AI could extinct humanity | China pushes for AI independence with new multimillion pound fund

Artificial intelligence could lead to extinction, experts warn

Dozens of experts including the heads of OpenAI and Google Deepmind have supported a statement published by the Centre for AI Safety warning that artificial intelligence could lead to the extinction of humanity.

“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war”, it reads.

The Centre has also suggested possible disaster scenarios, for example that AI could be weaponised, AI-generated misinformation could destabilise society and the power of AI could become increasingly concentrated. But others say the fears are overblown.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65746524

British consortium to inject $9 billion into Indonesia mining, EV batteries

Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Wednesday that a British consortium including firms Glencore and Indonesian state miner Aneka Tambang will invest around $9 billion into Indonesia’s mining and electric vehicle (EV) battery sectors. The Asian country, which has the world’s largest nickel reserves, is keen to develop “downstream industries”, according to Reuters, with the aim of producing batteries and vehicles for the world’s biggest electric car manufacturers.

Lahadalia did not provide a breakdown of the $9bn but said it would go into an industrial park in the Bantaeng region on Sulawesi island powered by wind energy, with a completion target of September.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/british-consortium-swiss -glencore-indonesias-aneka-tambang-invest-9-bln-2023-05-31/

Baidu’s $145m AI fund signals China’s push for AI independence

Chinese search engine and autonomous driving giant Baidu has launched a $145 million fund to support generative AI companies in an attempt to reduce dependence on the US.

Baidu rolled out its counterpart to ChatGPT in March and according to Tech Crunch, now wants to have a stake in other AI startups, too. The fund will invest up to $1.4 million in a project and the company also said it intends to use the fund to grow the adoption of its own large language model, Ernie Bot.

“American developers are building new applications based on ChatGPT or other language models. In China, there will be an increasing number of developers building AI applications using Ernie as their foundation,” said Baidu’s co-founder and CEO Robin Li.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/01/baidu-generative-ai-fund-china/

Toyota adds $2.1 billion to US battery factory expansion plans

The Japanese carmaker will use the money to build a new batter plant in North Carolina, showing signs that Toyota is attempting to catch up with an industry that has embraced the move to electric vehicles.

It also said it will build its first US-made electric SUV at its Kentucky factory starting from 2025. The three-row car will use batteries supplied by Toyota’s North Carolina factory. Of the six production lines slated to go live when production begins in 2025, only two will be dedicated to all-electric EVs. The other four will be for hybrid EVs, the company said.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/31/toyota-adds-2-1b-to-its-battery-factory-expansion-plans/