How much of the benefits of artificial intelligence can be realized – or are Big Tech companies accumulating benefits for themselves?
This episode of Tech & Science Daily explores the challenges of making AI fair, the appetite for anti-monopoly legislation and the march of digital giants into public services.
We asked Eleanor Shearer, a senior researcher specializing in AI and corporate governance at the Common Wealth think tank.
Thousands of residents were left without power or forced to shelter in temporary shelters in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and St Lucia.
Research by the University of Hong Kong and Harvard reported evidence of the benefits of statin use in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in adults.
The study looked at statins used by Hong Kong retirees and found that continuous therapy resulted in a 21 percent reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease in the 85-year-old.
Space scientists at MIT used simulations to suggest the ‘beaches’ of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, were formed by waves.
Additionally, developer Capcom confirmed that a new Resident Evil video game is in the works.
Here’s an automated transcript of today’s episode:
Hi, I’m Mark Blunden, and this is The Standard’s Tech and Science Daily podcast.
Coming up, Hurricane Beryl Latest, but first.
Artificial intelligence and how beneficial AI can be perceived, or are the big tech companies hoarding the benefits for themselves?
This episode of Tech and Science Daily explores the challenges of making AI fair, the appetite for antitrust laws, and the march of digital giants into public services.
We asked Eleanor Shearer, Senior Research Fellow specializing in AI and corporate governance at the Commonwealth Think Tank.
This is not a market set up to fairly distribute the benefits of AI.
At each point in the supply chain, there are only a few companies that dominate, whether it’s Nvidia that designs the chips, whether it’s Microsoft, Amazon, Google, that runs the data centers that use the chips, or companies like OpenAI, that actually has a partnership with Microsoft that trains that model.
So you really see a very high level of market power.
And how the company consolidates its position.
I think the big thing to watch out for is what we call vertical integration.
So, this is actually where companies are starting to do a lot of things in that supply chain.
So you’ve seen Nvidia, for example, make some investments in computing, which suggests that they want to move in the future not only to making chips, but also to doing data centers.
Companies like Amazon produce their own chips.
So, you end up in a position where one supplier provides almost everything related to AI.
And you as a consumer or user only have one or two options.
Then you will be locked into a single ecosystem, which is really bad for competition and really bad for innovation.
And, also, about the eco-impact of all the monster computing power required.
Big AI models like ChatGPT are going to be played by a lot of people, trained and run big data centers that need a lot of electricity and need a lot of water to cool the data center.
So, that obviously has a big impact on emissions and on the use of potable water, often in resource-poor areas.
And we’ve seen protests around the world lately in Mexico where communities are saying, we don’t want this data center built because we’re worried about the impact on our community.
It’s about, I think that every time you as an individual enter directions to ChatGPT, basically the same as pouring out a bottle of drinking water.
And we’ve also seen companies like Microsoft make all these net zero commitments about 2030, the emissions are increasing because of the intensity of the AI resources they’re putting into it.
We also asked Eleanor about AI outsourcing companies pushing into public services in the future.
I really think that they have an eye on the public service and it’s true in the US in particular, but I think it’s starting to become salient in the UK, a real interest in defense applications.
There is a lot of growth in defense money and investment in the US in artificial intelligence and the former head of Google, Eric Schmidt, is a big evangelist for military applications of AI, which many people are concerned about.
In addition, the general election is almost here, and Eleanor has investigated the party’s appetite to study the power of the tech giants in the AI sector and what is in the manifesto.
I’ve done this exercise where I’ve gone through the manifesto to see what it says about artificial intelligence.
And I think what’s most important is that I don’t think that party has yet to get a retail offer.
So when they’re talking to voters, they don’t know what to say about why AI will benefit you and your life and why you should care.
So, it is actually given a very large policy.
If you compare it to the climate, I think it’s an inappropriate strategy.
The government says, oh, it’s very important and we’re going to do something about it, but you don’t have that language in the same way as an industry strategy on climate change, for example, where the government says, yes, this is it. this is what we are going for.
This is the time frame we are specific about targeting.
Next, at least one person was killed when Hurricane Beryl made landfall in the Caribbean with winds of 160 miles per hour.
Thousands of residents are without power or forced to shelter in temporary shelters in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and St Lucia.
Footage on social media showed roofs being blown off homes as residents tried to salvage their belongings amid the destruction.
The storm was upgraded to Category 5 and moved west toward Jamaica, bringing up to 30 centimeters of rain.
Now, research by the University of Hong Kong and Harvard reports evidence of the benefits of statin use in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in the elderly.
The study looked at statin use in Hong Kong retirees and found that continuous statin therapy resulted in a 21% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease in 85-year-olds.
Next, space scientists at MIT used simulations to suggest the beaches of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, were formed by waves.
The findings used images from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which first confirmed the presence of methane on Titan.
It helps improve understanding of how coastal erosion helps shape Titan’s climate and oceans.
Saturn’s largest moon is also the only other solar system entity known to have active lakes and rivers.
Stay tuned for more news from the world of technology and science.
Also, marvel at the amazing pillars of creation that are 6,500 light years away.
Why not hit follow in the meantime and rate it.
NASA has released an animation for viewers to wonder at the so-called pillars of creation in the nebula 6,500 light years from Earth.
This is the most detailed video ever made of a star-born cloud described as a towering tendril of cosmic dust and gas.
The imaging was made possible by combining observations from two of NASA’s most powerful galaxy telescopes.
They are the James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
And thanks to James Webb’s infrared spectrum, you can even look at three light-year high pillars to see young stars born.
And finally, developer Capcom has a new Resident Evil game in the works.
This was confirmed by video game series director Kōshi Nakanishi during the company’s Capcom Next live broadcast event.
There are no details on the new title or release date, but it follows the eighth installment of the open world horror franchise called Resident Evil Village.
Come back at 4pm for the latest news, interviews and analysis from The Standard podcast in London.
And we’ll be back on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
