Government
California governor wants to implement a kill switch for frontier AI models
With AI models from major companies all recently breaking out of their constraints, California's governor proposed creating a "kill switch" as part of a comprehensive solution. In an executive order signed by Gavin Newsom on Friday, California will convene national experts to create new recommendations for AI safety during a two-month time frame. "We're going to speed up our work on substantial and responsible AI oversight before it's too late," Newsom said in a press release. "We're going to do this thoughtfully but with urgent velocity; the stakes are too high to wait or delay action." The panel of experts will be tasked with submitting recommendations to Newsom's office, which would then update state laws surrounding AI safety.
Kara Swisher: AI Isn't Going to Destroy Humanity--But the People Building It Might
The longtime tech journalist says she's seen Silicon Valley make the same mistakes again and again. As the AI industry likes to tell it, superintelligent bots could one day cure cancer and end poverty. Or in the worst-case scenario, they might wipe out all humans from the face of the Earth. In recent weeks, Silicon Valley's existential concerns about the technology it is racing to build have blown up. The tech journalist Kara Swisher sees it differently. "We have to stop thinking AI is going to kill humanity," she told executive editor Adrienne LaFrance at The Atlantic Festival. If the AI future goes sideways, bots won't be to blame. "These are people at the helm of these things." In the several decades that Swisher has covered Silicon Valley--formerly as a reporter at, now as the host of two podcasts--she says that she's seen tech whizzes make the same mistakes again and again: failing to take proper precautions against the products they are building. "One of the things about tech people is they're the smartest people in the world, in case you need to know, because they like to tell you," she said. In her interview with LaFrance, Swisher also discussed the economic implications of the AI race, who is likely to win, and how Americans can respond to this dizzying and worrying AI moment. You have been paying attention to the tech world and AI for basically ever. And now it seems like within the past, say, two weeks, the rest of the world is suddenly paying much closer attention. So I wanted to start just by talking about where you think we are, in this moment.
AI generated a fake intelligence report that almost started a war
Look Up Versus Say More Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable Selects Creator Playbook In My Bag Trending Now Back to School Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Switch Off Mashable Voices All Series AI generated a fake intelligence report that'almost started a war' CNN reports that the U.S. military almost boarded a Chinese ship following a fake report generated by AI. Anna Iovine is the associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review. Follow her on Instagram .
Scientists want to know what this distant galaxy ate to make it so weird
Look Up Versus Say More Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable Selects Creator Playbook In My Bag Trending Now Back to School Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Switch Off Mashable Voices All Series Elisha Sauers writes about space for Mashable, taking deep dives into NASA's moon and Mars missions, chatting up astronauts and history-making discoverers, and jetting above the clouds . Through 17 years of reporting, she's covered a variety of topics, including health, business, and government, with a penchant for public records requests. She previously worked for in Norfolk, Virginia, and in Annapolis, Maryland. Her work has earned numerous state awards, including the Virginia Press Association's top honor, Best in Show, and national recognition for narrative storytelling. For each year she has covered space, Sauers has won National Headliner Awards, including first place for her Sex in Space series.
Lopez: We don't need AI to threaten the future of humanity. We've got Trump's climate policies
Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. We don't need AI to threaten the future of humanity. We've got Trump's climate policies Zan Dubin, co-founder of National Drive Electric Month, at an event held at the Rove Charging Station on Friday in Costa Mesa. Dubin, an environmental activist, is among Californians who refuse to give up the fight against climate change. This is read by an automated voice.