All posts tagged: A.I

As A.I. Fever Rises in Silicon Valley, Pope Leo Has a Few Words

As A.I. Fever Rises in Silicon Valley, Pope Leo Has a Few Words

Published by skeptic

Silicon Valley has always had messianic dreams, dating back to the days when computers filled entire rooms. One of the oldest industry jokes has a programmer asking a computer, “Is there a God?” The computer answers: “There is now.” The Whole Earth Catalog, a proto-hacker compendium of tools that deeply influenced Steve Jobs, proclaimed, “We are as gods and might as well get good at it.” By investing hundreds of billions of dollars in artificial intelligence, tech leaders are signaling that those early dreams have been fulfilled. Next stop, transcendence. Just as the new religion of A.I. seemed to be solidifying its control over mankind’s destiny, however, a new voice is being heard on the other side of the world. Its message to the tech industry: Slow down. Elevate the human. Machines are not gods. Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, published with great ceremony on Monday his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, or “Magnificent Humanity.” The 42,300-word policy statement is respectful and named no names, but is at heart a sharp rebuke to Silicon …

Pope Leo Warns of Risks From A.I. in 42,300-Word Encyclical

Pope Leo Warns of Risks From A.I. in 42,300-Word Encyclical

Published by Sam Flores

Pope Leo XIV on Monday set out a sweeping vision for corporate executives, politicians and individuals who will shape and be shaped by the future of artificial intelligence, warning leaders to safeguard humanity from A.I.’s most disruptive effects. Leo’s declaration came in the form of a papal encyclical, an open letter to “all people of good will” that ran to roughly 42,300 words in its English version. It outlined his desire to protect human dignity and agency in an age in which technology threatens to replace humans in many professional and social roles. He presented it alongside Christopher Olah, a co-founder of Anthropic, a major A.I. developer, in a symbolic gesture of dialogue between leaders of the spiritual and technological worlds. While emphasizing that “technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity,” he wrote that “the pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs.” Among other things, Leo called for: government regulation of the private companies that are driving the development of A.I. protection and retraining for …

Pope Leo Has Released an Encyclical About A.I. Why Is That Important?

Pope Leo Has Released an Encyclical About A.I. Why Is That Important?

Published by Sam Flores

Pope Leo XIV on Monday presented his vision for how to preserve human dignity in the era of artificial intelligence. ​He offered his ideas by issuing a kind of document known as an encyclical, a nearly 400-year-old papal tradition of teaching the Roman Catholic faithful. The document issued on Monday, titled “Magnifica Humanitas,” or “Magnificent Humanity,” is Leo’s first encyclical since he became pope last year. Written by the pope and generally addressed to the whole church, encyclicals impart authoritative teachings about moral or social challenges. They lack the legal status of a papal bull, which is a formal declaration of an article of faith or moral law. But Catholics are still encouraged to use encyclicals to guide their lifestyles and choices. Popes do not usually attend the presentation of their encyclicals, but Leo presented his in person at the Vatican alongside Christopher Olah, a founder of Anthropic, a major A.I. developer, and several Catholic prelates and theologians. Popes have been writing letters to the faithful since the early days of the church, but Benedict …

One Job That Is Growing in the A.I. Era? Cybersecurity Experts.

One Job That Is Growing in the A.I. Era? Cybersecurity Experts.

Published by skeptic

“The job market for security people is getting hotter and hotter,” Dr. Kissner added. Cybersecurity is not the only area where A.I. has spurred a hiring boom. It is also creating jobs in private equity and venture capital firms, recruiters said, as investors look to cash in on the A.I. boom and to use the technology to assess and enhance their portfolios. The A.I. industry itself is hiring — the fastest-growing job title for recent college graduates is A.I. engineer, according to LinkedIn. “We need more software engineers than ever,” Nick Fox, the senior vice president of knowledge and information at Google, said on a panel at the company’s marketing conference last week. But engineers’ roles have shifted to managing A.I. agents, or bots that act as assistants in accomplishing various tasks, he said. “That’s a change to the work of a software engineer,” he said. “But it doesn’t mean the job of a software engineer goes away.” Still, those areas of growth are unlikely to offset widespread job cuts in other parts of the …

2026 Cannes Film Festival 5 Takeaways: AI, Queer Cinema

2026 Cannes Film Festival 5 Takeaways: AI, Queer Cinema

Published by Daniella Wilson

Quiet on the surface, Cannes 2026 exposed the fault lines reshaping cinema — from the evolving indie ecosystem and the studios’ festival retreat to the industry’s uneasy embrace of AI. Published on May 23, 2026 (L to R): Competition favorite ‘The Black Ball,’ ‘Club Kid’ director Jordan Firstsman, Vin Diesel at ‘The Fast and The Furious’ screening, humanoid robot at Cannes. Cannes Film Festival, Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu,Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/Mondadori Portfolio, Anna KURTH / AFP The 79th Cannes Film Festival was, on the surface, a more subdued edition. No studio films, fewer stars and a lineup more meh than magnifique. But that relative calm was deceptive. Beneath it, Cannes 2026 functioned less as a showcase of immediate hits than as a seismic map of the indie film industry, revealing shifting tectonic plates in the transformation of the indie sector, the changing role of studios on the festival circuit, and the accelerating impact of AI across production and marketing. What followed on the Croisette was not noise, but signal. Hollywood Stayed Home — and Everyone Noticed Image Credit: …

Sundar Pichai Understands Why People Are Anxious About A.I.

Sundar Pichai Understands Why People Are Anxious About A.I.

Published by skeptic

Roose: The last time we had you on, we asked you about A.G.I. and your feelings about the term. At the time, you responded that it didn’t really matter whether you reached A.G.I. or not, because the systems are going to be very, very capable, and Google’s strategy should be the same. I noticed that you did not say A.G.I. in your keynote. Demis [Hassabis] did, but you did not. What’s your relationship with the term A.G.I. today, and the idea that all of this progress is building toward something singular and world-changing? Pichai: There is inevitable progress toward A.G.I. that’s happening. I have long understood it, otherwise I wouldn’t have pivoted the company 10 years ago to put that technology at the heart and center of the company. All I meant by that statement was that even in the scenario where A.G.I. is going to take 10 years, the technology — which is three years out — will be so much more powerful than what we have today that I don’t want people to …

A.I. Shakes Up China’s Entertainment Landscape

A.I. Shakes Up China’s Entertainment Landscape

Published by Sam Flores

new video loaded: A.I. Shakes Up China’s Entertainment Landscape transcript Back transcript A.I. Shakes Up China’s Entertainment Landscape New A.I. tools are changing China’s entertainment industry and transforming one of its most popular genres: the microdrama. A.I. is changing China’s entertainment industry, and transforming one of its most popular genres: the microdrama. Microdramas are short, serialized shows made for the phone, that use rapid plot developments to hook viewers. The addictive bite-sized videos have become increasingly popular, creating a 14 billion dollar industry in China. Powerful new A.I. tools are making it faster and cheaper to create episodes. But as A.I.-generated dramas take off, some feel that they’re being left behind. This actress and director shared videos with The New York Times of their experiences in a changing industry. Xing Enran has been a microdrama actress since 2023, taking on supporting roles, and often playing the seductress. She said every day was busy, but rewarding. Wang Yushun started his career as an independent filmmaker. But he struggled to find an audience for his work. So …

Fremantle Unveils First Native AI Project: ‘Art Awakens’

Fremantle Unveils First Native AI Project: ‘Art Awakens’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Indie production giant Fremantle today unveiled Art Awakens, the first native AI production from Fremantle’s new AI production label Imaginae Studios. The short-form educational TV series uses generative AI to take viewers into the inner worlds of history’s most iconic paintings. Over six episodes, the series literally dives into the some of the best-known masterpieces of the past five centuries, from Jan van Eyck’s “The Arnolfini Portrait” to “Whistler’s Mother” from James McNeill Whistler; from Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” to Hokusai’s “The Great Wave”; and “The Scream” by Edvard Munch to Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks.” Each episode uses AI technology to animate the original artwork, creating a world inside the painting to explore the emotional and narrative history behind each masterpiece. Imagine created the series in collaboration with award-winning Spanish AI filmmaker Hilario Abad. James Duffen, CEO of Imaginae Studios, said the project shows how generative AI can be “applied with taste, craft and cultural sensitivity” to tell stories “that were previously impossible” while remaining rooted in artistic craft and cultural integrity. Andrea Scrosati, …

The A.I. Videos on Kids’ YouTube Feeds

The A.I. Videos on Kids’ YouTube Feeds

Published by skeptic

new video loaded: The A.I. Videos on Kids’ YouTube Feeds The YouTube algorithm is pushing bizarre, often nonsensical A.I.-generated videos targeting children. Our video journalist Arijeta Lajka explains why experts say that these videos could affect their cognitive development, and how parents can identify this type of content. By Arijeta Lajka, Christina Shaman, Melanie Bencosme and June Kim February 26, 2026 Source link