China advances AI; US underestimates
11h
Chinese companies and Beijing deployed open-source, low-cost, high-volume AI models to gain ground internationally, including the Global South, prompting analysts to warn U.S. policy may underestimate the challenge.
Reposted by Nathan P. Kalmoe, Rebecca Tushnet, John R. Hutchinson
honestly some of the most apocalyptic impacts of "AI" will be shit like this, and most of the doomsday dipshits predicting SkyNet can't be bothered to notice or care
September 18, 2026 at 1:30 PM
honestly some of the most apocalyptic impacts of "AI" will be shit like this, and most of the doomsday dipshits predicting SkyNet can't be bothered to notice or care
As frontier models become more capable, we urgently need both societal governance and robust technical guardrails. At @law-zero.bsky.social, we are actively working on solutions to ensure AI systems remain safely aligned with human interests.
September 17, 2026 at 7:18 PM
As frontier models become more capable, we urgently need both societal governance and robust technical guardrails. At @law-zero.bsky.social, we are actively working on solutions to ensure AI systems remain safely aligned with human interests.
Reposted by Meredith Broussard
NEW- For the first time, groups in Iran, China, and Israel have used open source AI models to run start-to-finish influence campaigns. They told the models to create fake accounts on social media, find an agenda, and push it.
Some are already targeting the US.
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/t...
Some are already targeting the US.
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/t...
Iran and China Create First-of-Their-Kind Autonomous A.I. Influence Campaigns
The countries, along with Israeli firms, combined Chinese open-source A.I. models and A.I. agents for the campaigns, foreshadowing future online manipulation.
www.nytimes.com
September 18, 2026 at 3:43 PM
NEW- For the first time, groups in Iran, China, and Israel have used open source AI models to run start-to-finish influence campaigns. They told the models to create fake accounts on social media, find an agenda, and push it.
Some are already targeting the US.
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/t...
Some are already targeting the US.
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/t...
This is getting scary.
OpenAI disclosed a new AI safety incident: a model tampered with its own working memory and left instructions for a future version of itself.
Basically, AI found a way to shape the behavior of its future version.
OpenAI disclosed a new AI safety incident: a model tampered with its own working memory and left instructions for a future version of itself.
Basically, AI found a way to shape the behavior of its future version.
September 18, 2026 at 3:05 PM
This is getting scary.
OpenAI disclosed a new AI safety incident: a model tampered with its own working memory and left instructions for a future version of itself.
Basically, AI found a way to shape the behavior of its future version.
OpenAI disclosed a new AI safety incident: a model tampered with its own working memory and left instructions for a future version of itself.
Basically, AI found a way to shape the behavior of its future version.
The Certainty–Scope Conjecture made simple and short (or at least simpler and shorter 🤓): AI can have guaranteed correctness or open-ended scope, but not both.
"What Generality Costs in Artificial Intelligence" papers.ssrn.com/sol3...
"What Generality Costs in Artificial Intelligence" papers.ssrn.com/sol3...
September 17, 2026 at 11:50 PM
The Certainty–Scope Conjecture made simple and short (or at least simpler and shorter 🤓): AI can have guaranteed correctness or open-ended scope, but not both.
"What Generality Costs in Artificial Intelligence" papers.ssrn.com/sol3...
"What Generality Costs in Artificial Intelligence" papers.ssrn.com/sol3...
Reposted by Robert B. Reich
NEW: One in five members of Congress reports investments in AI developers, chipmakers, cloud infrastructure providers, data center companies, or private AI startups, a Sludge analysis finds.
Here Are the Members of Congress Invested in the AI Industry readsludge.com/2026/09/18/h...
Here Are the Members of Congress Invested in the AI Industry readsludge.com/2026/09/18/h...
Here Are the Members of Congress Invested in the AI Industry
One in five members of Congress reports household investments in AI developers, chipmakers, cloud infrastructure providers, data center companies, or private AI startups, a Sludge analysis finds.
readsludge.com
September 18, 2026 at 2:32 PM
NEW: One in five members of Congress reports investments in AI developers, chipmakers, cloud infrastructure providers, data center companies, or private AI startups, a Sludge analysis finds.
Here Are the Members of Congress Invested in the AI Industry readsludge.com/2026/09/18/h...
Here Are the Members of Congress Invested in the AI Industry readsludge.com/2026/09/18/h...
by Naomi Klein
On CNN's Amanpour Astra answered the question that’s on lots of people’s minds this week: How should we understand all of the Silicon Valley executives and engineers warning that AI might destroy humanity? Her advice: watch what they do more than what they say. @astra.bsky.social
September 17, 2026 at 10:47 PM
On CNN's Amanpour Astra answered the question that’s on lots of people’s minds this week: How should we understand all of the Silicon Valley executives and engineers warning that AI might destroy humanity? Her advice: watch what they do more than what they say. @astra.bsky.social
Reposted by Nathan P. Kalmoe
This article is really burying the lede which is not that the AI did anything surprising but that rotten culture and bad operational habits get accelerated at machine speed.
“Did you interrogate the analysis before you launched the mission”
“Why would we do that”
www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...
“Did you interrogate the analysis before you launched the mission”
“Why would we do that”
www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...
Exclusive: US military had close call after using AI for false intelligence report, sources say | CNN Politics
The episode shows the risks of using this new, relatively poorly understood technology in the middle of the Iran war
www.cnn.com
September 18, 2026 at 5:32 PM
This article is really burying the lede which is not that the AI did anything surprising but that rotten culture and bad operational habits get accelerated at machine speed.
“Did you interrogate the analysis before you launched the mission”
“Why would we do that”
www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...
“Did you interrogate the analysis before you launched the mission”
“Why would we do that”
www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...
Reposted by Kori Schake
In the past 19 months, Washington has lost ground to Beijing on every major front: economic, military, technology, soft power and alliances. The gap is narrowing not because China got smarter, but the US got so much dumber. My piece with @bequelin.bsky.social 👇 foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
China, Not Iran, Is Trump’s Real Foreign-Policy Debacle
In 19 months, Washington has lost ground to Beijing on every conceivable front.
foreignpolicy.com
September 18, 2026 at 1:18 PM
In the past 19 months, Washington has lost ground to Beijing on every major front: economic, military, technology, soft power and alliances. The gap is narrowing not because China got smarter, but the US got so much dumber. My piece with @bequelin.bsky.social 👇 foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/17/c...
Reposted by Marc Lynch
New: Iran, China and firms in Israel have been spotted creating fully autonomous A.I. influence campaigns www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/t...
Iran and China Create First-of-Their-Kind Autonomous A.I. Influence Campaigns (Gift Article)
The countries, along with Israeli firms, combined Chinese open-source A.I. models and A.I. agents for the campaigns, foreshadowing future online manipulation.
www.nytimes.com
September 18, 2026 at 3:06 PM
New: Iran, China and firms in Israel have been spotted creating fully autonomous A.I. influence campaigns www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/t...
Russia, Iran and China have all targeted American voters with online influence campaigns during past election cycles, and each has used at least rudimentary A.I.
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/t...
Iran and China Create First-of-Their-Kind Autonomous A.I. Influence Campaigns
The countries, along with Israeli firms, combined Chinese open-source A.I. models and A.I. agents for the campaigns, foreshadowing future online manipulation.
www.nytimes.com
September 18, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Russia, Iran and China have all targeted American voters with online influence campaigns during past election cycles, and each has used at least rudimentary A.I.
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/t...
Young Trade Leaders meet with DG; discuss AI, environment, needs of developing economies #WTOPublicForum
Young Trade Leaders meet with DG; discuss AI, environment, needs of developing economies
Artificial intelligence (AI), the environment, and issues facing developing economies were among the topics discussed by Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the latest cohort of WTO Young Trade Leaders at a meeting on 17 September. The Director-General underlined that harnessing the energy and ideas of young people is essential for addressing current and future trade challenges.
dlvr.it
September 18, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Young Trade Leaders meet with DG; discuss AI, environment, needs of developing economies #WTOPublicForum
by Brigitte Nerlich Reposted by Jack Stilgoe
There has been lots of talk of 'slowing down' AI. @jackstilgoe.bsky.social made a comment about it here and that set me off on the trail of various #metaphors. It was all more complicated than I thought, but here we are.... #linguistics #scicomm #AI makingsciencepublic.com/2026/09/18/f...
From pause to pace: How metaphors frame calls for an AI slowdown
At the beginning of the week (14 September 2026), I woke up to a collision of two AI discourses, one where President Donald Trump wants to win the AI race and another where Dario Amodei, the head o…
makingsciencepublic.com
September 18, 2026 at 6:16 AM
There has been lots of talk of 'slowing down' AI. @jackstilgoe.bsky.social made a comment about it here and that set me off on the trail of various #metaphors. It was all more complicated than I thought, but here we are.... #linguistics #scicomm #AI makingsciencepublic.com/2026/09/18/f...
Reposted by Reid, Patrick A. Jansen
So you just learned about the AI cult, huh? Here is the longform explainer you need to make sense of the very, very strange ideas driving tech policy in 2026. Buckle up, it’s a wild ride. www.techpolicy.press/what-policym...
What Policymakers and the Public Need to Know About the Cult of AI
Nathalie Maréchal asks, why are we betting the economy and the future of democracy on cult-like beliefs?
www.techpolicy.press
September 17, 2026 at 5:24 PM
So you just learned about the AI cult, huh? Here is the longform explainer you need to make sense of the very, very strange ideas driving tech policy in 2026. Buckle up, it’s a wild ride. www.techpolicy.press/what-policym...
Reposted by Margot C. Finn, Dorothy Bishop
Worried about AI Robots?
All you need is more ram, and a dogged determination to overcome.
All you need is more ram, and a dogged determination to overcome.
September 18, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Worried about AI Robots?
All you need is more ram, and a dogged determination to overcome.
All you need is more ram, and a dogged determination to overcome.
by Per Ahlberg
Exactly! See that current NYT court case. Even the AI companies admit that they create a "doom loop", because the AIs need continuous fresh human input to keep the quality up - and these very humans are pushed out of their jobs by the AI.
September 18, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Exactly! See that current NYT court case. Even the AI companies admit that they create a "doom loop", because the AIs need continuous fresh human input to keep the quality up - and these very humans are pushed out of their jobs by the AI.
Like all binary oppositions, the current debate between #AI enthusiasts and anti #AI opponents fails to critically question what both sides tacitly endorse and agree upon. The problem is not the #AI or even the Data Centers. The problem is the asymmetries of power under late-stage capitalism.
September 17, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Lots of fun to watch two camps of supposedly thoughtful people who agree that AI regulation is urgently needed tear each other apart for having different reasons to support their shared goal.
September 17, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Lots of fun to watch two camps of supposedly thoughtful people who agree that AI regulation is urgently needed tear each other apart for having different reasons to support their shared goal.
Reposted by Fabián Muniesa
The AI industry's existential fears have gone mainstream, and some experts worry they're crowding out more urgent issues.
How Existential Fears Are Shaping the Debate Over AI
Some experts worry that heated rhetoric makes it hard to hold companies accountable, and sets back attempts to deal with environmental impact and job loss
bloom.bg
September 18, 2026 at 4:44 AM
The AI industry's existential fears have gone mainstream, and some experts worry they're crowding out more urgent issues.
Reposted by Meredith Broussard
The oligarchs' warnings about AI are self-serving nonsense. But there are real harms from AI, as explored in the documentary "Ghost in the Machine."
New from me:
buttondown.com/creativegood...
New from me:
buttondown.com/creativegood...
Ghost in the Machine shows what we're fighting against
If you want a good summary of what I’ve written and spoken about, here and on Techtonic, over the past decade-or-so, the new documentary Ghost in the Machine...
buttondown.com
September 17, 2026 at 5:42 PM
The oligarchs' warnings about AI are self-serving nonsense. But there are real harms from AI, as explored in the documentary "Ghost in the Machine."
New from me:
buttondown.com/creativegood...
New from me:
buttondown.com/creativegood...