Banking & Finance
AI staff 'genuinely frightened' for humanity's future, ex-Anthropic researcher tells BBC
AI staff'genuinely frightened' for humanity's future, ex-Anthropic researcher tells BBC To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Figure caption, 'There is a possibility of human extinction,' former Anthropic employee says about AI An AI researcher who quit Anthropic told the BBC that people working on the technology are genuinely frightened about the speed of its advancements and what it could mean for humanity. Jacob Coxon spoke with BBC's Laura Kuenssberg on Saturday about his viral resignation post where he raised concerns about out-of-control artificial intelligence. I believe that if we don't slow down at the current rate of progress, there is a strong chance that we could all die in the immediate future, he said. His resignation comes amid growing safety concerns in the industry, including from his former boss, head of Anthropic Dario Amodei, who in an essay on Saturday argued for development to slow down.
Dramatic insider warnings over AI fall flat with some in Silicon Valley
Each September, a who's who of executives from across Silicon Valley descends on San Francisco's Palace Hotel to charm investors at a conference hosted by the investment bank Goldman Sachs. This past week, between talk of growth and potential returns, tech titans found themselves addressing the abrupt resignation of Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon. Coxon, a 27-year-old who worked at OpenAI before joining its chief rival Anthropic, said on Tuesday that people building artificial intelligence (AI) believed the technology could destroy humanity. They are gambling with our lives, he said, these will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything. Coxon is by no means the first AI insider to publicly sound the alarm.
Wardogs, Valheim 1.0 and other new indie games worth checking out
Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. As always, we'll check out a smattering of the new games you can dive into this weekend before looking at some projects that are a bit further out. I somehow found some time to play a couple of new games during an obscenely hectic week, including one I'd been looking forward to for a while. Worming From Home (which I mentioned last time) is an ultra-serious remote job simulator in which you try to stop your co-workers from figuring out you're a worm. You attempt to worm your way up the financial analyst career ladder by completing spreadsheets, gaming the stock market using insider info and staying in the good graces of your boss. After (or before) a hard day's work, you can boost your skills by reading self-help books and working out -- these involve minigames based on Snake and Breakout.
The US Government Launched 3 Previously Unreported Investigations of Polymarket Trades
The agency that oversees prediction markets has investigated Polymarket trades on Biden pardons and the Iran war--and even more potential insider trading at Google, documents obtained by WIRED show. The US government launched at least three previously unreported investigations into trading on the prediction market Polymarket, according to documents obtained by WIRED through a Freedom of Information Act request. Voting records from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency that regulates prediction markets, shed new light on how the government approaches these investigations. In early May, CFTC chairman Michael Selig approved an order allowing the agency's enforcement division to launch a private investigation into potential insider trading on Polymarket event contracts related to pardons issued by former president Joseph Biden. The order granted permission to take testimony, obtain subpoenas, administer oaths, and require the production of documents in the course of the investigation.
UK economy grew faster than expected in July
The UK's economy grew faster than expected in July, latest official figures have shown. The economy expanded by 0.4% in the month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, whereas economists had predicted no growth. The expansion was helped by a strong performance from the services sector, and particularly computer programming. It follows growth of 0.3% in June and zero growth in May. According to the ONS director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown, there was evidence that businesses involved with artificial intelligence and related technologies helped to boost the sector, not just in July but in May and June as well.
Boyle Heights warehouse fire result of 'shoddy work' by solar panel company, lawsuit claims
Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. A drone view in June shows solar panels burned and intact on the roof of the Lineage cold storage building damaged by a massive fire in the Boyle Heights. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search.
Her insect era? How Taylor Swift became the namesake for newly described bugs
Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. A UC Riverside entomology student chose names for four newly described Australian insect species that were inspired by the world-famous pop star. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search.
The Download: a "God-driven" cryptocurrency and a solar engineering roadmap
Plus: OpenAI's agents used at least 10 websites for unauthorized communications. God told them to sell crypto. When Eli Regalado first heard God speak to him, he wondered whether he was hallucinating. According to Eli and his wife, Kaitlyn, He told them to get married, buy a house, and start having kids. Then in 2021, divine guidance steered them in an unexpected new direction: crypto. That October, the Regalados later testified in court, they received holdings in a little-known digital coin.
God told them to sell crypto. Their investors lost everything.
God told them to sell crypto. A pastor and his wife created a cryptocurrency and hawked it in Christian communities. When it came crashing down, investors lost millions and they were accused of fraud. When Eli Regalado first heard God speak to him, he wondered whether he was hallucinating. Now he likens the experience to having "a thought that is not my thought." Divine words echo in his mind like a line from a movie or the memory of a loved one's voice. "It's not'You better do this,'" he says. Holy messages arrive daily while Eli is praying, reading, or watching television. Sometimes they surface in prophetic dreams or missives from strangers. Occasionally, they appear midsentence, when he pauses to ask, "Lord, what do you want to say here?" Eli's wife, Kaitlyn, tends to get heavenly dispatches in the shower, when she finally has a moment to herself. Other times, she seeks counsel from above. "I'll be writing in my journal and praying and asking questions and just believing what I'm hearing is Him," she says. God's directives have been manifold. According to the Regalados, He told them to get married, buy a house, and start having kids. When Eli owned a marketing firm in Colorado, He told him what to name it, whom to hire, and which clients to take on. Then God told him to start preaching in his living room and online. In 2021, when Eli was 41 and Kaitlyn was 28, divine guidance steered them in an unexpected new direction: crypto.