POLICY

AI Safety as Power Centralization: Geopolitical Control Mechanisms

By

–

29 January 2025 20h04

We've discussed how so-called "AI Safety" is a smoke screen to centralize power & guzzle resources without accountability. See our paper where we also discuss how they use the whole "US has to protect ourselves from China." Predictable, right on cue. https://
firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/
fm/article/view/13636/11599
…

OpenAI defends AI models against Chinese model distillation

By

–

29 January 2025 20h04

You see how OpenAI is already spinning it. "We know PRC based companies — and others — are constantly trying to distill the models of leading US AI companies,”…“As the leading builder of AI, we engage in countermeasures to protect our IP,…

US Government Collaboration Secures Advanced AI Model Capabilities

By

–

29 January 2025 20h04

…including a careful process for which frontier capabilities to include in released models…it is…important that we are working closely with the US government to best protect the most capable models from efforts by adversaries and competitors to take US technology.”

OpenAI’s Hypocrisy: Unauthorized Data Collection Practices Criticized

By

–

29 January 2025 19h53

One of the few sane outlets… "It is…ironic that OpenAI, a company that has been obtaining large amounts of data from all of humankind…in an “unauthorized manner,”…is now complaining about the…practices by which it…built its company.

→ View original post on X — @stanfordhai

UK Government Releases First International AI Safety Report

By

@stanfordhai

–

29 January 2025 19h49

The UK gov't just released the first International AI Safety Report, offering key insights on general-purpose AI to guide informed policymaking. HAI leading scholars @YejinChoinka
, @percyliang
, @MarietjeSchaake
, and @RishiBommasani contributed to the report, which will shape

Jevons’ Paradox in AI Environmental Debate and Rebound Effects

By

→ View original post on X — @katecrawford, 2025-01-29 18:22 UTC

–

29 January 2025 19h22

🌎Full paper here: "From Efficiency Gains to Rebound Effects: The Problem of Jevons’ Paradox in AI’s Polarized Environmental Debate" arxiv.org/pdf/2501.16548

AI Progress Cannot Reduce Climate Impact Without Curbing Consumption

By

→ View original post on X — @katecrawford, 2025-01-29 18:21 UTC

–

29 January 2025 19h21

Conclusion: AI advances can't reduce climate impacts if they fuel exponential consumption
📌 Energy efficiency alone isn't enough
📌 Integrate total lifecycle assessments + socioeconomic analysis for climate interventions
📌 Address AI-driven economic & behavioral shifts [Translated from EN to English]

AI Environmental Impact Beyond Hardware Efficiency and Emissions

By

→ View original post on X — @katecrawford, 2025-01-29 18:21 UTC

–

29 January 2025 19h21

AI’s impact is shaped by market incentives, regulatory gaps, and social behaviors, not just hardware efficiency. Focusing only on direct emissions ignores system-wide feedback loops that drive AI’s expanding environmental footprint 📈

AI Efficiency Paradox: Lower Costs Drive Higher Environmental Costs

By

→ View original post on X — @katecrawford, 2025-01-29 18:21 UTC

–

29 January 2025 19h21

AI follows a similar pattern: ✅ More efficient models → cheaper compute ✅ Cheaper compute → more AI ✅ More AI → more demand for compute, data centers, energy & emissions. Without including second-order effects, the AI industry risks a false sense of sustainability