Leif Ames

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: The chief executive of Anthropic called for a global slowdown of artificial intelligence development in a 3,800-word essay on Saturday, just days after one of the company's employees quit over concerns about the safety of the technology. Dario Amodei, who co-founded Anthropic to focus on securely and carefully building A.I., wrote that while he believed the technology could bring many benefits, it was advancing at too quick a pace for researchers to continue safely. "Over the last few months, I have become convinced that fully addressing the risks requires even more prudence -- not just investing in risk prevention, but pacing the rate of capabilities advancement so that risk prevention has time to keep up," Mr. Amodei said. "We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of A.I. models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain." [...] "Left unchecked, it could outrun our ability to understand and control these systems, and so must be pursued very carefully, if at all," Mr. Amodei said. [...] In his essay on Saturday, Mr. Amodei suggested actions that the industry might take to slow down the pace of development. Mr. Amodei said all A.I. labs could agree to third-party technology assessments from "embedded evaluators," or outside specialists who can verify best safety practices across companies. He also suggested that countries with democratic governance systems coordinate to create safety standards, which could take the form of regulatory action. He added that it would probably require a global effort working with other nations, including authoritarian ones, to properly coordinate a slowdown. Mr. Amodei stressed in his essay that he still finds A.I. capable of bringing "incredible benefits" to humanity, including potentially curing diseases and accelerating economic growth. But even so, Mr. Amodei said the risks of A.I. were too great to not proceed with extreme caution. "The measures I propose to advance the frontier at a safe pace will not be easy," Mr. Amodei wrote. "But I believe we owe it to humanity to try." Amodei's essay comes just hours after Bloomberg reported that Sam Altman told OpenAI employees the company is open to slowing the pace of AI development amid similar concerns.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Group no longer faces voter misconduct case over wrongly marked box after appeals court throws out felony charges

Alaska prosecutors are dropping voter misconduct cases against a group of residents born in American Samoa after a state appeals court threw out felony charges against a woman who wrongly checked a box saying she was a US citizen.

The state’s department of law announced the decision on Friday, after a three-judge court of appeals panel ruled a week earlier that state law requires proof that defendants who erroneously filled out voter registration forms had a “consciousness of wrongdoing” and intended to break the law.

The new world No 1 underlined he status as the best player in the world by ending the two-time defending champion’s reign with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory

Rybakina

First round def Thea Frodin (WC) 6-3, 6-2
Second round def Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-2, 6-4
Third round def Yuliia Starodubtseva 7-6 (6), 6-3
Fourth round def Naomi Osaka (13) 6-1, 6-4
Quarter-final def Zheng Qinwen (Q) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Semi-final def Coco Gauff (4) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

• Rybakina wins 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 despite first-serve problems

• Overcomes top seed and two-time defending champion

Even when long established as a grand slam champion and a conqueror of all surfaces, Elena Rybakina was always considered lesser than the most successful players of her era. She was one of the most devastating shotmakers in the world, a threat to everybody everywhere, but there were always a couple of more consistent and mentally tougher players above her.

She leaves New York, finally, as the undisputed best tennis player on the planet, the new standard bearer of women’s tennis, after following up her snatching of the No 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka by succeeding her as the US Open champion. As she has done throughout this unforgettable week, the Kazakhstani showed her toughness in another spectacular tussle with her great rival, closing out her time at Flushing Meadows with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Sabalenka, the top seed and two-time defending champion.

OpenAI’s decision comes after dire warnings about rapidly progressing technology and lawmakers’ calls for new rules

OpenAI will not go public in 2026, Sam Altman said in a Fortune interview published on Saturday, citing safety concerns over artificial intelligence.

“I actually think that, given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public, and we don’t feel pressure on that,” Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, told Fortune.

Women’s final updates from 9pm BST
Finalists resume epic rivalry after switch at No 1 | Email Katy

Rybakina

First round def Thea Frodin (WC) 6-3, 6-2
Second round def Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-2, 6-4
Third round def Yuliia Starodubtseva 7-6 (6), 6-3
Fourth round def Naomi Osaka (13) 6-1, 6-4
Quarter-final def Zheng Qinwen (Q) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Semi-final def Coco Gauff (4) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

• Four-time defending champions beat Spain 76-66

• Stewart scores 16 as USA pull away in fourth

• Americans to face France in rematch of Paris final

The United States advanced to the Fiba Women’s Basketball World Cup final for the fifth consecutive time, pulling away in the fourth quarter to beat Spain 76-66 on Saturday in Berlin.

Breanna Stewart scored 16 points and Kahleah Copper added 13 for the four-time defending champions, who were tied at 58 entering the fourth quarter before finally taking control. Jackie Young added 12 points.