This is at this time’s version of The Download, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a every day dose of what is going on on in the world of expertise.
How existential danger grew to become the largest meme in AI
Who’s afraid of the huge unhealthy bots? Lots of people, it appears. Hundreds of scientists, enterprise leaders, and policymakers have not too long ago made public pronouncements or signed open letters warning of the catastrophic risks of synthetic intelligence, from deep studying pioneer Geoffrey Hinton to California congressman Ted Lieu.
We’ve been right here earlier than: AI doom follows AI hype. But this time feels completely different. What had been as soon as excessive views are actually mainstream speaking factors, grabbing not solely headlines however the consideration of world leaders.
Has AI actually turn into (extra) harmful? And why are the individuals who ushered in this tech now the ones elevating the alarm? Or is the looming specter of regulation responsible? Read the full story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
If you’re in studying extra about AI existential danger, take a look at the most recent version of The Algorithm, our weekly AI e-newsletter written by Melissa Heikkilä—and don’t overlook to join to obtain it in your inbox each Monday.
How local weather vulnerability and the digital divide are linked
Walking round low-income neighborhoods all through the US, Monica Sanders has observed a sample. The adjunct professor of regulation at Georgetown University measures Wi-Fi speeds as a part of a undertaking drawing connections between a bunch of indicators at the intersection of web availability, environmental danger, and historic racial inequity.
Sanders has discovered {that a} lack of web entry mirrors different inequities. In neighborhoods formed by racism and inadequate infrastructure funding, residents can face disproportionate danger from local weather change, affecting every part from flood vulnerability to the capacity to get catastrophe warnings. And she desires to empower them to sort out no matter subsequent comes their method. Read the full story.
—Colleen Hagerty
This story is from our forthcoming print situation, which is all about accessibility. If you haven’t already, subscribe to ensure you don’t miss out on future tales—subscriptions begin from simply $80 a 12 months.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to search out you at this time’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 OpenAI lobbied the EU to water down AI regulation
And it seems as if its ideas had been heeded. (Time $)
+ Asset managers are freaking out about AI and human rights points. (FT $)
+ Our fast information to the 6 methods we will regulate AI. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Twitter’s new guidelines might thwart conflict crime investigations
Charging for entry to its previously-free API will shut out researchers. (WSJ $)
+ The on-line volunteers trying to find conflict crimes in Ukraine. (MIT Technology Review)
3 Redditors are arising with new, artistic types of protest
Landed gentry memes are taking up, as a result of why not? (TechCrunch)
+ Pictures of discuss present host John Oliver are rife, too. (BBC)
4 China’s tech trade is bouncing again
It’s been a tricky 12 months, however the AI growth is lending a serving to hand. (Bloomberg $)
5 Apple goes after mental property rights to photos of apples 🍏
Switzerland’s largest fruit farmer’s group isn’t taking it mendacity down. (Wired $)
6 Transitioning away from plastic comes with a hidden price
Millions of waste pickers are prone to be left with out livelihoods. (Slate)
+ In protection of plastic (form of). (MIT Technology Review)
7 Employers don’t need to pay to your Ozempic
That’s not stopping pharma firms from making an attempt to influence them to, although. (Insider $)
+ Weight-loss injections have taken over the web. But what does this imply for individuals IRL? (MIT Technology Review)
8 Deadly fungal infections are on the rise
They could be onerous to deal with, however scientists are racing to develop the first anti-fungal vaccine. (Inverse)
9 Even carsellers are confused by EVs
Plenty of financial savings are hiding in plain sight, however not everybody takes benefit of them. (Vox)
+ China’s an EV chief, however its residents aren’t shopping for. (Bloomberg $)
+ Europe, in the meantime, is lagging behind. (Reuters)
+ In the conflict of the EV chargers, it’s Tesla vs. everybody else. (MIT Technology Review)
10 You can turn into a millionaire influencer 💰
Brazilian firm Hotmart has the observe document to show it—for those who can afford its charges. (Rest of World)
Quote of the day
“There’s no way to escape, even if you rise to the surface by yourself. You cannot get out of the sub without a crew on the outside letting you out.”
—David Pogue, a CBS reporter who’s beforehand traveled in the vacationer submarine that has disappeared throughout a dive to the Titanic’s wreck, describes the severity of the crew’s state of affairs to the BBC.
The huge story
House-flipping algorithms are coming to your neighborhood
April 2022
When Michael Maxson discovered his dream house in Nevada, it was not owned by an individual however by a tech firm, Zillow. When he went to try the property, nevertheless, he found it broken by an enormous water leak. Despite providing to deal with the expensive repairs himself, Maxson found that the home had already been bought to a different household, at the similar value he had provided.
During this time, Zillow misplaced greater than $420 million in three months of erratic home shopping for and unprofitable gross sales, main analysts to query whether or not the whole tech-driven mannequin is admittedly viable. For the remainder of us, an even bigger query stays: Does the arrival of Silicon Valley tech level to a greater future for housing or an trade disruption to concern? Read the full story.
—Matthew Ponsford
We can nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction in these bizarre occasions. (Got any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ If you’re trying to develop your online game repertoire, these 10 hits from lesser-known studios are a terrific place to start out.
+ Elusive graffiti artist Banksy is again—with a brand new present.
+ What higher technique to see the sights of Boston than by bike?
+ Real life, or Black Mirror episode? You be the choose.
+ This ‘primitive hut’ appears fairly swanky to me.
…. to be continued
Read the Original Article
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