Bill Gates has just joined the chorus of big names in technology who have weighed in on the issue of risks surrounding artificial intelligence. TL;DR? Don’t worry too much, we’ve been here before.
The billionaire business magnate and philanthropist made his case in a post on his personal blog GatesNotes, in which he called AI the most transformative technology any of us will see in our lifetime, ahead of the Internet, smartphones and personal computers.
His optimism is refreshing after weeks of doom. Gates is calling for swift but cautious action to address some of the damage AI is already doing to society, from elections to education and employment. The problem is that it doesn’t offer anything new. Read the whole story.
—Will Douglas Heaven
The UN has just set a net zero target for shipping. Here’s how it might work.
Ships crossing the world’s oceans are vital to our global economy: everything from the bananas in your kitchen to the car in your driveway may have traveled at some point.
But all these journeys cause pollution: the global shipping industry is responsible for more than one billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year, about 3% of the global total.
A United Nations group called the International Maritime Organization agreed earlier this month to set a goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions for global shipping by or around 2050. But the experts say there are more than enough tools available to the industry to meet, or even exceed, these new goals. Read the whole story.
—Casey Crownhart
