Columbus, OH

May Webb sees her first hum standing at a bus stop, and mistakes it for a sculpture. One year later, in the anxious “now” of Helen Phillips’ new novel Hum, AI-based robots called “hums” have taken over many jobs, or rendered them obsolete (May’s job working on AI communications has been erased). In fact, as the novel opens, a hum is performing facial recognition obscuring surgery on May’s face. May is being paid well to be a guinea pig in this test, a choice she may come to regret. Reading Hum is like shifting your perspective a couple of years into a dystopian future. Everything could turn out this way. In fact, it seems likely this is where we might be headed, based on the current state of climate change, artificial intelligence, surveillance, and government control.

Helen Phillips on Writing Speculative Fiction in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

New York City, NY

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Cheryl E Preston

Yesterday was the third time this year that an ad stating Chelsea Clinton lives in a beautiful Virginia home popped up on my laptop. My computer did not warn me this was a dangerous site, so this time, I clicked on the link.

Chelsea Clinton is rumored to be living in Virginia but probably still in NYC

There have been a lot of beneficiaries of the AI boom — phones, cars, people who are too exhausted to read emails — but none as surprising as the world of robotics. With the help of large language models like ChatGPT, companies like Figure are imbuing their bots with personality or supercharging their ability to understand multi-step commands. From Nvidia to Tesla’s Optimus, there’s clearly a robot renaissance happening and chatbots are firmly at the middle of it.

Google Shows Off AI-Powered Robots That Are Ready To Serve

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Violeen KM

Once a figment of science fiction, personal robots are now an integral part of our everyday lives. As technology advances at an unprecedented pace, robots that were once confined to the realm of movies and novels are becoming a reality in our homes. This shift from science fiction to fact is transforming not only the way we live but also how we interact with technology.

Robots in Our Homes: From Sci-Fi to Reality

Business Insider

Mark Zuckerberg on Monday predicted a future where hundreds of millions of people regularly wear AI-powered smart glasses like Meta's Ray-Bans.

Mark Zuckerberg predicts a future where nearly everyone is wearing AI-powered smart glasses

A U.K.-based organization supporting parents who are not giving their children smartphones was founded in February and has expanded internationally to the U.S., Canada, and more. The popularity of the movement is driven by research showing the link between mental health issues in children and smartphone and social media use.

A growing number of parents are refusing to give their children smartphones — and the movement is going global

As differentiated as AI startups try to be, the market has undeniably become crowded.

In an oversaturated market for AI companies, these startups have the best shot at surviving

Afrotech

Google has pulled a recent 2024 Olympics ad after being accused of promoting the use of AI technology in place of creativity. In an ad titled “Dear Sydney,” a father narrates his journey to using the platform to help his daughter write a letter to U.S. hurdler and sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who just so happens… Continue reading Google Pulls Gemini ‘Dear Sydney’ Ad For The 2024 Olympics Following Backlash Regarding AI

Google Pulls Gemini ‘Dear Sydney’ Ad For The 2024 Olympics Following Backlash Regarding AI

If you’ve spent any time on Facebook recently you’ve seen the river of AI slop. There’s the homeless vet with the badly worded sign, cops carrying massive bibles, and—of course—Shrimp Jesus. Why is Facebook full of this stuff? Because there’s money in it, of course.

Facebook’s Twisted Incentives Created Its AI Slop Era

“Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”. Hangings will do that sort of thing: concentrate the mind. But how about a moral hanging? Does it concentrate the mind? And what is a moral hanging anyway?. First...

Should Humanity Pay the Ultimate Price For Its Crimes Against Nature?

“Perhaps it isn’t such a big deal if the algorithm knows me well enough…but what if that kind of surveillance is taken to its logical extreme?” Helen Phillips on writing speculative fiction in the age of AI. | Lit Hub In Conversation. Take it from a life-long...

Lit Hub Daily: August 6, 2024

Cumulative emissions matter the most for longer-lived gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. Cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide since 1850 are about two and a half trillion tons—from all the coal mines ever dug, all the oil and gas ever burned, and all the net losses of carbon in trees and soils from deforestation, agriculture, and other changes on land. A trillion tons is an unfathomable number—about three million Empire State buildings worth of mass.

Why Methane Removal Might Be Our Best Bet to Stop Rising Global Temperatures

Herbie J Pilato

It's been five years since the tragic death of acclaimed actor René Auberjonois at 79 from metastatic lung cancer in 2009. René Auberjonois was known for several heralded television performances on shows such as Benson, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Boston Legal.

The Tragic Death of TV's Beloved 'Star Trek' and 'Benson' Actor René Auberjonois: Five Years Later

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge has branded Google as a ruthless monopolist bent on suffocating its competitors. But how do you go about creating alternatives to a search engine that’s synonymous with internet exploration?. It’s a process that may take years to unfold as Google appeals...

A judge has branded Google a monopolist, but AI may bring about quicker change in internet search

South Carolina State

Explore Beaufort SC

The mantis shrimp is one tough customer. Beautiful and deadly are two words you don’t typically use to describe shrimp, but the mantis shrimp is definitely in a class of its own; earning a reputation as the ‘savage boxer of the sea’ and one of the most fearsome creatures in the ocean. And, they're right at home here in South Carolina.

Savage Boxer of the Sea: The Deadly Beauty of Mantis Shrimp

NewsNinja

A vegetarian Chipotle customer said a worker added meat to her bowl—despite her asking for no protein—and refused to remake the order. Her video sparked outrage in the comments section and amassed over 190,000 views before it was removed from the platform.

‘I don’t eat meat: Woman says Chipotle worker refused to remake her bowl after putting meat in it.

Leaked documents obtained by 404 Media reveal that AI-powering chip giant Nvidia has been quietly scraping astronomical numbers of YouTube video data to train its AI models — a legally and ethically murky decision that adds to the ever-growing pile of deeply questionable, and often very secretive, AI training practices by entities ranging from startups to corporate giants.

Nvidia Caught Stealing Mind-Boggling Quantity of YouTube Videos to Train AI

The report, The 2024 Retail AI Index, Serves as a Critical Benchmark for Understanding the Impact of AI in Retail. Amazon, Walmart, and Stitch Fix top an industry-first index ranking the 100 leading retailers and brands that are embracing AI to drive impact across their organizations. The inaugural report, The 2024 Retail AI Index, was developed by Lily AI, a technology platform specializing in AI solutions for retailers and brands, in partnership with global analytics and strategy consultancy, Radii Group. The Retail AI Index is a quantitative meta-analysis of the adoption of AI technologies that benchmarked retailers in the apparel, footwear, beauty, and home segments.

Amazon, Walmart and Stitch Fix Top the 100 Leading Retailers and Brands Embracing AI Across Ecommerce, Customer Service, and Marketing, According to Inaugural Retail AI Report

Google’s massive search business violates US antitrust laws, DC District Judge Amit Mehta ruled on Monday, in a major victory for the Justice Department. The decision is a rare defeat for the tech giant after years as the dominant player in the online search industry and could fundamentally alter how people find information online.

Google search ruled a monopoly in decision that could reshape the internet

In the 1920s, Irish designer Eileen Gray built an exquisite Modernist villa on the south coast of France, an elegant, sensual house that critiqued the ideas of (in)famous architect Le Corbusier. The house was an instant sensation, and Corb, a friend of Gray’s partner, soon visited. He stayed more and more often and became obsessed with the place—or with Gray herself?

A Monstrous Spiral: How Narrative Form Can Bring a Story to Life

NewsBreak

Climate Change, AI, and Technological Surveillance: Reading About the Very Near Future

My impetus to write a novel arises in part from my anxieties. My anxieties (and perhaps yours, too?) in recent years include the ever-increasing effects of...

Climate Change, AI, and Technological Surveillance: Reading About the Very Near Future

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