On Tuesday morning, the merchants of artificial intelligence warned once again about the existential might of their products. Hundreds of AI executives, researchers, and other tech and business figures, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Bill Gates, signed a one-sentence statement written by the Center for AI Safety declaring that "mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war." Those 22 words were released following a multi-week tour in which executives from OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and other tech companies called for limited regulation of AI. They spoke before Congress, in the European Union, and elsewhere about the need for industry and governments to collaborate to curb their product's harms--even as their companies continue to invest billions in the technology. Several prominent AI researchers and critics told me that they're skeptical of the rhetoric, and that Big Tech's proposed regulations appear defanged and self-serving.

Sam Altman, the CEO of artificial intelligence lab OpenAI, told a Senate panel he welcomes federal regulation on the technology "to mitigate" its risks. The CEO of the company that delivered ChatGPT to the world said Tuesday he was not interested in becoming the federal government's top regulator of artificial intelligence technology. CEO Sam Altman and other witnesses at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee were asked what they would do to ensure the government has a firm grip on how AI is developed and deployed, and Altman said his first step would be to create a new federal agency. "I would form a new agency that licenses any effort above a certain scale of capabilities and can take that license away and ensure compliance with safety standards," he said in response to a question from Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. Sam Altman, CEO and co-founder of OpenAI, speaks during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

The Nigerian government has approved the establishment of a new agency for robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) as the country begins work on a strategic policy blueprint to commit more resources to research in science and technology. Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya, announced over the weekend, at a political rally of the All Progressives Congress in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi state that the agency has been given the official nod by President Muhammadu Buhari. The new agency to be set up in the south east of Nigeria, probably in Abakaliki or Enugu, according to insiders in the ministry of Science and Technology, would leverage collaborations with international research bodies on robotics and AI. It will enabled research and teachings in more complex technology skills to thousands of young people. "The ultimate goal is to have an agency mandated solely on advancing our knowledge and usability of robots and AI across sectors in Nigeria. The idea is to leapfrog our growth" said a source at the presidency.

All eyes are on artificial intelligence right now, and MDC Media Partners is seizing the moment with the launch of Born, an AI-focused agency. The shop, founded by Michael Nicholas, entrepreneur-in-residence and chief experience officer at MDC Media Partners, "is the first agency of its type," said Martin Cass, CEO of MDC Media Partners. "There are lots of people who can write the copy and some who can do the technical stuff, but nobody who is bringing the two together," he added. Mr. Nicholas will retain his role within MDC Media Partners while overseeing Born, along with Max Fresen, the new agency's chief creative officer. Mr. Fresen joined Born from DigitasLBi, where he served as senior-VP, creative of experience design.