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☆ Will AI be an economic blessing or curse? History offers clues
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Mark John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Backers of AI predict a productivity leap that will generate wealth and improve living standards. The productivity gains it was once lauded for have slowed across many economies. In a globalised economy, there are other reasons to doubt whether the potential gains of AI will be felt evenly. That is just one of several factors that will help determine how AI shapes our economic lives - from antitrust policies that ensure healthy competition among AI suppliers through to re-training of workforces. "The question is: will AI exacerbate existing inequalities or could it actually help us get back to something much fairer?"

Persons: Richard Erkhov, Yiannis, Simon Johnson, Johnson, Daron Acemoglu, jenny, Natixis, Stefano Scarpetta, MIT's Johnson, Mary Towers, Eva Mathews, Mark John, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, MIT Sloan School of Management, McKinsey, Hollywood, Reuters, Labour, Social Affairs, Economic Cooperation, Development, UN, POWER, Britain's Trades Union, OECD, Thomson Locations: Pascal, Nicosia, Cyprus, U.S, American, Paris, Bengaluru

☆ 4 steps leaders must take to make the most of AI and not get left behind, according to an MBA professor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Leigh Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Go with a growth mindsetPrior to ChatGPT's public launch, most managers had minimal experience using generative AI. That changed quickly as some businesses — including IBM — suggested that managers start using AI or risk losing their jobs. The better question for leaders is, "Do I believe I can learn to leverage generative AI in a productive way?" We are seeing this at an organizational level with AI, as some leaders put the brakes on using generative AI, based in part on perception of an AI-related skills gap among employees and the challenge of filling that. The conclusion here is that to get the best of generative AI, don't play into a dictator-servant relationship.

Persons: Leigh Thompson, Thompson, I've, IBM —, Carol Dweck's, Siri, Phil Zimbardo's, —, ChatGPT Organizations: Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, IBM, Alexa, Research, Stanford

☆ Electric cars aren’t just for the wealthy anymore
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Thanks to a combination of new models, more production and new tax laws, electric vehicles are no longer just for the wealthy. Currently the “days supply” of electric vehicles – a measure of the number units on dealer lots relative to how quickly they sell – is now twice that of new vehicles overall. The biggest bargain among electric vehicles currently, whether you lease or buy, happens to be one that’s going away soon. A Chevrolet Bolt EV sits parked at a charging station at Stewart Chevrolet on April 25, 2023 in Colma, California. For almost $10,000 less, in terms of sticker price, Hyundai offers the soon-to-be redesigned Kona Electric.

Persons: Kia, Erik Pendzich, it’s, Mark Luxcombe, Wolters, “ There’s, ” Luxcombe, Brian Moody, Moody, ”, Stewart, Justin Sullivan, Kia EV6, Josh Lefkowitz, Tony Quiroga, Bing Guan, Quiroga, Chevrolet Bolt Organizations: CNN, General Motors, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen, GT, New York, Wolters Kluwer, Cox Automotive, Chevrolet Bolt, Stewart Chevrolet, GM, Angeles, Kona, EV, Chevrolet Locations: America, Colma , California, Los Angeles , California

☆ AI is supposed to make our jobs easier. These workers disagree
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“In the next few years, the main impact of AI on work will be to help people do their jobs more efficiently,” Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said in a blog post recently. Big Tech companies are now rushing to jump on the AI bandwagon, pledging significant investments into new AI-powered tools that promise to streamline work. News outlet CNET had to issue “substantial” corrections earlier this year after experimenting with using an AI tool to write stories. Others like Clarke, the publisher, have tried to combat the fallout from the rise of AI by relying on more AI. “You listen to these AI experts, they go on about how these things are going to do amazing breakthroughs in different fields,” Clarke said.

Persons: hasn’t, Neil Clarke’s, Clarke, “, ” Clarke, “ It’s, ChatGPT, Bill Gates, it’s, Shakked, Neil Clarke, Lisa R, Clarke Mathias Cormann, ” Cormann, ’ Ivana Saula, Saula, ” Saula, ”, Gizmodo Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, Big Tech, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT’s Department of Economics, Clarkesworld Magazine, Organization for Economic Co, Development, “ Workers, International Association of Machinists, Aerospace Workers, ” Workers, CNET, Star Locations: Shakked Noy, MIT’s, newsrooms

☆ Inspired by Ukraine war, Taiwan launches drone blitz to counter China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

These drones range from jet-powered, long range surveillance aircraft to small quadcopters deployed by ground troops. Taiwan should accelerate mass production of a range of military drones to boost self-reliance in the struggle with Beijing, it concluded. U.S. drones range in size from two-kilogram, hand-launched drones to 14,500-kilogram long range surveillance drones. Unlike Taiwan, China began mass-producing unmanned aircraft long before the Ukraine conflict. Hundreds of technology experts, including specialists in AI, were recruited to the military, according to UCSD analyst Cheung.

Persons: Tsai Ing, ”, Tsai “, Max Lo, “, Hawk Yang, Yang, Tsai, Joe Biden, ’, Lo, Tai Ming Cheung, ” Cheung, Nancy Pelosi, ” Tsai, Chang, Xi Jinping, Xi, Cheung, ” Elsa Kania Organizations: Reuters, People’s Liberation Army, Thunder Tiger Group, “, Communist Party, Taiwan, Taiwan Affairs Office, U.S . Department of Defense, White, Pentagon ., Teal, University of California, PLA, U.S . House, Airborne, Washington -, Strategic & International Studies ., Royal United Services Institute, 20th Party Congress, UCSD, Center, New, New American Security, China's Ministry of Defense, Pentagon Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Taipei, Taiwan, China, Asia, United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea, America, Republic of China, “ China, Kinmen, Beijing, Washington, Pentagon . U.S, U.S, University of California San Diego, Chiayi, Strategic & International Studies . Ukraine, London, Chang Kong, Today, New American

☆ How to save San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

But treating San Francisco as some sort of outlier, a sui generis example of urban decay, is wrong, too. After I washed out back there I washed up on the Embarcadero, a typical San Francisco story. Because here's my one crazy trick to fix San Francisco: homes. Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty ImagesThis is just a matter of good old-fashioned supply and demand. To revive the city, San Francisco needs to get back to its freak-flag-flying roots.

Persons: Nobody's, I've, It's, it's, who'd, Paul Chinn, nix, aren't, rafter, Tayfun, Francis Wood, fixable, Berkeley, Adam Rogers Organizations: Liberal, Homelessness, Bay Area, Pride, Black Panthers, Washington Monthly, San Francisco, Getty, SF, Supervisors, Crafts, Planners, Foods, Anadolu Agency, Walgreens, Nordstrom, Unit Locations: San Francisco, Bay, Francisco, California, Black, Los Angeles, Boston , New York, Washington, United States, Barcelona, Paris, St, Barbary, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Angeles, Houston, Helsinki, East, Treasure, Emeryville

☆ San Francisco’s ‘doom loop’ is a warning for every American city. Here’s how we can fix it — before it’s too late.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

If you want to rile up a San Francisco native, mention the doom loop. But treating San Francisco as some sort of outlier, a sui generis example of urban decay, is wrong, too. After I washed out back there I washed up on the Embarcadero, a typical San Francisco story. Because here's my one crazy trick to fix San Francisco: homes. To revive the city, San Francisco needs to get back to its freak-flag-flying roots.

☆ Elon Musk says he told China's leaders that if a 'digital superintelligence' is created, it could take charge of the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk's warning for China: superintelligent AI could take control of the country. The billionaire said he told senior leaders about the potential threat during a recent China trip. Elon Musk says he told senior leaders in China that the creation of an AI-led "digital superintelligence" could usurp the Chinese Communist Party and take control of the country. Musk has raised several alarms about the potential dangers of AI becoming a kind of "superintelligence" with some capabilities that humans have. During his trip to China, Musk was treated like royalty, meeting senior government officials and business leaders to discuss popular topics such as AI.

Persons: Elon, Musk, Elon Musk, xAI, OpenAI, Ro Khanna, Mike Gallagher, Gallagher Organizations: Morning, Communist Party Locations: China

☆ Ravers dance through Berlin heat at techno parade
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Revellers attend the 'Rave The Planet' techno parade near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, July 8, 2023. REUTERS/Fabrizio BenschBERLIN, July 8 (Reuters) - Ravers gathered in Berlin on Saturday for the annual "Rave The Planet" techno music-themed street parade, with up to 300,000 attendees expected over the course of the afternoon. Police gave the go-ahead for the street parade on Saturday morning, after organisers had cautioned it may be cancelled due to concerns over security and sanitation. "The town centre belongs to the ravers today," Berlin police tweeted, confirming the event could take place. Around 200 DJs were due to play on 25 floats at the event, seen as the successor to the Love Parade founded in 1989 which was halted in 2010 after a stampede killed 21 and injured 500.

Persons: Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN, Ravers, Tanya Wood, Fabrizio Bensch, Victoria Waldersee, Ros Russell Organizations: REUTERS, Police, Love, Thomson Locations: Brandenburg, Berlin, Germany, Berlin's

☆ Inside the Shed’s Sonic Sphere
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Zachary Woolfe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The xx remix did nicely separate the bass, coming up palpably but not too heavily out of the bottom of the sphere, from the voices around and above. For all the souped-up spiffiness of the Sonic Sphere, the programming on Saturday felt like a retread of artists who were more interesting when Alex Poots, the Shed’s artistic director, presented them during his stint at the Park Avenue Armory uptown. Levit, the following year, played Bach as part of an ornate concentration exercise orchestrated by Marina Abramovic. Both of them on Saturday were under 40 minutes, but I found myself getting antsy well before time was up. Perhaps the audiences at Burning Man, the techno-hippie hedonist bonanza in the Nevada desert where a Sonic Sphere was built last year, were more engrossed, experiencing it on harder drugs than the Coke Zero I’d had with dinner.

Persons: Mari ”, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Alex Poots, Bach, Marina Abramovic Organizations: Armory, Perelman Performing Arts Center Locations: Levit, Nevada

☆ Wes Anderson’s Secret Weapon: The Camera Moves of Sanjay Sami
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Melena Ryzik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

And what I thought is this character is going to come out and not just set the stage for this convention they’re doing, but more to set the stage for the decade. Then, Jeffrey comes to us, and then Jeffrey goes over here, and we go over there. And Jeffrey goes over here, and we go here. And Jeffrey goes over here, we move around side to side. So you can slide forward and back and side to side, but it’s an extremely complex rig invented by our key grip Sanjay Sami.

Persons: Wes Anderson, I’m, Jeffrey Wright, I’ve, ”, we’ve, Jeffrey, you’re, Sanjay Sami, “, Dinah Campbell, It’s, they’ve Organizations: ‘, “ Locations: ‘ Asteroid

☆ A.I. Technology: 8 Questions About the Future - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Phoebe Lett | Jeremy Ashkenas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Rumman Chowdhury Ethicist and researcherAnd then build the technology that will create the world that we want to have for ourselves? Yudhanjaya Wijeratne Writer and data scientistWe certainly are coming towards this idea of the human plus A.I. Sebastian Thrun Entrepreneur and educatorWhat if everything you’ve done in your life, everything you’ve learned, you can do in a day? Sebastian Thrun Entrepreneur and educatorAnd then everything other people have learned, you can be master of in a day. And you can solve really, really hard problems because now you have the world’s experience.

Persons: Hell, Rumman Chowdhury Ethicist, we’re, Stephanie Dinkins, I’m, ” Stephanie Dinkins, Yudhanjaya, Siri, Sebastian Thrun, you’ve, You Organizations: Yampolskiy, Yampolskiy Computer Locations: China, Japan

☆ Fashion High: Inside New York’s Semi-Secret School for Style
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Alex Vadukul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As techno music blasted, one teenager after another stopped to pose for cameras in a cordoned-off area of Gansevoort Plaza in the meatpacking district. Upon their return to a tented area, they exchanged hugs and high fives with their fellow models. After all, wasn’t New York Fashion Week not until September? And why was the audience cheering with the kind of abandon typical of parents at a graduation ceremony? As it happened, the event that took place last Wednesday evening was a graduation ceremony of sorts: This was the annual runway show for the senior class of the High School of Fashion Industries, the only trade-based public school in New York City dedicated to fashion.

Persons: Pastis Organizations: wasn’t New York, High School of Fashion Industries Locations: Lower Manhattan, Gansevoort, meatpacking, New York City

☆ Future wars are going to be catastrophic and robotic, and militaries have to 'come to grips' with that, former general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Mick Ryan, the author and a strategist, says militaries need to "come to grips" with what is coming. The scene comes from a new novel, "White Sun War: The Campaign for Taiwan," written by a former military officer. "That is especially the case when the ratio of humans to autonomous systems in militaries is going to flip," Ryan told Insider. "We are not at the point yet where robotic systems are able to match humans in decision making," Ryan said. And these autonomous systems will have many similar flaws. "

☆ Who is Sam Altman? The man behind ChatGPT is about to have his moment on Capitol Hill
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —For a few months in 2017, there were rumors that Sam Altman was planning to run for governor of California. Altman, the CEO and co-founder of OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind viral chatbot ChatGPT and image generator Dall-E, is set to testify before Congress on Tuesday. Maybe I’m wrong?’ Thank God someone with so much power has so much humility.”Others want Altman and OpenAI to move more cautiously. OpenAI co-founder & CEO Sam Altman speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2019 at Moscone Convention Center on October 03, 2019 in San Francisco, California. Similar generative AI technology is quickly finding its way into productivity and search tools used by billions of people.

☆ Hurricanes of Data: The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Porter Fox | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +35 min

The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea Shortly after dawn on Sept. 30, 2021, Richard Jenkins watched a Category 4 hurricane overrun his life’s work. That August, a sister ship, SD 1031, successfully entered Tropical Storm Henri, but only in its early stages. Hurricane research, modeling and forecasting requires many terabytes of data for every square mile the storm passes through, including vitally important sea-level data from inside a storm. The next day, the depression was upgraded to a tropical storm and officially given the name Sam. And four months later, Tropical Storm Megi killed more than 150, wiped out several villages with landslides and displaced more than a million people.

☆ COP28 president says fossil fuels still have a role to play, prompting concerns about climate summit’s goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

In March, European countries agreed to promote a global phase-out of fossil fuels in a text setting out their priorities for COP28. “The shift towards a climate neutral economy will require the global phase-out of unabated fossil fuels,” the text said. Al Jaber emphasized the role of technologies like carbon capture in reducing planet-heating pollution. “All indicators… are telling us that we are way off track,” said Al Jaber. We have to get out of fossil fuels, we have to dramatically reduce emissions.”“it is no longer about visions.

☆ 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!

☆ 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!

☆ Tim Hecker Helped Popularize Ambient Music. He’s (Sort of) Sorry.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Grayson Haver Currin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Still, he admitted, the loss was “bound up in the melancholy of youth.”This multivalence seemed to follow Hecker. He would spend his collegiate summers in the British Columbia wilderness, planting as many as 4,000 trees each day in clear-cut forests. Later, frustrated by the exigencies of starting a band, like remembering what they’d played the day before, Hecker began experimenting with drum machines and samplers. “The original impulse was this awe-struck excitement,” Hecker said, recalling his titanic computer tower, gargantuan monitor and pirated software. “There are different feelings in those different moments, and they each have their own ecosystem,” he said.

☆ Opinion | There Is Plastic In Our Flesh
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Mark O Connell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

(Later in the same article, the environmental scientist who makes this recommendation also counsels against instilling fear in our children.) Joe Rogan, perhaps our culture’s foremost vector of meathead masculinity, has been talking about the topic for several years. Not only were the taints of infants shrinking at an alarming rate; so, too, were penises and testicles themselves. Maybe it’s microplastics that are stopping you and your partner from conceiving, or making you lazy and lethargic, or forgetful beyond your years. Maybe it’s microplastics that caused the cancer in your stomach, or your brain.

☆ Peace, love, and Hitler: How Lex Fridman's podcast became a safe space for the anti-woke tech elite
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

Seemingly overnight, episodes of Fridman's podcast began racking up millions of views. YouTube/Lex FridmanIn his podcast, Fridman asks world-renowned scientists, historians, artists, and engineers a series of wide-eyed questions ("Who is God? But recently, "The Lex Fridman Podcast" has become a haven for a growing — and powerful — sector looking to dismantle years of "wokeness" and cancel culture. Twitter"The Lex Fridman Podcast" offered a rare opportunity to listen to four-hour conversations with luminaries of tech and science. Bhaskar Sunkara, the founder and publisher of the socialist magazine Jacobin who appeared on Fridman's podcast in December, praised Fridman's interviewing style.

☆ ChatGPT is the Myspace of AI: It's fun, but it's far from taking your white-collar job
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Despite excitement around ChatGPT and GPT-4, there are concerns about AI tools taking jobs. "Artificial intelligence may have a role in displacing, or at least reducing, the need for less skilled workers," Lee said. Hope Bradford, senior director of digital transformation at Kelly, a staffing and workforce company, told Insider that AI tools help HR professionals screen candidates. Are white-collar workers' jobs at risk of being cut because of AI tools? While people have found success and the pros of AI tools, there's still uncertainty about their future and fears still loom.

☆ AI comes for the DJ: London partygoers rave to robot beats
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Vin Shahrestani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"If we can have AI make beautiful music and we can play that to each other, I think that's probably why it's there. For Mubert’s CEO, Paul Zgordan, the rise of AI will inevitably result in some musicians losing jobs. "We want to save musicians' jobs, but in our own way," Zgordan told Reuters via videolink from the Armenian capital Yerevan. PRETTY GOOD JOBThe DJ booth, usually the focus of parties, was left empty as an experiment to see how revellers would react to the AI DJ. "There is no ChatGPT for music because music is more complex," he said.

☆ The next world power will be the first to harness the power of AI, former defense official argues in new book
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Paul Scharre, a former defense official, argues AI dominance will determine the next global power. The battle for AI power will revolutionize world militaries and economies. His book, "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," was released on February 28. In his latest book, "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," Scharre explores how the international battle for the most powerful AI technology is changing global power dynamics. Over time, regulation in some fashion of AI technology; probably much of which will be sector-specific.

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