Wednesday briefing: What does Google’s move into nuclear power mean for AI – and the world?
In today’s newsletter: Google will soon use nuclear reactors to run its AI datacentres. What are the economic, ethical and environmental implications?• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. If you were looking for an inkblot test for your view of big tech’s investment in artificial intelligence, you could hardly do better than the news that Google is ordering the construction of at least six small nuclear reactors to power the growth of the technology.Here, in one view, is an enlightened business leveraging its size to invest in infrastructure that could change the world for the better. Here, in another, is a poorly regulated corporation ignoring democratic objections in the brutal race for control of an innovation with great potential to do harm – and leaving the rest of us with little say in its development.Welfare | Draconian penalties that caused unpaid carers to rack up thousands of pounds of debt after falling foul of benefit rules are to be overhauled, the government has announced. The move comes six months after a Guardian investigation revealed tens of thousands of vulnerable carers were facing hefty overpayments or even prosecution over unwitting errors.Middle East | The Biden administration has warned Israel that it faces possible punishment, including the potential stopping of US weapons transfers, if it does not take immediate action to let more humanitarian aid into Gaza. The letter says the flow of assistance has dropped by more than 50% since Israel promised in March to allow more deliveries.‘Spy cops’ scandal | An undercover police officer has admitted that he spied on Keir Starmer while he was a radical barrister, a public inquiry has heard. The police spy has said that he accessed confidential details of Starmer’s legal advice to two environmentalist campaigners in the well-known McLibel case in the early 1990s.Economy | British employers have warned that a rise in employer national insurance contributions in the budget could hit hiring and limit pay rises, hurting businesses including pubs, hotels and restaurants. Keir Starmer twice refused yesterday to rule out a rise in employers’ national insurance contributions in the 30 October budget.US election 2024 | Elon Musk gave around $75m to his pro-Donald Trump spending group in the span of three months, federal disclosures show, underscoring how the billionaire has become crucial to the Republican candidate’s efforts to win the US presidential election. Continue reading...
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