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The Guardian view on AI regulation: the threat is too grave for Sunak’s light-touch approach | Editorial

The PM’s fear of stifling innovation makes him too hesitant to deal with problems that Washington and Brussels are already addressing The challenge of regulating artificial intelligence is sometimes compared to the management of nuclear energy: there are valuable civil applications alongside terrifying military ones, and a credible risk of existential calamity if it all goes wrong. But nuclear weapons are expensive and hard to acquire. By contrast, AI can distribute awesome power at relatively low cost. This adds unprecedented complexity to the task facing attenders at an AI safety summit that Rishi Sunak is hosting this week at Bletchley Park. The prime minister wants to position the UK as a global leader in the field. It is a creditable diplomatic endeavour, partly vindicated by the “ Bletchley declaration ” in which 28 countries agree to a sustained global dialogue on managing emerging AI risks. Significantly, both the US and China have signed. Continue reading... from The Gua

Why do so many people still love Friends? | Zoe Williams

The 90s were a decade of carefree optimism and comically low stakes. Matthew Perry’s death brings us crashing back into the now In 2004, the author Damian Barr published Get It Together: Surviving Your Quartlerlife Crisis. Barr would go on to write poignant and beautiful books (including the memoir Maggie and Me) but this wasn’t either of those things. It was more of a fun, generational howl: how’s this stuff supposed to work? How are you supposed to become an adult in these conditions? The dream of life in your 20s – flailing around not sure what to do, mooching from one dead-end job to another but still managing to afford a gigantic, lovely flat in the centre of everything, failing romantically, hilariously, while it all turns out for the best, never feeling anxious for no reason or as if you’re slipping through the sieve of polite society, too small and weightless to remain in the in-crowd – well, that dream was cracking a little. As Barr put it in a radio interview, the question,

Should I worry about getting less exercise in winter?

As the light levels fall and the temperature drops, is it OK to just hunker down and take it easy till spring? Or will that bring on the blues? Ah, winter. Season of hot toddies, roast dinners, heated blankets and mulled … everything. Much less of an idyllic time for getting up early to hit the gym, going for a run in the evening darkness or even going for a bracing walk at lunchtime. And the evidence confirms what you probably suspect: in the winter, we tend to make our training sessions a bit shorter and spend more time sedentary . So are we casual exercisers doomed to backsliding in the icy months, or are there ways to tackle it? And does anything about the colder, darker months actually make maintaining your fitness easier? First of all: yes, it’s helpful to make the effort during winter, even if you’re not concerned about your six-pack or 10k time. Seasonal affective disorder, which seems to affect women more than men , may affect not just mood but health more generally , thoug

‘Lord, where do we go?’ Gaza’s social media voices begin to fall silent

Communications blackout cuts off stream of Snapchat updates from residents about life in the conflict • Israel and Hamas at war – live updates Communications went dark in Gaza on Friday, but the few voices that emerged described a night of intense airstrikes and panic among a population fearing that the outage signified a new stage in the violence. The social media platform Snapchat has been used since the war began by some Gazans to post images from their lives, with videos showing people in long queues at bakeries or for water, or gathered in crowds at hospitals and schools. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/cBZHfXF

Mike Pence suspends campaign for Republican presidential nomination

The former vice-president to Donald Trump says that after prayer and deliberation he concludes ‘it is not my time’ Mike Pence, the former vice-president under Donald Trump, has suspended his campaign to become the Republican nominee for president in the 2024 election. Pence announced at an event held by the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas on Saturday that he was dropping out of the race, in which he has been lagging, along with others, far behind frontrunner Trump. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2IVrwsv

Earl and Dan edge England to victory over Argentina in bronze final

Argentina 23-26 England Steve Borthwick’s team hold off Pumas to take third place The last thing this sometimes bonkers, always scrappy contest for third place needed was extra time but when Argentina’s Nicolás Sánchez lined up a shot at goal with the clock running down, another 20 minutes in a match that ostensibly does not matter loomed large. As it was, Sánchez missed the kick, England survived a couple of scrums eerily close on the field to that which cost them dearly against South Africa last week and ultimately finish their World Cup as they started it – with a hard-fought win against Argentina. These exhausted players who began preparing for the competition in June were spared the extra mile and though it was a victory that exposed England’s limitations, it was a victory nonetheless. And one that comes at the end of a difficult week given the furore surrounding Tom Curry, who enjoyed a fine 50 minutes before making way, visibly drained but head held high. Continue reading