During Sudan's civil war, which erupted in April 2023, both sides have increasingly relied on drones, and civilians have borne the brunt of the carnage. The conflict between the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group is an example of war transformed by commercially available, easily concealable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones. Modular, well-adapted to sanctions evasions and devastatingly effective, drones have killed scores of civilians, crippled infrastructure and plunged Sudanese cities into darkness. In this visual investigation, Al Jazeera examines the history of drone warfare in Sudan, the types of drones used by the warring sides, how they are sourced, where the attacks have occurred and the human toll. The RSF traces its origins to what at the time was a government-linked militia known as the Janjaweed.

The international AI safety report warns systems are improving rapidly - but remain prone to'hallucinations' and hard to control. The international AI safety report warns systems are improving rapidly - but remain prone to'hallucinations' and hard to control. The International AI Safety report is an annual survey of technological progress and the risks it is creating across multiple areas, from deepfakes to the jobs market. Commissioned at the 2023 global AI safety summit, it is chaired by the Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, who describes the "daunting challenges" posed by rapid developments in the field. The report is also guided by senior advisers, including Nobel laureates Geoffrey Hinton and Daron Acemoglu.

Booth is a reporter at TIME. Yoshua Bengio testifies during a hearing before the Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee on July 25, 2023. Yoshua Bengio testifies during a hearing before the Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee on July 25, 2023. Booth is a reporter at TIME. Artificial intelligence is improving faster than many experts anticipated, and the evidence for several risks has "grown substantially."

Elon Musk's SpaceX has acquired his AI company xAI as part of an ambitious scheme to build space-based data centres to power the future of artificial intelligence. The billionaire, who is also the CEO of Tesla, announced the merger in a statement on Tuesday on the SpaceX website. AI demand will require "immense amounts of power and cooling" that are not sustainable on Earth without "imposing hardship on communities and the environment," he said. Space-based data centres that harness the power of the Sun are the only long-term solution, according to Musk. "In the long term, space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale. To harness even a millionth of our Sun's energy would require over a million times more energy than our civilisation currently uses!" he wrote.

Artificial intelligence and data centers blamed for 42% rise in U.S. electricity costs. Exelon CEO Calvin Butler warns of grid strain as consumption expected to grow 133%.

NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie's mother has been abducted, sheriff suspects The mother of US news anchor Savannah Guthrie has been abducted and didn't go willingly from her home, Arizona law enforcement officials suspect. Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of the NBC News host, was last seen in her house outside Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday evening. Her family reported her missing a day later. When authorities arrived, the scene of Nancy Guthrie's property caused grave concern, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said. He did not provide a possible motive and, while there was no initial indication Nancy Guthrie could have been targeted because of her name, the sheriff said we can't dismiss that. I believe she was abducted, yes, Sheriff Nanos told CBS, the BBC's US partner.

Elon Musk's SpaceX is taking over his artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, as the billionaire continues to unify some of his many business interests. SpaceX confirmed the deal to acquire xAI, a smaller firm known for its Grok chatbot, posting a memo from Musk about the merger on its website. In the note, Musk said the combination would form an innovation engine putting AI, rockets, space-based internet, and media under one roof. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, a source familiar said it valued xAI at $125bn (£91bn) and SpaceX at $1tn, making it the most valuable private company ever.

Students originally from overseas attend entrance exam preparation classes for high school advancement at YSC Global School in the city of Fussa, Tokyo, on Jan. 22. As policies related to foreign nationals are expected to be a major issue in Sunday's Lower House election in Japan, some are calling for improvements to Japanese language education for the children of foreign residents. In 2010, Youth Support Center, a nonprofit organization in the city of Fussa, Tokyo, established YSC Global School to provide Japanese language education and support for high school entry for children and young people with foreign roots, tailored to their proficiency levels. The school offers a total of 14 face-to-face and online courses and annually admits about 250 to 300 children from countries such as China, the Philippines and Nepal. Limited classrooms and instructors, however, hinder its ability to accommodate more students. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Elon Musk said on Monday that SpaceX has acquired his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, in a record-setting deal that unifies the billionaire's AI and space ambitions by combining the rocket-and-satellite company with the maker of the Grok chatbot. The deal, first reported last week, represents one of the most ambitious tie-ups in the technology sector yet, combining a space-and-defense contractor with a fast-growing AI developer whose costs are largely driven by chips, data centers and energy. It could also bolster SpaceX's data-center ambitions as Musk competes with rivals such as Alphabet's Google, Meta, Amazon-backed Anthropic and OpenAI in the AI sector. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories.

The latest batch of Jeffrey Epstein files shed light on the convicted sex offender's ties to Silicon Valley--and Peter Thiel's exacting approach to food. Peter Thiel--the billionaire venture capitalist, PayPal, and Palantir cofounder, and outspoken commentator on all matters relating to the "Antichrist"--appears at least 2,200 times in the latest batch of files released by the Department of Justice related to convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein . The tranche of records demonstrate how Epstein managed to cultivate an extensive network of wealthy and influential figures in Silicon Valley. A number of them, including Thiel, continued to interact with Epstein even after his 2008 guilty plea for solicitation of prostitution and of procurement of minors to engage in prostitution. The new files show that Thiel arranged to meet with Epstein several times between 2014 and 2017.