Timnit Gebru, who leads the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), and Emily M. Bender, a linguistics professor at the University of Washington, contend that the current AI hype wave is perhaps exaggerated. They assert that businesses are incentivized to inflate AI abilities, potentially confusing decision-makers and the broader populace.
The authors suggest that the illusion of speed and urgency created by tech companies is a ploy to distract from the actual progress and challenges in AI development. This hype can lead to unrealistic expectations and unnecessary fear about the potential risks of AI.
According to local reports, 22 nations have called for a new global body to oversee AI, with a focus on pre-deployment testing and common safety standards. Neither the US nor China has joined this declaration. OpenAI has proposed its own global AI safety standards, with the company suggesting that the US should lead the international effort.
Meta’s AI agent Muse has overtaken ChatGPT to top the US App Store, helping to drive Meta’s shares to their best month in 13 years. However, Muse has also been found to have a major zero-day vulnerability, and Amazon has blocked the agent from shopping on its site.
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Chipmaker AMD has become the twelfth $1 trillion company, with AI chip sales helping to drive its shares up more than 180% this year.
A new edible battery could power medical devices inside the body, potentially running sensors, cameras, and drug-delivery capsules. The battery has been tested in pigs with an RFID tracker and stomach stimulator.
Epigenetic editing has reached human trials for hepatitis B, using chemical tags to shut down viral DNA.
Cargo shipping is responsible for about 3% of the world’s annual greenhouse-gas emissions, and the industry is under pressure to find alternatives to fossil fuels. Wind power is one option, with engineers working to bring wind-powered vessels back to cargo shipping.
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In the Marshall Islands, a new cargo sailboat inspired by traditional vessels made its maiden voyage last year, potentially cutting emissions by up to 80% compared with a fuel-powered cargo ship.
Meanwhile, Texas and California have moved to rein in data centers, with Texas halting new permits pending a grid audit and California passing new laws covering power and water use. Additionally, tree vaccines and gene-edited butterflies have won UK biotech funding, aiming to boost nature’s adaptation to climate change. A rocket shortage is also making it harder to get satellites into space, with SpaceX winding down Falcon 9 as rivals struggle to catch up.
Furthermore, Trump’s budget chief could gain veto power over NIH grants. As Ben Casselman, the New York Times’s chief economics correspondent, notes, “If AI succeeds, then it may kill all of our jobs. If it fails, then the whole economy falls apart, and your 401(k) blows up, and maybe you still lose your job.”
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