The Download: explaining the recent AI panic, and digital inequality in the US
Who’s afraid of the big bad bots? A lot of people, it seems. Hundreds of scientists, business leaders, and policymakers have recently made public pronouncements or signed open letters warning of the catastrophic dangers of artificial intelligence, from deep learning pioneer Geoffrey Hinton to California congressman Ted Lieu.
We’ve been here before: AI doom follows AI hype. But this time feels different. What were once extreme views are now mainstream talking points, grabbing not only headlines but the attention of world leaders.
Has AI really become (more) dangerous? And why are the people who ushered in this tech now the ones raising the alarm? Or is the looming specter of regulation to blame? Read the full story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
If you’re interested in reading more about AI existential risk, check out the most recent edition of The Algorithm, our weekly AI newsletter written by Melissa Heikkilä—and don’t forget to sign up to receive it in your inbox every Monday.
How climate vulnerability and the digital divide are linked
Walking around low-income neighborhoods throughout the US, Monica Sanders has noticed a pattern. The adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University measures Wi-Fi speeds as part of a project drawing connections between a host of indicators at the intersection of internet availability, environmental risk, and historical racial inequity.
