The Download: AI’s refusal problem and weight-loss drug side effects
This newsletter covers the risks of AI refusal failures, potential side effects of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, and China's rapid expansion in wind energy. It highlights the dual-use nature of AI and emerging medical research.
Why it matters
Understanding the safety limits of AI and the long-term health impacts of popular drugs is essential for public policy and personal health decisions.
Plus: The US has frozen green cards for Microsoft and other IT firms.
This is today's edition of The Download , our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology.
Today’s AI models are trained to refuse a vast number of prompts. If you ask your chatbot how to poison a colleague or how to tie a noose, chances are it’ll turn you down. But refusal fails, sometimes horrifically.
Some people are attempting to use AI to hone biological pathogens and build autonomous drone swarms. Sooner or later, failed refusals may result in global calamity. What’s more, relying on refusal means drawing a line between what a model should obey and what it must disobey.
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