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AI is reshaping the way the world’s best Go players think
Ten years ago, Google DeepMind’s AI program AlphaGo shocked the world by defeating South Korean Go player Lee Sedol.
And in the years since, AI has turned the game upside down. It has overturned age-old theories about the best moves and introduced entirely new theories. Players now train to replicate the AI’s moves as closely as possible rather than inventing their own, even when the machine’s thinking remains mysterious to them. Meanwhile, AI is democratizing access to training, and more female players are climbing the ranks as a result.
Today, it is essentially impossible to compete professionally without using AI. Some say that technology has taken away creativity, while others think that there is still room for human invention. Read the full story.
-Michelle Kim
MIT Technology Review described: Hackers threatened to kill this security researcher. big mistake.
In April 2024, a mysterious individual using the online handles “waifu” and “Jewish” began posting death threats on Telegram and Discord channels targeting a cybersecurity researcher named Allison Nixon.
As chief research officer at cyber-investigation firm Unit 221B, Nixon had built a career tracking down and helping to arrest cybercriminals. And although she had taken an interest in the waifu persona over the years for the crimes he claimed to commit, he had not been on her radar for some time when the threats began, as she was tracking other targets.
Nixon now resolved to expose the Waifu/Jews and others responsible for the death threats and arrest them for the crimes they admitted committing.
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Must read
I’ve scoured the internet to find you today’s funniest/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Anthropic has rejected the Pentagon’s AI demands
It stuck to its stance: no mass surveillance of Americans, and no lethal autonomous weapons. (The Verge)
+ Anthropic said there has been “virtually no progress” during recent talks. (hill)
+ Here’s how the relationship between the US government and the company started to deteriorate. (Vocal)
2 Instagram will alert parents if teens frequently search for suicide-related content
But campaigners fear the measure could do more harm than good. (BBC)
+ Instagram is working on a similar alert feature for its AI tools. (Engadget)
+ Poland is considering banning access to social media for people under 15. (bloomberg $)
3 ChatGPT Health routinely fails to recognize medical emergencies
In more than half of the severe cases, it advised users to delay seeking treatment. (Guardian)
+ “Dr. Google” had its issues. Can ChatGPT Improve Health? (MIT Technology Review)
4 Islamic State online warriors are posting beyond the grave
The group is using AI to revive dead leaders and port them to new platforms. (404 media)
5 Vegetarians have lower risk of five types of cancer
This suggests that avoiding meat may help avoid some cancers, including breast and pancreatic. (foot $)
+ Interestingly, this does not apply to vegetarians. (bloomberg $)
+ RFK Jr. follows a non-vegetarian diet. This doesn’t mean you should do it. (MIT Technology Review)
6 activists fighting online abuse banned from US
Officials accused HateEd of participating in the “global censorship-industrial complex”. (NYT $)
+ What’s it like to be banned by the US for fighting online hate? (MIT Technology Review)
7 Russians are searching for missing soldiers on Google Maps
They are posting reviews asking for information about missing loved ones. (New Yorker $)
+ Google Maps has finally got approval to work in South Korea. (foot $)
+ It is bent on closing its last few global gaps. (economist $)
8 Burger King’s new AI assistant will rate employees’ friendliness
This will check the conversation to make sure they are saying please and thank you. (The Verge)
+ Perplexity’s powerful new AI agent assigns tasks to fellow agents. (Ars Technica)
9 NASA still hasn’t gotten back to the Moon
The mission has been plagued with delays and issues. (WP $)
10 Are you doing Chinamax yet?
Everyone is on TikTok, come on. (insider $)
today’s thought
“This is as much a political fight as it is the issue of military use.”
– Steven Feldstein, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment who researches AI in warfare, explains Washington Post Why ideological differences are worsening the rift between Anthropic and the Pentagon.
one more thing
A city is struggling to solve its sewage problem with sensors
In the city of South Bend, Indiana, wastewater from people’s kitchens, sinks, washing machines and toilets flows through 35 neighborhood sewer lines. On good days, just before each line ends, a vertical throttle pipe diverts the sewage into an interceptor tube, which carries it to a treatment plant where solid pollutants and bacteria are filtered out.
As is the case in many American cities, those pipes are combined with storm drains that can fill rivers and lakes with toxic sludge when heavy rains or melting snow overwhelm them, endangering wildlife and drinking water supplies. But city officials have plans to make its aging sewers a lot smarter. Read the full story.
-Andrew Zaleski
we can still have good things
A place of relaxation, fun and distractions to brighten your day. (Any ideas? drop me a line Or make them sneak up on me.)
+ This is an interesting insight The technical guitar wizardry of Jimi Hendrix 
+ Romans: You know, their life really wasn’t that different from ours.
+ how the Beatles When he was not shaping history he returned and rested at home.
+ disney musician alan menken An undeniable talent.
