Let’s take a break from focusing on our incompetent leader running our government for his own benefit and turn our attention this morning to someone who seems to be his opposite.
The Wall Street Journal Magazine says its annual innovators issue “recognizes groundbreaking talents from a range of disciplines,” and it’s named Demis Hassabis this year’s technology innovator.
“Ever since he was a boy, Hassabis dreamed of building a form of artificial intelligence that would be smart enough to crack the mysteries of the universe,” says the WSJ. “When he started the research lab that became Google DeepMind, he turned his life’s obsession into the mission of his company.”
“The ultimate goal was to build AI and understand the mind, then use it to understand science,” Hassabis says. “Step one, solve intelligence. Step two, solve everything else.”
Hassabis was a chess prodigy who was one of the best players in the world for his age when he was 12. Now 50, he’s been knighted and won the Nobel Prize.
Hassabis thinks we’re two to three years away from artificial general intelligence that meets or exceeds human capability.
He says his goal is to help humanity steward AGI into the world safely and securely for the benefit of everyone.
But what about the downside of AI that it could take us humans down?
“This summer, he spent his nights agonizing over every word of a proposal for developing the technology responsibly,” says the WSJ.
Hassabis wrote that he considers AI to be miraculous — “we’ve essentially found a way to make sand think” — and so consequential that it’s more like fire or electricity than the internet.
“To make sure it doesn’t burn down civilization, he pitched an industry-funded body that would operate under federal oversight and test frontier models before they’re released. His plan was meant to be adaptable, updated in real time and ratcheted up if necessary, nimble enough to keep pace with the technology it’s trying to control,” says the WSJ.
Here is Hassabis’ Substack discussion of his proposal.
Voting rights, commentary on briefing.center
“The vote is precious. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society, and we must use it.” — late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., civil rights activist
Here are regularly updated voting rights resources for the midterm elections, on John Dineen’s briefing.center website. And here is John’s daily commentary on his briefing.center home page.
Also in the news
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House Judiciary Committee Democrats issue report on Trump-Epstein ties, call for criminal investigation of Trump
Appeals court declines to block California from counting 20,000 ballots DOJ alleges likely belong to noncitizen voters
Trump administration asks Washington state to set aside ballots from 400 voters it says may be noncitizens
Thousands of observers are expected at polling places to monitor the vote on Election Day
Justice Department brings more charges against James Comey, accusing him of leaks
Judge rules that Trump DOJ illegally fired federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, daughter of ex-FBI director
Legal analyst and former prosecutor Joyce Vance: ‘The day every judge ruled’
Heather Cox Richardson on Trump’s ‘increasingly erratic and corrupt behavior’ as he fears election loss, impeachment
Robert Reich: ‘Musk wants me imprisoned’
NYTimes: ‘AI’s rogue behavior starts with its training’
Five experts on what the rules for AI companies should be
Anthropic reveals skyrocketing growth and spending plans in its IPO filing
Smithsonian scientists create most detailed simulation yet of early universe
New book by reporter Matthew Cole connects $2 billion in slush funds from Gulf leaders to Jared Kushner in effort to influence U.S. policy
NYTimes: Bob Woodward memoir is a condemnation of Jeff Bezos by his most famous employee
Microsoft offers buyouts to about 60,000 employees to contain costs as it spends hundreds of billions on AI data centers and chips
Four medical societies publish first unified women’s cardiovascular health framework
You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
Senate Majority Leader John Thune