Connect with us

Published

on

Isaac Asimoc, a writer well-known for his works of science fiction, penned the “Three Laws of Robotics” in 1972.

Asimov wrote these “laws” while thinking about androids, and he imagined a world where human-like robots would have human masters and need a set of programming rules to prevent them from causing harm.

But51 years after the laws were first published, technology has advanced significantly and humans now have a different understanding of what robots and artificial intelligence (AI) can look like and how people interact with them.(h/t to Survivopedia.com) The three laws of robotics

While a robot takeover is still more fiction than fact, as a prepper it’s worth reviewing Asimov’s laws to prepare for when SHTF. First law “A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm.” Second law “A robot must obey orders given by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the first law.” Third law “A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first and the second law.”

While the laws are fiction, Asimov’s thought process is something preppers should mimic.

Asimov wasn’t a prepper, but he realized that AI-powered computers, or androids and robots, as he put it, could be dangerous despite their many benefits because they couldthink for themselves. He also realized the difficulty in programming them to ensure that they would not betray their human masters.

The dichotomy here lies in allowing computers to become sentient, or feeling and thinking for themselves, while still keeping some level of control over them as their masters. This two-pronged goalmaybe impossible, especially since humans are still in the infant stages of AI and there have already been problems in creating the necessary fail-safes to ensure the safety of users.

Astechnology continues to advance, AI computer systems are now teaching themselves much faster than any thought being put into creating the necessary controls to keep them safe.

In one of the earliest AI experiments where two computers with AI systems installed communicated with each other, it only took minutes for the two programs to develop their own language and communicate. This meant their human operatorswere unable to understand the two AI systems.

Chatbots are computer programs that mimic human conversations through text.

But back in 2017, when the experiment was conducted, chatbots weren’t yet capable of more sophisticated functions beyond simple tasks like answering customer questions or ordering food. To address this, Facebook’s Artificial Intelligence Research Group (FAIR) tried to find out if these programs could be taught to negotiate.

The researchers developed two chatbots named Alice and Bob.Using a game where the two chatbots and human players bartered virtual items like balls and hats, Alice and Bob showed that they could make deals with varying degrees of success.

Facebook researchers observed the language when the chatbots were negotiating among themselves. They noticed that becausethey didn’t instruct the bots to stick to the rules of English, Alice and Bob started using their own language: a “derived shorthand” they invented to communicate faster.

While the researchers stopped the experiment because of the potential danger, further research into AI continued through the years. There is no policingof potential tasks for advanced AI systems

The AI systems available to modern consumers surpass those used in the Facebook experiment.There is a wider array of AI systems available to use, some of which can be hired through websites, to accomplish different tasks.

However, there is no way to monitorwhat those tasks might be to guarantee that they are not abused by those who want to use these tools for crimes or to harm others. (Related: Digital prepping: How to protect yourself against cyberattacks.)

The first question for preppers is, can these systems turn against their human masters?

According to an Air Force colonel, that has already happened during an experimental drone test. The colonel eventually tried to deny what he said, but there have been reports about the incident.

During the test, a drone was assigned to find and eliminate targets, but it needed the permission of a human controller before firing.

After some time, the drone realized that the controller was responsible for the “points” it lost when it denied the permission it needed to take out certain targets. To solve the problem, the drone “killed” the controller.

No real person was harmed during the test, but it’s easy to see how the scenario could have turned ugly if the drone was assigned to protect an area with real people.

The drone test also illustrates the potential challenges of programming AI. The tests show that it can be impossible to program a sentient AI to prevent it from doing what it wants to do because it’s clever enough to find a way to disobey direct orders.

Rogue drones controlled by AI may harm humans, but how can you prevent this from happening?

Many ethical questions are being raised about AI, but experts still haven’t been able to present real-world answers. Unfortunately, they might not start working on this problem unless atragedy occurs.

By then, it might be too late to discuss the ethics associated with AI.And the U.S. isn’t the only country working onAI technology.

Other countries, along with some that aren’t on friendly terms with the U.S., are also developing their AI systems, both for military and civilian applications.

AI is already being used for one dangerous application: The creation of deep fake videos.

Stealing an actors “copyright” to their likeness isn’t harmful, but it is still consideredcriminal activity. When that same level of artificial intelligence is applied to identity theft, even preppers and non-preppers alike won’t be safe. How can you prepare yourself before the rise of AI?

Even nowAI exists on the internet and is already being used to create various content.This means you can’t always trust that the content you see or read was created by humans.

As of writing, at least19.2 percent of articles on the internet have some AI-generated content. At least 7.7percent of these articles have 75 percent or more of their content generated by AI.

Experts warn that by 2026, at least 90percent of internet content will be AI-generated.

How is this relevant to you as a prepper?

AI-generated content can be problematic because this meansmore content will be politicized.

Data suggests that Russia and other countries are alreadytrolling U.S. websites, potentially making posts and uploading articles thatare inflammatory to add to the political division in the country.These countries can continue to use AI to increase their effectiveness by targeting their articles more specifically.

With the potential dangers of AI steadily increasing as time goes by, you must be more careful about what you see and read online. Do not believe everything your see or hear,especially content with political overtones.

Learn how to be anindependent fact-checker and do your research to find out if what you are reading and hearing is true.

Be wary ofmainstream media that may be spinning news stories to support their own political agenda. Check reliable news sources for updates on what the Russian, Chinese and other countries’ intelligence services are doing.

This also means being careful about what you post online. Never post personal information online or anything that hackers could use to try and figure out anything about you.

Do not use systems like Alexa and Google Assistant, which often allow computers to eavesdrop on user conversations. Even though the companies that make these products claim they arent spying on users, various reports about them prove otherwise.

Don’t “computerize” your life bystorin your data online. This service may seem convenient because you can access your data anywhere, but there’s alsoa chance that others could access all your data in the cloud.

Are you willing to risk a data breach just for convenience? Most of the time, companies offering these services havethings buried in the fine print of their contracts, which allows them to listen in on your computer microphones and look at images from your phone or laptop cameras.

To trulyprotect yourself from the potential dangers of AI, you must reevaluate your usage of the internet and computers.Technology is convenient, but you must be responsible and make sure your information can’t be used against you by those who might do you harm.

Don’t store yourdata online and unplug things like microphones and cameras when not in use.

Sacrifice convenience to protect yourself and your family from the potential dangers of AI technology.

Visit Computing.newsto learn more about the growing dangers of AI systems.

Watch the video below to find out how AI technology threatens to take over thousands of jobs.

This video is from theNewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories:

Google is using AI to dig through Gmail accounts to find exactly what youre looking for and perhaps MORE.

Peeping through the windows: Microsoft to incorporate MANDATORY AI systems in Windows 11 to SPY on all your computing activities.

Dallas school district installs AI spying, surveillance systems to keep an eye on students.

Sources include:

Survivopedia.com

USAToday.com

TheConversation.com

TheGuardian.com

Brighteon.com
Submit a correction >>

Continue Reading

Politics

US Supreme Court will not review IRS case involving Coinbase user data

Published

on

By

US Supreme Court will not review IRS case involving Coinbase user data

US Supreme Court will not review IRS case involving Coinbase user data

A lower court ruling will stand in a case involving a Coinbase user who filed a lawsuit against the IRS after the crypto exchange turned over transaction data.

Continue Reading

Environment

Solar and wind industry faces up to $7 billion tax hike under Trump’s big bill, trade group says

Published

on

By

Solar and wind industry faces up to  billion tax hike under Trump's big bill, trade group says

Witthaya Prasongsin | Moment | Getty Images

Senate Republicans are threatening to hike taxes on clean energy projects and abruptly phase out credits that have supported the industry’s expansion in the latest version of President Donald Trump‘s big spending bill.

The measures, if enacted, would jeopardize hundreds of thousands of construction jobs, hurt the electric grid, and potentially raise electricity prices for consumers, trade groups warn.

The Senate GOP released a draft of the massive domestic spending bill over the weekend that imposes a new tax on renewable energy projects if they source components from foreign entities of concern, which basically means China. The bill also phases out the two most important tax credits for wind and solar power projects that enter service after 2027.

Republicans are racing to pass Trump’s domestic spending legislation by a self-imposed Friday deadline. The Senate is voting Monday on amendments to the latest version of the bill.

The tax on wind and solar projects surprised the renewable energy industry and feels punitive, said John Hensley, senior vice president for market analysis at the American Clean Power Association. It would increase the industry’s burden by an estimated $4 billion to $7 billion, he said.

“At the end of the day, it’s a new tax in a package that is designed to reduce the tax burden of companies across the American economy,” Hensley said. The tax hits any wind and solar project that enters service after 2027 and exceeds certain thresholds for how many components are sourced from China.

This combined with the abrupt elimination of the investment tax credit and electricity production tax credit after 2027 threatens to eliminate 300 gigawatts of wind and solar projects over the next 10 years, which is equivalent to about $450 billion worth of infrastructure investment, Hensley said.

“It is going to take a huge chunk of the development pipeline and either eliminate it completely or certainly push it down the road,” Hensley said. This will increase electricity prices for consumers and potentially strain the electric grid, he said.

The construction industry has warned that nearly 2 million jobs in the building trades are at risk if the energy tax credits are terminated and other measures in budget bill are implemented. Those credits have supported a boom in clean power installations and clean technology manufacturing.

“If enacted, this stands to be the biggest job-killing bill in the history of this country,” said Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions, in a statement. “Simply put, it is the equivalent of terminating more than 1,000 Keystone XL pipeline projects.”

The Senate legislation is moving toward a “worst case outcome for solar and wind,” Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco told clients in a Sunday note.

Shares of NextEra Energy, the largest renewable developer in the U.S., fell 2%. Solar stocks Array Technologies fell 8%, Enphase lost nearly 2% and Nextracker tumbled 5%.

Trump’s former advisor Elon Musk slammed the Senate legislation over the weekend.

“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,” The Tesla CEO posted on X. “Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”

Catch up on the latest energy news from CNBC Pro:

Continue Reading

Environment

Nissan is in crisis mode as job cuts begin and suppliers are caught in the crosshairs

Published

on

By

Nissan is in crisis mode as job cuts begin and suppliers are caught in the crosshairs

Is Nissan raising the red flag? Nissan is cutting about 15% of its workforce and is now asking suppliers for more time to make payments.

Nissan starts job cuts, asks supplier to delay payments

As part of its recovery plan, Nissan announced in May that it plans to cut 20,000 jobs, or around 15% of its global workforce. It’s also closing several factories to free up cash and reduce costs.

Nissan said it will begin talks with employees at its Sunderland plant in the UK this week about voluntary retirement opportunities. The company is aiming to lay off around 250 workers.

The Sunderland plant is the largest employer in the city with around 6,000 workers and is critical piece to Nissan’s comeback. Nissan will build its next-gen electric vehicles at the facility, including the new LEAF, Juke, and Qashqai.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

According to several emails and company documents (via Reuters), Nissan is also working with its suppliers to for more time to make payments.

Nissan-delays-supplier-payments
The new Nissan LEAF (Source: Nissan)

“They could choose to be paid immediately or opt for a later payment,” Nissan said. The company explained in a statement to Reuters that it had incentivized some of its suppliers in Europe and the UK to accept more flexible payment terms, at no extra cost.

The emails show that the move would free up cash for the first quarter (April to June), similar to its request before the end of the financial year.

Nissan-delays-supplier-payments
Nissan N7 electric sedan (Source: Dongfeng Nissan)

One employee said in an email to co-workers that Nissan was asking suppliers “again” to delay payments. The emails, viewed by Reuters, were exchanged between Nissan workers in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Nissan is taking immediate action as part of its recovery plan, aiming to turn things around, the company said in a statement.

Nissan-Micra-EV
The new Nissan Micra EV (Source: Nissan)

“While we are taking these actions, we aim for sufficient liquidity to weather the costs of the turnaround actions and redeem bond maturities,” the company said.

Nissan didn’t comment on the internal discussions, but the emails did reveal it gave suppliers two options. They could either delay payments at a higher interest rate, or HSBC would make the payment, and Nissan would repay the bank with interest.

Nissan-delays-supplier-payments
Nissan’s upcoming lineup for the US, including the new LEAF EV and “Adventure Focused” SUV (Source: Nissan)

The company had 2.2 trillion yen ($15.2 billion) in cash and equivalents at the end of March, but it has around 700 billion yen ($4.9 billion) in debt that’s due later this year.

As part of Re:Nissan, the Japanese automaker’s recovery plan, Nissan looks to cut costs by 250 billion yen. By fiscal year 2026, it plans to return to profitability.

Electrek’s Take

With an aging vehicle lineup and a wave of new low-cost rivals from China, like BYD, Nissan is quickly falling behind.

Nissan is launching several new electric and hybrid vehicles over the next few years, including the next-gen LEAF, which is expected to help boost sales.

In China, the world’s largest EV market, Nissan’s first dedicated electric sedan, the N7, is off to a hot start with over 20,000 orders in 50 days.

The N7 will play a role in Nissan’s recovery efforts as it plans to export it to overseas markets. It will be one of nine new energy vehicles, including EVs and PHEVs, that Nissan plans to launch in China.

Can Nissan turn things around? Or will it continue falling behind the pack? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Trending