Pentagon Signs Deal to “Deploy AI Agents for Military Use”
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Yet the encroachment of AI tech within the military has been unmistakable. Both Google and OpenAI have walked back rules forbidding the use of their AI tech for weapons development and surveillance, showing that Silicon Valley is opening up to the idea of having its tools be used by the military. ...
"Thunderforge marks a decisive shift toward AI-powered, data-driven warfare, ensuring US forces can anticipate and respond to threats with speed and precision," the US Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) wrote in a statement.
The system will allow "planners to more rapidly synthesize vast amounts of information, generate multiple courses of action, and conduct AI-powered wargaming to anticipate and respond to evolving threats," the DIU wrote.
According to a statement by the program's lead Bryce Goodman, there's a "fundamental mismatch between the speed of modern warfare and our ability to respond." ...
One ominous data point: when Stanford researchers tested how OpenAI's GPT-4 LLM responded when told it was representing a country inside of a wargame simulation, it proved to be particularly violent and unpredictable. ...
See the full story here: https://futurism.com/pentagon-signs-deal-deploy-ai-agents-military-use?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Musk loses injunction bid in OpenAI lawsuit but still wins big with judge’s ruling
... Musk, along with Altman, was one of the founders of OpenAI. He alleged that the founders had agreed on the charitable mission of the nonprofit and baked it into the company's charter.
He said he provided OpenAI with tens of millions of dollars in charitable contributions, relying on the agreement that OpenAI would not be in it for the money but for humanity. ...
Grundfest read the opinion to mean that the judge had concluded "that there might well be a charitable trust," as Musk alleged, "and there might well be a serious flaw in OpenAI's plan to convert to a for-profit entity … but the court needs more evidence on that point and isn't ready to issue the extreme remedy of a preliminary injunction."
In sum, "the opinion clearly signals that the court sees potential merit in Musk's claim, but needs more evidence before it can reach a conclusion," he said. ...
See the full story here: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/elon-musk-loses-injunction-bid-openai-lawsuit-ruling/3810085/
Prime Video tests AI dubbing for select movies and TV series
Prime Video is now experimenting with AI-assisted dubbing for select licensed movies and TV shows, as announced by the Amazon-owned streaming service on Wednesday.
According to Prime Video, this new test will feature AI-assisted dubbing services in English and Latin American Spanish, combining AI with human localization professionals to “ensure quality control,” the company explained. ...
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/05/prime-video-tests-ai-dubbing-for-select-movies-and-tv-series/
Eric Schmidt argues against a ‘Manhattan Project for AGI’
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Schmidt et al. introduce a concept they call Mutual Assured AI Malfunction (MAIM), in which governments could proactively disable threatening AI projects rather than waiting for adversaries to weaponize AGI.
Schmidt, Wang, and Hendrycks propose that the U.S. shift its focus from “winning the race to superintelligence” to developing methods that deter other countries from creating superintelligent AI. The co-authors argue the government should “expand [its] arsenal of cyberattacks to disable threatening AI projects” controlled by other nations as well as limit adversaries’ access to advanced AI chips and open source models. ...
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/05/eric-schmidt-argues-against-a-manhattan-project-for-agi
‘Divergent’ Producer Launches AI Company That Aims to Make Studio-Quality Movies for $500,000
... Staircase touts its own proprietary AI workflow, ForwardMotion, which claims to be able to produce near-studio-quality movie releases for under $500,000 each. The studio, which said it aims to produce around 30 low budget projects in the next three to four years, unveiled a teaser with the first five minutes from its debut feature, The Woman With Red Hair, directed by Brett Stuart and from Michael Schatz’s 2016 Black List script. ...
“After packaging and selling 150 projects into the studio system over the past 15 years, I’ve borne witness to far too much inefficiency to continue the status quo. Over the past year, I’ve dedicated myself to pairing ethical AI usage with our industry’s most underutilized assets–overlooked stories waiting to be produced from fantastic writers and directors,” Shahbazian, whose producer credits include Greg Berlanti’s Love Simon and Shawn Levy and Eric Heisserer’s Shadow & Bone, said in a statement. ...
See the full story here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/divergent-producer-pouya-shahbazian-1236153574/
John Gaeta’s Escape AI Launches Alternative Oscars For AI Filmmakers
... This weekend, Escape AI will host its first-ever Escape Awards, an AI-centric film festival and awards show, set one day before the Motion Picture Academy’s Oscars. Instead of industry insiders, voting is exclusively done by Escape’s 200+ creators, forming a peer-driven recognition system. It’s a bold counterpoint to traditional awards, which have struggled to define AI’s role in filmmaking. ...
Escape.AI functions as a curated platform for these new-age filmmakers. With nearly 1,000 projects uploaded, its peer-driven model helps surface standout work without the noise of YouTube or social media algorithms. ...
Categories reflect the unique nature of AI-driven filmmaking, recognizing achievements in generative storytelling, AI-assisted animation, and game-engine-based cinematics. The winners—selected by their peers—will have their films showcased to a broader audience, positioning Escape as the go-to hub for next-gen storytelling. ...
“The modern creator isn’t limited to one format,” he says, describing how today’s storytellers are blending film, interactive media, and generative AI. Escape AI is not competing with Hollywood—it’s building something new alongside it. ...
See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/charliefink/2025/02/28/john-gaetas-escape-ai-launches-alternative-oscars-for-ai-filmmakers/
Brian May fears it’s ‘too late’ to stop AI from destroying the music industry
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The 77-year-old music legend starkly warned that if they are not stopped in their tracks, it will become impossible for artists to be able to “afford to make music”.
Speaking to the Daily Mail as part of their campaign against the Labour government's proposed AI law changes, May said: “My fear is that it’s already too late – this theft has already been performed and is unstoppable, like so many incursions that the monstrously arrogant billionaire owners of Al and social media are making into our lives. The future is already forever changed.
“But I applaud this campaign to make the public aware of what is being lost. I hope it succeeds in putting a brake on, because if not, nobody will be able to afford to make music from here on in.” ...
See the full story here: https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-535776-8-.htm
Discourse About the AI Race is Devolving into Clash of Civilizations Nonsense
"I think the real lesson, a more profound one, is that we are at war with China. We are in an AI arms race," said Shyam Sankar, the Chief Technology Officer at Palantir, on a call with Wall Street analysts earlier this month. But this race, it turns out for many, is not just about national security; it’s also a battle for the future of human progress, one in which the Chinese must lose. ...
Americans are urged to consider not only the consequences of Beijing achieving technological supremacy but also the influence it will gain in setting cultural norms. Somehow, the conversation has shifted from ensuring responsible oversight of AI to justifying abandoning safeguards in the name of outpacing China—whatever the cost. ...
The discussion of how AI models are trained and how their parameters reflect the values of their developers is worthwhile. It raises important questions about the perspectives and identities represented in model data and development, and the potential for culturally specific harms as well as safeguards. But when the conversation devolves into clash-of-civilizations nonsense, we’ve lost the plot. The deeper the discussion sinks into the ‘us vs. them’ framing, the more it obscures the real priority: ensuring AI development serves people—regardless of whether they are American, Chinese, or anyone else. ...
AI moguls have aligned themselves with the Trump administration, a mutually beneficial arrangement to further their own accumulation of wealth with national security priorities. ...
See the full story here: https://www.techpolicy.press/discourse-about-the-ai-race-is-devolving-into-clash-of-civilizations-nonsense/
How Will AI Impact Arts and Entertainment in 2025?
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AI as a Creative Collaborator: From Scriptwriting to Sound Design
... Imagine a screenwriter struggling with writer’s block. They could use an AI tool to generate different plot options, suggest dialogue variations, or even create entire scenes based on a given prompt. This doesn’t diminish the screenwriter’s role; instead, it empowers them to overcome creative hurdles and explore a wider range of possibilities. ...
This collaborative approach will likely become the norm in 2025. ...
Personalized Entertainment ...
The rise of AI companionship also raises interesting, and sometimes unsettling, questions about the future of human connection and its interplay with art and entertainment. Apps like HeraHaven, which offer AI-powered “girlfriend” experiences, exemplify this trend. While these apps are currently marketed primarily for companionship, their underlying technology could be adapted for entertainment purposes. Imagine interacting with a fictional character powered by AI, capable of engaging in dynamic conversations, remembering past interactions, and even evolving its personality based on your relationship. This blurring of the lines between reality and virtual interaction is something we’ll be grappling with increasingly in 2025.
Ethical and Economic Implications ...
The NoHo Arts District, a vibrant hub of creativity, will likely be at the forefront of these discussions. How will local artists adapt to the changing landscape? Will AI tools become essential for survival in the competitive entertainment industry? Will new art forms emerge that are uniquely suited to the capabilities of AI? These are questions that artists, policymakers, and the community as a whole will need to address. ...
See the full story here: https://nohoartsdistrict.com/how-will-ai-impact-arts-and-entertainment-in-2025/
Could Artificial General Intelligence Adoption Start a Civil War in America?
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The bitter irony that educated elites could be rendered obsolete by the advanced technologies that they once hailed may well inspire a sense of just desserts, especially among the workers who have long borne the heavy cost of “technological progress.” But however much one may be tempted to relish the misfortunes of the well-to-do, the political repercussions of such an outcome are potentially catastrophic for the entire country.
Political scientist Peter Turchin has provided the most thorough explanation of why a collapse in elite employment could be disastrous. Turchin’s research, which builds on the work of George Mason University political scientist Jack Goldstone, shows that the combination of popular immiseration and elite overproduction has often resulted in a breadown of the state. Popular immiseration is when non-elites (bottom 90% of income earners) experience stagnating or declining living standards. Immiseration raises discontent, lowers trust in the government, and elevates the potential for anti-system political mobilization. Elite overproduction is when the supply of positions that support an elite lifestyle is greatly outnumbered by aspirants to those positions. Because elites have access to resources and networks in key sectors of state power, including the military, government, and economy, their opposition to the state can pose a serious threat. Frustrated elites can become "counter elites" who exploit popular grievances to lead rebellions or revolutions against authorities. Turchin and Goldstone grimly warn that in past societies facing such predicaments, about 75% of the cases resulted in some sort of political collapse, such as civil war or revolution. ...
Technological innovation has almost always had an “alignment” problem in this sense: some groups have invariably gained while others lost. The advent of AGI will differ only in the identities of the potential gainers and losers. The promise of super productivity through widespread adoption of AGI could well be a boon to mankind. But without a careful consideration of the potential costs, the potential for disaster suggests more thought is urgently needed to better understand the technology’s attendant risks, as well as its promised opportunities.
See the full story here: https://smallwarsjournal.com/2025/02/25/could-artificial-general-intelligence-adoption-start-a-civil-war-in-america/
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