Apocalyptic AI, Bouncy House Music
Imagine you’re standing in front of a button. If you push that button, it will set off a Rube Goldberg machine series of events that will wow the world with unimaginable advances in science, health, and other endeavors, empower like-minded nations, and result in unthinkable riches. But the machine’s final step is to drop a massive anvil on you and the rest of humankind. Would you push the button? What if I told you that if you don’t push it, someone else with worse intentions will push the button first? What if I told you the machine has learned to push the button itself? I know this isn’t a very good metaphor for the state of our relationship with AI, but what can I say, I’m only human. Besides, I’m late with the questions. The button has already been pushed, and people are racing to push it again and again. The marble has rolled through the paper-towel tube, the toy car has rolled down the orange Hot Wheels track, a seesaw plank has been triggered, and a long line of dominoes has begun to topple. Only a relative handful of people have any idea of where those dominoes are headed, and some of them are trying to convince the rest of us that the machine has to be slowed down, and fast. “Jacob Coxon, a researcher who specializes in training new AI models by having them consume vast amounts of data, said Tuesday that he is leaving the company because he doesn’t want to participate in an industrywide rush to build AI systems that can improve themselves, worried such systems could spiral out of control and destroy humanity.” WSJ (Gift Article): Anthropic Researcher Quits Over ‘Out-of-Control’ AI Fears.
+ In a follow-up series of social media posts, Coxon explained the decision. “The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing stunt. If anything, many executives and senior researchers will couch their phrasing in the press to sound sensible — but I hear the same people express fear privately. No other human activity poses this level of danger. A common response is ‘if they truly believe this, why are they still building it?’ At OpenAI, many have not deeply internalized the civilizational stakes. At Anthropic, the stakes are well-understood, but they are locked in a race to get there first — they believe no one else will act responsibly, so they must do it themselves, despite the risk.”
+ Are these risks being overblown? I don’t know. I can’t even explain why a light switch makes a light go on. But I do know that a lot of knowledgeable insiders have similar concerns. I also know that a self-imposed slowdown (in this industry, or any other) is unlikely. The incentives for pushing forward, from beating other companies to big paydays to beating other countries in what is essentially the new military race, are too tantalizing to slow down. And I also know that we have the wrong people in charge to establish meaningful government guardrails, and I’m not sure that the right people in charge could keep up with the technology, anyway. I wonder if, with the right prompt, AI can figure out a way to stop a falling anvil.
Criminal Enterprise System
“AI chatbots are already serving as confidants and co-conspirators, assisting and even encouraging humans acting on their darkest impulses. They’re occupying ersatz roles as therapists and lawyers, relationships our legal system typically shields with confidential privilege. They’re producing new kinds of criminal evidence and offering up the beguiling possibility of preventing crime before it happens. And as they’re given more autonomy across our digital and physical systems, they’re even gaining the ability to commit crimes themselves, absent specific human instruction — and, perhaps, in defiance of it.” Bloomberg (Gift Article): Welcome to the Age of AI Crime and Punishment. (And to think we just set out to create a technology that could help us summarize the plot and themes of Crime and Punishment….)
Hard to Put Lipstick in This Pig
“For more than a decade, Jim. Pillen’s hog business has employed migrant workers, those who are in the country legally — and those who are not.” That’s not much of a surprise. People who operate in industries like these depend on that labor and know full well that the implementation of an overly aggressive anti-immigrant strategy can do a lot of damage. But sometimes, those people run for office. And then, suddenly, a belief system that had them living high on the hog goes hog wild. NYT (Gift Article): As He Backs ICE Crackdown, Nebraska Governor Employs Undocumented Workers.
Bouncy House Music
“The scene at Red Rocks Amphitheatre had all the hallmarks of an electronic dance music festival. Attendees wore holographic bodysuits, went wild when the beat dropped and occasionally spilled their drinks down their shirts. But getting dressed required parental assistance, the bass pulsing off the sandstone was a techno remix of ‘The Wheels on the Bus,’ and the drinks were apple juice and formula.” WSJ (Gift Article): He Was a Washed-Up Pop Star. Now He’s Selling Out Stadiums Hosting Baby Raves. (Whatever it takes to get them to go down for their naps…)
Extra, Extra
Strait Fire: “The U.S. military said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday in response to the latest attacks on its warships and Tehran hit back at American targets in Jordan.” It doesn’t seem like this war is over. The oil market sure doesn’t seem to think it is.
+ Warning Shot: Josh Marshall provides a good overview of a new story suggesting Netanyahu was warned about Oct 7, and what it might mean (if anything) when it comes to the upcoming Israeli election. And here’s Thomas Friedman in the NYT (Gift Article): “Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, 2026, are shaping up to be two of the most important dates in the history of two of the most important democracies — Israel and America. Those countries will be holding hugely consequential elections on those dates, just a week apart. Why so consequential? Because what is on the ballot in both places is not just the political futures of President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is the future of democracy in both places.”
+ The First Rule of Fight Club Is … Fight! Sarah Longwell has done more than 400 focus groups. Here’s what she’s learned. Voters Have a Message for Democrats. “I don’t think that most Democratic elites understand this reality. In those circles, the dominant debate seems to be about whether the party should be more progressive or more moderate. The future of the party is seen as a policy question. But when I listen to Democratic voters, they’re not asking for ideological recalibration or even policy specifics. They trust that if the right person makes it into office, the policy questions will take care of themselves. Instead, the Democratic voters I’m listening to are almost universally asking a different question: Why aren’t you fighting harder?” (I’ve done hundreds of focus groups. All of them were just of myself, alone, in front of my laptop, and I came to a similar conclusion.)
+ Trans Configuration: Elon Musk has started to spend his $100 million of PAC dollars on the midterms. On what? Anti-trans ads.
+ On Guard: This seems like it’s going well. National Guard member arrested in DC, accused of drawing gun on fellow Guard member. (Don’t worry, the dispute was about regulation haircuts, not the Reflecting Pool.)
+ Du-over: After years of build-up, Apple’s new foldable phone, the Duo, has debuted. (I always figured humans would fold before the iPhone.)
Bottom of the News
“Squeezed by rising costs and middle-aged malaise, parents are steering their kids to big, affordable colleges down south where they can party. The kids can party too, if they want.” Remedial Tailgating.
+ ‘South Park’ Is “Changing Its Name” to ‘South America‘ for Season 29. (Ever wonder if South Park will have more seasons than America?)
