Geopolitical Chess Moves: Garry Kasparov on AI, Putin, and Failed Western Leadership

Jan 9, 2025 | Garry Kasparov joins Carolin Roth at the 2023 Edition of the Swiss Economic Forum to discuss artificial intelligence, geopolitics, and the future of democracy. Reflecting on his iconic match against IBM’s Deep Blue, he highlights the evolution of AI as a tool to enhance human potential, countering fears of technological dominance. He critiques Western complacency towards Vladimir Putin, emphasizing the missed opportunities to counter authoritarianism earlier. Addressing Switzerland’s neutrality, he questions its role in global conflicts and advocates for decisive action to support Ukraine. Kasparov also explores Russia’s potential future, emphasizing the urgent need for reforms and accountability.

The Swiss Economic Forum is the leading economy conference in Switzerland and organized by NZZ Connect.

NZZ Connect is a branch of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and organizes leading business conferences throughout Switzerland, such as the Swiss Economic Forum, the Real Estate Days, and Open-i. Every year, we connect thousands of representatives from business, science, and politics, setting new standards for sustainable entrepreneurship. Our platforms offer inspiration, guidance, and foster dialogue on current and forward-looking topics. | © NZZ Connect

AI Phone Scam Targets Italian Business Leaders Including Giorgio Armani

THE GUARDIAN: Cloned voice of defence minister, Guido Crosetto, used in some calls asking for money to free kidnapped journalists

A screenshot taken from this article in today’s Guardian. | Staff of the designer Giorgio Armani were contacted by the scammers, according to Italian press reports. Photograph: Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters
Some of Italy’s best-known business leaders, including the fashion designer Giorgio Armani and the Prada chair, Patrizio Bertelli, have been targeted by an artificial intelligence-based scam that involved the mimicking of the defence minister’s voice in telephone calls claiming to seek help to free Italian journalists kidnapped in the Middle East.

Prosecutors in Milan have received four legal complaints, including from Massimo Moratti, the former owner of Inter Milan, and a member of the Beretta family, the world’s oldest producer of firearms. The defence minister, Guido Crosetto, on Monday said he would submit a legal complaint after his voice was cloned and used in at least one of the calls. » | Angela Giuffrida in Rome | Monday, February 10, 2025

Is Europe Still in the AI Race? | ARTE Europe Weekly

Jan 31, 2025 | The breakout success of Chinese DeepSeek has shaken the US’s position as a global leader in artificial intelligence. But although it might seem like a two-horse race between the US and China, the EU was the first region in the world to have created a legal framework for AI and is starting to massively invest in supercomputing and innovation. As the European Commission said, “The race for AI is far from over.”

Is Europe still in the AI race? | ARTE Europe Weekly
Available until 01/03/2025

Chinese AI Chatbot DeepSeek Sparks Turmoil in US Tech Markets | BBC News

Jan 27, 2025 | Shares in major US technology firms have fallen steeply in value after the sudden emergence of a low-cost chatbot built by a Chinese artificial intelligence firm.

The DeepSeek app, which was launched last week and reportedly developed for a fraction of the cost of its rivals, has overtaken rivals including ChatGPT to become the most downloaded free app in the US.

Shortly after US markets opened, DeepSeek says it was hit with a "large-scale malicious attack".

Swisher Says Musk Is Bashing Trump’s AI Project Because He’s Not Part of It

Jan 23, 2025 | CNN contributor Kara Swisher joins CNN’s Anderson Cooper to discuss Elon Musk appearing to undermine President Donald Trump’s $500 billion AI infrastructure investment from the White House.

Sir Keir Starmer Sets Out Plan to Make UK World Leader in AI | BBC News

Jan 13, 2025 | Artificial intelligence (AI) presents a "vast potential" for rejuvenating UK public services, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said.

In a speech setting out the government's plans to use AI across the UK to boost growth and deliver services more efficiently, the prime minister said the government had a responsibility to make AI "work for working people".

But the announcement has prompted questions from critics over how much time and money will be needed to make the government's vision a reality, after concerns over current borrowing costs and the pound falling to a recent low.

The Jordan Harbinger Show: Yuval Noah Harari: "Democracy Is On the Brink of Collapse"

Nov 16, 2024

AI Could Cause ‘Catastrophic’ Financial Crisis, Says Yuval Noah Harari

GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA: Historian and Sapiens author says sophistication of technology makes it difficult to forecast its dangers

Harari said an AI-created financial crisis would not destroy civilisation – ‘at least not directly’.Photograph: Antonio Olmos
Artificial intelligence could cause a financial crisis with “catastrophic” consequences, according to the historian and author Yuval Noah Harari, who says the technology’s sophistication makes forecasting its dangers difficult.

Harari told the Guardian a concern about safety testing AI models was foreseeing all the problems that a powerful system could cause. Unlike with nuclear weapons, there was not one “big, dangerous scenario” that everyone understood, he said.

“With AI, what you’re talking about is a very large number of dangerous scenarios, each of them having a relatively small probability that taken together … constitutes an existential threat to the survival of human civilisation.” » | Dan Milmo, Global technology editor | Friday, November 10, 2023

Labour Accuses Rishi Sunak of Angling for Job after Elon Musk Interview

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Shadow minister says PM may have had one eye on his future career as he and tech billionaire talked AI on stage

Rishi Sunak and Elon Musk during their on-stage conversation in London on Thursday.Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA
Labour has accused Rishi Sunak of using his interview with Elon Musk to position himself for a job after Downing Street, after criticism that the prime minister allowed the billionaire to overshadow his AI safety summit.

Sunak rushed from Bletchley Park to central London after the summit to interview Musk on stage in an event that critics said made the prime minister look weak in the face of corporate power.

During the event, Musk predicted that AI would eventually take everybody’s jobs, that people faced a threat from “humanoid robots” and that one of the biggest upsides from the technology would be that people would be able to make AI friends.

His comments have since dominated the news agenda, overtaking an agreement signed by the world’s biggest AI companies that could lead to a slowdown in the race to develop systems that can compete with humans.

Peter Kyle, the shadow technology secretary, said on Friday: “The AI summit was an opportunity for the UK to lead the global debate on how we regulate this powerful new technology for good. Instead, the prime minister has been left behind by the US and EU who are moving ahead with real safeguards on the technology.

“Unfortunately, Rishi Sunak again allowed himself to be distracted from the serious issues at hand, perhaps with one eye on his future career.” » | Kiran Stacey, Political correspondent | Friday, November 3, 2023

Elon must have felt very flattered to be brown-nosed by the prime minister of the United Kingdom! But people will do anything for a lucrative hobble in retirement. Rishi Sunak is clearly no exception. – © Mark Alexander

What Is Artificial Intelligence? - BBC News

Sep 14, 2015 | The BBC's quick guide to artificial intelligence.

AI Summit: Tech and World Leaders Talk Artificial Intelligence Safety at Bletchley Park - BBC News

Nov 3, 2023 | British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he believed the UK's first AI safety summit will "tip the balance in favour of humanity" with an agreement from some governments and tech firms to work together on AI safety. At the summit, hosted at Bletchley Park, several leading technology companies agreed to allow governments to safety-test their next generation of AI models before they are deployed. The voluntary document was signed by 10 countries and the EU, including the UK, US, Singapore and Canada. China was not a signatory.

Elon Musk Says AI Is Existential Risk at UK Safety Summit - BBC News

Nov 1, 2023 | Elon Musk says artificial intelligence is "one of the existential risks we face as world leaders attend a AI safety summit in the UK. About 100 world leaders, tech bosses and academics are gathering there over the next two days to discuss how best to maximise the benefits of artificial intelligence - while minimising the risks. Others have warned against speculating about unlikely future threats and said the world should instead focus on the potential present-day risks AI poses, such as replacing some jobs and entrenching bias.