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Military AI, China & fake authors
A few new developments to be concerned about
Jack Shields
November 28, 2023
Welcome back!
We have some huge news today related to autonomous weapons, China’s involvement with AI firms and synthetic media.
Let’s get right to it.
In today’s Daily Update:
🗞️ Pentagon accelerates development of AI weapons
🤖 Concerns emerge over AI firm’s ties to China
📸 Sports Illustrated allegedly publishes articles by fake AI authors
🚨 AI Roundup: Three quick hits
Read time: 2.5 minutes
TOP STORY
🗞️ Pentagon accelerates development of AI weapons
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The Pentagon just launched an ambitious “Replicator” initiative to develop thousands of AI-enabled autonomous vehicles by 2026 to keep pace with China.
What you should know:
Replicator is expected to accelerate decisions on which AI tech and weapons systems are trustworthy enough to deploy.
Industry experts and Pentagon officials say the U.S. will have lethal autonomous weapons within the next few years.
Officials insist that humans will remain in control, but experts think full autonomy is inevitable.
Rivaling countries like China, Russia and Iran have not signed a U.S.-initiated pledge to use military AI responsibly.
Why it matters: Lethal autonomous weapons systems will require comprehensive oversight to ensure that they are used responsibly. Some experts are concerned that rapid AI development may outpace the military’s ability to rigorously test systems before deploying them.
AI INSIGHT
🤖 Concerns emerge over AI firm’s ties to China
G42 Chariman Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed (center). Source: Reuters
The CIA and other American spy agencies have issued warnings about the Emirati firm G42’s work with large Chinese companies.
What you need to know:
G42 is an AI firm controlled by the sheikh that has partnered with Silicon Valley firms like Cerebras and OpenAI.
American officials believe that G42 is hiding the extent of its work with China. They fear the firm could be siphoning advanced American tech to Chinese companies or the government.
Intelligence reports also warn that G42’s involvement with Chinese firms could be a pipeline for the genetic data of millions of Americans.
The CIA produced a classified profile of Peng Xiao, the chief executive of G42, who renounced his American citizenship for an Emirati one.
Why you should care: AI is a new frontier in U.S. efforts to limit China’s influence in the Middle East. While concerns about AI’s broader impacts on humanity are warranted, maybe we should be more concerned about who owns and controls cutting-edge AI technology.
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
📸 Sports Illustrated allegedly publishes articles by fake AI authors
Source: The Verge
Sports Illustrated published articles attributed to fake AI-generated authors according to new reporting by Futurism.
The details:
The authors include “Drew Ortiz,” who’s “spent much of his life outdoors,” and “Sora Tanaka,” who is “a fitness guru and loves to dry different food and drinks.”
Futurism found the authors’ headshots for sale on an AI-generated image website.
After Futurism reached out to The Arena Group, which publishes Sports Illustrated, the writers’ bylines disappeared.
Disclaimers now read: “This content is generated by a 3rd party. The Sports Illustrated editorial staff is not involved in the creation of this content.”
The relevance: It’s fairly easy to spot AI-generated content that publishers pass off as human work right now. As the technology continues to evolve, publishers that cut corners may contribute to the concerning rise of AI-driven misinformation and misleading content.
MORE TRENDING NEWS
🚨 AI Roundup: Three quick hits
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THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY