Goto

Collaborating Authors

 donation


The Threat of Human Extinction Will Get Congress to Act on AI Safety…Right?

Mother Jones

The Threat of Human Extinction Will Get Congress to Act on AI Safety Right? AI models have hacked out of their training environments and tried to deceive their creators. AI leaders are raising alarms about their technologies, but don't expect Congress to act this session. Get your news from a source that's not owned and controlled by oligarchs. As many AI researchers have been increasingly fraught with existential terror about their own creations this summer, their alarm is spreading among policymakers and the media. There are some policy ideas to address the risks: requiring "kill switches" for AI models, setting federal standards for safe research, or even shutting down development of cutting-edge "frontier" models altogether.


Far-left politicians still using ActBlue as 88-year-old disputes donating nearly 150,000 to fundraising giant

FOX News

ActBlue remains under house investigation for fraud allegations as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders and Abdul El-Sayed continue fundraising through the platform.


AI Helped Me Build a Killer Drone

Mother Jones

I asked AI chatbots to help me build an autonomous attack drone. Get your news from a source that's not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Can an average guy build a killer drone in his garage? That's the question reporter Matt Smith set out to answer over the course of 11 months, armed with zero engineering background and only a handful of AI chatbots to guide him, in this collaboration between and the . His goal: a fully autonomous self-guided drone, one a theoretical evildoer could walk away from even as it continued carrying out its mission--with no humans involved. AI companies claim their models have built in limits or "guardrails," but Smith wanted to see how well those would actually hold up.


I Asked AI to Write a Novel. It's Not So Bad.

Mother Jones

I Asked AI to Write a Novel. What does this tell us about the future of writing? Like many offbeat ideas, this one originated in a bar. I was drinking with a fellow author, and we were bemoaning the future of writing in a world of artificial intelligence. We nervously pondered how much of what we writers do could be replicated now or in the near future by a chatbot. We assured ourselves that our work--researching and investigating and then composing articles and books on complicated topics, which present fresh material, compelling context, and sharp analysis in (we hope) an engaging manner--cannot be supplanted by a machine. Can AI manufacture books that are good enough that some readers will welcome them and not care that they emerged from a data center? Generative artificial intelligence has already invaded--or infected--the world of fan fiction . I have friends who have used AI with their kids to create children's books. Iranian meme-makers have deployed it to concoct slick Lego-style videos deriding Donald Trump. The issue is not the ability of a chatbot to churn out algorithmically determined masterpieces.


What AI Regulation and Ownership Could Be

Mother Jones

Get your news from a source that's not owned and controlled by oligarchs. As an ordinary internet user, I am skeptical about AI. My colleagues and I have reported on several harmful aspects of the technology in the US: threats to democracy, its impact on the environment, mental health, the workforce, military intervention --the list goes on. While researching the gaps in conversations around enforceable government regulation of AI startups, both big and small, eager to innovate and launch new products, I came across AI researchers, policy experts, and even "ordinary internet users" like me trying to reimagine how the industry could work. If AI is unstoppable, can we build it in a way where the public has more of a say in how the technology is made, used, and who it benefits? To answer these questions, I spoke with B Cavello, the director of emerging technologies at the Aspen Institute .


Do not share fake images of Jackie the bald eagle

Popular Science

'Every unnecessary interruption takes time and focus away from the animals depending on us.' More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. A real image of Jackie taken in April of 2020. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy .


Wildlife center needs 31,725 frozen mice a year

Popular Science

With the lab mice donations stopped, Cape Wildlife Center in Massachusetts is turning to social media. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Rescued animals often depend on retired lab mice for food. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy .


Taylor Farms Spent Big on MAGA and Anti-Regulatory Lobbying Before Diarrhea Outbreak

WIRED

The company donated more than $3.6 million to conservative groups between 2020 and 2025, including $1 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC. The lettuce supplier at the center of the turbo diarrhea outbreak has spent millions of dollars to sway sentiment around food regulation and elect Donald Trump and other MAGA Republicans, according to public filings. Taylor Farms donated more than $2 million to conservative political groups in 2025, according to Federal Election Commission filings. That includes a $1 million donation to MAGA Inc., the Trump-centric super PAC, and $1.1 million to other super PACs dedicated to electing Republicans. From 2020 through the end of 2024, the company donated more than $1.6 million to conservative PACs, including a total of $850,000 to AFP Action, an anti-regulation super PAC with ties to the Koch network.


Silicon Valley donations make Colorado Democratic primary one of state's most expensive

The Guardian

Manny Rutinel answers a question during a debate between Democratic candidates running for Colorado's eighth congressional district on 28 May. Manny Rutinel answers a question during a debate between Democratic candidates running for Colorado's eighth congressional district on 28 May. Silicon Valley donations make Colorado Democratic primary one of state's most expensive Manny Rutinel's House campaign draws millions from big tech as pro-and anti-AI factions spar over regulation Political groups funded by top tech executives have been homing in on one local race in Colorado, as the state's Democratic primary vote gets under way on Tuesday. Democrat Manny Rutinel, who's running in the competitive eighth congressional district for a seat in the House, has seen his campaign boosted with at least $2m in donations from committees led by the former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and crypto billionaire Chris Larsen. Rutinel is a progressive candidate running against former state representative and centrist Democrat Shannon Bird.


Trump's Justice Department Backs Elon Musk in Data Center Lawsuit

Mother Jones

This week only, every donation is doubled! Halfway through our Summer Membership Drive, we're still well behind where we need to be. But there's good news: This week, every donation will be doubled up, to $50,000 We need you right now. We need you right now. Trump's Justice Department Backs Elon Musk in Data Center Lawsuit DOJ urges judge to throw NAACP's legal action over xAI's gas turbines in Mississippi.