The Download: an AI safety hotline, and tech for farmers

—Kevin Frazier is an assistant professor at St. Thomas University College of Law and senior research fellow in the Constitutional Studies Program at the University of Texas at Austin.

In the past couple of years, regulators have been caught off guard again and again as tech companies compete to launch ever more advanced AI models. As it stands, it seems there’s little anyone can do to delay or prevent the release of a model that poses excessive risks.

Existing measures to mitigate AI risks aren’t enough to protect us, so we need new approaches. One could be a kind of AI safety hotline tasked with expert volunteers. Read more about how the hotline could work.

African farmers are using private satellite data to improve crop yields

In many developing countries, farming is impaired by lack of data. For centuries, farmers relied on native intelligence rooted in experience and hope.

Now, farmers in Africa are turning to technology to avoid cycles of heavy crop losses that could spell financial disaster. They’re partnering with EOS Data Analytics, a California-based provider of satellite imagery and data for precision farming, which allows them to track where or when specific spots needed attention on various farms—and even to anticipate weather warnings. Read the full story.

—Orji Sunday

This piece is from the latest print issue of MIT Technology Review, which is celebrating 125 years of the magazine! If you don’t already, subscribe now to get 25% off future copies once they land.