In his latest newsletter, the venerable Steven Levy unpacked the background for the kerfuffle surrounding Sarah Wynn-Williams’ book. While there…
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Under the rug The darkside of technology, particularly regarding social media and the AI stampede, continues to unfold, with whistle-blower testimonies and books. Even a movie now & then, like The Social Dilemma. We’re in a political climate where hypocrisy is no longer a disqualification. Yet again money muddies moral missteps. Ancient wisdom butts heads…
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Prompt engineers are in demand. This article notes salary ranges. • CNBC > makeit > “This is the No. 1 ‘most important’ AI skill you need to know, says MIT expert: ‘You can learn the basics in 2 hours’” by Tom Huddleston Jr. (Sep 22 2023) – Everyone needs to learn prompt engineering. Prompt engineering is essentially the skill of refining and inputting text commands for generative AI programs ……
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The most influential people in AI … movers & shakers, shaping the good, bad, & ugly. Only the beginning … • PR Newswire > “TIME Reveals Inaugural TIME100 AI List of the World’s Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence” (Sep 7, 2023) The 2023 TIME100 AI list features 43 CEOs, founders and co-founders … The list features 41 women and nonbinary individuals, … The youngest individual recognized on the TIME100…
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AI chatbots are like replicators. What could go … In his latest Plaintext newsletter, Steven Levy recounts his conversation earlier this summer with legendary artificial intelligence researcher Geoffrey Hinton, “after he [Hinton] had some time to reflect on his post-Google life and mission” – in his “new career as a philosopher.” The fears Hinton is now expressing are quite a shift from the previous time we spoke, in 2014. Back…
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No “Mr. Fusion” in the near future. Perhaps not even a giant tokamak. Here’s a tale of ongoing Big Science travail, Big Science going bust. A schedule that just keeps slipping into the future. • Scientific American > “World’s Largest Fusion Project Is in Big Trouble, New Documents Reveal” by Charles Seife (June 15, 2023) – The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) [conceived in the mid-1980s, formalized in 2006] is…
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Generative AI chatbots might be cool to many. But the heat (greenhouse gas emissions) and cost may deflate hype as a reality check for the botton line. Generative AI data center server infrastructure plus operating costs will challenge the business models and profitability of emergent services incorporating this tech [1]. • Washington Post > “AI chatbots lose money every time you use them. That’s a problem.” by Will Oremus (June…