Social & Ethical Issues
OpenAI, Anthropic CEOs call for global AI regulation at UN
The heads of several major AI firms told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) their industry urgently needed global oversight to avoid dangers that could threaten the whole world. "If managed poorly, I even believe AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole," Dario Amodei, the chief executive officer of Anthropic, told members of the body on Wednesday. The meeting, which coincides with the UN General Assembly (UNGA) gathering in New York City, was convened by France and comes at a time when experts are increasingly warning that the rapid development of AI needs more human oversight to ensure it does not slip out of control and cause a global catastrophe. Altman and Amodei called on world leaders to take action. "If AI is to be democratic, the most important decisions cannot be made by labs in San Francisco alone," Altman told members.
OpenAI and Anthropic bosses push UN for global terms on AI
Image caption, Sam Altman of OpenAI has become a key figure in the AI technology development. The heads of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Hugging Face have told the UN that the current pace of artificial intelligence (AI) development, and the risks it poses to society, demands international coordination. Altman called for common risk evaluation standards, as did Dario Amodei of Anthropic, a main rival of OpenAI, and Clement Delangue of Hugging Face. Earlier this month, Amodei wrote an essay welcomed by Altman and others calling an AI development slowdown in response to fears about the technology's threat to humanity. However, at the same UN conference, a key technology advisor to US President Donald Trump, rejected the idea any new form of AI regulation.
Meta's Muse AI Assistant Rolled Out With a Serious Security Flaw
Meta's Muse AI Assistant Rolled Out With a Serious Security Flaw Meta says it issued a fix for the Muse zero-day vulnerability that would have let attackers do "whatever" they wanted on a victim's Mac, highlighting the inherent dangers of AI helpers. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has gone to great lengths to hype the security of its new AI assistant, Muse, claiming it is "built from the ground up for privacy and security." A zero-day vulnerability that gives locally run apps and terminal commands complete control of the agent raises serious doubts. Further raising questions, Amazon on Sunday began blocking Muse from its site. Meta introduced Muse a few weeks ago.
As AI leaders warn of catastrophe, US and China shun slowdown calls
As industry leaders urge a global slowdown in artificial intelligence development for the sake of humanity, the two superpowers driving the technology's rapid advancement have given no indication they intend to hit the brakes. The United States and China, which are locked in a fierce strategic rivalry, have each rebutted calls to slow the pace of AI development, even as industry executives and researchers stress the need for international cooperation to avoid exposing humans to catastrophic - or even existential - risks. Observers anticipated measures that, at best, would fall far short of the coordinated slowdown that many experts said is needed. "The two countries host nearly all frontier labs and most of the models people download," said Alvin Wang Graylin, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, describing agreed guardrails between the US and China as "close to a precondition" for safe AI. "A safety regime covering one side's models covers half the problem," Wang Graylin said. Hampering the prospects for US-China cooperation, analysts said, are mutual mistrust and divergent perceptions of the primary risks involved.
UK to fight Russian disinformation and push new global AI standards, Burnham says
The UK will set up a new centre to stem the poisonous tide of hostile state attacks, including Russian disinformation, and lead efforts to establish global safety standards for artificial intelligence, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said. In his first major international speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Burnham warned Russian agencies are using every means at their disposal, including bots and fake websites, to spread lies and disinformation. The prime minister noted AI will multiply existing threats, and pitched the UK as an honest broker on the technology. Fears about AI have grown after industry insiders recently warned it could threaten humanity. In Burnham's speech, he accused Russia of running a disinformation campaign.
I Built AI Clones of My Coworkers. Things Got Weird
I Built AI Clones of My Coworkers. Brian Bot loved talking about improv, while Sophie Bot wouldn't stop calling me "big dog." Welcome to the future of work. When I decided to create artificial intelligence clones of my editors, my intentions were pure: I just wanted them to think I was good at my job. AI assistants are suddenly everywhere in the workplace. Each week, my inbox is flooded with press releases about digital workers, and CEOs brag about how robot helpers will soon dominate their workforces. Then there are the stories I hear about people who build AI clones of their bosses, using them to spit-shine every idea, message, or draft before sending it over to their actual human supervisors. The goal seems to be productivity and optimization: If employees can cheaply and quickly improve their output, their job performance--and the performance of their employers--will be better for it.
20 countries propose global oversight body to manage AI dangers
Twenty countries and the European Union have issued a call for international cooperation to ensure AI remains under human control, including the potential creation of a global oversight body to set and enforce standards. The countries, including Germany, South Africa, Canada, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, issued the joint statement on Monday as global leaders prepare to discuss the risks posed by rapidly advancing AI at the annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly. "To realise AI's potential, industry, governments and society must act now," the statement says. "We must address these risks and strengthen oversight - without widening the gap between countries in access to the benefits of AI." The declaration urges countries to develop and coordinate "common standards", share reports of serious safety incidents, and explore the establishment of an international institution to "set standards, enable verification, and convene states when capability thresholds are crossed".