Why You Shouldn't Fear 'Slaughterbots'

A dystopian future in which killer robots are massacring innocents is terrifying, but let’s be clear: It's very much science fictionImage: Slaughterbots/YouTubeA scene from "Slaughterbots," a film that depicts a dystopian future in which autonomous lethal drones fall into the hands of terrorists.This is a guest post. The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent positions of IEEE Spectrum or the IEEE.Killer drones in the hands of terrorists massacring in

Only most powerful iPhones will meet processing requirements to run new Siri and Apple Intelligence featuresApple’s big push into AI – which the company insists stands for “Apple Intelligence” – could spark an upgrade “supercycle”, with the intense processing requirements for the souped-up Siri limiting it to only the most powerful iPhones currently on the market.The company risks angering users who will update to iOS 18 this autumn to discover that even

What can a pipe-smoking caterpillar, a few algorithms and a researcher from the year 2042 tell us about the future of learning? The actor turned director explains all the ideas that fed into her thought-provoking new documentary‘This is a film about learning, full of questions, with not many answers,” announces Tilda Swinton at the start of her new documentary, The Hexagonal Hive and a Mouse in a Maze. “It has been dreamt up by the Derek Jarman Lab between 2016 and 2042, in con

New features and deal with OpenAI presented at conference marks change in focus for tech giant, which is under pressure to catch up with rival firms’ AI pushTim Cook, the Apple CEO, announced a series of generative artificial intelligence products and services on Monday during his keynote speech at the company’s annual developer conference, WWDC, including a deal with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.The new tools mark a major shift toward AI for Apple, which has seen slowing global sales over t

Move marks a change in focus of company, which is under pressure to catch up with rival firms’ AI pushTim Cook, the Apple CEO, announced a series of generative artificial intelligence products and services on Monday during his keynote speech at the company’s annual developer conference, WWDC.The new tools mark a major shift toward AI for Apple, which has seen slowing global sales over the past year and integrated fewer AI features into its consumer-facing products than competitors. C

Exclusive: New platform to provide same-day appointments with digital physiotherapist in effort to cut waiting timesThe first NHS AI-run physiotherapy clinic is to be rolled out this year in an effort to cut waiting times amid growing demand and staff shortages.The new platform will provide same-day automated video appointments with a digital physiotherapist via an app that responds to information provided by a patient in real time. Continue reading...

Oxford University team say thousands of lives could be saved by technology that finds hidden data in CT scansAn artificial intelligence system that can identify people who are likely to suffer heart attacks up to 10 years in the future could soon be in operation across Britain.The technology, which could save thousands of lives a year, is being assessed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) and a decision on its use in the NHS is expected by the end of the&nbs

Foreign secretary had brief video call with person claiming to be Petro Poroshenko, says Foreign OfficeThe UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has been the victim of a hoax video call with someone claiming to be Petro Poroshenko, the former president of Ukraine, it has been revealed.A number of text messages were exchanged followed by a brief video call between Lord Cameron and someone purporting to be Poroshenko, the Foreign Office said in a statement. Continue reading...

Exclusive: AI-generated footage of former PM Scott Morrison also used in more than a dozen Facebook ads that reached thousands of AustraliansImages of the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, and the foreign minister, Penny Wong, have been used in deepfake investment scam videos in the latest examples of a concerning trend of politicians being used in online fraud.The Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie and the former prime minister Scott Morrison have also had their faces used in scams through Face

Really, what can these chatbots developed by researchers at MIT teach us that Tolstoy or Lucian Freud can’t?Would our youthful selves benefit from an encounter with a decrepit and raddled 60-year-old “future you” to give us the push we need to live a better life? Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) think so. They are building an AI-powered chatbot using a digitally aged face and “plausible synthetic memories”. “Future You” will

Siwei Lyu of the DeepFake-o-meter explains how to tell when photos, videos and audio aren’t realYou – a human, presumably – are a crucial part of detecting whether a photo or video is made by artificial intelligence.There are detection tools, made both commercially and in research labs, that can help. To use these deepfake detectors, you upload or link a piece of media that you suspect could be fake, and the detector will give a percent likelihood that it was AI-generated. Cont

American Society of Clinical Oncology annual address shares ‘impressive’ findings in vaccines, drug trials and AIAt the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, the world’s largest cancer conference, doctors, scientists and researchers shared new findings on ways to tackle the disease.The event in Chicago, attended by about 44,000 health professionals, featured more than 200 sessions focused on this year’s theme, The Art and Science of Cancer Care: From

World’s largest cancer conference in Chicago shares ‘impressive’ findings in vaccines, drug trials and AIAt the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, the world’s largest cancer conference, doctors, scientists and researchers shared new findings on ways to tackle the disease.The event in Chicago, attended by about 44,000 health professionals, featured more than 200 sessions focused on this year’s theme, The Art and Science of Cancer Care: From Co

AI firms scrutinised over regulations that oversee fair competition and aim to prevent monopoliesMicrosoft, OpenAI and Nvidia face increased antitrust scrutiny of their roles in the artificial intelligence industry after a report that US regulators have reached an agreement on investigating the companies.The New York Times reported that the US justice department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have reached an agreement on investigations into the main protagonists in the AI market. The dea

US regulators open inquiry into AI firms over antitrust laws that oversee fair competitionMicrosoft, OpenAI and Nvidia face increased antitrust scrutiny of their roles in the artificial intelligence industry after US regulators reportedly reached an agreement on investigating the companies.The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have struck a deal on investigations into the main protagonists in the AI market, the New York Times reported, with the agreement expec

AI chipmaker’s stock has surged 147% so far in 2024, underscoring shift in tech world as demand for its processors far outstrip supplyShares of Nvidia rallied to record highs on Wednesday, with the artificial-intelligence chipmaker’s stock market valuation hitting the $3tn mark and overtaking Apple to become the world’s second most valuable company.The chipmaker’s stock was up 5.16% at $1,224.40, giving Nvidia a market value of $3.01tn at market close. Apple’s marke

Eric Yuan suggests technology is five or six years away and will free up time to spend with familyZoom users in the not-too-distant future could send AI avatars to attend meetings in their absence, the company’s chief executive has suggested, delegating the drudge-work of corporate life to a system trained on their own content.Such a system would be “five or six years” away, Eric Yuan told The Verge magazine, but he added that the company is working on nearer-term technologies

Scientists used an algorithm to mine ‘the entirety of the microbial diversity’ on Earth, speeding up antibiotic resistance researchA new study used machine learning to predict potential new antibiotics in the global microbiome, which study authors say marks a significant advance in the use of artificial intelligence in antibiotic resistance research.The report, published Wednesday in the journal Cell, details the findings of scientists who used an algorithm to mine the “entiret

How does age shape political views? Paul Karp, Guardian Australia’s chief political correspondent, and columnist Peter Lewis discuss how age effects views on current debates on age restrictions on social media, the age of criminal responsibility and criminalising hate speech. Based on new research on artificial intelligence in different workplaces, they also examine how voters are weighing up the risk and opportunities of this rapidly evolving technologyRead more: Continue reading...

Exclusive: Scientists at MIT hope talking to 60-year-old self will shift thinking on health, money and workIf your carefully crafted life plan has been scuppered by sofa time, bingeing on fast food, drinking too much and failing to contribute to the company pension, it may be time for a chat with your future self.Without ready access to a time machine, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have built an AI-powered chatbot that simulates a user’s older self and dish

Taiwan is the target of more disinformation from abroad than any other democracy, according to University of Gothenburg studyCharles Yeh’s battle with disinformation in Taiwan began with a bowl of beef noodles. Nine years ago, the Taiwanese engineer was at a restaurant with his family when his mother-in-law started picking the green onions out of her food. Asked what she was doing, she explained that onions can harm your liver. She knew this, she said, because she had received text message

Current and former workers sign letter warning of lack of safety oversight and calling for more protections for whistleblowersA group of current and former employees at prominent artificial intelligence companies issued an open letter on Tuesday that warned of a lack of safety oversight within the industry and called for increased protections for whistleblowers.The letter, which calls for a “right to warn about artificial intelligence”, is one of the most public statements about the

Social media has taught us that technology is neither innately good or bad. AI must be approached with this same critical mindsetFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastTech overlord Sam Altman’s legal skirmish with actor Scarlett Johansson brings the blurred lines between artificial intelligence and the world it seeks to transform into sharper focus.For those who missed it, Johansson is suing Altman&rsq

DoJ filing says president’s interview with special counsel about handling of classified documents could be ‘improperly altered’The US Department of Justice (DoJ) is making a novel legal argument to keep a recording of an interview with Joe Biden from becoming public. In a filing late last week, the bureau cited the risk of AI-generated deepfakes as one of the reasons it refuses to release audio of the president’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. The conversation

Fake video uses AI-generated audio of the movie star to disparage the Olympic CommitteeRussia is targeting the Paris Olympics with a disinformation campaign that includes deploying a deepfake Tom Cruise to narrate a documentary criticising the organisation behind the games, according to a new report from Microsoft.Microsoft said a network of Russia-affiliated groups are running “malign influence campaigns” against France, Emmanuel Macron, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and

A South Australian museum honours the man who changed the way dentistry was done ‘on a global scale’In medieval Europe, barber-surgeons might cut your hair, shave your face, do a bit of blood-letting and tend to a broken limb.They might also pull a tooth out with a “pelican” – a crude beak-like shank – or lever it out with an iron “tooth key”. By the 17th century they might just knock it out with a steel punch elevator. Continue reading...