Welcome to Email News: Artificial intelligence leaders issue a dire warning

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Wednesday 05.31.23

One-time Silicon Valley darling Elizabeth Holmes reported to prison Tuesday to begin serving out her 11-year sentence after being convicted on multiple charges of defrauding investors. Her life in prison will be quite a change, with mandatory jobs, very early mornings and no black turtlenecks. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On With Your Day.

By AJ Willingham

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis greets audience members during a campaign event in Clive, Iowa, on Tuesday.

Ron DeSantis

Ron DeSantis officially kicked off his 2024 presidential campaign Tuesday in Iowa. While speaking to reporters after the event at an evangelical church outside Des Moines, the Florida governor leveled a series of shots at his rival, former President Donald Trump, painting him as selfish, unprincipled and petty. As the opening contest in the GOP nominating fight, Iowa holds a unique role in sizing up the presidential field. That's especially important this election season since it's the first time in over a century a former president is seeking to return to the White House. Meanwhile, Florida officials just changed state campaign finance guidelines in a very specific way to allow DeSantis' allies to initiate a specific kind of transfer to move tens of millions of dollars to a super PAC supporting his campaign. The planned move has already drawn a watchdog complaint with the Federal Election Commission.

Artificial Intelligence

Dozens of industry leaders and academics in the field of artificial intelligence have called for greater global attention to the possible threat of "extinction from AI." A statement, signed by leading industry officials like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Geoffrey Hinton — the so-called "godfather" of artificial intelligence — highlights wide-ranging concerns about the ultimate danger of unchecked AI. Experts say humanity is still a ways off from the prospect of science-fiction-like AI overlords, but the flood of hype and investment into the AI industry has led to calls for regulation now before any major mishaps occur. The growing AI arms race has already generated more immediate concerns. Lawmakers, advocacy groups and tech insiders have raised alarms about the potential for AI-powered language models like ChatGPT to spread misinformation and displace jobs.

Debt limit

The House of Representatives is on track to vote today on a bill to suspend the nation's debt limit through January 1, 2025. The bill already cleared a key hurdle Tuesday evening when the powerful House Rules Committee voted 7-6 to advance it to the floor. That's a win for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was tasked with convincing members of the committee to vote in favor even though some fellow Republicans don't approve of the bill and have vowed to sink it in the chamber. Still, it appears a wide range of House members on both sides of the aisle are poised to support the deal. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would reduce budget deficits by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, and reduce discretionary spending by a projected $1.3 trillion from 2024 to 2033.

The UK's inflation problems are getting so out of hand, officials are considering food price caps to curb the crisis. New data released this week shows the cost of store items, a metric known as shop price inflation, rose 9% through the year to May. That's the highest it's ever been since such stats were first recorded in 2005. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering asking retailers to cap the price of essential food items, something the UK government tried in the 1970s to tepid effect. Economists say capping prices leads to lower supply and higher demand, resulting in shortages. The enduring shadow of Brexit still looms large over Britain's economy, and some experts say the government should be focused on shedding burdensome regulations that resulted from the move instead of trying to control prices.

Ukraine

Russia's war on Ukraine is increasingly spilling into Russian territory. The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said four people were recently injured in a "massive strike" there. This is the latest in a series of strikes against Russian targets by Ukrainian forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the spate of attacks, saying Ukraine "chose the path of intimidation," and is provoking Russia to "mirror actions." Amid all the violence, scientists have another concern: International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has outlined a plan to protect Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and asked that Russia and Ukraine observe them to ensure the plant's safety and security.

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