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Elon Musk, experts want slower AI
Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk has joined a group of AI experts and tech industry leaders in signing an open letter that called for a six-month pause in training AI systems that were more advanced than OpenAI’s GPT-4. The letter from the non-profit Future of Life Institute has been signed by over 1,000 individuals so far and urged AI creators to give regulators and safety experts time to assess the impacts of such technology on humankind before moving ahead with training advanced models.
Experts feared that AI might compete with humans, leading to dire economic and political consequences. Musk has admitted in the past that AI stressed him out and that he wanted the technology to be more carefully regulated.
Meta and Google stand before Brazil’s SC
Facebook-owner Meta and Alphabet’s Google came before Brazil’s Supreme Court to defend a law that says internet companies cannot be held responsible for content posted by users unless a court issues an order regarding the matter. The case is related to a 2017 lawsuit where a Brazilian woman sued Facebook for compensation as she wanted a user profile removed.
However, the case has larger implications for freedom of expression and its regulation in Brazil after the tense 2022 presidential elections. Meta and Google defended their actions at the time, pointing out that they removed misinformation and took down millions of pieces of misleading or violent media without being asked to do so.
UK children love TikTok and Snapchat
TikTok and Snapchat use among UK children, including toddlers as young as three or four, has increased since last year, reported media regulator Ofcom. According to the figures, half of children between the ages of three and 17 used TikTok and Snapchat. Furthermore, TikTok was reportedly used by 53% of children while Snapchat was used by 46%, when compared to 50% and 42% respectively the previous year.
The research also revealed that UK children as young as three and four were using Snapchat at increasing rates, in spite of the company’s claims that it routinely rejected tens of thousands of children trying to access its platform every month.
