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For the first two-and-a-half years of the generative AI revolution, the AI arms race has been waged between competing companies seeking to make bank from the promise and potential of the technology. But things are maturing in the AI worldand with it, theres another frontline for AI: the military. Scale AI, the company set up by Alexandr Wang, has been awarded what CNBC reports is a multimillion-dollar deal to help develop Thunderforge, which the U.S. Department of Defense calls an initiative designed to integrate artificial intelligence into military operational and theater-level planning, and fusing cutting-edge modeling and simulation tools. Wang told CNBC that our AI solutions will transform todays military operating process and modernize American defense and that they will provide our nations military leaders with the greatest technological advantage. The move is unsurprisingmilitaries are always keen on keeping at the cutting edge of technology, trying to eke out an advantage against competitive armiesbut disappointing, says Margaret Mitchell, researcher and chief ethics scientist at Hugging Face, an AI company. We already know we’re moving forward to push AI systems farther and farther out from our control, she says. Many in the industry and in the media are treating more and more powerful systems as if they are inevitable, and therefore making it so. Mitchell adds that technology has always relied on military clientele to act as a crucible for, and accelerant of, new innovation. Military use has long been a staple of technological development, she says. Massively destructive outcomes are fully predictable based on history and how the tech marketplace works. (Scale AI declined to comment. The Defense Department did not respond to Fast Company‘s request for comment.) That level of destruction could be catastrophic, argues David Krueger, assistant professor at the University of Montreal, studying AI safety and risk. I think its likely to lead to the end of humanity, to human extinction, he says, speaking generally about the use of AI for military purposes, calling the military use of AI one of the most obvious ways in which AI poses an existential risk to humanity. Krueger says that AI is being used in many areas to hand off human control and outsource it to AI systems. I think this is a risk in every domain, and I think in the military, its particularly concerning, and something which will require international collaboration to avoid getting out of hand and risking human extinction. Scale AI has said that the Thunderforge program will operate with human oversight, and Noah Sylvia, a research analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), points out that as AI functions go, I would say it is not as controversial as a lot of other ones, because this is what you could term an enterprise function. Scale AI is far from the only company to ink a deal with the U.S. military to leverage the power of AI to support such activities. A number of companies have also agreed terms to provide their AI technology for military purposes. I think part of the reaction is because they started out in a very civilian-oriented company, and over the past few months, especially, we’ve seen all of these civilian companies suddenly turn towards defense more, says Sylvia. Indeed, the press release by the Defense Innovation Unit announcing Scale AIs deal for Thunderforge points out the same program will also include Andurils Lattice software platform and state of the art LLMs enabled by Microsoft. I struggle to see a way out of it, says Hugging Face’s Mitchell. Even if individual countries or companies were to decide to step aside from using AI for military purposes, or to decline to provide support to countries that are seeking military AIas Hugging Face has refused to do in the pastothers would likely step into the breach. We need some ability to coordinate to prevent actors from building AI systems, says the University of Montreal’s Krueger. I think that should bein factthe number-one priority in foreign policy for every country at this point because its an incredibly important issue, and its going to be difficult to address it. Developing cross-country guidelines for how to consider the use of AI in military environments will be vital in the future, says Mitchell. She suggests a multipoint plan that includes keeping AI systems within strict operational boundaries, making it impossible for systems to autonomously deploy weapons, introducing safety mechanisms, and advancing whats deemed state of the art in input data analysis and output evaluation to gain a deeper understanding into what systems can and cannot do. She also has two simpler suggestions. Do not deploy technology whose actions you cannot reasonably foresee, she says. And secondly: Do not fully cede human control.
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Most of us want to remain in our existing homes as we grow older. The practice of aging in place aligns with preferences for familiar places and routines and preserves our sense of independence. These preferences, though, raise questions about what support seniors want and need in their current homes. Japan has advanced the use of robotics specifically for this purpose, with mixed results. Despite these early results, the continued development of robotics and artificial intelligence to assist those aging in place seems obvious. Whats less obvious is how seniors foresee AI and robots living alongside them and what specifically they envision these things doing.To better understand how seniors want AIs and robots to help in their homes, we asked them. We recruited seniors from the MIT AgeLabs research cohorteach around 70 years old and in the early stages of retirementand then engaged in wide-ranging conversations about their aspirations and fears about these technologies. This framework distinguishes between digital and physical AIs and outlines the key ways theyre meant to help people in their homes. [Image: courtesy Teague] During these conversations, we explored various forms of both digital and physical AIeverything from digital assistants to handy robotseach with different capabilities and limitations. The result: Here are four types of AIs that could operate in the future lives of seniors at home, along with what present-day seniors think of them, and the key considerations well need to account for when designing them. Advisor AI A digital presence that suggests solutions to problems, surfaces opportunities, and helps its person remember to do things. Examples: The AI helps verify the veracity of unfamiliar communications like scam phone calls; identifies activities of interest and assists in planning how to participate; offers timely reminders to take medications; and prompts calls to friends and family members on their birthdays. What seniors think: Thanks to established assistants like Amazons Alexa and Apples Siri, seniors say theyre already familiar with this form of AI, both inside and outside their homes, and can easily anticipate its further evolution. Moving forward, though, seniors want more from the Advisor archetype. They want the Advisor to go beyond pragmatic help with reminders about daily life and grow into helping them with their social well-being. This will mean providing actionable support with emotional concerns, especially social isolation, by surfacing and facilitating a seniors human connections. Butler Robot AI A physical presence that attends to its person by assisting with dynamic needs, such as deliveries, health, and home monitoring. Examples: The AI robot lifts a delivery from the porch to the foyer; assists in turning off the water at the source of a leak in the kitchen; and renders assistanceand summons help, if neededin the event of a fall. What seniors think: Due to the confluence of connected personal devices like smartwatches and earbuds with connected home devices such as smart thermostats and automated lighting, seniors believe there are increasingly complex interactions between their bodies and their homes. So they see how an AI robot helping to manage these complexities could reduce their cognitive load. They also acknowledge, though, that this form of AI in the home is far from simple in its creation and requires a lot of features and expansive capabilities. Just like a human butler, here theres a distinct possibility of robots just for rich people, which will require breakthroughs in manufacturability and new business models to avoid. Conductor AI A digital presence that operates connected systems of modules such as wheeled porters and object lifters. Examples: The AI responds to voice commands to transport meals from the kitchen to the living room with a wheeled porter; elevates an adjustable-height table adjacent to the dryer to ease folding clothes; and summons an autonomous vacuum to address a spill. What seniors think: This is a challenging archetype for seniors to conceptualize in their homes since it exists beyond any present-day solutions. Nonetheless, theyre compelled by the prospect of an overarching, digital administrator of a set of modular, task-driven devices. Perhaps because its the least familiar to them in terms of having existing corollaries, seniors are less confident in speculative interactions with this archetype because an AI with a lot of control must earn a lot of trust. At the same time, they see this form of AI as capable of adapting to their changing physical needs as they age simply through the addition of new connected devices. This will mean creating sets of modules that can be added and subtracted, potentially through subscription models. Valet Robot AI A physical presence that attends to its person by helping with everyday tasks, such as cleaning, dressing, and grooming. Examples: The AI robot replaces a light bulb in high-ceiling recessed lighting; helps a person put on their socks and pants; cleans everyday surfaces such as kitchen and bath countertops; and dusts bookshelves and framed prints. What seniors think: Seniors equate the possibilities of this form of AI in the home with early home robots such as iRobots Roomba vacuum. While the focus of this archetype is on everyday tasks that include common housecleaning (versus the dynamic tasks of the Butler Robot AI archetype), it also includes help with everyday personal tasks like dressing and grooming. Interestingly, here seniors have some concerns about this form of AI helping in ways that bring it into physical contact with their bodies. This will require forms of this AI that are aesthetically compatible with seniors for such personal interactions.
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For regretful Tesla owners who don’t want fellow motorists to mistake the vehicle theyre driving as a show of support for CEO Elon Musk, they can always try rebadging it. While sales of anti-Musk bumper stickers with messages like I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy have surged since President Donald Trump’s election win last November, some Tesla owners are opting for a disguise instead. Looking for a visual way to distance themselves from Trump’s biggest campaign donorwho now leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)some owners have pulled Tesla badges off their cars and replaced them with other automakers branding marks. View this post on Instagram A post shared by COURIER (@couriernewsroom) Photos on social media show cars with the distinctive, streamlined Tesla silhouette carrying badges for Mazda, Honda, Audi, and Rivian Others have opted to take the Tesla branding off and leave their vehicle blank. Once every symbol that they put on there is gone, the whole thing becomes more clearly, I think, a statement, Jordan Schwartz, a man who removed Tesla badges from his Model Y and from a friend’s car in the Seattle area, told KUOW. [Image: Tesla] How to remove your Tesla badge Tesla’s own service manual says to remove its badges, position a monofilament line, which can be used for fishing, under a corner of the badge and make a sawing motion to remove it; clean off any remaining residue with isopropyl alcohol wipes. Online, Tesla owners are sharing their own tips. Many recommend using a heat gun or hairdryer to pull the badges off more easily, and one commenter on a Reddit thread claimed he used dental floss. Finding replacement badges from other car brands can be as simple as searching on Amazon and eBay. While such disguises might not fool everyone, some Tesla owners see reason to take a symbol that’s become a political target off their vehicles. Since Musk’s taken a very public role in slashing government agencies, Tesla showrooms have become protest zones, and Tesla vehicles and charging stations have been vandalized. Tesla’s stock price has also suffered, with the carmaker losing more than half its value since December. Drivers don’t always notice details about the cars around them, but keep your eyes peeled. The Mazda 3 or Honda Civic you’re sitting behind in traffic might actually be a Tesla in disguise.
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