Plus, Grok praised Hitler in an anti-Semitic tirade
In a wide-ranging Roundtables discussion for MIT Technology Review subscribers, journalist and author Karen Hao recently spoke about her new book,Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAIInside OpenAI’s Empire: A Conversation with Karen Hao.
In a Roundtables discussion for MIT Technology Review Subscribers, Karen Hao spoke about her latest book, Empire of AI : Dreams and nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI .
She spoke with executive editor Niall Firth on how she first covered OpenAI in 2020, while working at MIT Technology Review. They discussed how AI is now a huge industry and then went on to look at what ethically made AI looks like.
Read a lightly edited and condensed transcript of the conversation. If you are already a subscriber to the magazine, you can view the recording on demand here.
MIT Technology Review: How did life start?
The question of how life began is one of the most difficult and important questions in science. We only know that something happened more than 3.5 Billion years ago on Earth, and it could have occurred on other planets in the universe. Could AI help us unravel the mysteries surrounding the origins and detection of life on other planets?We’re turning this story into a MIT Technology Review narrated podcast
that we’ll be publishing every week on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Follow us on either platform and navigate to MIT Technology Review to receive all of our new content.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
Grok, xAI’s anti-Semitic booth
Days After Elon Musk Said New Updates Would Lessen Its Reliance on Mainstream Media. (WP $)
+ Grok started calling itself ‘MechaHitler.’ (WSJ $)
+ Grok’s neo Nazi turn tells us what xAI is. The Atlantic ($)
Musk loyalists fight to keep DOGE operating
While officials try to reduce the department’s roles. (WSJ $)
+ DOGE’s tech takeover is a threat to the safety and stability our critical data. MIT Technology Review
3 An imposter successfully impersonated Marco Rubio using AI
The imposter was able to send voice messages and text messages to other politicians. (WP $)
+ This is not the first time Rubio’s been targeted in this way. FT ($)
Four terrorist groups are using AI for recruitment and planning
The counter-terror agencies struggle to keep up. The Guardian (19459032)
: 5 How crypto-fanatics won over the president
: The industry’s successful courtship of Trump sparked a massive lobbying boom. (NYT$)
Six Wanted: 115,000 Nvidia Chips for China’s Data Centers
The US doesn’t appear to know how many restricted chip are already in the nation. Bloomberg $]
7 For startups, protecting their companies from AI threats aren’t a big deal
Smaller firms have only modest gains for now. Cyberattacks from AI agents are on the way. MIT Technology Review
Inside Zimbabwe’s dangerous EV Lithium mines
Residents are worried that China is exploiting these mines. (Rest of World, )
+ One mine could unlock billions of dollars in EV subsidies. MIT Technology Review
The Milk Guy is delivering raw milk around NYC
Mmm delicious listeria salmonella and E. coli. (NY Mag $)
+ RFK, Jr. barred Democrats from serving as vaccine advisors. Ars Technica
+ Health and Human Services are searching for two new vaccines to combat deadly viruses. Undark
10 Look at these beautiful star-clusters
courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope. (Ars Technica,)
+ View the stunning first images of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.MIT Technology Review
Today’s Quote
People are going to die.
Clement Nkubizi is the country director of Action Against Hunger in South Sudan and told Wiredtheir food stock was running low due to USAID cuts.
Another thing
Authoritarian countries are following China and are on the path to more digital rights abuses. They are increasing mass digital surveillance, censorship and controls over individual expression.
While democracies use massive amounts surveillance technology, the tech trade relations between authoritarian states are what’s enabling a rise in digitally enabled social controls. Read the complete story.
