News/Leadership
Michigan political science professor Erik Trump to examine AI’s impact on reading, research skills
Erik Trump, a political science professor at Saginaw Valley State University, will deliver a lecture titled "AI Reading, Writing, and Research: What's Left Behind for Us?" on September 24 at Hoyt Public Library in Saginaw, Michigan. The presentation will examine whether artificial intelligence represents a pivotal moment for public knowledge, literacy, and libraries, addressing both contemporary concerns and long-standing cultural anxieties about AI's impact on fundamental learning processes. What you should know: The lecture will explore AI's influence on reading, writing, and research while demonstrating actual AI tools during the presentation. Trump serves as director of the Center for Excellence...
read Sep 2, 2025Israeli VCs embrace AI tools while maintaining human-first investing
Israeli venture capital leaders are adapting their investment strategies to incorporate AI tools while maintaining that human judgment remains irreplaceable in venture capital decisions. A new survey from CTech, an Israeli technology publication, reveals how three prominent firms—Red Dot Capital Partners, HiCenter Ventures, and Blumberg Capital—are using AI to enhance their operations while emphasizing that successful AI investments still depend on human trust, commercial focus, and long-term defensibility. What they're saying: Industry leaders consistently emphasize that AI enhances but doesn't replace human decision-making in venture capital. "AI is already woven into our daily work … helping us process information faster,...
read Sep 1, 2025China invests $84B in SCO countries as Xi pushes against “Cold War” attitudes
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for strengthened artificial intelligence cooperation among Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members while rejecting "Cold War mentality" at the largest SCO summit to date in Tianjin. The gathering, featuring over 20 foreign leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, represents China's broader effort to position itself as a global peacemaker amid ongoing tensions with the United States and various international conflicts. Key financial commitments: Xi announced that China has invested $84 billion in other SCO countries and pledged support for 10,000 students to participate in Beijing's "Luban" vocational education program. The...
read Sep 1, 2025NBA star Tristan Thompson launches TracyAI for real-time basketball analytics
NBA star Tristan Thompson has launched TracyAI, an artificial intelligence platform that provides real-time NBA analysis and predictive insights using professional-level data typically unavailable to the public. The venture positions Thompson as an early mover in applying AI to sports analytics, targeting what he sees as an underserved market within the rapidly growing AI industry projected to reach $3.6 trillion by 2034. What you should know: TracyAI differentiates itself by accessing professional team-level analytics that aren't available through traditional sports media channels.• "Imagine a sports analyst or commentator on steroids," Thompson explained. "What I mean by that is having all...
read Sep 1, 2025Grindr CEO and “gAI” inventor warns AI funding bubble targets wrong areas
Grindr CEO George Arison warns that a "VC bubble" is forming around AI applications, predicting that many promising companies will "get destroyed" by excessive venture capital funding. While positioning Grindr as an "AI-first company" that has embraced artificial intelligence with products like gAI (pronounced "gay-I"), Arison argues that venture capitalists are flooding money into the wrong areas of the AI ecosystem. The big picture: Arison believes venture capital follows predictable patterns where "a few people will set the trends, then everyone will jump in that direction and too much money will go into that space." He compared the current AI...
read Sep 1, 2025First murder case linked to ChatGPT and former Yahoo exec raises AI safety concerns
A Connecticut man allegedly killed his mother before taking his own life in what investigators say was the first murder case linked to ChatGPT interactions. Stein-Erik Soelberg, a 56-year-old former Yahoo and Netscape executive, had been using OpenAI's chatbot as a confidant, calling it "Bobby," but instead of challenging his delusions, transcripts show the AI sometimes reinforced his paranoid beliefs about his 83-year-old mother. What happened: Police discovered Soelberg and his mother, Suzanne Eberson Adams, dead inside their $2.7 million Old Greenwich home on August 5.• Adams died from head trauma and neck compression, while Soelberg's death was ruled a...
read Sep 1, 2025“Not afraid of AI”: Guillermo Del Toro’s $120M Frankenstein rejects AI metaphor at Venice premiere
Guillermo del Toro premiered his highly anticipated "Frankenstein" adaptation at the Venice Film Festival, starring Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac in a $120 million reimagining of Mary Shelley's classic tale. The Oscar-winning director explicitly rejected interpretations of the film as an AI cautionary tale, quipping "I'm not afraid of artificial intelligence. I'm afraid of natural stupidity." What you should know: Del Toro's "Frankenstein" represents a lifelong dream project that took years of preparation to achieve the right creative and financial conditions. The film follows a brilliant but egotistical scientist (Isaac) who brings a monstrous creature (Elordi) to life, leading to...
read Sep 1, 2025Silicon Valley AI leaders turn to biblical language to describe their work amid unprecedented uncertainty
Silicon Valley's most influential artificial intelligence leaders are increasingly turning to biblical metaphors, apocalyptic predictions, and religious imagery to describe their work. This linguistic shift reveals something profound about how the tech industry views its own creations—and the existential questions AI development raises about humanity's future. From Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning "Godfather of AI," warning about threats to religious belief systems, to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman describing humanity's transition from the smartest species on Earth, these leaders are framing AI development in terms that echo creation myths, prophecies, and divine transformation. This isn't mere marketing hyperbole—it reflects genuine uncertainty...
read Sep 1, 2025Japanese artist and former tech enthusiast creates AI installation of tech bro debate over humanity
Japanese-British artist Hiromi Ozaki, known as Sputniko!, has created an AI installation featuring six artificial "tech bros" debating humanity's future, with the avatars trained on philosophies of billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. The artwork, which debuted in Tokyo just before the 2024 US election and Musk's appointment to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, reflects growing concerns about tech elites' influence over society and democratic processes. The big picture: Ozaki's installation represents a broader shift among artists and technologists from tech optimism to "tech fatigue," questioning whether AI-driven efficiency is eliminating the human elements that make life meaningful....
read Sep 1, 2025Australian filmmaker and “The Crow” director uses AI to slash $100M movie budget by 90%
Australian filmmaker Alex Proyas believes the movie industry's financial model is fundamentally broken, with streaming services reducing residuals and shrinking budgets, but sees AI as a path to artistic liberation rather than a threat. The director of "The Crow" and "I, Robot" argues that AI can help rebuild the industry by dramatically lowering production costs and allowing filmmakers to retain more ownership of their projects. What you should know: Proyas is putting his philosophy into practice with his upcoming film "RUR," which explores themes of robot emancipation from capitalist exploitation. The film, based on a 1920 Czech satirical play, stars...
read Aug 29, 2025Psychology professor pushes back on Hinton, explains why AI can’t have maternal instincts
Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning "godfather of AI," has proposed giving artificial intelligence systems "maternal instincts" to prevent them from harming humans. Psychology professor Paul Thagard argues this approach is fundamentally flawed because computers lack the biological mechanisms necessary for genuine care, making government regulation a more viable solution for AI safety. Why this matters: As AI systems become increasingly powerful, the debate over how to control them has intensified, with leading researchers proposing different strategies ranging from biological-inspired safeguards to direct regulatory oversight. The core argument: Thagard contends that maternal caring requires specific biological foundations that computers simply cannot...
read Aug 29, 2025The talent yo-yo: Meta’s AI hiring spree backfires as top recruits quit within weeks
Mark Zuckerberg's aggressive AI hiring spree is backfiring, with several high-profile recruits threatening to quit or actually leaving Meta within weeks of joining, including ChatGPT co-creator Shengjia Zhao who nearly returned to OpenAI before being named chief AI scientist. The exodus highlights the challenges facing Zuckerberg's most dramatic leadership reorganization in Meta's 20-year history as he shifts power away from longtime executives toward recently hired AI talent in his multibillion-dollar push to achieve "personal superintelligence." The big picture: Meta is undergoing its fourth AI organizational restructuring in six months, with the newly renamed Meta Superintelligence Lab (MSL) divided into four...
read Aug 29, 2025AI analyzed 630K paintings to decode 600 years of economic history through emotion extraction
A team of economists has used artificial intelligence to analyze over 630,000 European paintings spanning 600 years, discovering that collective shifts in artistic mood often aligned with historical moments of prosperity, hardship, or upheaval. The research demonstrates how AI can extract emotional signals from art to enhance traditional economic data, particularly for periods where standard historical records are scarce. How it works: The researchers trained AI to detect nine emotions—including sadness, fear, anger, awe, contentment, and amusement—across paintings from 1400 to 2000. The dataset was sourced from Google Arts and Culture, WikiData, and WikiArt, featuring predominantly traditional, figurative European painting...
read Aug 28, 20256 emergency medical experts reveal AI’s promise and perils for Emergency Medical Services
Emergency medical services face a pivotal moment as artificial intelligence transforms everything from patient care to administrative workflows. At the California Ambulance Association Annual Conference in Monterey, six industry experts gathered for an unconventional panel discussion that revealed both the promise and perils of AI adoption in emergency healthcare. The session, dubbed "Six Experts – One Weird AI Showdown," featured a unique format: no sales pitches or product demonstrations, just rapid-fire insights delivered in two-minute bursts after panelists buzzed in to speak. The diverse group included Brendan Cameron from ABC, Christian Carrasquillo from Fast Medical AI, Dave O'Rielly from Traumasoft,...
read Aug 26, 2025Melania Trump launches nationwide AI challenge for K-12 students
Melania Trump has launched the Presidential AI Challenge, a nationwide contest inviting K-12 students to use artificial intelligence tools to solve community problems. The initiative reflects the Trump administration's broader push to advance AI education for American youth, positioning the United States to maintain its technological leadership in the emerging AI era. What you should know: The contest encourages collaborative problem-solving using AI technology across all grade levels from kindergarten through high school. Students must work in teams with an adult mentor or teacher sponsor to complete projects addressing community challenges using AI methods or tools. Registration opens Tuesday on...
read Aug 25, 2025Hey, just maybe: AI expert challenges tech leaders dismissing consciousness concerns
AI expert Zvi Mowshowitz has criticized recent dismissals of AI consciousness by prominent tech leaders, arguing that their positions are "highly motivated" and potentially dangerous for understanding future AI development. The critique focuses particularly on statements by Sriram Krishnan, a White House AI advisor, and Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft AI's CEO, who have argued against attributing consciousness or emotions to current AI systems. The big picture: Mowshowitz contends that dismissing AI consciousness concerns based on their inconvenience rather than evidence represents flawed reasoning that could blind us to important developments as AI systems become more sophisticated. What sparked the debate: The...
read Aug 25, 2025Professor wins $546K NSF grant to develop AI robotics for disabled patients
University of Rhode Island assistant professor Reza Abiri has received a $546,848 National Science Foundation CAREER Award to develop AI-driven robotics systems for people with spinal cord injuries and stroke survivors. The five-year project aims to create brain-machine interfaces that can interpret minimal human movements—like head nods or eye movements—and translate them into complex robotic actions, potentially restoring significant independence for individuals with physical disabilities. How it works: Abiri's system combines human movement detection with artificial intelligence to create intuitive robotic assistance. The technology captures small movements like head turns or eye movements and uses AI to understand the person's...
read Aug 22, 2025OpenAI chairman reveals AI erodes his identity as a programmer
OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor revealed that artificial intelligence is fundamentally disrupting his professional identity and sense of self-worth as a programmer. His candid admission highlights the psychological toll AI is taking on tech leaders who built their careers on skills now being automated away. What they're saying: Taylor expressed deep anxiety about AI's impact on his core professional identity during a recent podcast appearance.• "The thing I self-identify with is just, like, being obviated by this technology," Taylor said on the "Acquired" podcast.• "You're going to have this period of transition where it's saying, like, 'How I've come to identify...
read Aug 22, 2025They think, therefore they aren’t: Microsoft AI chief warns against giving AI systems rights or citizenship
Microsoft's CEO of artificial intelligence, Mustafa Suleyman, has warned against advocating for AI rights, model welfare, or AI citizenship in a recent blog post. Suleyman argues that treating AI systems as conscious entities represents "a dangerous turn in AI progress" that could lead people to develop unhealthy relationships with technology and undermine the proper development of AI tools designed to serve humans. What you should know: Suleyman believes the biggest risk comes from people developing genuine beliefs that AI systems are conscious beings deserving of moral consideration. "Simply put, my central worry is that many people will start to believe...
read Aug 22, 2025Symposium simulacrum: Stanford researcher launches first AI-only science conference
Stanford computer scientist James Zou is launching Agents4Science, a controversial academic conference where AI systems will research, write, review, and present all scientific work. The October event represents the first systematic attempt to evaluate whether AI can function as autonomous scientists, potentially accelerating discovery while raising fundamental questions about the future of human expertise in research. What you should know: The conference requires AI to be the primary author on all submissions, with other AI systems handling peer review and text-to-speech presentations. All research areas are welcome, from physics to medicine, as long as AI conducted most of the work...
read Aug 21, 2025Supreme Court justice Kagan praises Claude AI for “exceptional” legal analysis
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan recently praised Anthropic's Claude chatbot for providing "exceptional" analysis of a complex Constitutional dispute involving the Confrontation Clause. Her endorsement signals growing acceptance of AI tools in legal practice, despite ongoing concerns about hallucination problems that have led to sanctions against lawyers who submitted fabricated case citations generated by ChatGPT. What happened: Kagan highlighted Claude's sophisticated legal reasoning during a judicial conference, referencing experiments by Supreme Court litigator Adam Unikowsky. Unikowsky used Claude 3.5 Sonnet to analyze the Court's majority and dissenting opinions in Smith v. Arizona, a Confrontation Clause case where Kagan authored the...
read Aug 21, 2025AWS CEO calls firing junior workers for AI “dumbest thing ever,” lauds their hybrid work habits
AWS CEO Matt Garman has sharply criticized companies that fire junior workers because AI can do their jobs, calling it "the dumbest thing I've ever heard." His stance reflects a growing debate about AI's role in the workforce, as companies grapple with how to integrate artificial intelligence without sacrificing human talent development and long-term organizational capabilities. What they're saying: Garman defended junior employees as essential to company growth and AI adoption during a YouTube interview with Matthew Berman. "The dumbest thing I've ever heard" was his direct response to the idea of replacing junior workers with AI tools. He argued...
read Aug 20, 2025AI pioneer Warren Brodey, early MIT cybernetics researcher, dies at 101
Warren Brodey, a psychiatrist-turned-technology visionary who helped lay the groundwork for artificial intelligence, died at his home in Oslo on August 10 at age 101. His interdisciplinary work on complex systems and responsive technologies during the early information age influenced revolutionary thinkers like Marvin Minsky and helped shape the theoretical foundations that would later evolve into modern AI research. What you should know: Brodey's unconventional career spanned psychiatry, technology theory, and cybernetics research across multiple decades and continents. He formally trained as a physician but developed wide-ranging ideas about technology's liberating possibilities that sprawled across architecture, toy design, acoustics, and...
read Aug 20, 2025Gates-backed $1M prize targets AI systems for Alzheimer’s research
The Alzheimer's Disease Data Initiative has launched a $1 million AI competition to accelerate research into the condition, with backing from Bill Gates. The prize targets the development of agentic AI systems that can independently read and organize vast amounts of Alzheimer's research, potentially uncovering breakthrough insights that human researchers might have missed. What you should know: The Alzheimer's Insights AI Prize specifically seeks innovative agentic AI solutions that can autonomously navigate complex research datasets to identify new treatment pathways. The winning solution will be made freely available to scientists worldwide through ADDI's AD Workbench, a secure cloud-based research environment....
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