A plan to create a clean electricity system by 2030 promised by Labour before the election is "immensely challenging" but still "credible" if ministers take urgent action to fix Britain's sluggish planning system, the energy system operator has said. Britain could become a net exporter of green electricity by the end of the decade at no extra costs to the energy system under the plans and bills may even fall if ministers make the right policy changes, according to the operator. The newly formed National Energy System Operator (Neso) put forward the conclusions as part of its official advice to new ministers on how to reach Labour election pledge to decarbonise the power system by 2030. Fintan Slye, the chief executive of Neso, said: "There's no doubt that the challenges ahead on the journey to delivering clean power are great. However, if the scale of those challenges is matched with the bold, sustained actions that are outlined in this report, the benefits delivered could be even greater."

Short-term threats posed by artificial intelligence to democracy and privacy need to be addressed as urgently as longer term existential threats, Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, is expected to say in a speech setting out the Biden administration's vision before the UK's Bletchley Park summit on AI. In a speech in London on Wednesday before attending the conference, she will say: "We reject the false choice that suggests we can either protect the public or advance innovation. We can – and we must – do both. And we must do so swiftly, as this technology rapidly advances." Harris wants to advance beyond the debates about the future potential, sometimes speculative, existential threats posed by AI in the future to examine harms that are already happening, including those associated with discrimination and disinformation.

A godfather of AI is among hundreds of tech bosses and academics calling for an international treaty to avoid the technology's'catastrophic' risk to humanity. On the eve of the AI Safety Summit, Turing award winner Yoshua Bengio has signed an open letter warning the danger it poses'warrants immediate and serious attention'. It cites a survey that found over half of AI researchers estimate there is more than a 10 per cent chance advances in machine learning could lead to human extinction. Notably, among the signatories is one of China's leading AI academics, Professor Yui Zeng, a key representative of Beijing who is set to lead one of the sessions at the event in Bletchley Park. Government officials may well see his backing as a positive signal that China – whose invitation to the summit has proven highly controversial – is willing to cooperate on international regulation.

We have accepted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in complex processes -- from health care to our daily use of social media -- often without critical investigation, until it is too late. The use of AI is inescapable in our modern society, and it may perpetuate discrimination without its users being aware of any prejudice. When health-care providers rely on biased technology, there are real and harmful impacts. This became clear recently when a study showed that pulse oximeters -- which measure the amount of oxygen in the blood and have been an essential tool for clinical management of COVID-19 -- are less accurate on people with darker skin than lighter skin. The findings resulted in a sweeping racial bias review now underway, in an attempt to create international standards for testing medical devices.

We have accepted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in complex processes--from health care to our daily use of social media--often without critical investigation, until it is too late. The use of AI is inescapable in our modern society, and it may perpetuate discrimination without its users being aware of any prejudice. When health-care providers rely on biased technology, there are real and harmful impacts. This became clear recently when a study showed that pulse oximeters--which measure the amount of oxygen in the blood and have been an essential tool for clinical management of COVID-19--are less accurate on people with darker skin than lighter skin. The findings resulted in a sweeping racial bias review now underway, in an attempt to create international standards for testing medical devices.

We have accepted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in complex processes -- from health care to our daily use of social media -- often without critical investigation, until it is too late. The use of AI is inescapable in our modern society, and it may perpetuate discrimination without its users being aware of any prejudice. When health-care providers rely on biased technology, there are real and harmful impacts. This became clear recently when a study showed that pulse oximeters -- which measure the amount of oxygen in the blood and have been an essential tool for clinical management of COVID-19 -- are less accurate on people with darker skin than lighter skin. The findings resulted in a sweeping racial bias review now underway, in an attempt to create international standards for testing medical devices.

Urgent action is needed as it can take time to assess and address the serious risks this technology poses to human rights, warned the High Commissioner: "The higher the risk for human rights, the stricter the legal requirements for the use of AI technology should be". Ms. Bachelet also called for AI applications that cannot be used in compliance with international human rights law, to be banned. "Artificial intelligence can be a force for good, helping societies overcome some of the great challenges of our times. But AI technologies can have negative, even catastrophic, effects if they are used without sufficient regard to how they affect people's human rights". On Tuesday, the UN rights chief expressed concern about the "unprecedented level of surveillance across the globe by state and private actors", which she insisted was "incompatible" with human rights.

Horizon asked a selection of scientists featured in the magazine last year for their opinion on priorities for 2020. READ: Prosperity is about more than money. But what else should count? '2020 is a super-year for international policy action,' said Sandrine Dixson-Declève, co-president of global think tank the Club of Rome and chair of an expert EU group on the economic and societal impact of research (ESIR). An oceans treaty will be agreed, biodiversity targets announced, it's the first opportunity for nations to increase their climate goals, and the start of the decade to scale action for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, she says.

New research published today by the Artificial Intelligence Forum of New Zealand (AI Forum) is calling for urgent action to progress the use of AI to address some of New Zealand's most pressing social, environmental and economic challenges, and not wait for a formal Government-led national strategy. The study called'Towards Our Intelligent Future' positions AI as a fundamental tool to tackle issues highlighted by the Treasury's new Living Standards Framework for Wellbeing, launched in December 2018, and also the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It reveals how New Zealand can benefit from AI supporting wellbeing and sustainability, along with the multi-billion dollar boost to the economy it could provide by 2030. By then, models from McKinsey and PwC show global GDP could be 14 percent higher with AI, and New Zealand could gain between 5.6 and 10.4 percent of total GDP, compared to a scenario without AI. It also shows New Zealand is performing reasonably well in the international AI discussion but highlights an urgent need to invest more and secure supply of homegrown talent.