
-
Lessons and liquids: buried alive in Myanmar's earthquake
-
Trump tariffs spark fears for Asian jobs, exporting sectors
-
Stocks and dollar sink, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Runners fly to North Korea for first post-Covid Pyongyang Marathon
-
Hamilton rubbishes claims he's lost faith in Ferrari
-
Nintendo Switch 2 sparks excitement despite high price
-
Sri Lanka's crackdown on dogs for India PM's visit sparks protest
-
S Korea police raise security levels ahead of impeachment verdict
-
China vows 'countermeasures' to sweeping new US tariffs
-
Trump jolts allies, foes and markets with tariff blitz
-
France says EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs
-
Tsunoda vows to bring 'something different' after Red Bull promotion
-
Verstappen not happy with Tsunoda-Lawson Red Bull swap
-
Experts accuse 54 top Nicaragua officials of grave abuses
-
Remains of 30th victim of Los Angeles fires found
-
EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs: France
-
How Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs will impact China
-
Malaysia suspends search for long-missing flight MH370
-
Search for long-missing flight MH370 suspended: Malaysia minister
-
Europe hits out at Trump tariffs, keeps door open for talks
-
Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000
-
Lawson vows to prove he belongs in F1 after shock of Red Bull axing
-
Australia sweats through hottest 12 months on record: official data
-
Livestock theft is central to jihadist economy in west Africa
-
South African artist champions hyenas in 'eco-queer' quest
-
Danish PM in 'unity' Greenland visit amid US takeover threats
-
Taiwan says US tariffs 'highly unreasonable'
-
Lawson says ruthless Red Bull axing was 'tough to hear'
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Thunder roll on
-
Trump escalates trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Japan says US tariffs 'extremely regrettable', may break WTO rules
-
South Koreans anxious, angry as court to rule on impeached president
-
Juve at in-form Roma with Champions League in the balance
-
Injuries put undermanned Bayern's title bid to the test
-
Ovechkin scores 892nd goal -- three away from Gretzky's NHL record
-
Australian former rugby star Petaia signs for NFL's Chargers
-
China says opposes new US tariffs, vows 'countermeasures'
-
Athletics world watching as 'Grand Slam Track' prepares for launch
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Cavs top Knicks
-
Quake-hit Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit
-
New Spielberg, Nolan films teased at CinemaCon
-
Shaken NATO allies to meet Trump's top diplomat
-
Israel's Netanyahu arrives in Hungary, defying ICC warrant
-
Shiny and deadly, unexploded munitions a threat to Gaza children
-
Stocks tank, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Altomare hangs on to tie defending champ Korda at LPGA Match Play
-
Paraguay gold rush leaves tea producers bitter
-
Health concerns swirl as Bolivian city drowns in rubbish
-
Syria says deadly Israeli strikes a 'blatant violation'
-
Financial markets tumble after Trump tariff announcement

AI anxiety as computers get super smart
From Hollywood's death-dealing Terminator to warnings from genius Stephen Hawking or Silicon Valley stars, fears have been fueled that artificial intelligence (AI) could one day destroy humanity.
Tech titans are racing toward creating AI far smarter than people, pushing US President Joe Biden to impose emergency regulation and the European Union seeking major legislation to be agreed by the end of this year.
A two-day summit starting Wednesday in London will explore regulatory safeguards against AI risks such as those below.
- Job stealer? -
The success of ChatGPT from OpenAI has ignited debate about whether "generative AI" capable of quickly producing text, images and audio from simple commands in everyday language is a tremendous threat to jobs held by people.
Automated machinery is already used to do labor in factories, warehouses, and fields.
Generative AI, however, can take aim at white-collar jobs such as lawyers, doctors, teachers, journalists, and even computer programmers.
A report from the McKinsey consulting firm estimates that by the end of this decade, as much as 30 percent of the hours worked in the United States could be automated in a trend accelerated by generative AI.
Boosters of such technology have invoked the notion of a universal basic income in which machines generate wealth that is shared with people freed of the burdens of work.
But it is also possible companies would reap profits of improved efficiencies, leaving those out of work to fend for themselves.
- Copycat? -
Artists were quick to protest software such as Dall-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion that are capable of creating images in nearly any style on demand.
Computer coders and writers followed suit, critiquing AI creators for "training" software on their work, enabling it to replicate their styles or skills without permission or compensation.
AI models have been taught using massive amounts of information and imagery found online.
"That's what it trains on, a fraction of the huge output of humanity," OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman said at a conference in September.
"I think this will be a tool that amplifies human beings, not replace them."
- Disinformation tools? -
Fake news and deepfakes have been around for years but being able to easily crank it out using generative AI raises fears of rampant online deception.
Elections run the risk of being won by those most adept at spreading disinformation, contends cognitive scientist and AI expert Gary Marcus.
"Democracy depends on access to the information needed to make the right decisions," Marcus said.
"If no one knows what's true and what's not, it's all over".
- Fraud? -
Generative AI makes it easier for scammers to create convincing phishing emails, perhaps even learning enough about targets to personalize approaches.
Technology lets them copy a face or a voice, and thus trick people into falling for deceptions such as claims a loved one is in danger, for example.
US President Biden called the ability of AI to imitate people's voices "mind blowing" while signing his recent executive order aimed at the technology.
There are even language models trained specifically to produce such malicious content.
- Human role models -
As with other technologies with the potential for good or evil, the main danger is posed by humans who wield it.
Since AI is trained on data put on the web by humans, it can mirror society's prejudices, biases, and injustices.
AI also has the potential to make it easier to create bioweapons; hack banks or power grids; run oppressive government surveillance, and more.
- AI overlord? -
Some industry players fear AI could become so smart that it could seize control from humans.
"It is not difficult to imagine that at some point in the future, our intelligent computers will become as smart or smarter than people," OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever said at a recent TED AI conference.
"The impact of such artificial intelligence is going to be truly vast."
OpenAI and rivals maintain the goal is for AI to benefit humanity, solving long-intractable problems such as climate change.
At the same time, AI industry leaders are calling for thoughtful regulation to prevent risks such as human extinction.
P.Stevenson--AMWN