'I tested out a spooky road where your car mysteriously rolls uphill'
"The stubborn road quietly laughed at me as it dragged me upwards"
Why Are Big Tech CEOs Writing Long Manifestos About AI?
This week Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a 6,500 word open letter titled "The Future is for Everyone".
But the BBC is more interested in why big tech executives keep writing manifestos about AI:
[Zuckerberg's] vision echoes what AI leaders have expressed in various forms: the product they are building is among the "most important technologies in history." Marc Andreessen, co-founder of early web titan Netscape, perhaps started this trend in 2023 with a 5,000-word essay he called "The Techno-Optimist Manifesto", which argued innovation was the way to solve life's problems...
As the International Monetary Fund warns AI could affect nearly 40% of jobs and worsen global financial inequality, Zuckerberg says he believes there will be an abundance of jobs in the future. "I do not understand why anyone who believes that AI will eliminate most jobs and much of humanity's relevance would rush to build that future." Never mind that Zuckerberg's Meta has cut 10% of its global workforce — about 8,000 jobs — as the company reorganizes to focus on AI.
Zuckerberg's manifesto is the latest to land in our social media feeds in an effort to put a positive spin on AI. In 2024, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI boss Sam Altman released a manifesto called "The Intelligence Age", a sweeping expression of optimism about the tech's potential... That same year, in a manifesto titled "Machines of Loving Grace", Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei touted the potential of AI to transform everything from healthcare to politics.
So what's going on with these tech executives' manifestos? Economics blogger Noah Smith suggested to the BBC "they all feel like it's such an important moment that it's incumbent upon them to do whatever they can to shape the direction that this technology is going." Although he does see some value in their engagement with important issues. "Should we open-source something that has the ability to kill humanity? If you don't take that seriously, you're just a fool."
But Rob Lalka, a business professor at Tulane University, had a different explanation for the BBC:
Lalka said the timing of Zuckerberg's manifesto coincides with rising anger over AI's impact on everything from jobs to the environment.
And while tech journalists and academics might pore over them trying to glean nuggets of meaning, these executive manifestos are not necessarily landing with the general public. "They're trying to make the case that the positives will far outweigh some of those negatives that the public backlash is pointing out," he said. "But I think a lot of the reasons for optimism are still yet to be seen."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
ALEXANDRA SHULMAN: My brilliant new trick to hide my greys - the top of my head looked like a snowscape, but I've discovered a stylish and cheap solution
As a brunette determined not to become a 'gronde' - greying blonde - keeping up with colour is essential. But I recently had to stretch the gap between appointments, leading to the return of my roots.
Iranian woman went viral after stripping off to protest her treatment at the hands of morality police. Now a friend reveals the horrific price she paid
In November 2024, Iranian student Ahoo Daryaei's hijab momentarily slipped from her head as she walked up the steps of her university.
Hair-raising moment woman hangs from 11th floor of burning building before making daring jump to safety
The fire broke out at around 6.30am local time on Friday in Berlin's Friedrichshain neighbourhood, German news outlet dga reported.
Horrifying pictures emerge in aftermath of Finlay Tarling's fatal crash as report suggests car was travelling on the correct side of the road despite previous claims
Fresh questions have emerged over the death of British cyclist Finlay Tarling after a Portuguese journalist disputed initial reports that the car involved was travelling on the wrong side of the road.
Heiress sues HSBC and Barclays for $15billion saying they helped her late father plunder her $650m trust fund after she found 350,000 document treasure trove in Jersey manor house
At her fairytale wedding at a magnificent 400-year-old manor house on Jersey, heiress Tanya Dick-Stock appeared to possess everything money could buy.
Doctor who sexually assaulted women while examining their car crash injuries is jailed
Dr Mohammad Iqbal, 64, carried out examinations at clinics in Newcastle and Sunderland for assessments of damages arising from car accidents.
Autopsy reveals chilling new details in mysterious death of missing scientist found skeletonized in the woods
Shocking details about the final moments of a missing nuclear lab worker have been revealed, which one expert believes points to a murder and not a suicide.
Concerns as dust and debris from home construction site swamping Maldon neighbours
Locals living near to a construction site have reported high levels of dust, noise and debris
Vulnerability Giving Attackers Full Control of Macs Is Under Active Exploitation
joshuark shares a report from Ars Technica: Dutch officials have warned that a high-severity macOS vulnerability that allows attackers to execute malicious code is under active exploitation. "The NCSC has received a notification indicating that active abuse of this vulnerability has been observed on multiple systems on which port 5900 was accessible from the Internet," the Netherlands National Cyber Security Centrum warned earlier this week. "In all these cases, root had been accessed on the affected system and a Monero crypto miner had been placed."
The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-65400, received a patch from Apple last week for macOS Tahoe, Sequoia, and Sonoma. The vulnerability, with a severity rating of 7.1 out of 10, stems from a bug in the macOS screen sharing capability, which allows a remote party to view the screen and control the keyboard and mouse while a machine is turned on. A flaw in the "state management," which keeps track of preceding events, user interactions, variables, and other system states, is the underlying cause. A video of the exploit in action can be found here. Details of CVE-2026-65400 became public at last week's Black Hat security conference. Apple said last week that CVE-2026-65400 "may" allow an attacker without credentials to gain access to a Mac. It's unclear why Apple hedged, but softening language is common among most tech developers when disclosing vulnerabilities.
As noted by the NCSC, the vulnerability is being exploited when port 5900 is exposed to the Internet. When screen sharing is turned on, the macOS firewall opens the port. Routers and dedicated firewalls generally block the port unless configured to override that setting. Security practitioners generally advise Mac users to keep the port closed even when using screen sharing and to instead connect over a VPN or through SSH tunneling. The alternatives require actions that aren't within the capabilities of most users. The safest practice is to block screen sharing, enable it only when screen sharing is needed, and to turn the feature off once a session has ended. Screen sharing can be turned on or off by accessing System Settings > General > Sharing and toggling the switch for Screen Sharing. Of course, installing last week's security update is also a must. Sharing is not caring.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Man, 24, is charged with four rapes against two women in their 20s and 40s in separate attacks
Dylan Hall was arrested on suspicion of rape on August 11 after reports of an attack near Chesterfield College in Derbyshire, three days earlier.
Children saved from 'far more serious outcome' after rescue mission
Children in difficulty in the water have been saved by emergency services in the Southend sea after a rescue mission.
Children saved from 'far more serious outcome' after rescue mission
Children in difficulty in the water have been saved by emergency services in the Southend sea after a rescue mission.
Investigation into Wickford derailment as hot weather 'challenges' the railway
People have been asked not to speculate about the derailings
Rod Stewart defended by Jeremy Clarkson as he's accused of breaking rule at Essex home
Jeremy Clarkson has rushed to defend Sir Rod Stewart after aerial photographs of the green lawns surrounding the rocker's Essex mansion sparked accusations that he'd ignored the hosepipe ban.
Two dead puppies found 'in a hole' near block of flats in Chelmsford
The way in which they were found were 'suspicious', the RSPCA said
Disgraced reality TV star told police they 'can't catch him', courts hears
Disgraced reality TV star, Stephen Bear taunted police saying they "can't catch him" as he breached sex offender rules, a court has heard.
Disgraced reality TV star told police they 'can't catch him', courts hears
Disgraced reality TV star, Stephen Bear taunted police saying they "can't catch him" as he breached sex offender rules, a court has heard.
A missing sister, a plane that vanished and a secret lover: Teresa Drake's disappearance sparked global headlines. Now her family reveal she may have been an MI6 spy killed by the US… and have been warned not to 'ask questions'
On the evening of August 11, 1979, British secretary Teresa Drake boarded a private plane from Athens to Jeddah and was never seen again. Just months before, the 22-year-old had left a post in the Army.