A new national AI strategy by the federal government this week comes at a time when the country is confronting a wave of new high-powered data centres, while public sentiment could be souring on the impacts of the new technology.
Last month, Wired Magazine reported that Chinese researchers are growing increasingly concerned about the danger of a “Chernobyl” moment in the race to create superhuman intelligence.
The AI arms race, involving China, the United States, and a range of private-sector interests, is unfolding at a dizzying pace. It is a race to create the ultimate power machine, and there are no guardrails or protections for the public.
One Chinese researcher stated that it is like “driving faster and faster while the road gets narrower and the fog gets thicker.”
A national protest movement against AI data centres is emerging in Canada, as residents in a dozen cities push back against the speed and scale of projects they say could strain supplies of water and power and the quality of life in their communities.
When the French are banning booze, you know things are really getting extreme. It is only June, but Europe is suffering through its second major heat wave in two months, and this one is shattering records by astonishing margins.
Bulletin Editor’s note: This story was originally published by The Guardian. It appears here [in the Bulletin] as part of the Climate Deskcollaboration.
Humanity can raise living standards, reduce inequality and keep global heating within a 2C rise, according to a sweeping vision for planetary survival.
