Today’s ESG Updates
- Jensen Huang Disregards AI Warnings: The CEO of a $5 trillion chipmaker claims that warnings of human extinction within the next few years due to AI amount to a “doomsday narrative.”
- Google Receives a $400m Data Privacy Fine: Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has ruled that users were manipulated into agreeing to be constantly tracked on their mobile phones.
- A Declaration on AI Regulation From New York: 22 countries are calling for action to help mitigate security threats from AI, potentially by creating a new regulatory institution.
- El Niño Breaks Records Months Before Peak: The phenomenon heating up the planet has just broken the highest temperature ever recorded—months before its expected peak.
CEO of a leading chipmaker opposes negative narratives surrounding AI
Jensen Huang gave an interview to CBS News in which he made claims about AI that run counter to a growing consensus that we need to slow down. This unexpected position follows an ex-Anthropic researcher, Jacob Coxon, who wrote on social media that AI could become superhuman. Huang argued that those claims were irresponsible.
U.S. lawmakers have criticized AI labs over existing risks after Anthropic published an intelligence report detailing how criminals, spyware vendors, and propagandists use their powerful models. Despite statements from the most prominent figures in the field, from Dario Amodei to Sam Altman and Elon Musk, all in a rare agreement about the need to slow down AI development, Huang seems to stay convinced that extinction-level risks are not grounded in science. Recent calls for safety regulation from AI labs aim to duck existing laws, not sincerely warn.
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Irish regulator fines Google over privacy regulations
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) has imposed a fine on Google of more than $400 million. The main cause is how the tech giant processes users’ location data. The decision is supported by claims that Google manipulated users into agreeing to constant tracking on their mobile devices. The severity of the case is fueled by what’s possible to infer if a person frequents different places, like places of worship to discover religious beliefs or health conditions if a person sets foot in a hospital, and more.
The DPC found that users could have been unaware that their location data is used for adverts or to get personal information about beliefs and interests. In turn, Google officials said the case involves older policies that have been updated and that it has launched tools to manage one’s location data more easily.
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22 countries call for AI under human control
On the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York, delegates adopted a declaration on AI. It recognizes the positive potential of the technology, yet warns that ‘the rapid development of frontier AI models poses serious risks to safety and security if not appropriately managed.’ Sadly, neither the U.S. nor China is part of the declaration.
However, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, one of the document’s main organizers, said he hopes to build momentum, bring in more actors, and move in the right direction. The declaration calls for transparent protocols, pre-deployment model testing, and independent evaluation. This would strengthen security in the field and make incidents like OpenAI agents hacking into the HuggingFace platform less likely. Stubb has revealed his vision for a new international institution like the International Atomic Energy Agency within the UN.
El Niňo: a phenomena breaking temperature records
The El Niňo currently heating the planet is the most intense in history. The latest data shows 3.05C reached at the heart of the phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean. It’s higher than the previous peak of 3.02C set in November 2015. The most recent forecasts predict a 4.0C peak in November and December. For reference, any temperature rise above 0.5C is classified as El Niño, and at 2C the phenomenon is officially ‘very strong’.
The current situation might be the most extreme in 1,000 years, and human-caused global heating doesn’t help. This double issue can make 2027 the new hottest year on record. Experts say the worsening situation will make the very strong El Niňos of 1997/1998 and 2015/2016 seem minor in terms of economic damage. On land, the phenomenon already caused devastation in Indonesia. The country suffered from record wildfires and record air pollution.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — Cover Photo Credit: UMA Media.
