
DeSantis defunds diversity programs at Florida public colleges
By Rich McKay Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday banning tax dollars from being used
1970-01-01 08:00

SpaceX hires former NASA human spaceflight chief for Starship role
By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON Elon Musk's SpaceX has tapped NASA's former human spaceflight boss Kathy Lueders to help
1970-01-01 08:00

DeSantis signs bill to defund DEI programs at Florida public colleges
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed legislation to defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs at all state universities, which he called a "distraction from the core mission."
1970-01-01 08:00

Florida teacher says she is under investigation after showing 5th grade class Disney movie with gay character
A fifth-grade teacher said she is being investigated by the Florida Department of Education after she showed her students "Strange World," a 2022 animated Disney movie featuring a character who is biracial and gay.
1970-01-01 08:00

Crypto’s Most Influential Companies Often Follow Their Own Rules — Even After FTX’s Collapse
Before it filed for bankruptcy last November, many of the entities in Sam Bankman-Fried’s colossal FTX empire had
1970-01-01 08:00

Washington is determined to govern AI, but how?
By Diane Bartz and Jeffrey Dastin WASHINGTON U.S. lawmakers are grappling with what guardrails to put around burgeoning
1970-01-01 08:00

Nepali sherpa becomes world’s second person to scale Everest 26 times
By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU A Nepali sherpa guide climbed Mount Everest for the 26th time on Sunday, hiking
1970-01-01 08:00

Google to Pay Texas $8 Million to Settle Deceptive Pixel 4 Ad Claim
Google has agreed to shell out $8 million to Texas over deceptive ads it made
1970-01-01 08:00

Biden previews 2024 election pitch to young Black voters in Howard University commencement speech
President Joe Biden previewed his 2024 election pitch to young Black voters Saturday in commencement remarks at a Howard University graduation ceremony in Washington, DC, articulating his vision of a "future for all Americans,"
1970-01-01 08:00

AI pioneer warns UK is failing to protect against ‘existential threat’ of machines
One of the pioneers of artificial intelligence has warned the government is not safeguarding against the dangers posed by future super-intelligent machines. Professor Stuart Russell told The Times ministers were favouring a light touch on the burgeoning AI industry, despite warnings from civil servants it could create an existential threat. A former adviser to both Downing Street and the White House, Prof Russell is a co-author of the most widely used AI textbook and lectures on computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He told The Times a system similar to ChatGPT – which has passed exams and can compose prose – could form part of a super-intelligence machine which could not be controlled. “How do you maintain power over entities more powerful than you – forever?” he asked. “If you don’t have an answer, then stop doing the research. It’s as simple as that. “The stakes couldn’t be higher: if we don’t control our own civilisation, we have no say in whether we continue to exist.” In March, he co-signed an open letter with Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak warning of the “out-of-control race” going on at AI labs. The letter warned the labs were developing “ever more powerful digital minds that no one, not even their creators, can understand, predict or reliably control”. Prof Russell has worked for the UN on a system to monitor the nuclear test-ban treaty and was asked to work with the Government earlier this year. “The Foreign Office … talked to a lot of people and they concluded that loss of control was a plausible and extremely high-significance outcome,” he said. “And then the government came out with a regulatory approach that says: ‘Nothing to see here… we’ll welcome the AI industry as if we were talking about making cars or something like that’.” He said making changes to the technical foundations of AI to add necessary safeguards would take “time that we may not have”. “I think we got something wrong right at the beginning, where we were so enthralled by the notion of understanding and creating intelligence, we didn’t think about what that intelligence was going to be for,” he said. We've sort of got the message and we're scrambling around trying to figure out what to do Professor Stuart Russell “Unless its only purpose is to be a benefit to humans, you are actually creating a competitor – and that would be obviously a stupid thing to do. “We don’t want systems that imitate human behaviour… you’re basically training it to have human-like goals and to pursue those goals. “You can only imagine how disastrous it would be to have really capable systems that were pursuing those kinds of goals.” He said there were signs of politicians becoming aware of the risks. “We’ve sort of got the message and we’re scrambling around trying to figure out what to do,” he said. “That’s what it feels like right now.” The government has launched the AI Foundation Model Taskforce which it says will “lay the foundations for the safe use of foundation models across the economy and ensure the UK is at the forefront of this pivotal AI technology”. Read More ChatGPT creators try to use artificial intelligence to explain itself – and come across major problems Artificial intelligence could ‘transform’ heart attack diagnosis, scientists say Hackers aim to find flaws in AI - with White House help ChatGPT user in China detained for creating and spreading fake news, police say Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
1970-01-01 08:00

AI pioneer warns Government offering little defence against threat of technology
One of the pioneers of artificial intelligence has warned the Government is not safeguarding against the dangers posed by future super-intelligent machines. Professor Stuart Russell told The Times ministers were favouring a light touch on the burgeoning AI industry, despite warnings from civil servants it could create an existential threat. A former adviser to both Downing Street and the White House, Professor Russell is a co-author of the most widely used AI text book and lectures on computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He told The Times a system similar to ChatGPT – which has passed exams and can compose prose – could form part of a super-intelligence machine which could not be controlled. “How do you maintain power over entities more powerful than you – forever?” he asked. “If you don’t have an answer, then stop doing the research. It’s as simple as that. “The stakes couldn’t be higher: if we don’t control our own civilisation, we have no say in whether we continue to exist.” In March, he co-signed an open letter with Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak warning of the “out-of-control race” going on at AI labs. The letter warned the labs were developing “ever more powerful digital minds that no one, not even their creators, can understand, predict or reliably control”. Professor Russell has worked for the UN on a system to monitor the nuclear test-ban treaty and was asked to work with the Government earlier this year. “The Foreign Office… talked to a lot of people and they concluded that loss of control was a plausible and extremely high-significance outcome,” he said. “And then the Government came out with a regulatory approach that says: ‘Nothing to see here… we’ll welcome the AI industry as if we were talking about making cars or something like that’.” He said making changes to the technical foundations of AI to add necessary safeguards would take “time that we may not have”. “I think we got something wrong right at the beginning, where we were so enthralled by the notion of understanding and creating intelligence, we didn’t think about what that intelligence was going to be for,” he said. We've sort of got the message and we're scrambling around trying to figure out what to do Professor Stuart Russell “Unless its only purpose is to be a benefit to humans, you are actually creating a competitor – and that would be obviously a stupid thing to do. “We don’t want systems that imitate human behaviour… you’re basically training it to have human-like goals and to pursue those goals. “You can only imagine how disastrous it would be to have really capable systems that were pursuing those kinds of goals.” He said there were signs of politicians becoming aware of the risks. “We’ve sort of got the message and we’re scrambling around trying to figure out what to do,” he said. “That’s what it feels like right now.” The Government has launched the AI Foundation Model Taskforce which it says will “lay the foundations for the safe use of foundation models across the economy and ensure the UK is at the forefront of this pivotal AI technology”. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live TikTok ‘does not want to compete with BBC for Eurovision final viewers’ Eurovision’s preparations for potential Russia cyberthreat ‘in good place’ UK-based tech company claims quantum computing ‘breakthrough’
1970-01-01 08:00

Elon Musk announces Linda Yaccarino as new CEO of Twitter
Elon Musk has announced he’s hired former NBCUniversal advertising boss Linda Yaccarino as the new Twitter chief executive. The erratic billionaire confirmed widespread speculation that Ms Yaccarino would take on the role in a Twitter post on Friday. “Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app,” Mr Musk wrote. Ms Yaccarino will focus on business operations, while Mr Musk will stay on as executive chairman and focus on product design and new technology, he said. Hours earlier, Ms Yaccarino said in a statement she was leaving her role as chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal after more than a decade at the media conglomerate. “It has been an absolute honour to be part of Comcast NBCUniversal and lead the most incredible team,” she said. “We’ve transformed our company and the entire industry.” Ms Yaccarino oversaw the launch of the NBC’s streaming site Peacock. On Thursday, Mr Musk teased the appointment when he announced he had hired a woman to take over the social media platform’s top job from him in six weeks. The appointment, six months after Mr Musk said he would step down as CEO, comes as Twitter faces an exodus of advertisers, service disruptions, and renewed scrutiny from regulators. After purchasing the platform for $44bn last October, Mr Musk has fired around 80 per cent of the workforce, reinstated banned accounts, and allowed hate speech to flourish under the guise of “free speech”. Read More Elon Musk says he's found a new CEO for Twitter, a woman who will start in 6 weeks Stephen King ruthlessly shuts down US commentator Dan Bongino after incendiary exchange Twitter finally adds secure messaging to DMs – but Elon Musk tells people not to ‘trust it’ Reports: NBC Universal executive will take over as the new CEO of Twitter AP News Digest 4 a.m. Secure messaging arrives on Twitter - sort of. 'Don't trust it yet,' Musk warns
1970-01-01 08:00