Heavy AI use linked to cognitive atrophy, MIT professor argues
Overreliance on artificial intelligence tools is making humans less capable of thinking through problems, remembering concepts and forming meaningful social bonds with other people, MIT Professor Eric So argues in his new book.
Bill Gates considers using personal fortune in effort to make AI safer for humanity: Report
Microsoft founder Bill Gates may take a more active role in AI safety by raising the issue more openly with business leaders and potentially using his own wealth to help steer the technology in a better direction, Axios reported Thursday.
Gates has already spoken extensively about creating an AI safety framework with leading AI executives, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, the outlet reported.
People familiar with Gates' thinking say he believes restraining AI may be one of his most important contributions to society.
In an interview with Axios, he said lawsuits against AI firms are not enough to prevent potential catastrophe. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has so far favored self-regulation among companies making frontier models.
Apple releasing its AI platform in China by year's end: Report
Apple is eyeing a rollout of its Apple Intelligence platform in China by December as part of an upcoming iOS 27.3 update, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
These AI upgrades, introduced in the U.S. two years ago, had been delayed in the region by the Chinese government until recently.
Apple devices sold in China will not come with the new Siri AI assistant, Bloomberg also reported.
Apple did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Global financial watchdog urges banks to tighten human oversight of AI agents
The Financial Stability Board, an international body that monitors the global financial system, implored banks to implement rigid human oversight of agentic AI in its most recent guidance published Thursday.
The board "strongly encouraged" financial institutions the world over to adopt its list of sound practices when developing and deploying their AI systems.
Perhaps most importantly, the board said executives should "adopt risk management frameworks" and continue to adjust those frameworks as AI evolves.
In past guidance, the board said to treat AI agents as "synthetic employees." That has been scrapped.
"For agentic AI, financial institutions recognize that AI agents do not reason like humans and may interpret pre-defined goals in unexpected ways," according to Thursday's guidance report.
MIT professor advises people to stop using AI as a crutch
The pressure to use AI for anything and everything is becoming more ubiquitous in society, MIT professor Eric So argued in a recent Q & A session he participated in to promote his new book “The Collision: What AI Does to Us."
So, who teaches global economics and behavioral science, said it is important to resist the urge to simply let ChatGPT write that email or that presentation for you.
AI, he said, takes advantage of the human brain's natural tendency to crave instant gratification by churning out quick and easy responses to our questions without us having to think too much.
"AI removes a lot of the friction necessary to build foundational mastery. It is causing many people to lose their capacity for pushing through problems," So said. "Many people are turning to it as an access point for information, so it’s affecting our ability to remember."
He continued: "I have found students are outsourcing their thinking to AI, rather than thinking through things themselves, turning to it to answer homework that would normally help them build mastery in a subject."
He also said AI is making it more difficult for people to form relationships with others as they grow accustomed to using chatbots as sounding boards that rarely challenge or disagree with them.
So said AI isn't all bad if it's used as a "cognitive trainer."
"AI is this dual force, where it is very bad for thinking if you use it as an answer machine, but can be great for learning if you use it as a tutor," he said. "This is a very challenging moment, and the problem is one we need to take seriously."
OpenAI employee used wife's ChatGPT account to plant office recording device, feds say
A former OpenAI employee accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room used his wife's ChatGPT account to research how to build and hide the device, federal prosecutors said.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, an OpenAI engineer and Saudi national, allegedly submitted several prompts to the chatbot in the days leading up to the incident.
His queries included requests on how to build "a continuous audio recorder," enable "live listening," and manage "downloading/deleting recordings," according to Fortune.
Prosecutors say Alfozan hid the recording device behind a television inside an executive conference room at one of the company’s San Francisco offices on or about Sept. 28. The action came shortly after the AI chatbot account associated with his wife generated instructions on how to assemble it.
Alfozan's wife has not been charged in connection with the case.
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