Superintelligent AI is “likely” to cause an existential catastrophe for humanity, according to a new paper [from researchers at the University of Oxford and affiliated with Google DeepMind], but we don’t have to wait to rein in algorithms. […] To give you some of the background: The most successful AI Read more…
The moment finally arrived, in the last minutes before midnight on the West Coast on Wednesday. After years of delays, discussions and frantic experimentation, the popular cryptocurrency platform Ethereum completed a long-awaited software upgrade known as the Merge, shifting to a more environmentally sustainable framework. Ethereum is arguably the most Read more…
The US government’s cyber defense agency is recommending for the first time that companies embrace automated continuous testing to protect against longstanding online threats. The guidance, from a cluster of US and international agencies published on Wednesday, urges businesses to shore up their defenses by continually validating their security program Read more…
On Sept. 26, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission will slam headfirst into a small asteroid in the name of planetary defense. “[S]cientists hope that should a dangerous asteroid threaten the planet in the future, a mission like DART could avert the disaster,” reports Space.com. From the report: The Read more…
A rape victim whose DNA from her sexual assault case was used by San Francisco police to arrest her in an unrelated property crime on Monday filed a lawsuit against the city. During a search of a San Francisco Police Department crime lab database, the woman’s DNA was tied to Read more…
America’s child poverty rate plunged in 2021, hitting a record low and accelerating a decadelong decline. That’s the main message from Census Bureau data released yesterday, Axios’ Felix Salmon writes. From the report: Millions of children aren’t growing up in poverty today, thanks in very large part to government poverty-reduction Read more…
The world’s chances of avoiding the worst ravages of climate breakdown are diminishing rapidly, as we enter “uncharted territory of destruction” through our failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions and take the actions needed to stave off catastrophe, leading scientists have said. From a report: Despite intensifying warnings in recent Read more…