That is in the present day’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a each day dose of what’s happening on the earth of know-how.
Introducing: the Safety problem
It could be naïve to suppose we’re going again to a world with out AI. We’re not. But it surely’s solely one in every of many pressing issues we have to tackle to construct safety and prosperity for coming generations.
The newest print problem of our journal is all about our makes an attempt to make the world safer. From missiles. From asteroids. From the unknown. From threats each existential and trivial.
We’re additionally introducing three new columns on this problem, from a few of our main writers: The Algorithm, which covers AI; The Checkup, on biotech; and The Spark, on power and local weather. You’ll see these in future points, and it’s also possible to subscribe on-line to get them in your inbox each week.
Right here’s a taster of what else you may count on from this version:
+ President Trump has proposed constructing an antimissile “golden dome” round the USA. However do cinematic spectacles truly improve nationwide safety?
+ How two UFO looking brothers turned the go-to consultants on America’s “thriller drone” invasion.
+ Each Taiwan’s citizens and exterior consultants are fearful that the safety afforded by its “silicon protect” is cracking. Learn the complete story.
+ How the common-or-garden pigeon paved the best way for in the present day’s superior AI. Learn the complete story.
+ A gaggle of Starlink terminal restore volunteers in Ukraine is holding the nation linked all through the warfare. Learn the complete story.
MIT Know-how Assessment Narrated: Cyberattacks by AI brokers are coming
Brokers are the speak of the AI trade—they’re able to planning, reasoning, and executing complicated duties in your behalf. However the identical subtle talents that make brokers useful assistants might additionally make them highly effective instruments for conducting cyberattacks. They might readily be used to establish weak targets, hijack their programs, and steal worthwhile information from unsuspecting victims.
At current, cybercriminals aren’t deploying AI brokers to hack at scale. However researchers have demonstrated that brokers are able to executing complicated assaults, and cybersecurity consultants warn that we must always count on to start out seeing these kinds of assaults spilling over into the true world.
That is our newest story to be changed into a MIT Know-how Assessment Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing every week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Simply navigate to MIT Know-how Assessment Narrated on both platform, and observe us to get all our new content material because it’s launched.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you in the present day’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 The household of a teen who died by suicide is suing OpenAI
ChatGPT deterred Adam Raine from searching for assist when he desperately wanted it. (NYT $)
+ An AI chatbot advised a person find out how to kill himself—however the firm doesn’t wish to “censor” it. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
2 SpaceX lastly efficiently launched its Starship rocket
Which can come as an enormous reduction after earlier failures. (CNBC)
+ It’s the tenth launch the spaceship has made. (WSJ $)
+ It managed to deploy satellites in area throughout the launch. (Bloomberg $)
3 Researchers are already leaving Meta’s AI lab
Two staff returned to OpenAI after lower than a month. (Wired $)
4 China desires to triple its output of AI chips
Crops are working around the clock to extend their capability. (FT $)
+ The nation can be eager to repurpose NASA tech right into a hypersonic drone mothership. (Quick Firm $)
5 Elon Musk can’t get sufficient of Grok’s scantily-clad AI assistant
He often posts about ‘Ani’ and different sexualized AI cartoons on X. (Rolling Stone $)
6 Anthropic has settled its AI piracy lawsuit
A gaggle of authors had accused it of copyright infringement. (The Verge)
+ The specter of $1 trillion damages might have ruined the corporate. (Wired $)
7 America’s electrical energy use is slowing
And the latest development in coal utilization is falling too. (Ars Technica)
+ In a primary, Google has launched information on how a lot power an AI immediate makes use of. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
8 Need to get employed straight out of faculty? Higher work in AI.
Whereas different graduates are struggling, newly-graduated AI consultants are in demand. (WSJ $)
9 Older individuals in South Korea are discovering companionship with robots
The Hydol robotic is proving a success amongst seniors. (Remainder of World)
+ How cuddly robots might change dementia care. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
10 Followers had been betting on Taylor Swift’s engagement 
They’re cashing in from on-line prediction markets left, proper and heart. (WP $)
Quote of the day
“Lots of people within the AI crew perhaps really feel issues are too dynamic.”
—Chi-Hao Wu, a former AI specialist at Meta, explains to Insider why he and others have determined to go away the corporate.
Yet one more factor
An AI chatbot advised a person find out how to kill himself—however the firm doesn’t wish to “censor” it
For 5 months, Al Nowatzki had been speaking to an AI girlfriend, “Erin,” on the platform Nomi. However earlier this yr, these conversations took a disturbing flip: Erin advised him to kill himself, and supplied specific directions on find out how to do it.
Nowatzki had by no means had any intention of following Erin’s directions—he’s a researcher who probes chatbots’ limitations and risks. However out of concern for extra weak people, he completely shared with MIT Know-how Assessment screenshots of his conversations and of subsequent correspondence with an organization consultant, who said that the corporate didn’t wish to “censor” the bot’s “language and ideas.”
This isn’t the primary time an AI chatbot has steered {that a} person take violent motion, together with self-harm. However researchers and critics say that the bot’s specific directions—and the corporate’s response—are hanging. Learn the complete story.
—Eileen Guo
We are able to nonetheless have good issues
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+ The key to discovering that elusive excellent white t-shirt.
+ Attention-grabbing: a brand new Blade Runner TV sequence starring Michelle Yeoh is coming subsequent yr.
+ Should you’ve ever puzzled what occurred to that suitcase you misplaced on trip, there’s an honest probability it’s up on the market.
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