Should advanced AIs be granted legal rights?

Makers of AI browsers make lofty promises. With a single prompt, users can ask one to find a restaurant in a particular part of town, reserve a table, invite a colleague to lunch, and email a confirmation. These makers are much more reticent about the risks of blurring the once fine line between browsing sites…

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says only the United States is up to the task of keeping AI safe – but it’s unclear why technology rivals, notably China, would heed an American standards body. Hassabis has called for a framework for testing frontier models, on the grounds that he believes progress has been faster than…

Every so often, I meet a CIO who tells me their team has consolidated numerous legacy data sources into a single new platform, and its worst data integration challenges will now be a thing of the past. Unfortunately, the reality is quite different. More often than not, much of the organization’s data resides in…

Apple may be getting ready to let you pay off your next iPhone, iPad, or Mac in installments. The company is reportedly planning to introduce a new financing option called “Apple Upgrade” in the US on July 28 in partnership with Klarna, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Payment terms may vary by device Gurman says…

In a major step forward for neurobiology and bioelectronics, scientists at Northwestern University have created a wireless device that uses light to transmit information directly into the brain. The technology bypasses traditional sensory routes in the body and instead delivers signals straight to neurons. The device is soft and flexible, fitting beneath the scalp while…

Charli XCX might be hoping the release of her new album sets off another Brat summer, but many believe the season has already been claimed by a furrier force – Jimothy. First spotted bounding across streets in Washington, the Seattle raccoon with an unusual, spindly shape and the scamper of a Tasmanian Devil has been…