Rogue states could use AI to do ‘real harm’, warns ex-Google CEO
Google’s former chief executive has warned that artificial intelligence could be used by rogue states such as North Korea, Iran and Russia to “harm innocent people”.Eric Schmidt, who held senior posts at Google from 2001 to 2017, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that those countries and terrorists could adopt and misuse the technology to develop weapons to create “a bad biological attack from some evil person”.The tech billionaire said: “The real fears that I have are not the ones that most people talk about AI – I talk about extreme risk.“Think about North Korea, or Iran, or even Russia, who have some evil goal.This technology is fast enough for them to adopt that they could misuse it and do real harm.
”In reference to the head of the al-Qaida terrorist group who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks in 2001, he said: “I’m always worried about the Osama bin Laden scenario, where you have some truly evil person who takes over some aspect of our modern life and uses it to harm innocent people.”Schmidt agreed with the US export controls introduced by the former US president Joe Biden, which restricted the sale of the microchips that power the most advanced AI system to 18 countries to slow adversaries’ progress on AI research.He urged government oversight on private tech companies that are developing AI models, but added that over-regulation could stifle innovation.“It’s really important that governments understand what we’re doing and keep their eye on us,” he said.“My experience with the tech leaders is that they do have an understanding of the impact they’re having, but they might make a different values judgment than the government would make.
”Schmidt was speaking from Paris, where the two-day AI Action summit finished on Tuesday with the US and UK refusing to sign an agreement on “inclusive” AI.The declaration was signed by 57 countries, including India and China, the EU and the African Union.The UK declined to back the joint communique because it failed to provide enough “practical clarity” or address “harder questions” about national safety.The US vice-president, JD Vance, has said that regulation would “kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off”.Schmidt said Europe’s more restricted approach meant “that the AI revolution, which is the most important revolution in my opinion since electricity, is not going to be invented in Europe”.
Separately, Schmidt, who was head of Google when the company bought Android, which now makes the most-used mobile phone operating system in the world, said he supported initiatives to keep phones out of schools,“The situation with children is particularly disturbing to me,” he said,“I think smartphones with a kid can be safe, they just need to be moderated … we can all agree that children should be protected from the bad of the online world,”Schmidt has also supported proposals for a ban on social media for children under 16,He said: “Why would we run such a large, uncontrolled experiment on the most important people in the world, which is the next generation?”
Elon Musk’s startup rolls out new Grok-3 chatbot as AI competition intensifies
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has introduced Grok-3, the latest iteration of its chatbot that integrates with X, formerly Twitter.Grok-3 debut comes at a critical moment in the AI arms race as Musk looks to compete with the Chinese AI firm DeepSeek, Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google. Musk’s bot has seen less widespread adoption than DeepSeek’s namesake chatbot, which wowed the world weeks ago and caused panic in stock markets, as well as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.Grok-3 is being rolled out immediately to Premium+ subscribers of X, the social media platform owned by Musk. xAI is also launching a new subscription tier, SuperGrok, for users accessing the chatbot via its mobile app and Grok
Elon Musk keeps bringing his kids to work – and the reasons aren’t cute at all | Arwa Mahdawi
Welcome to the White House, where every day seems to be bring-your-kid-to-work-day if you’re Elon Musk. The tech billionaire, fascist-salute-enthusiast, and de facto president of the US hasn’t just moved himself into government digs – he has seemingly moved in a selection of his kids as well. Over the last couple of weeks, mini-Musks have been popping up at high-profile political events, generating a steady stream of memes, headlines and analysis.Three of Musk’s young children were at a meeting with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi last Thursday, for example. Why were Musk and Modi meeting? Good question
Meta plans to link US and India with world’s longest undersea cable project
Meta has announced plans to build the world’s longest underwater cable project, which aims to connect the US, India, South Africa, Brazil and other regions.The tech company said Project Waterworth involved a 50,000km (31,000-mile) subsea cable, which is longer than the Earth’s circumference.The cable would be the longest to date that uses a 24 fibre-pair system, giving it a higher capacity, and would help support its AI projects, according to Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.Meta said in a blog post: “Project Waterworth will bring industry-leading connectivity to the US, India, Brazil, South Africa, and other key regions.“This project will enable greater economic cooperation, facilitate digital inclusion, and open opportunities for technological development in these regions
Lessons for Elon Musk from the original Doge | Brief letters
As Elon Musk’s unelected “Doge” troops slash and burn US federal departments (Elon Musk appears with Trump and tries to claim ‘Doge’ team is transparent, 12 February), it is ironic to note that the Doges of ancient Venice were always elected, and by a process that was designed to avoid wealthy families taking too much power.John JacobsAlton, Hampshire I agree with your correspondents about the difficulty of hearing the lyrics in musicals (Letters, 13 February), but there’s little mention of the problem in cinemas, where conversations are drowned out by background music. In the recent film about Bob Dylan, Timothée Chalamet perfectly captured the musician’s mumble. What words he actually said remain A Complete Unknown.Joanna RimmerNewcastle upon Tyne Re the letters on analogue photography (14 February), there is a good compromise
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: still the superphone to beat
The Ultra is Samsung’s largest and greatest phone and is packed to the gills with the very latest technology, which means more artificial intelligence than ever before.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The Galaxy S25 Ultra is at the front of the line of a new wave of Android phones that promise to basically do everything for you
Protesters target Tesla showrooms in US over Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting
Protesters gathered outside Tesla dealerships across the US on Saturday in response to Elon Musk’s efforts to shred government spending under the president, Donald Trump.Groups of demonstrators up to 100-strong gathered outside the electric carmaker’s showrooms in cities including New York, Seattle, Kansas City and across California. Organisers said the protests took place in dozens of locations.While the protests were scattered, they highlighted the risks to the car company of Musk’s close association with Trump’s radical rightwing agenda. Many of the protesters carried placards likening the Trump administration to Nazis – a characterisation that Musk has previously emphatically denied
Stephen Colbert on New York mayor Eric Adams: ‘Trump has Adams by the old Turkish delights’
Perth festival’s most powerful show was 12 hours long, had no actors and will never happen again
Why are Americans toasting their fairy bread, and can the New York Times stop them?
Amy Hetherington: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)
Rick Buckler, drummer of The Jam, dies aged 69 after short illness
Arts Council England to shelve new funding plan after outcry from producers