Tech Bytes – Week in Review: Senate weighs AI regulation, Instagram launches teen accounts and AirPods aid the hard of hearing
This week, Meta announced teen accounts with a slew of new safety features. We’ve also got Apple news to talk about — no, not the latest iPhones or watches, but new functionality for AirPods that basically turns them into hearing aids.
First, though, are we ready for artificial general intelligence, or AGI, that could match or exceed human capabilities? It could be a mere one to three years away, according to testimony at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee Tuesday. A number of AI insiders spoke, including former Google and OpenAI researchers and Georgetown’s Helen Toner, who explained the stakes. “That technology will be at a minimum extraordinarily disruptive and at a maximum could lead to literal human extinction,” she said. “So I would argue that a wait-and-see approach to policy is not an option.”
Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner at Collab Capital, for her take on all this for our weekly segment “Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review.”
More on everything we talked about
“Oversight of AI: Insiders’ Perspectives” from U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary
“Senate Subcommittee Hears Testimony on Risks of AI Management” from Broadband Breakfast
“OpenAI whistleblowers ask SEC to investigate alleged restrictive non-disclosure agreements” from Reuters
“OpenAI Researcher Says He Quit When He Realized the Upsetting Truth” from Futurism
“California Passes Election ‘Deepfake’ Laws, Forcing Social Media Companies to Take Action” from The New York Times
“Google Splits Up a Key AI Ethics Watchdog” from Wired
“Margaret Mitchell: Google fires AI ethics founder” from BBC
“OpenAI’s long-term safety team disbands” from Axios
“Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts: Built-In Protections for Teens, Peace of Mind for Parents” from Meta
“House committee advances Kids Online Safety Act” from The Verge
“How To Use AirPods As Hearing Aids (With Screenshots)” from Soundly
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