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☆ Opinion | If A.I. Takes All Our Jobs, Will It Also Take Our Purpose?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

What would life be like if artificial intelligence solved all your problems? Death would become almost optional because you could take on digital form and keep going for a billion years. We human beings dislike our problems, naturally, but if we had no problems to solve, what meaning would life have? in the 10 years since Bostrom’s last book on the topic, “Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies.” A.I. The idea that it will change the world has gone from a nerdy obsession to conventional wisdom.

Persons: Nick Bostrom, Bostrom’s Organizations: Oxford Locations: A.I

☆ Opinion: 25 years later, ‘The Matrix’ is less sci-fi than tech reality
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Opinion Rizwan Virk | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

In 2003, Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom imagined a “technologically mature” civilization could easily create a simulated world. With simulated worlds far outnumbering the “real” world, the likelihood that we are in a simulation would be significantly higher than not. Remember, the simulations would be so good that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a physical and a simulated world. Either the signals are being beamed directly into your brain, or we are simply AI characters inside the simulation. Already, millions of humans are chatting with AI characters, and millions of dollars are pouring into making AI characters more realistic.

Persons: Virk, X, CNN — It’s, ”, Lana, Lilly Wachowski, Philip K, Dick, Tessa, Morpheus, Laurence Fishburne, Keanu Reeves, Nick Bostrom, Elon Musk, Smith, Hugo Weaving, Carrie Ann, Moss, Musk, OpenAI, it’s, Reeves ’ Organizations: Labs, MIT, Physics, Eastern, Arizona State University’s College of Global Futures, Center for Science, CNN, Apple, Trinity Locations: zenentrepreneur.com, Oxford, Silicon, Silicon Valley

☆ A physicist says it's possible to determine if our universe is a giant simulation and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund his experiment
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Melvin M. Vopson | The Conversation | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

But another is that our universe is a computer simulation, with someone (perhaps an advanced alien species) fine-tuning the conditions. In a virtual reality, this limit would correspond to the speed limit of the processor, or the processing power limit. Similarly, virtual reality needs an observer or programmer for things to happen. AdvertisementIt is reasonable to assume that a simulated universe would contain a lot of information bits everywhere around us. Argonne National LaboratoryI have predicted the exact range of expected frequencies of the resulting photons based on information physics.

Persons: It's, Melvin M, Melvin, —, John A, Paice, John Archibald Wheeler, Nick Bostrom, Seth Lloyd, Elon Musk, Albert Einstein's, Stringer, –, John Barrow Organizations: Service, Physicists, Oxford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, Paramount, Space, Laboratory, University of Portsmouth, Creative Locations: Argonne

☆ OpenAI's offices were sent thousands of paper clips in an elaborate prank to warn about an AI apocalypse
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An employee at rival Anthropic sent OpenAI thousands of paper clips in the shape of their logo. The prank was a subtle jibe suggesting OpenAI's approach to AI could lead to humanity's extinction. Anthropic was formed by ex-OpenAI employees who split from the company over AI safety concerns. AdvertisementOne of OpenAI's biggest rivals played an elaborate prank on the AI startup by sending thousands of paper clips to its offices. AdvertisementAnthropic was founded by former OpenAI employees who left the company in 2021 over disagreements on developing AI safely.

Persons: Anthropic, —, Nick Bostrom, Bostrom, OpenAI, Sam Altman, Altman, Ilya Sutskever, Sutskever Organizations: Service, OpenAI's, Anthropic, Wall Street, Microsoft, Business Locations: Francisco

☆ ConocoPhillips' $8 billion Willow project approvals upheld by US judge
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Clark Mindock | Companies Need To Integrate Climate Reporting Across Functions To Comply With California S New Law | Henry Engler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies US judge upholds approvals for $8 billion Willow projectGroups say they are considering an appealNov 9 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Alaska on Thursday upheld U.S. approvals for ConocoPhillips’ multibillion-dollar Willow oil and gas drilling project in the state’s Arctic, rejecting environmental and tribal groups' concerns that the project poses too large of a climate threat. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage dismissed a lawsuit filed by environmental and tribal groups challenging the $8 billion project's approvals, which the U.S. Opponents claim the project would release hundreds of millions of tons of carbon pollution into the atmosphere, aggravating climate change and damaging pristine wilderness. The approvals give ConocoPhillips permission to construct three drill pads, 25.8 miles of gravel roads, an air strip and hundreds of miles of ice roads. The environmental and tribal groups challenged the approvals in two lawsuits filed in March.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Sharon Gleason, Gleason, Erik Grafe, ConocoPhillips didn't, Joe Biden's, Iñupiat, Ian Dooley, Carole Holley, Earthjustice, Bridget Psarianos, Suzanne Bostrom, Rickey Turner, Paul Turcke, Ryan Steen, Whitney Brown, Jason Morgan, Luke Sanders, Stoel, Clark Mindock Organizations: ConocoPhillips, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, ConocoPhillips ’ multibillion, U.S, U.S . Interior Department, Earthjustice, Interior Department, of Land Management, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Environmental, of Land, for Biological, District of, Trustees, U.S . Department of Justice, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Alaska, Anchorage, District of Alaska

☆ Emata, a startup offering loans to farmers in East Africa, just raised $2.4 million with this 14-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Emata, a Ugandan startup that provides loans to farmers in East Africa, has raised $2.4 million in funding. It's also fundamentally unfair as farmers need capital to grow but a lot of money goes to people with connections, not the best farmers." Kampala-based Emata wants to be tech first in its offering and uses WhatsApp as a loan origination platform, given its popularity in a region where cell data is at a premium. The company claims it grew 7x in 2022 and could point to strong metrics when dealing with investors having already dispersed over $1 million in loans. Funding will go towards expanding the company's tech offering and looking into new verticals.

Persons: Bram van den Bosch, It's, Klarna, Niklas Adalberth's Norrsken, Draper Richards, Marcus Boström, van den Bosch, Emata Organizations: African Renaissance Partners, Zephyr Acorn, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Locations: Ugandan, East Africa, Uganda, Kampala

☆ How to talk about A.I. like an insider
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

AI ethics describes the desire to prevent AI from causing immediate harm, and often focuses on questions like how AI systems collect and process data and the possibility of bias in areas like housing or employment. AI safety describes the longer-term fear that AI will progress so suddenly that a super-intelligent AI might harm or even eliminate humanity. Alignment is the practice of tweaking an AI model so that it produces the outputs its creators desired. Inference — The act of using an AI model to make predictions or generate text, images, or other content. Large language model — A kind of AI model that underpins ChatGPT and Google's new generative AI features.

☆ He's played chess with Peter Thiel, sparred with Elon Musk and once, supposedly, stopped a plane crash: Inside Sam Altman's world, where truth is stranger than fiction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Melia Russell | Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +41 min

But, "you do at some point need to start having contact with reality," he told Insider. The plan was still only a rough sketch, Blania told Insider, but that didn't seem to matter to his host. "He always wanted to understand everything at a very deep level," Thrun told Insider in an email. (When asked about guns, Altman told Insider he'd been "happy to have one both times my home was broken into while I was there.") When asked about this, Altman told Insider in an email: "i can guess what that's about; these stories grow crazily inflated over the years of getting re-told!

☆ Sam Altman is building his utopia, whether you want it or not
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Melia Russell | Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +41 min

Altman told Insider, "We debate our approach frequently and carefully." "I don't think anyone can lose your dad young and wish he didn't have more time with him," Altman told Insider. Altman told Insider that his thinking had evolved since those posts. (When asked about guns, Altman told Insider he'd been "happy to have one both times my home was broken into while I was there.") When asked about this, Altman told Insider in an email: "i can guess what that's about; these stories grow crazily inflated over the years of getting re-told!

☆ Analysis: It's not 2020 anymore. Biden's re-election campaign faces new challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Jeff Mason | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"It's quite shocking that Biden thinks he would be able to fill a second term, let alone the rest of this term," said Republican strategist Scott Reed. "An extensive travel schedule is not the measure of a candidate's ability to do the job," said Democratic strategist Karen Finney. CAMPAIGN REINVENTEDBiden campaign aides reinvented his 2020 campaign as COVID-19 spread across the country. But other issues may trip up the incumbent president on the campaign trail, including his handling of the economy. We don't need rah rah rallies," said Democratic strategist Joe Lestingi.

CompaniesCompanies Law Firms Conocophillips FollowApril 3 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday rejected a bid by environmentalists to temporarily suspend the U.S. government’s approval of ConocoPhillips' (COP.N) multibillion-dollar oil drilling project in Alaska’s Arctic. Gleason said an injunction was inappropriate because the groups wouldn't be irreparably harmed by the construction that ConocoPhillips has scheduled for this month, which includes building roads and a gravel mine. Bridget Psarianos, an attorney challenging the approval, called the planned construction schedule "aggressive" and said the judge's decision is "heartbreaking." The approvals for the project in northern Alaska give ConocoPhillips permission to construct three drill pads, 25.8 miles of gravel roads, an air strip and hundreds of miles of ice roads. The 30-year project would produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak, according to the company.

☆ In San Francisco, some people wonder when A.I. will kill us all
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

If the super-powerful AI is aligned with humans, it could be the end of hunger or work. Or, as a sign at the Misalignment Museum says: "Sorry for killing most of humanity." Most of the works are around the theme of "alignment" with increasingly powerful artificial intelligence or celebrate the "heroes who tried to mitigate the problem by warning early." As AI technology becomes the hottest part of the tech industry, with companies eying trillion-dollar markets, the Misalignment Museum underscores that AI's development is being affected by cultural discussions. Even as companies and people in San Francisco are shaping the future of artificial intelligence technology, San Francisco’s unique culture is shaping the debate around the technology.

☆ An A.I. Pioneer on What We Should Really Fear
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

Pioneer on What We Should Really FearArtificial intelligence stirs our highest ambitions and deepest fears like few other technologies. Can you explain what “common sense” means in the context of teaching it to A.I.? A way of describing it is that common sense is the dark matter of intelligence. I don’t know what “solving” should look like, but what I mean to say for the purpose of this conversation is that A.I. It’s common sense not to kill all the plants in order to preserve human lives; it’s common sense not to go with extreme, degenerative solutions.

☆ 'Pronatalism' explained: Why tech titans like Elon Musk want to have tons of kids to save the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tech titans like Elon Musk want to counteract the effects of population decline by having lots of children. Elon Musk, who has fathered 10 known children with three women (including twins last year with one of his employees), is the highest-profile figure currently associated with this movement. So some are turning to the next best thing: having lots of children, and funding new fertility technologies that one founder said are "reinventing reproduction." "The person of this subculture really sees the pathway to immortality as being through having children," said Simone Collins, a VC and co-founder of the nonprofit initiative Pronatalist.org. Read Insider's full feature, "Billionaires like Elon Musk want to save civilization by having tons of genetically superior kids.

☆ Billionaires like Elon Musk want to save civilization by having tons of genetically superior kids. Inside the movement to take 'control of human evolution.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +40 min

"We are the Underground Railroad of 'Gattaca' babies and people who want to do genetic stuff with their kids," Malcolm told me. Ellison, meanwhile, who has two children in their 30s, has reportedly resumed having kids — with his 31-year-old girlfriend. "The person of this subculture really sees the pathway to immortality as being through having children," Simone said. The person of this subculture really sees the pathway to immortality as being through having children. Before she met Malcolm, Simone was convinced she wanted to live her life single and child-free.

☆ Elon Musk says 'population collapse' is more dangerous than global warming. Experts say that won't happen.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-02 | by ( Isobel Asher Hamilton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk is scared low birth rates could lead to what he calls "population collapse." Experts told Insider the global population is still growing, and when it shrinks it'll be gradual. "Global population decline is therefore still some way off, and is likely to happen gradually when it does take place. Dr. Peter Matanle, an expert in East Asian social and cultural geography, agreed low birth rates "will not cause a population collapse." Reid also disputed Musk's claim that low birth rates are a "bigger risk to civilization than global warming."

☆ 'If it blows up, it's cool': The far-out philosophy that explains why Elon Musk won't let a few baby sea turtles stop SpaceX's quest to get to Mars
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-05 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

In the case of Elon Musk v. Charismatic Megafauna, the agency intends to publish its final report in late April. Musk went on: "Either explicitly or implicitly some people seem to think that humans are a blight on the Earth's surface. Musk is talking about existential risk, the idea that something — an asteroid, a rogue artificial intelligence — might kill every human on Earth. And if you assume that future human minds will "mainly be implemented in computational hardware instead of biological neuronal wetware," as Bostrom does, you end up with a mind-boggling 1054 human lives. Musk has made the defense of "future life" his mission.

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