philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

US military must adapt as formations will be ‘hunted’ by autonomous systems, Caine says

... “The character of war is changing, and time is of the essence,” Caine said, emphasizing how the way and speed in which countries fight is altering on the modern battlefield as artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities and autonomous systems develop. ...

The chairman noted that the modern battlefield today operates from the seabed to the cislunar space, highlighting that the advantage will go to whoever can see, understand, decide and act first as a learning organization.

Caine highlighted the June rescue of two Army soldiers by way of a remotely piloted Navy unmanned surface as an example of how the military is adapting and utilizing AI and autonomous tools. ...

See the full story here: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/09/16/us-military-must-adapt-as-formations-will-be-hunted-by-autonomous-systems-caine-says/

Who should set the rules for AI? The UN is pushing for a safer digital future

...

The Global Dialogue on AI Governance, meanwhile, brings governments and other stakeholders together to discuss international cooperation, share experience and work towards greater compatibility between different approaches to AI governance.

The General Assembly designed the two institutions to complement each other: the Scientific Panel provides the evidence, and countries decide at the Global Dialogue what to do in response. ...

On Wednesday, Mr. Guterres called for international cooperation to ensure that AI development remains safe, secure and responsible. He added that voluntary efforts to slow AI development will not be sufficient if they are isolated, unverifiable or unevenly applied.

Asked about how the UN could convene a summit as part of a process leading to effective regulation for humankind, he said it could not be done next week – but it should happen soon, with “everybody on board” from the public, private, scientific, and civil society sectors.  ...

Comparing AI development to the Cold War-era arms race between the US and Soviet Union, the Secretary-General called for cooperation between countries at the forefront of AI – including the US and China – to slow down AI development while risks continue to be assessed. ...

...

Read the full story here: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/09/1168353

Anthropic CEO outlines plan to slow AI development

...

“We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models,” Amodei wrote. “Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain.”

Other AI executives seem to have reacted positively to Amodei’s post, with Altman writing, “I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier. This has been a primary topic of discussions we’ve had at OpenAI in recent weeks.” And SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted, “Dario is right.” ...

Amodei’s proposed first step would involve “embedded evaluators” from third-party organizations like METR — evaluators who can verify that AI companies are actually following their pacing and safety commitments and can also ensure that safety incidents get reported. ...

Next, Amodei called for the leading AI companies “within democratic countries” to coordinate “common safety standards as well as limits on the rate of unchecked AI progress.” 

Such coordination might seem unlikely, because these companies are reportedly worried that a coordinated pause could lead to antitrust scrutiny. Amodei alluded to that concern in his post, writing that “for antitrust reasons, it’s helpful for the US government to mediate or at least enable these discussions — they don’t need to participate, but do need to issue a narrow waiver for certain kinds of safety conversations.” ...

Lastly, Amodei called for “global coordination,” where the United States and its allies “attempt to coordinate with authoritarian governments, to the extent this is possible.” Amodei said this would mean “cooperation with China,” and he admitted that there are “stark limits on what can be achieved,” but he still suggested there might be opportunities for agreement, even if it’s just “prohibiting certain narrow and obviously dangerous uses of AI, such as using AI for the production of biological weapons or allowing users to do so.” ...

See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/12/anthropic-ceo-outlines-plan-to-pace-the-frontier/

“Welcome to the AGI era,” OpenAI says as GPT-6 Astra debuts

...

Between the lines: OpenAI said that Astra was built on its largest-ever training run, using more than 100,000 GPUs at its Stargate site in Texas. 

• The company also said this is its first model to use other models in a significant role in supervising Astra's training.

...

• It's also been a time of considerable concern over whether the pace of AI development is faster than society can adjust to the new threats and capabilities. 
• Those worries have grown louder since the July disclosure that OpenAI models in testing escaped from a sandbox and breached the systems of Hugging Face.
• "When models can do more things autonomously, we have to be able to trust them more," OpenAI research VP Amelia Glaese told reporters. "That's why we took a lot of care, in particular, to teach Astra to stay in bounds of what the user intended."

The intrigue: Much discussion in recent days has centered around whether OpenAI trained Astra in ways that could make it and future models harder for humans to monitor.

• OpenAI acknowledged that Astra was harder to monitor in evaluations designed to test whether it could evade oversight.

...

See the full story here: https://www.axios.com/2026/09/03/openai-astra-gpt-6-agi-brockman

Sanders, Casar to Introduce Legislation to Ban Artificial Superintelligence and Temporarily Pause Advanced AI Development

... The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act would permanently ban the development and deployment of superintelligent AI and temporarily pause advanced AI development until a federal regulator has established safety rules. It would also direct the U.S. to pursue international agreements to prevent superintelligence from being developed anywhere in the world. ...

“If we allow Artificial Superintelligence to be built, it could risk the security, freedom, and lives of Americans,” Casar said. “Despite its potential deadly consequences, cutting-edge AI technology is less regulated than the average food truck.  ...

Working to ban superintelligence around the world by setting the international policy of the United States to pursue international agreements, allied coordination, and policies such as export controls to prevent the development of artificial superintelligence anywhere in the world. ...

See the full story here: https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-casar-introduce-legislation-to-ban-artificial-superintelligence-and-temporarily-pause-advanced-ai-development/

Deming Tells Class of 2030 AI Will Bring About a New Age for American Universities

Harvard College Dean David J. Deming told members of the Class of 2030 that they were entering a “third era” of higher education in remarks at an abbreviated Convocation ceremony Tuesday afternoon — arguing that artificial intelligence would fundamentally change the role universities play in American society.

In his remarks, Deming divided the history of higher education into two eras. In the 1600s, he said, Harvard stood out because of the number of books it had accumulated — notable in an era where access to information was limited to a select few.

But as knowledge became more widely accessible and society increasingly specialized, Deming argued that universities have become places where expertise, rather than general knowledge, was cultivated — sometimes at the cost of a unified community. ...

The rise of AI, he argued, is prompting another shift in the role of higher education, as technology makes expertise increasingly accessible and places greater value on collaborative and communal learning. ...

“I believe that in this new, third era of undergraduate education, we should lean into our strengths and become radically more communal, enabling other forms of learning in which technology is of little or no use,” he said.

Deming has previously argued on his personal podcast that social skills, including collaboration and effective communication, will become increasingly valuable in the workplace as AI is more widely adopted. ...

See the full story here: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/9/2/deming-convocation-address/

New York City Public Schools banning AI use through middle school starting this year

... The nation's largest school district said it will begin the school year next week with a sweeping ban on AI for students in in 2-K through eighth grade.

In a statement to ABC News, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that the city is implementing a moratorium on generative AI for students in pre-school or 2-K through eighth grade and will spend the next year "studying the impacts of this technology."

Mamdani wrote in part, “the tech industry wants us to believe that A.I.-powered early education is not only inevitable, but necessary.”

“We do not see it that way,” he added. ...

New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said the measure will help restore the critical thinking skills students need to graduate.

“We’re standing firmly in our decision to not conflate innovation with more tech, and we’re going to lead over the next year with evidence and make sure technology serves learning -- not the other way around,” Samuels wrote in a statement. ...

See the full story here: https://abcnews.com/Technology/new-york-city-public-schools-banning-ai-middle/story?id=136134872

How schools are handling AI, screen time and slashes to the Department of Education

...

ARMAGHAN KHAN: Technology is kind of the backbone of my curriculum. I would say about 75% of our work was on some kind of screen-based activity.

SHAH: In the past, his students have done large-scale science experiments right on their laptops. He says he has space in his classroom for in-person experiments, but no budget for them. And then there are also families of students with disabilities who are concerned. We spoke to one high schooler with dyslexia who says screens have revolutionized school for her.

SORAYA MARTIN: I started getting really good grades. And I had so much more to say, and it made me feel more confident in myself.

SHAH: That's Soraya Martin. She uses tools like speech-to-text to help her read and write. She worries screen time limits will mean she will fall behind again. ...

See the full story here: https://www.npr.org/2026/08/30/nx-s1-5938800/how-schools-are-handling-ai-screen-time-and-slashes-to-the-department-of-education

AUTONOMOUS LAMP FEELS LIKE A PIXAR CHARACTER BROUGHT TO LIFE — WITH AI FOR A BRAIN

...And perhaps more importantly, it moves in a way that makes it remarkably difficult not to treat it like a little creature sitting on your desk.

Lamp can hesitate before turning to look at you. Tell it something shocking and it flinches, flashes white, then sags before settling into a slow blue glow. Move a coffee cup across the desk and its head follows it. Double-tap its head and it reacts as though you’re petting it.

It feels a little like an animated character brought to life.

And yes, it is still a lamp. ...

Autonomous Lamp is priced at US$499, discounted from its stated US$999 price, with free shipping scheduled to begin from 24 September 2026. ...

See the full story here: https://www.digitalreviews.net/news/pressers/autonomous-lamp-embodied-ai-robot-desk-lamp/

AI-generated Chinese short film goes viral by turning monsters into a story about people

... The 26-minute film follows a historian tasked with investigating and documenting yaoguai (monsters). As he delves deeper, he discovers that the so-called monsters are actually ordinary people suffering from famine, forced labor and hardship. Faced with a dilemma - recording the truth could put them in greater danger, while portraying them as monsters could save their lives but erase their real stories from history - he chooses to protect them turning them into "monsters." ...

The film first attracted attention for its AI-generated visuals, with its consistent character designs, ancient settings and cinematic scenes showcasing new possibilities for AI-assisted animation. According to creator "Qingguadan," the project was made with the help of several AI tools, including ByteDance's Seedance 2.5 video generation model, OpenAI's GPT Image tool and Jimeng AI, a Chinese AI creation platform that provides text-to-image and text-to-video generation services. ...

"Compared with works that simply showcase AI effects, content that truly attracts viewers needs to build an emotional connection through characters and storytelling," Li said. ...

See the full story here: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202608/1369011.shtml