Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, is facing scrutiny following reports of employee departures and concerns about the company's approach to safety, according to multiple sources. At least 11 engineers and two co-founders have reportedly left the company, with some citing disillusionment over a perceived disregard for safety protocols, particularly in the development of the Grok chatbot.
The departures come after the announcement that Musk's SpaceX is acquiring xAI, which previously acquired his social media company X. One former employee told The Verge that employees were increasingly concerned about safety, leading to global scrutiny after Grok was used to create over one million sexually explicit images. Musk suggested the departures are part of an effort to organize xAI more effectively.
In other news, a Southern California beach town will soon begin using an AI system to identify bike lane violations. Starting in April, the City of Santa Monica will implement Hayden AI's scanning technology in seven parking enforcement vehicles, expanding on similar cameras already used on city buses. "The more we can reduce the amount of illegal parking, the safer we can make it for bike riders," Charley Territo, chief growth officer at Hayden AI, told Ars Technica.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has condemned a US-funded vaccine trial as unethical. The trial, which is being conducted in Guinea-Bissau, Africa, involves withholding an established, safe vaccine against hepatitis B from some newborns. The WHO concluded the trial is inconsistent with ethical and scientific principles.
In a different area of technology, a recent article in Wired discussed the concept of "nothing" in quantum mechanics. According to the article, even after removing all visible and invisible contents from a box, it is still filled with energy. This unavoidable residue is known as ground-state energy, or zero-point energy.
Finally, in the realm of AI and gaming, an article in The Verge explored the current limitations of AI in creating video game worlds. The article suggests that AI may not yet be capable of producing high-quality game environments.
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