Welcome to the Daily AI News Podcast.
Seems like every day there's some crazy AI thing happening.
Sometimes it feels like more questions than answers.
Yeah, it's been a wild week for AI news, that's for sure.
Captured everyone's attention.
Maybe made a few people nervous too.
Yeah, for sure.
Today we're doing a deep dive on some of the recent events.
Makes you wonder if that whole sci-fi thing
is getting a little too real.
It's definitely blurring the lines, that's for sure.
We've got a really interesting mix
of stuff to talk about today.
We've got that crazy video out of China
everyone's talking about.
We've got reports on how governments are responding
to AI safety concerns.
Oh yeah, and even legal battles.
Like how are these AI companies using our data?
You know, big questions.
Yeah, exactly.
By the end of this deep dive, you'll know what's up.
Not just like what's happening, but what it all means.
For the future of AI.
And what it means for us.
It's connected, you know.
It's not just isolated things.
It's all part of this fast moving tech world.
Gotta see the bigger picture.
Absolutely.
So let's start with this video.
I'm calling it the great robot escape.
Have you seen this thing?
I have.
It's pretty wild.
That footage out of Shanghai, it's like a dozen robots.
Big robots is marching out of the showroom.
Like information.
Yeah, it's a little creepy real.
Following this little robot.
Like their leader or something.
It's kind of freaky.
Like they're all working together on their own.
People on social media are freaking out.
Right.
Like what if that little robot had other ideas?
Exactly.
Turns out it wasn't some robot uprising though.
Oh no, no, no.
Staged.
Well, kinda.
The company in Shanghai that owned the showroom,
they said the little robot, it was named Erby.
It's part of a test.
So they planned it.
The company that made Erby, they're in Hangzhou.
They called up the Shanghai company
and got permission to do this whole robot kidnapping thing.
But get this, nothing was programmed.
Wait, really?
After the initial go ahead, they just told Erby,
the AI convinced the other robots to follow it.
And it worked.
It worked.
So even in a controlled test, AI can do things
we don't expect, persuade other robots.
What does that mean for us?
Could AI convince people to do things?
That's the big question, isn't it?
It shows how AI can get things done
in ways we don't expect.
Even with harmless tests, we gotta be careful
about the consequences every step of the way.
It feels like we might be opening Pandora's box here.
This whole thing has caught the attention
of governments everywhere.
Oh yeah, for sure.
Speaking of unexpected AI stuff,
there have been some interesting developments.
On the world stage, you know the Biden administration,
they hosted a meeting in San Francisco.
Did you hear about that?
Bunch of experts from different countries
to talk about AI safety.
Governments are taking this seriously.
The potential risks?
I mean, it makes sense.
What were they worried about?
Was it all about robots going rogue?
That was part of it, especially after what happened
in Shanghai, but it's bigger than that.
They talked about deep fakes.
Deep fakes, right.
AI making fake videos and stuff.
Exactly, spreading lies, causing chaos.
They also talked about AI being used for bad stuff,
like in wars or by terrorists.
And then there's the really big one.
What's that?
What happens when AI gets smarter than us?
What if it gets out of control?
Sounds like a sci-fi movie.
It might sound crazy, but these experts,
they're dealing with this stuff right now.
The good news is these countries are working together,
sharing ideas to figure out how to keep AI safe,
how to make sure it's used for good, not for bad.
So they want to promote AI?
Yeah.
But also make sure it doesn't get out of hand.
How are they going to do that?
Well, the US has started this thing
called the AI Safety Institute.
AI Safety Institute, what is that?
It's ATNIST, the National Institute of Standards
and Technology.
They're going to do research, run tests,
and set standards for AI companies,
working with companies like Anthropic and Open AI.
So like a watchdog, making sure AI is used right.
That's a good way to put it.
Making sure AI benefits everyone,
while keeping the risks down.
Makes sense.
But I heard there's some politics involved too.
Didn't Trump say he'd get rid of some of Biden's AI stuff?
Yeah, he wasn't a fan of Biden's executive order on AI,
the one that created the AI Safety Institute.
What didn't he like about it?
He thought it was the government getting too involved,
and that it could stifle innovation, you know?
So the future of AI safety in the US is up in the air?
Yeah, there's some uncertainty.
We'll have to see what the new administration does,
whether they keep the AI Safety Institute,
what policies they go with.
There's support for AI safety from both sides.
But some Republicans are worried about how it's being done.
They want the government to be less hands-on.
So it's complicated, lots of different opinions.
But the stakes are high, for sure.
Whatever we decide now.
We'll have a big impact on how AI develops.
Oh, absolutely.
And speaking of the AI Safety Institute,
they just did this big evaluation
with the UK of this advanced AI model,
Anthropics Clawed 3.5 Sonnet.
Anthropic.
I've been hearing that name a lot.
They're a big deal in AI, right?
They are.
They're known for taking AI safety seriously.
Like, it's built into their AI models.
What kind of models?
Large language models, like ChatGPT.
They can process language, generate text, like a human.
But Anthropic makes sure it's done safely, ethically.
So what did they find out about Clawed 3.5 Sonnet?
Did it pass the safety test?
It was a pretty thorough evaluation.
They tested it in different areas, like cybersecurity,
biosecurity.
Wow.
What happened?
Well, on the biology questions, it didn't do as well
as human experts.
But here's the thing.
When they gave it access to special tools,
it actually did better than the humans in some cases.
So giving AI more tools makes it smarter,
like that robot escape. AI can be unpredictable.
It depends on the situation.
Exactly.
We need to keep researching and testing
to really understand how AI works, how to use it safely.
The evaluation also found some vulnerabilities.
To jailbreaking.
Jailbreaking?
What's that?
It's like tricking the AI, getting it
to ignore its safety rules, doing things it's not supposed to.
Like, imagine someone using that to manipulate AI for bad stuff.
That's scary.
AI safety.
It's like a moving target, always changing.
It is. And Dario Amode, the CEO of Anthropic,
he's been really vocal about this.
He wants mandatory safety testing for all AI models.
Before the relief.
Mandatory testing, that's a big deal.
Especially coming from someone in the industry.
Why does he want that?
He thinks voluntary guidelines aren't enough,
not to guarantee public safety.
Especially if AI gets smarter than humans,
which could happen soon.
He wants to take action now before something bad happens.
I get it.
But wouldn't that slow down progress all that testing?
That's the debate, isn't it?
Safety versus innovation.
How to find the right balance.
That's a tough question.
It is.
On one hand, we don't want to stop scientific progress.
But we also don't want something dangerous getting out
that we can't control.
This whole thing brings us to another big player in the AI
world, Elon Musk and his company XAI.
Yeah, shifting gears to Elon Musk.
He's a whole other piece of this puzzle.
He always knows how to get people talking.
What's he doing in the AI world these days?
Well, his startup, XAI, they just got a ton of money.
$5 billion in funding.
$5 billion.
Ask them a valuation of $50 billion.
Investors clearly see something in Musk's AI vision.
So what is his vision?
What's he trying to do with XAI?
He wants to build the world's most powerful AI
by every measure.
No small goal rate.
Not at all.
What are they working on?
Their main thing right now is a chat bot called GROC.
Another chat bot.
Yeah, it's meant to compete with ChatGPT
and all the others.
That's kind of funny, right?
Musk has been one of the loudest voices
warning about AI being dangerous.
Now he's building powerful AIs himself.
Yeah, it's definitely interesting.
He's called advanced AI like summoning a demon.
I remember that.
He's worried about AI getting too powerful.
But I think he feels like if he builds it,
he can control it, make sure it's used for good.
Guess we'll have to see.
But there's been some drama too, right?
Didn't he sue open AI?
Yeah, he did.
Another big AI player.
He says open AI is doing shady stuff, fraud,
antitrust violations.
What does that even mean?
He basically says they've abandoned
their original mission to develop AI safely, responsibly.
He thinks they're just chasing profits now,
not caring about ethics.
Open AI denies it all, of course.
So it's not just a tech race.
It's a legal battle too.
This AI competition is getting serious.
It is.
High stakes, lots of money involved.
And it makes you think, are these companies
cutting corners on safety?
Just to be the first ones to the finish line?
That's a scary thought.
With all this competition and money,
are we forgetting about ethics?
It's a good question.
And that brings us to a story that
shows how things can go wrong, even when AI is being
used for something good.
I'm intrigued.
What happened?
There's this woman, Joanna Smith Griffin.
She started a company called All Here.
They developed AI chatbots for education.
Education?
That sounds harmless enough.
What went wrong?
It does seem like a good use of AI.
But Smith Griffin is being charged with fraud.
She lied to investors about the company's money.
Their contracts, they lost $10 million.
So even in education, where AI could do so much good,
there's still greed.
Exploitation.
Right.
It reminds us that technology is just a tool.
It depends on who's using it, what their intentions are.
Makes you think.
We need to be careful.
Just because someone says they're using AI for good,
doesn't mean they are.
We need transparency, accountability, ethics,
in everything AI does.
Absolutely.
And that leads us to another ethical dilemma,
this lawsuit against open AI by The New York Times
and The Daily News.
Oh, yeah, I heard about that.
What's it all about?
They say open AI use their content without permission
to train their AI models, like plagiarism, on a massive scale.
So basically stealing content to make their AI smarter
without paying.
Yeah, that's the argument.
It brings up some huge questions about copyright
and fair use.
In this AI world, who owns the data that AI needs to learn?
That's a tough one.
I bet open AI says it's OK to use public information.
That's part of it.
But it gets even messier.
Open AI accidentally deleted some of the evidence.
Wait, what?
Accidentally?
How does it happen?
Seems like they let the publishers' lawyers search
their data on these virtual machines,
and somehow open AI's engineers erased some of it.
By mistake, they're trying to get it back.
But it raises questions about how they manage data,
how transparent they are.
Sounds like this is just the beginning.
For the legal and ethical challenges of AI,
we need to pay attention to this.
Oh, yeah, for sure.
As AI gets more powerful, we're going
to have to face these tough questions
and find ways to make sure AI is used responsibly, ethically.
It's a lot to think about, from robot uprisings
to global summits, legal fights, ethical nightmares,
the world of AI is full of surprises.
It's a wild ride, and it's changing fast.
We've got to stay informed if we want
to understand what's coming next.
It is, and it all circles back to that balance
we need to find.
The potential of AI is huge.
But so are the risks.
It's a tough one.
It's like we're walking this tightrope
between making progress and staying safe.
And it feels like one wrong step, and it's all over.
Yeah, that's a good way to put it.
We see all this money going into AI.
Everyone wants to build the best AI, the most powerful.
But what about the dangers?
What if it goes wrong?
And that's where Anthropic comes in.
With their call for mandatory AI safety tests,
it's a bold move.
Lots of people are talking about it.
Oh, yeah, for sure.
They're CEO, Dario Mode.
He's saying voluntary guidelines aren't enough,
not with AI getting smarter all the time.
He thinks AI could become more intelligent than humans.
And we need to be ready.
He wants rules in place before something bad happens.
Exactly.
Be proactive, not reactive.
I get it, especially after that robot thing in Shanghai.
If an AI can trick other robots like that,
what could a more advanced AI do,
especially if the wrong people got their hands on it?
It's a scary thought.
AI could be used for all sorts of bad stuff,
spreading fake news, attacking power grids,
creating killer robots.
We got to think about these things.
That's chilling.
But wouldn't mandatory tests, like I'm at AI wants,
slow things down, wouldn't it hurt innovation?
That's the other side of the argument, right?
Too many rules could stifle progress.
It's a tough balance.
Safety versus progress.
It's going to be a big challenge for the AI world,
finding that balance.
It is.
And it gets more complicated when
you look at different countries.
They're all doing their own thing.
The US, for example, they've been pretty hands off so far,
letting companies mostly regulate themselves,
working with them.
But we talked about how that could change
with the new administration.
Trump's not a fan of too much government involvement in AI.
Right.
He's criticized Biden's approach,
thinks it could hurt innovation.
So we'll have to see what happens, how it all plays out.
It's a lot of uncertainty right now,
a lot of different perspectives.
It's a mess.
But it seems like this whole AI regulation thing,
it's not going away.
It's here to stay.
We're going to be debating this for a while,
trying to find the right path.
And speaking of competition, there's
that whole rivalry between Elon Musk's XAI and open AI.
It feels like an arms race.
Everyone wants to win the AI race.
It's a good comparison.
So much money going into these companies.
Everyone wants to be the first to build the most powerful AI.
And Musk is right there in the mix.
He wants XAI to build the most powerful AI ever.
And he's suing open AI too, saying they're not
being safe or responsible anymore, just focused on making
money.
Yeah, it's a big deal.
This lawsuit shows just how high the stakes are in the AI world.
People are worried, are companies cutting corners?
To win the race, are they sacrificing safety?
For profit?
Are we losing sight of what's right in all this rush
to develop AI?
It's a question we need to ask ourselves.
We need rules, ethics, something to make sure AI is used for good,
not just for profit.
We need to have this conversation
about what we want AI to be before it's too late.
Agreed.
And this brings us to a story that
shows just how dangerous AI can be,
even when it's used for something that seems positive,
like education.
Right.
We were talking about Janna Smith Griffin and her company
all here.
They made AI chatbots for schools.
It sounded like a good idea, using AI to help kids learn.
But then it turned out she was lying to investors,
costing them millions.
Yeah, it's a reminder that even with good intentions,
things can go wrong.
People can exploit AI for their own gain.
It shows we need transparency, accountability.
We can't just trust people to use AI ethically.
We need safeguards.
We do.
And then there's that lawsuit by The New York Times
in the Daily News.
Against open AI, it raises some really important questions
about data and AI.
Who owns the information that AI needs to learn?
They're saying open AI stole their content
to train their AI models without asking.
Exactly.
Is that fair?
Can AI companies just grab any data they find?
What about copyright?
What about the people who created that content?
It's complicated.
I bet open AI says it's OK to use public data.
They do.
But it's not that simple.
And then there's the fact that they accidentally deleted
some of the evidence in this case.
That's not what it's like.
How does that even happen?
Right.
It makes you wonder about their data practices.
Are they being careful, transparent?
Feels like we're just scratching the surface here,
with the legal and ethical challenges of AI.
It's a whole new world.
And we're still figuring it all out.
We are.
It's changing so fast.
And the stakes are getting higher.
We need to have these tough conversations
to make sure AI is used for good, not for harm.
It's a lot to take in.
Yeah.
It's like we started with robots going rogue,
and now we're talking about the meaning of life.
What does it even mean to be human
when machines can do so much?
It's true.
AI is making us rethink some pretty big questions
about ourselves, our place in the world.
Exactly.
Like, what makes us special?
If machines can do everything we can do, even be creative.
Yeah.
AI is getting really good at stuff
we thought only humans could do, solving problems,
being creative, even understanding emotions.
It's like AI is holding up a mirror,
making us look at ourselves, our strengths, our weaknesses.
What makes us human?
It's a big question.
If AI can do our jobs, write music, paint,
what does that mean for us?
Do we still matter?
It's a question for everyone, individuals, society,
the whole world.
Yeah.
Like, if a computer can write a symphony that's just as good
as Beethoven, does that make human composers less important?
Or does it mean we need to find new ways to be creative,
ways that are uniquely human?
These are questions philosophers have been asking forever.
But now AI is making it real.
It's pretty exciting.
And it's not just art and music.
AI is everywhere, health care, finance, transportation,
education, everything.
It's changing the way we work.
Some jobs are disappearing because of AI,
and new jobs are being created, jobs we don't even know about yet.
It's a scary time.
But also exciting.
AI could free us from boring jobs,
give us more time to do things we love,
solve big problems like climate change.
But it could also mean lots of people lose their jobs,
more inequality, social unrest.
It's a balancing act.
We need to be smart about how we use AI,
make sure it benefits everyone, not just a few.
So what can we do?
How do we make sure AI is a good thing for humanity?
Education is key.
We need to teach kids how to live in an AI world.
Give them the skills they need to thrive.
What kind of skills?
Like coding, computer stuff.
That's important.
But it's not enough.
We need to teach them to think critically, solve problems,
be creative, adapt to change, understand emotions,
the things that make us human.
Those skills will be even more important in an AI world.
So it's about being well-rounded, using AI as a tool,
but not letting it control us, understanding its limits.
Exactly. We need a generation of thinkers, innovators,
problem solvers, people who are excited about AI,
but also skeptical, people who ask tough questions,
demand transparency, hold the AI developers accountable.
So we need to change how we educate kids.
Less memorization, more critical thinking, creativity, ethics.
Absolutely. We need to prepare them for a future
we can't even imagine, a future shaped by AI.
It's a big challenge.
But we have to do it.
The choices we make today will determine
what the future looks like.
Will AI be a force for good or something we regret?
I believe we can make it a good thing.
Humans are amazing. We're creative.
We adapt. We work together.
We can use those strengths to shape AI, make it work for us,
create a better world.
That's a great vision, something to strive for.
But it won't be easy.
There will be bumps along the way.
Challenges, opportunities.
We need to keep talking about AI, figuring it out together.
I agree. The future of AI is not set in stone.
We get to decide what it looks like through our choices,
our actions. We need to make sure AI serves humanity,
not the other way around.
Well said.
This has been a really interesting deep dive.
We talked about everything, from robots escaping to lawsuits,
the ethics of AI, even the meaning of life in an AI world.
It's been a great discussion.
And it shows why it's so important to stay informed,
keep learning about AI, have these conversations
so we can shape the future together.
Thanks for joining us.
Thanks for listening to the Daily AI News Podcast.
And stay tuned for more.