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. Continue reading...

Non-traditional pets get millions of online views. But the rising trend poses questions about animal welfare In a quiet neighborhood in California’s capital, residents have gotten used to the screaming temper tantrums of a two-year-old. “No, Merlin!” they’ll hear his mother shout whenever he’s had enough of his favorite snack. “No more ice cubes!” “We haven’t had any complaints from the neighbors yet,” says Mia Alali, the mother in question. That might be because Merlin is just about the cutest two-year-old in California. He also happens to be a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig. Continue reading...

Voice actors and motion capture performers to strike over AI protections after nearly two years of negotiations Hollywood’s video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday, throwing part of the entertainment industry into another work stoppage after talks for a new contract with major game studios broke down over artificial intelligence protections. The strike – the second for video game voice actors and motion capture performers under the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Sag-Aftra) – will begin at 12.01am Friday. The move comes after nearly two years of negotiations with gaming giants, including divisions of Activision, Warner Bros and Walt Disney Co, over a new interactive media agreement. Continue reading...

Exclusive: NSPCC finds Apple implicated in more cases of predators sharing child abuse imagery in England and Wales alone than the company reported globally in a year Apple is failing to effectively monitor its platforms or scan for images and videos of the sexual abuse of children, child safety experts allege, which is raising concerns about how the company can handle growth in the volume of such material associated with artificial intelligence. The UK’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) accuses Apple of vastly undercounting how often child sexual abuse material (CSAM) appears in its products. In a year, child predators used Apple’s iCloud, iMessage and Facetime to store and exchange CSAM in a higher number of cases in England and Wales alone than the company reported across all other countries combined, according to police data obtained by the NSPCC. Continue reading...