mtf.tv's mtf NOW: Newsom vetoes A.I. safety bill... Zuck's iPhone killer glasses?... a.i. jargon decoded...

BREAKING OVERNIGHT:

NEWSOM VETOES A.I. SAFETY BILL — SIDES WITH SILICON VALLEY.

Associated Press:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday.

WHY IT MATTERS —> So goes California… so goes the nation…

QUOTABLE, Gov. Gavin Newsom: “The bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions — so long as a large system deploys it. I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology.”

NOTABLE, via CNBC: “The measure would have mandated safety testing for many of the most advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million to develop or those that require a defined amount of computing power.”

— TRANSLATION —> ChatGPT dodges SIFI stress tests… for now…

Zuck’s iPhone-killer glasses?

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is betting big that the best device for artificial intelligence are glasses — not television, not smartphones, not smart speakers. Last week, Zuck unveiled Meta’s Orion glasses. Zuck predicts that the same way your smartphone replaced your 1990s desktop computer… in the future, your glasses will replace your smartphone.

ZUCK, THE FORTUNE TELLER:

When you wake up one day in ten years, you may no longer need to carry a phone with you. While the phone will still exist in our lives, it will play more of a "backup" or "storage" role, being placed in pockets, bags, and even at home. Instead, glasses will gradually rise as the main medium for computing and interaction.

Source: The Verge.

Not so fast… Zuck’s specs won’t be ready until at least 2027… or even 2030… it costs $10K to make a pair of these goggles. (Source: LedInside.)

$10,000 for glasses??????

hello future, it’s me kev.

…and this is a dispatch from the digital frontier. your one-stop shop for markets, tech and the future. The day is 274. The year is 2024. The planet is Earth. And my name is Kevin Cirilli. Connect with me on LinkedIn. We had a great time last week speaking with our friend Louise Schiavone’s business students at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

Back to the future…

zuck bets big on glasses

Zuckerberg says Meta will invest $5+ BILLION in Orion… But how are shareholders reacting compared to Apple?? See for yourself:

Apple versus Meta: Vision for the future? Created with TradingView

talk the talk…

ChatGPT Glossary: 47 AI Terms That Everyone Should Know, via CNET.

Kev’s favorite:

anthropomorphism: When humans tend to give nonhuman objects humanlike characteristics. In AI, this can include believing a chatbot is more humanlike and aware than it actually is, like believing it's happy, sad or even sentient altogether. 

Kev’s least favorite:

foom: Also known as fast takeoff or hard takeoff. The concept that if someone builds an [A.I.] that it might already be too late to save humanity.

WHAT.

THE.

FOOM.

FOOM ALERT: China, Russia threaten North Pole ahead of Christmas

In Norway, Russia + China talk about opening a lasers lab… plus, Russia wants to also build an amusement park there… like Disney World… right next to the lasers lab….

It’s giving Die Hard is a Christmas movie vibes…

WSJ reports:

SVALBARD, Norway—Nestled high above the Arctic Circle, the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is home to hundreds of polar bears and boasts prime views of the Northern Lights.

Now the territory of fewer than 3,000 people is emerging as a front line in Russia and China’s attempts to dominate the Arctic’s trade routes and expand their military presence in the region at the expense of the West.

Flashback, May 2023: Arctic Harmony Is Falling Apart: An isolated Russia is turning to China for help in the north. Source: Foreign Policy.

AI’s Editor? Microsoft Will Training AI to Correct Its Own Mistakes

Microsoft has introduced a new "Correction" feature, which allows AI to learn from its own errors and self-correct in real-time, all while displaying visually appealing graphics. AI, though powerful, isn’t known for being consistently accurate – with error rates ranging from 3% to 27%. Source: EuroNews.

QUICK Q —> But who edits the editor?

space watch: hurricane satellites… Russian missile mishap… and Starlink soars

BY BRIG. GEN. (RET.) DAMON FELTMAN

Satellite Imagery At Home and Abroad: Hurricane Helene has just passed over Florida, and while the full extent of the damage is still unknown, the value of satellite imagery in preparation and response is clear. NOAA's weather satellites have been crucial in detecting, tracking, and predicting storms, saving lives. When combined with commercial geospatial products like imagery and synthetic aperture radar, agencies can manage preparedness and response far more effectively. (SOURCE:  NOAA)

FAILURE TO LAUNCH —> The proliferation of commercial imagery continues to aid geo-political transparency.  WaPo reported this week what appears to be a failed test Russia’s next-generation strategic missile, Sarmat.  Imagery collected by companies Maxar and Planet Labs, clearly show a very large crater at the missile silo’s location, indicating detonation of the missile before it cleared the silo. (SOURCE:  Washington Post)

Wifi in-flight, thanks to SpaceX’s Starlink: SpaceX subsidiary, Starlink, continues to make inroads with the In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) market.  Last week it was announced that United Airlines will add Starlink IFC to over 1,000 planes and give free service to passengers.  On the heels of this announcement, Air France has done the same, and will convert its 200-aircraft fleet in the coming years.  Starlink has passed the 4-million-customer mark, and that the rate of growth is accelerating.  Translation: Starlink will likely hit $6.6B in revenue this year, up from $1.4B two years ago.  (SOURCES:  SpaceNews, CNBC, TechCrunch)

In-Space Manufacturing: RocketLab announced it’s completed the second spacecraft for space biopharma company, Varda Space.  Varda’s first satellite was flown in 2023-2024, and demonstrated in-space manufacturing of HIV/AIDS therapeutic ritonavir. Varda has its launch and re-entry licenses from the FAA and plans to launch in November.  (Source:  RocketLab, ViaSatellite)

-- Feltman was a career-long space operations officer, commanding space units at U.S. Space Command, and setting budget priorities at HQ Space Force. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

O’Brien’s Radar:

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Mary O'Brien led cyber for the Joint Chiefs, the first female to hold the position. She is a leading national voice on cyber-security and artificial intelligence. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Here’s what she’s watching this week:

Disinformation Fears Grip Voters Ahead of Election: A new study shows growing worries about misinformation as the 2024 election approaches. The findings:

• 94 percent fear misinformation could influence election outcomes

• 87 percent believe AI-generated content has made it more difficult to discern fact from fiction.

The findings emphasize the need for robust safeguards and transparency in AI-generated media — especially during critical news events, although there isn’t consensus on the best implementation methods. Source: Adobe.

AI Outshines Meteorologists: Predicting Hurricanes Faster Than Ever —> The use of AI in weather prediction is showing promising results, with some models now outperforming traditional numerical methods in predicting extreme weather events. The AI system GraphCast forecasted the path of Hurricane Lee nine days before landfall — three days before conventional methods. It sounds promising, but will AI algorithms be able to keep up with climate change? Source: Smithsonian.

lite bytes:

APOLOGY TOUR: "Perfect storm" - CrowdStrike VP apologizes as Congress hearing into outage begins, via Tech Radar.

STATING THE OBVIOUS: Mark Cuban warns the U.S. must win the AI race ‘or we lose everything,’ via Fortune.

USEFUL INFORMATION: How To Upskill Your Workforce With Artificial Intelligence (AI), via Forbes.

About mtf.tv’s meet the future: mtf.tv’s meet the future is a cutting-edge platform focused on addressing key challenges at the intersection of national security, technology, and business. With a mission to embrace freedom to meet the future’s challenges and opportunities, mtf.tv offers forward-thinking media offerings and forums.