Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, June 12 2023
Posted: 18th June 2023
June 12, 2023
A NYC ferry passes under the Manhattan Bridge on Wednesday night, with the city shrouded in wildfire smoke. (Photo: Jessica McKenzie)
CLIMATE CHANGE
Wildfires push air quality in US cities almost off the charts
More than 100 million people have been impacted by unhealthy levels of air pollution this week, writes Bulletin editor Jessica McKenzie. “Wildfire smoke is becoming, if not the new normal, then at least a semi-regular hazard for more Americans.” Read more.
DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
Why the IAEA model may not be best for regulating artificial intelligenceAlthough nuclear weapons and artificial intelligence both have the potential to destroy the world, how AI might end civilization is not as clear as nuclear apocalypse, writes defense expert Ian J. Stewart. This is why the same tools used to regulate nuclear weapons may not be effective with AI. Read more.
DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
Most AI research shouldn’t be publicly released
Transparency in scientific research is undeniably valuable. But it would be a mistake for AI research to be completely transparent, writes philosopher Nate Sharadin. To minimize harm, dual use technologies—especially those like AI that have weapons applications—need restrictions on transparency. Read more.
“Let’s get down to the serious and hopeful business of giving the world more time to thrive.”
— Siegfried S Hecker, chair of the Bulletin’s Board of Sponsors and former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory
NUCLEAR RISK
Artificial intelligence: challenges and controversies for US national security
Military theorists, strategic planners, scientists, and political leaders will face at least seven different challenges in anticipating the directions in which the interface between human and machine will move in the next few decades, write two security experts. Read more.
IN THE NEWS
Bulletin editor Sara Goudarzi weighs in on the future of artificial intelligenceIn this Media Masters podcast, Goudarzi explains that although AI is presented as an impending storm that we do not have control over, humans are in control of their deployment and can choose a future where they work with these technologies instead of being replaced by them. Read more.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If you’re out for long periods of time, you feel your breathing become more difficult. It starts to hurt. It’s like cigarette smoke. The more you’re out, the more your throat hurts.”
— A New York delivery worker during the recent air quality crisis, “10 hours in the smoke: NYC delivery workers say they had ‘no choice’ but to work”, NBC
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