Catastrophe brings a search for accountability. As fires wreak havoc in California, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., claimed in a post on X the catastrophe is "what a climate emergency looks like." He took aim at President-elect Trump, asserting the incoming president has been bought off by the oil industry. "Trump has been bought for 1 billion by Big Oil. Just a payoff to kill the IRA and the Green New Deal. We know what will happen. The LA fires are preview of coming atrocities," Markey declared in a post on X. Markey, who claims there is a "climate crisis," has also warned about the potential effects of artificial intelligence (AI).

Fox News congressional correspondent Aishah Hasnie has more on the bipartisan effort to prevent AI overreach and the dangers of tech innovation on'Special Report.' The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer has endorsed legislation that would keep artificial intelligence away from nuclear weapons. Kai Bird, a co-author of "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" -- which serves as the main inspiration for Christopher Nolan's new film, "Oppenheimer," opening this weekend -- met with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., on Thursday to discuss the intersecting threats of nuclear war and artificial intelligence. Markey is one of the sponsors of a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would prohibit AI from making nuclear launch decisions. During their meeting, Bird and Markey spoke about their shared concerns over emerging AI technologies and what guardrails are needed for their use in the national defense sector, as well as the risks of using nuclear weapons in South Asia and elsewhere.

Russell Wald, director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, sounds off on'The Story.' A Massachusetts Democrat is calling on the U.S. to pass legislation that would keep artificial intelligence away from nuclear power. On Thursday, Sen. Edward Markey said, "78 years ago this weekend, Robert Oppenheimer witnessed the world's first nuclear weapons explosion. In 2023, we face a new kind of nuclear threat: the militarization of increasingly powerful artificial intelligence systems." "We must pass legislation to keep AI away from the nuclear button before it's too late," he asserted.

Automakers reported nearly 400 crashes over a 10-month period involving vehicles with partially automated driver-assist systems, including 273 with Teslas, according to statistics released Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cautioned against using the numbers to compare automakers, saying it didn't weight them by the number of vehicles from each manufacturer that use the systems, or how many miles those vehicles traveled. Automakers reported crashes from July of last year through May 15 under an order from the agency, which is examining such crashes broadly for the first time. "As we gather more data, NHTSA will be able to better identify any emerging risks or trends and learn more about how these technologies are performing in the real world," said Steven Cliff, the agency's administrator. Tesla's crashes happened while vehicles were using Autopilot, "Full Self-Driving," Traffic Aware Cruise Control, or other driver-assist systems that have some control over speed and steering.

Elon Musk said on Monday that Tesla is working to get an updated version of the self-driving software out for vehicles soon and that the latest released version "is not great." The Full Self-Driving Beta version 9.2 is "actually not great imo (in my opinion), but Autopilot/AI team is rallying to improve as fast as possible," Musk posted on Twitter. "We're trying to have a single stack for both highway & city streets, but it requires massive NN (neural network) retraining." FSD Beta 9.2 is actually not great imo, but Autopilot/AI team is rallying to improve as fast as possible. We're trying to have a single stack for both highway & amp; city streets, but it requires massive NN retraining.

Last Tuesday, shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued relaxed guidelines for wearing masks in public during the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden gave a speech on the North Lawn of the White House. The setting was so verdant--bright sunlight, tall trees framing a lectern, shrubbery in full bloom--that it might have been a virtual Zoom background. Biden wore a black mask to the lectern, then took it off to speak. "If you're in a crowd, like in a stadium or at a concert, you still need to wear a mask, even if you're outside," he said. "But, beginning today, gathering with a group of friends in the park, going for a picnic, as long as you are vaccinated and outdoors, you can do it without a mask."

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Ayanna Pressley are pushing to ban the federal government's use of facial recognition technology, as Boston last week nixed the city use of the technology and tech giants pause their sale of facial surveillance tools to police. The momentum to stop the government use of facial recognition technology comes in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis -- a black man killed by a white police officer. Floyd's death has sparked nationwide protests for racial justice and triggered calls for police reform, including ways police track people. Facial recognition technology contributes to the "systemic racism that has defined our society," Markey said on Sunday. "We cannot ignore that facial recognition technology is yet another tool in the hands of law enforcement to profile and oppress people of color in our country," Markey said during an online press briefing.

The news: US Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would ban the use of facial recognition technology by federal law enforcement agencies. Specifically, it would make it illegal for any federal agency or official to "acquire, possess, access, or use" biometric surveillance technology in the US. It would also require state and local law enforcement to bring in similar bans in order to receive federal funding. The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act was introduced by Senators Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Representatives Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. Seize the moment: The proposed law has arrived at a point when the police use of facial recognition technology is coming under increased scrutiny amid protests after the killing of George Floyd in late May.

Lawmakers have proposed legislation that would indefinitely ban the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement nationwide. The new bill comes after months of public concerns surrounding facial recognition's implications for data privacy, government surveillance and racial bias. The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act was proposed Thursday by Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Reps. While various cities have banned government use of the technology (with Boston this week becoming the tenth U.S. city to do so), the bill would be the first temporary ban on facial recognition technology ever enacted nationwide. The newly proposed bill would "prohibit biometric surveillance by the Federal Government without explicit statutory authorization and to withhold certain Federal public safety grants from State and local governments that engage in biometric surveillance."

Amazon is cracking down price gougers on its platform who are looking to make a profit from the coronavirus that is wreaking havoc across the globe. The tech giant has pulled more than 530,000 listings from the site and suspended over 2,500 US sellers. The firm announced on Friday it is working with state attorneys general to identify and prosecute third-party sellers who are taking advantage of fears of the spreading coronavirus to engage in price-gouging on the Amazon website. Amazon also said it has begun manual audits of products in its online stores to spot sellers that evade its automated systems, which check for items that are'unfairly priced.' Amazon is cracking down price gougers on its platform who are looking to make a profit from the coronavirus that is wreaking havoc across the globe.