🪤 LaMDA and the Sentient AI Trap

Today’s pick

LaMDA and the Sentient AI Trap. Google AI researcher Blake Lemoine was recently placed on administrative leave after going public with claims that LaMDA, a large language model designed to converse with people, was sentient. At one point, according to reporting by The Washington… (Khari Johnson / WIRED)

Timnit Gebru @timnitGebru

Thank you @kharijohnson. "Giada Pistilli (@GiadaPistilli), an ethicist at Hugging Face,...“This narrative provokes fear, amazement, & excitement simultaneously, but it is mainly based on lies to sell products and take advantage of the hype.” Exactly.

wired.comLaMDA and the Sentient AI TrapArguments over whether Google’s large language model has a soul distract from the real-world problems that plague artificial intelligence.

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Coinbase lays off 18% of workforce as executives prepare for recession and 'crypto winter. Coinbase will cut 18% of full-time jobs, according to an email sent to employees Tuesday. CEO Brian Armstrong pointed to a possible recession, a need to manage costs and growing 'too quickly' during a bull market. 'We appear to be entering a… (Kate Rooney / CNBC)

Kate Rooney ☘️ @Kr00ney

Coinbase lays off 18% of workforce as execs prepare for recession & ‘crypto winter’ $COIN CEO @brian_armstrong points to a need to manage costs, growing “too quickly” during bull mrkt "We appear to be entering a recession after a 10+ year economic boom."

cnbc.comCoinbase lays off 18% of workforce as executives prepare for recession and ‘crypto winter’Coinbase is laying off almost a fifth of its workforce amid a collapse in crypto prices.

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Sure, Internet Explorer Had Its Faults. But Fans Are Mourning its Death Anyway.. On Wednesday, Microsoft Corp. will pull the plug on its venerable browser after more than 27 years, scrapping a tool that introduced many computer users to web surfing. For some, it was high time: The browser had a reputation for being slow and… (Alyssa Lukpat / Wall Street Journal)

Alyssa Lukpat @AlyssaLukpat

My first A-hed for @WSJ is up! It's time to say goodbye to Internet Explorer, a relic of a simpler time. The browser is shutting down tomorrow. wsj.com/articles/SB124…

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Silicon Valley's Horrible Bosses. On Friday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted through a crisis in his workplace. He was reacting to an anonymous petition, supposedly from Coinbase employees, asking for a vote of no confidence and removal of the cryptocurrency exchange's chief… (Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic)

Charlie Warzel @cwarzel

I wrote about the coinbase CEO and the Elon Musk School of Management, aka management via culture warring. These guys are hailed as business visionaries but the real thing they are *disrupting* is their employees

newsletters.theatlantic.comSilicon Valley’s Horrible BossesDispatches From the Elon Musk School of Management

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Apple's Pro-Privacy Stance is Anti-Competition, German Regulator Says. Another day, another antitrust investigation into a tech giant. This time, it's Apple: Germany's competition watchdog on Tuesday announced a new probe into Apple's slate of anti-tracking tech that the company rolled out last year. The… (Shoshana Wodinsky / Gizmodo)

shoshana wodinsky (she/her) @swodinsky

this is the third(!!!!) european antitrust probe targeting apple’s privacy updates; meanwhile afaik american regulators are just like 😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️ 😶‍🌫️ 😶‍🌫️ 😶‍🌫️ gizmodo.com/apple-app-stor…

gizmodo.comApple’s Pro-Privacy Stance is Anti-Competition, German Regulator SaysApple’s tracking crackdown wasn’t only about protecting users—it was about beefing up its own business, German authorities say.

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