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US and Chinese AI researchers are calling for global cooperation on the tech, fearing that its unchecked development could lead to an unimaginable catastrophe. “AI is a global technology with global benefits, global harms, and a consistent tendency for new capabilities to eventually proliferate,” Stephen Casper, a computer scientist at MIT who spoke at a major AI conference in Beijing this month, told Wired.“One thing that almost everyone in AI can agree on right now is that AI doesn’t need a Chernobyl moment,” he added.Casper didn’t elaborate further on this analogy, but by invoking the infamous nuclear disaster, it’s clear that…

Fewer teens than ever are reading books, and boys especially. And the ones who do read are either years behind where they should be developmentally, or too scared to branch out to challenging literature.According to a new study of children’s reading habits in the UK and Ireland, most boys are still reading primary school level books (in Europe, primary school is the rough equivalent of elementary school in the US). Girls, meanwhile, graduate to reading a slightly healthier variety of novels.“The growing gap we see in secondary school, particularly for teenage boys, is a clear call to action,” Martin Galway,…

Today, sweatshop workers across the Global South are being made to pull double duty: both stitching clothes together, and training robots to put themselves out of work entirely.New reporting by the Guardian documented this emerging gig taking hold at manufacturing facilities around the world. Outside Delhi, a 32-year-old garment maker identified as Lalita says her factory now requires everyone to strap a GoPro camera to their heads at the start of each shift.“We found it funny at first, because of how we all looked with that headgear,” Lalita told the Guardian. Yet as cameras started to dominate the shop floor,…

An enormous amount of resources and money go into the construction of a data center.The enormous facilities are filled to the brim with extremely sought-after gear, from hard-to-get-by AI chips to cooling equipment.And for thieves eyeing these construction projects, there’s another worthwhile target as well: oodles of copper, a metal that has risen considerably in price over the last few years.As Business Insider reports, investigators are trying to chase down cargo thieves who stole a pair of trailers that were carrying $1.3 million worth of data center supplies, including $300,000 worth of copper wire spools.

Scientists claim that for the first time in history, they have constructed a synthetic cell that feeds, grows, and replicates — just like a natural one — out of non-living chemical components.The team from the University of Minnesota says their “SpudCell” is the “first synthetic cell with a complete cell cycle,” and can “grow, replicate its genome, divide, and undergo selection and competition across multiple generations.”The research, which is being hailed as a major breakthrough, could usher in a new biotech era defined by synthetic organisms that can be grown from scratch and programmed to complete specific functions. It’s a…

Chilling news: a mysterious patch of cold water at the bottom of the north Atlantic is caused by the weakening of a vital ocean current that, if it collapses, would trigger devastating climate shifts across the globe.At least, that’s the conclusion of a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, which seeks to settle the debate on the ocean’s so-called “cold blob” that has mystified scientists for years. While the rest of the world heats up, this region to the southeast of Greenland keeps getting colder. Some theories propose that atmospheric phenomena like shifting wind patterns are responsible, causing…

In the weeks following its dramatic IPO, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has yet to find stable ground.After shooting up to an all-time high of over $225, shares of the rocket company have swung wildly back down to Earth, betraying plenty of uncertainty over the company’s dizzying, north-of-$2-trillion market cap. After all, the company is burning through billions of dollars in cash, and its path to profitability remains as uncertain as ever.After days of rallying north of the $170 mark, shares took a beating on Wednesday, sliding over seven percent to just under $160, once again approaching its symbolically significant IPO price…

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about bosses who have embraced AI so much that they’ve become loose cannons — outsourcing decisions to chatbots, making erratic strategy pivots based on their feedback, and even asking them who to fire.At the same time, other company leaders are turning against the tech. Writing for Inc, professional AI consultant and tech commentator Joe Procopio wrote that some corporate executives are getting sick of AI slop. He explains that he’s observed as a growing number of weary companies impose bans on AI use, for reasons ranging from digital security to cost-savings.Others are just sick…

When horrible things happen to people you care about, it’s only natural to seek someone to blame. If you ask the mayoral administration in charge of Paris, France, it seems responsibility for Europe’s devastating heatwave is being placed on the United States’ affinity for air conditioning.Last week, recently-elected Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire went on the record with Le Monde amidst one of the worst heatwaves in the city’s history — an event which has reportedly resulted in over 1,000 excess deaths across France.Asked whether Parisians should rush out to install AC units in their homes which famously shun them, Grégoire…

Everyone has had a bad day at work, but most of us are lucky enough that ours weren’t broadcast with a chyron live on television.On a live interview with CNBC‘s infamously churlish segment “Squawk Box,” Palantir CEO Alex Karp appeared to suffer a nearly 20-minute meltdown, complete with stuttering, nervous backtracking, and a steady supply of digressions so abstruse that the hosts seemed befuddled and perhaps even concerned for his wellbeing.Though Karp was called up to chat about an ongoing deal between Palantir and the chip maker Nvidia to build AI infrastructure for the US government, he quickly went off…