The Download: the AI Bill of Rights, and fixing the Nord Stream pipelines

The news: US President Biden has contiguous unveiled a caller AI Bill of Rights, which outlines 5 protections Americans should person successful the AI age. Biden has successful the past called for amended privateness safeguards and for tech companies to halt collecting data. But the US — location to immoderate of the world’s biggest tech and AI companies — has truthful acold been 1 of the lone Western nations without wide guidance connected however to support its citizens against AI harms.

Why it matters: AI is simply a almighty exertion that is transforming our societies. The announcement is the White House’s imaginativeness of however the US authorities arsenic good arsenic exertion companies and citizens should enactment unneurotic to clasp AI accountable. However, critics accidental the blueprint lacks teeth, and the US needs adjacent stronger regularisation astir AI. Read the afloat story.

What’s happened: Until Russia’s penetration of Ukraine, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 state pipelines were a cardinal portion of Europe’s vigor infrastructure. Russia has since utilized Nord Stream arsenic a geopolitical pawn successful retaliation to the economical sanctions imposed upon it, and successful precocious September, unexpected harm caused 4 leaks successful the subsea pipeline system. Everyone but Russia believes it’s deliberate sabotage to compression state supplies up of a tricky wintertime shortage successful Europe, and present the contention is connected to hole the captious pipelines earlier winter—if that’s adjacent possible.

What’s the damage? Any ngo volition beryllium an unprecedented situation for the lipid and state sector, requiring analyzable robotics and imaginative engineering. While we don’t adjacent cognize for definite however atrocious the concern is astatine this stage, the harm is expected to beryllium significant, and could instrumentality months—and a large woody of money—to repair. And adjacent if repairs tin beryllium made, it’s improbable that Nord Stream volition recommence supplies immoderate clip soon. Read the afloat story.

—Chris Stokel-Walker

Just erstwhile the AI assemblage was wrapping its caput astir the astounding advancement of text-to-image systems, we’re already moving connected to the adjacent frontier: text-to-video.

Late past week, Meta unveiled Make-A-Video, an AI that generates five-second videos from substance prompts. The improvement is simply a breakthrough successful generative AI that besides raises immoderate pugnacious ethical questions, sparking fears  it could beryllium harnessed arsenic a almighty instrumentality to make and disseminate misinformation. Read the afloat story.

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2 Elon Musk has sparked fury successful Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky deed backmost astatine a canvass the billionaire tweeted asking whether Ukraine should cede crushed to Russia. (BBC)
+ One of Ukraine’s apical officials had immoderate prime connection for Musk. (CNBC)

3 Conspiracy theorists are threatening a tiny elections company
Despite the information it has thing to bash with collecting oregon counting ballots. (NYT $)

4 The US is cracking down connected Chinese-made chips
The caller rules are the toughest to date. (WP $)
+ Taiwan is caught up successful the US and China’s spot war. (The Atlantic $)
+ Samsung has immoderate earnestly ambitious semiconductor plans. (CNBC)
+ Inside the bundle that volition go the adjacent conflict beforehand successful the US-China spot war. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Hurricanes are becoming much destructive
The US is spending millions connected supercomputers to support tabs connected them. (FT $)

6 Brazil is divided implicit the trustworthiness of its voting tech
Citizens person been voting electronically for decades, but determination are inactive concerns implicit rigging. (Rest of World)
+ The statesmanlike candidates volition look each different aboriginal successful the month. (Economist $)

7 You are not your net identity 
For the perpetually online, it’s getting harder to cognize the difference. (Wired $)

8 Inside the manufacture that composts your deceased loved ones
The process, which takes astatine slightest 2 months, is portion of a caller question of deathcare. (The Verge) 
+ US cities person been composting trees, too. (Wired $)

9 The frantic contention to equip New York with EV chargers 
Very fewer drivers person backstage driveways, meaning nationalist chargers volition person to prime up the slack. (Motherboard)
+ The U.S. lone has 6,000 accelerated charging stations for EVs. Here’s wherever they each are. (MIT Technology Review)
+ Here’s however to promote radical to attraction astir c emissions. (Slate $)