The Obtain: Nick Clegg on electoral misinformation, and AI’s carbon footprint


That is at present’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a every day dose of what’s occurring on this planet of expertise.

Meta says AI-generated election content material will not be taking place at a “systemic stage”

Meta has seen strikingly little AI-generated misinformation across the 2024 elections regardless of main votes in international locations reminiscent of Indonesia, Taiwan, and Bangladesh, mentioned the corporate’s president of worldwide affairs, Nick Clegg, on Wednesday.

“The fascinating factor up to now—I stress, up to now—will not be how a lot however how little AI-generated content material [there is],” mentioned Clegg throughout an interview at MIT Know-how Evaluation’s EmTech Digital convention in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

As voters will head to polls this 12 months in additional than 50 international locations, specialists have raised the alarm over AI-generated political disinformation and the prospect that malicious actors will use generative AI and social media to intrude with elections. And even well-resourced tech giants like Meta are struggling to maintain up. Learn the total story.

—Melissa Heikkilä

To learn extra about elections and AI, take a look at:

+ How generative AI is boosting the unfold of disinformation and propaganda. Governments at the moment are utilizing the tech to amplify censorship. Learn the total story.

+ Eric Schmidt has a 6-point plan for preventing election misinformation. Learn the total story.

AI is an power hog. That is what it means for local weather change.

Tech corporations preserve discovering new methods to convey AI into each aspect of our lives. However the  expertise comes with rising electrical energy demand. You might have seen the headlines proclaiming that AI makes use of as a lot electrical energy as small international locations, that it’ll usher in a fossil-fuel resurgence, and that it’s already difficult the grid.

So how anxious ought to we be about AI’s electrical energy calls for? Casey Crownhart, our local weather reporter, has dug into the information. Learn the total story.

This story is from The Spark, our weekly local weather and power e-newsletter. Enroll to obtain it in your inbox each Wednesday.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the web to seek out you at present’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.

1 A second human has been identified with chicken flu 
Fortunately, the Michigan farmworker has since recovered. (NY Magazine $)
+ Shares in vaccine makers are rising because of this. (FT $)
+ Right here’s what it is advisable to know in regards to the present outbreak. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)

2 Nvidia has reported stratospheric progress
The chipmaker’s income grew a whopping 262% over the previous quarter. (FT $)
+ That’s $14 billion value of revenue. (The Verge)
+ What’s subsequent in chips. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)

3 Information Corp has struck a take care of OpenAI
Information from the media large’s newspapers will seem in ChatGPT responses. (WP $)
+ The deal is valued at greater than $250 million. (WSJ $)
+ Meta is reported to be concerned about making offers with information shops, too. (Insider $)

4  The US is planning on suing Ticketmaster
A group of states and the Justice Division will accuse it of working a monopoly. (NYT $)

5 We all know that Russia needs to place a nuke in area
However past that, particulars are fairly unclear. (Vox)
+ The way to combat a warfare in area (and get away with it) (MIT Know-how Evaluation)

6 The US Home of Consultant has handed a crypto invoice
Regardless of the Securities regulator’s misgivings. (Reuters)

7 Amazon needs a brand new problem: tackling your returns
It’s working a pilot at a number of warehouses to check if it may handle returns in addition to deliveries. (The Data $)

8 Weight reduction medication are actually costly
Their excessive price ticket is forcing docs to get inventive. (The Atlantic $)
+ Weight-loss injections have taken over the web. However what does this imply for individuals IRL? (MIT Know-how Evaluation)

9 What we lose after we use apps to hurry learn books
Squishing down books into temporary summaries doesn’t precisely make for a joyful studying expertise. (New Yorker $)

10 The way to make your cellphone give you the results you want
No extra doomscrolling! (WSJ $)
+ The way to log out. (MIT Know-how Evaluation)

Quote of the day

“The AI revolution begins with Nvidia, and in our view, the AI occasion is simply getting began.”

—Analyst Dan Ives, from Wedbush Securities, explains why traders shall be following chipmaker Nvidia much more intently after the corporate introduced blockbuster monetary outcomes, the Guardian reviews.

The massive story

The hunt to study if our mind’s mutations have an effect on psychological well being

August 2021

Scientists have struggled of their seek for particular genes behind most mind issues, together with autism and Alzheimer’s illness. Not like issues with another components of our physique, the overwhelming majority of mind dysfunction shows aren’t linked to an identifiable gene.

However a College of California, San Diego examine printed in 2001 advised a special path. What if it wasn’t a single defective gene—or perhaps a sequence of genes—that at all times prompted cognitive points? What if it might be the genetic variations between cells?

The reason had appeared far-fetched, however extra researchers have begun to take it significantly. Scientists already knew that the 85 billion to 100 billion neurons in your mind work to some extent in live performance—however what they wish to know is whether or not there’s a danger when a few of these cells is likely to be singing a special genetic tune. Learn the total story.

—Roxanne Khamsi

We are able to nonetheless have good issues

A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Obtained any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)

+ Who knew that Sting had been secretly engaged on a ferry all this time?
+ That’s some significantly spectacular skipping.
+ America is residence to a number of the most stunning practice rides on Earth.
+ This Center Earth tattoo is bonkers.



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