, programme implementers, researchers and advocates.

Key messages

• A number of large, for-profit, gay dating applications and Internet companies with a very large number of clients already support initiatives to foster the health and well-being of their clients. They have the potential to reach people at higher risk of HIV infection with information and refer them to HIV service providers.   
• Public–private partnerships on new media technologies for the health of gay men and other men who have sex with men need to be strengthened. A better understanding of the strengths and limitations of the private and public sectors as well as community organizations and networks is required. 
• Innovative projects are increasingly using new information technologies to strengthen the HIV response among gay men and other men who have sex with men across the project cycle, from planning to implementation to monitoring and evaluation. These need to be evaluated and scaled-up.
• National AIDS programmes need to increasingly include the use of new information and communication technologies in their strategies and policies, build their own information and communications technology capacity and fund such programmes.
• Data safety issues need to be addressed.  
• The use of new media should be included in core HIV packages and programmes; international guidance should be developed regarding minimum standards, training requirements or measures of success.

Message from UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé

GENEVA, 17 May 2015—We are living in a time of rapid social change. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people are now reaching new frontiers and celebrating remarkable achievements.

Despite this transformation, acts of discrimination and violence continue against the LGBTI community.

We cannot tolerate picking and choosing rights in a modern society—a society where diversity is celebrated; a society where everyone, no matter where they live or whom they love, is able to live in peace and security; a society where everyone can contribute to the health and well-being of their community.

We can make this society a reality, but we will need global solidarity.

We did this when we fought against apartheid—and we won!

As we observe the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, I call on everyone to join the movement for social justice, equality and equity so that all people can live with respect and dignity.

This is the future I commit to—this is the future I embrace.

The Vice-President of Xinhua News, Shen Haixiong, reaffirmed its commitment to continue raising public awareness of the AIDS response in China and beyond during a meeting with UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Luiz Loures on 19 November.

Xinhua and UNAIDS first signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2011, in which they agreed to leverage each organization’s skills to reach universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. The partnership was renewed in February 2014 by UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé and Xinhua’s President Li Congjun at the news agency’s headquarters in Beijing, China. Over the past years, the partnership has produced global media campaigns to promote public awareness of HIV as well as World AIDS Day activities.

Mr Loures acknowledge Xinhua’s strong commitment to social responsibility and its work in advocating for the UNAIDS vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. Looking forward to the continuation of the successful partnership, Mr Loures stressed the importance of expanding joint efforts in areas such as China–Africa health cooperation.

Civil society, public and private organizations and UNAIDS are leveraging advances in mobile technology to empower communities. Together they have produced a new mobile application called iMonitor+, which enables users to access HIV prevention and treatment services and provide feedback on the quality of such services.

The Deputy Governor of Bangkok, Pusadee Tamthai, the UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, the Public Campaign Officer of the Indonesian AIDS Coalition, Ayu Oktariani, and the Director of Service Workers in Group Foundation (SWING), Surang Janyam, launched iMonitor+ on 27 October in Bangkok, Thailand.

“This is a data revolution: real-time, mobile health information systems. iMonitor+ is not just a gadget, but a tool for social transformation. It will empower people to demand services and foster public accountability,” said Mr Sidibé.

iMonitor+ uses global positioning satellite technology to locate a user, who can then receive information on where to access condoms, HIV testing, counselling and treatment and other key services. If there are stock-outs of antiretroviral medicine and other HIV commodities, the user can send alerts to a central dashboard and be directed in real time to other services nearby.  Users can also report any experience of stigma or violation of their rights in HIV service and other delivery settings to the dashboard. Public health authorities and community partners are working together to resolve as quickly as possible issues raised by the alerts.

“iMonitor+ has great potential as an important early warning tool, which can notify public health authorities of gaps in key services,” said the Deputy Governor of Bangkok. “By working with civil society to develop iMonitor+ we have opened up an important channel for dialogue and strengthened key partnerships for social transformation.” 

Since early June more than 100 volunteers from five community networks in Thailand, Indonesia, India and the Philippines have been pilot testing iMonitor+ to provide feedback and adapt the application to each network’s specific needs. In Thailand, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has partnered with SWING to test and fine-tune the application.

“iMonitor+ is an effective platform with which to work with public health authorities,” said the Director of SWING. “It is providing us with an opportunity to directly influence the way the services are delivered to communities.”

The Indonesian AIDS Coalition has been running a trial with iMonitor+ in four cities, including Jakarta. Ayu Oktariani said, “We are finding that health authorities are taking the real-time alerts we register with iMonitor+ seriously and that they move much more rapidly than before to close service delivery gaps.”

The feedback from communities and service providers will ensure continuous innovation and adaptability of the app. This participatory monitoring tool is not only an important community tool for quality assurance and responsiveness of HIV services, but can give people the power to monitor services in many areas aside from public health and serve as an instrument for improved public accountability.

90 young leaders from Kazakhstan gathered in Almaty to summarize their discussions and provide recommendations for the CrowdOutAIDS project.
Credit: UNAIDS

In October 2011, UNAIDS launched CrowdOutAIDS, an online/offline collaborative project to ‘crowdsource’ the organization’s new youth strategy.

In the first two phases, youth networks and young people were connected via social media and eight online forums in seven languages were held in each region of the world, where young people debated key priories for youth and HIV.

Through this inclusive process, CrowdOutAIDS has engaged more than 20 000 young people from almost all countries, using mailing lists, Twitter, collective libraries on HIV and young people, and the forums. On World AIDS Day 2011, some 25 million people using the mircoblogging service Twitter were reached with key messages on HIV awareness under the CrowdOutAIDS banner.  

To ensure that people who live in countries and communities where Internet penetration is low had an opportunity to contribute to the project, offline Open Forums were organized by volunteers, mobilized via the CrowdOutAIDS platform.

Reports from these offline Open Forums have come in from more than 30 countries, and participants include students, peer-educators and community workers, as well as key populations at higher risk such as young men who have sex with men, young people who use drugs, and young people living with HIV.

“The offline meet-ups have been a unique experience and the input provided has been insightful,” wrote Anthony Karanja Mute, Open Forum facilitator in Kenya in his report. ”This is the first clear indication by UNAIDS of the need to have inclusive and far reaching contribution by young people.”

“Young people always feel marginalized and no one ever seeks to interact with them in a positive way. It’s my sincere hope that this will be the first of many such offline meet-ups,” wrote Mr Mute. “On a personal note this has been a fulfilling experience knowing that I was part of the greater good.”

The CrowdOutAIDS team is now preparing for the next phase that will see the Open Forum reports transformed into an actionable strategy. An online application to collect specific solutions to the challenges identified in the forums will be launched, and an independent drafting committee made up of young people who participated in the project is being selected. The drafting committee will collaboratively author the outcome document of CrowdOutAIDS via online tools during real-time drafting sessions.

CrowdOutAIDS case study: 2000 students have their say in Kazakhstan

A special round-table was organized by the Republican AIDS Center of Kazakhstan and the Students Debate Forum of Almaty to discuss how to overcome HIV-related stigma and discrimination in the country. The purpose of the meeting was also provide recommendations for UNAIDS’ new strategy on HIV and young people.

A lead-up debate series, which began on 11 November, was attended by more than 2000 students, followed by forums at 14 universities in seven regions of the country. The discussions continued on Facebook. In December, more than 90 young leaders from across the country gathered in Almaty to summarize their discussions and provide recommendations for the CrowdOutAIDS project.

The panelists concluded that one of the main causes of discrimination against people living with HIV is actually rooted in the campaign against HIV itself; scare tactics are often the main messages of media coverage on AIDS which stigmatizes people living with HIV.

Ignorance and misinformation about how HIV is transmitted and how it can be prevented was also raised as a concern. The students said that people continue to be afraid because they still do not know the basics about HIV.

“The participation of young people in such discussions is not only important for raising HIV awareness among youth, but it is also a valuable source of new ideas and approaches for UNAIDS,” said Roman Gailevich, UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Kazakhstan.

The young people who participated in the Almaty meeting offered various suggestions on how to better disseminate heath-related information. “We are fed up with people lecturing us. Down with the boring posters! Go to where people search information: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube,” according to participants.

To find out more about CrowdOutAIDS and how to get involved, visit: www.crowdoutaids.org.

More innovation, story-telling and new products for UNAIDS website.

Ahead of World AIDS Day, UNAIDS has released a newly designed website for a more visual and streamlined user experience. The new design features all the latest information about UNAIDS––available through a range of multi-media options.

“We have seen phenomenal progress in the AIDS response,” said Annemarie Hou, Director of Communications and Global Advocacy. “Now we can better share stories about the people, the data and the evidence behind the successes.”

The platform’s clean, uncluttered design focuses on providing the user with faster ways to find and share information. New ways of presenting UNAIDS core work through images, story and photo galleries are now available––all which have been optimized for smart phones and tablets.

“We know more people get their inspiration on the go—so we’ve tried to make the website a visual experience for every visitor,” added Ms Hou.

The site also highlights progress towards the goals and targets set by the United Nations Member States, as well as advances towards achieving the UNAIDS vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.