Journalists and other writers are employed to improve the quality of chatbot
replies. The irony of working for an industry that may well make their craft
redundant is not lost on them
For several hours a week, I write for a technology company worth billions of
dollars. Alongside me are published novelists, rising academics and several
other freelance journalists. The workload is flexible, the pay better than we
are used to, and the assignments never run out. But what we write will never be
read by anyone outside the company.
That’s because we aren’t even writing for people. We are writing for an AI.
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Tag - Artificial intelligence (AI)
Also signed by the EU, US and Israel, the declaration aims to mitigate the
threats that AI may pose to human rights, democracy and the rule of law
The UK government has signed the first international treaty on artificial
intelligence in a move that aims to prevent misuses of the technology, such as
spreading misinformation or using biased data to make decisions.
Under the legally binding agreement, states must implement safeguards against
any threats posed by AI to human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The
treaty, called the framework convention on artificial intelligence, was drawn up
by the Council of Europe, an international human rights organisation, and was
signed on Thursday by the EU, UK, US and Israel.
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Shoppers can use technology to advise them on outfit choices based on their body
shape and style preferences
Marks & Spencer is using artificial intelligence to advise shoppers on their
outfit choices based on their body shape and style preferences, as part of
efforts to increase online sales.
The 130-year-old retailer is using the technology to personalise consumers’
online experience, and suggest items to buy.
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Fall overnight comes after it shrinks by $279bn on Tuesday in biggest one-day
drop in value by US company
* Business live – latest news
Shares in the AI chip designer Nvidia have continued to slide overnight after a
report said US authorities were ramping up an investigation into whether the
company had breached competition laws.
The company’s shares fell 2.4% in after-hours trading, exacerbating a near-10%
drop in the regular trading session that slashed its value by $279bn (£212bn) to
$2.6tn, marking the largest one-day drop in history for a US company.
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Ahead of the publication of his book about leadership – definitely not aimed at
Keir Starmer – the former prime minister talks about relinquishing power, why
he’s not fazed about a second Trump term and being an AI evangelist
Were you to board an aeroplane piloted by a man who has never previously sat in
a cockpit, you’d be alarmed. Were you to face surgery by a woman with no medical
qualifications, you’d be frightened. Politics is the one profession that can put
someone in a position of great power and responsibility without any prior
experience or demonstration of ability. “It’s bizarre,” Tony Blair says. “In any
other walk of life, that doesn’t happen.” When he became prime minister in 1997
he was in his early forties and an absolute neophyte at governing. He was much
better at it, he believes, towards the end of his decade at No 10 than at the
outset. So he’s written a book about the dos and the don’ts of leadership
“because government is a science as well as an art”.
In the first flush of taking power, leaders “listen eagerly” because they grasp
that they know little or nothing about governing. In the second stage, they know
enough to think they know everything and become impatient with listening. Hubris
becomes a danger, inviting nemesis. “You’ve got some experience, but your
experience makes you believe that you know more than you actually do. And that’s
the risk. That’s why I say stage two is the most difficult and many people never
get to stage three.” Maturity comes with the realisation that what they know is
not the sum total of political knowledge. Once again, “with more humility”, they
listen and learn.
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In isolation, Alexander Grothendieck seemed to have lost touch with reality, but
some say his metaphysical theories could contain wonders
One day in September 2014, in a hamlet in the French Pyrenean foothills,
Jean-Claude, a landscape gardener in his late 50s, was surprised to see his
neighbour at the gate. He hadn’t spoken to the 86-year-old in nearly 15 years
after a dispute over a climbing rose that Jean-Claude had wanted to prune. The
old man lived in total seclusion, tending to his garden in the djellaba he
always wore, writing by night, heeding no one. Now, the long-bearded seeker
looked troubled.
“Would you do me a favour?” he asked Jean-Claude.
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Groundbreaking bill aims to reduce potential AI risks – requiring model testing
and disclosure of safety protocol
A California bill that would establish first-in-the-nation safety measures for
the largest artificial intelligence systems cleared an important vote Wednesday.
The proposal, aiming to reduce potential risks created by AI, would require
companies to test their models and publicly disclose their safety protocols to
prevent the models from being manipulated to, for example, wipe out the state’s
electric grid or help build chemical weapons – scenarios experts say could be
possible in the future with such rapid advancements in the industry.
The measure squeaked by in the state assembly Wednesday and now faces a final
vote in the state senate, where it has passed once already, before it heads to
the governor’s desk for his signature, though he has not indicated his position
on it. Governor Gavin Newsom then has until the end of September to decide
whether to sign it into law, veto it or allow it to become law without his
signature. He declined to weigh in on the measure earlier this summer but had
warned against AI overregulation.
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As debate rages around the ethics and legalities of artificial intelligence,
artists are exploring the technology’s possibilities – and its precarities
Cate Blanchett – beloved thespian, film star and refugee advocate – is standing
at a lectern, addressing the European Union parliament. “The future is now,” she
says, authoritatively. So far, so normal, until: “But where the fuck are the sex
robots?”
The footage is from a 2023 address that Blanchett actually gave – but the rest
has been made up.
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Doubling of quarterly revenues fails to allay concerns about production delays
to its next-generation of AI chips
* Business live – latest updates
Shares in the chip designer Nvidia have fallen after investors were spooked by
signs of slowing growth and production issues, despite the artificial
intelligence company posting a doubling of quarterly sales.
The Silicon Valley company posted a 122% rise in second-quarter revenues to
$30bn (£23bn) compared with the same period last year. While that beat average
analyst estimates of $28.7bn, investors were spooked by signs of a slowdown in
growth, particularly around its next-generation AI chips, code-named Blackwell.
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As multinationals and researchers harvest rare organisms around the world, anger
is rising in the global south over the unpaid use of lucrative genetic codes
found on their land
Even in the warm summer sun, the stagnant puddles and harsh rock faces of
Ribblehead quarry in North Yorkshire feel like an unlikely frontier of the AI
industrial revolution. Standing next to a waterfall that bursts out from the
fractured rock, Bupe Mwambingu reaches into the green sludge behind the cascade
and emerges with fistful of algae.
Balancing precariously on the rocks, the researcher passes the dripping mass to
her colleague Emma Bolton, who notes their GPS coordinates and the acidity,
temperature and light exposure on a phone app.
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