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By MATT O’BRIEN

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have joined prominent computer scientists, economists, artists, evangelical Christian leaders and American conservative commentators Steve Bannon and Glenn Beck to call for a ban on AI “superintelligence” that threatens humanity.

The letter, released Wednesday by a politically and geographically diverse group of public figures, is squarely aimed at tech giants like Google, OpenAI and Meta Platforms that are racing each other to build a form of artificial intelligence designed to surpass humans at many tasks.

The letter calls for a ban unless some conditions are met

The 30-word statement says:

“We call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence, not lifted before there is broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably, and strong public buy-in.”

In a preamble, the letter notes that AI tools may bring health and prosperity, but alongside those tools, “many leading AI companies have the stated goal of building superintelligence in the coming decade that can significantly outperform all humans on essentially all cognitive tasks. This has raised concerns, ranging from human economic obsolescence and disempowerment, losses of freedom, civil liberties, dignity, and control, to national security risks and even potential human extinction.” read more

By DAVID KLEPPER

WASHINGTON (AP) — North Korean hackers have pilfered billions of dollars by breaking into cryptocurrency exchanges and creating fake identities to get remote tech jobs at foreign companies, according to an international report on North Korea’s cyber capabilities.

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Officials in Pyongyang orchestrated the clandestine work to finance research and development of nuclear arms, the authors of the 138-page report found. The review was published by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, a group that includes the U.S. and 10 allies and was set up last year to observe North Korea’s compliance with U.N. sanctions. read more

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Meta Platforms is cutting roughly 600 artificial intelligence jobs even as it continues to hire more workers for its superintelligence lab, the company confirmed on Wednesday.

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Axios first reported the cuts, which will affect Meta’s Fundamental AI Research, or FAIR unit, as well as product-related AI and AI infrastructure units.

Its newer TBD Lab unit won’t be affected. Citing a memo sent to workers by chief AI officer Alexandr Wang, Axios said the company is encouraging employees affected to apply for other jobs at Meta, with most expected to find other roles. The Menlo Park, California-based company is also still recruiting and hiring for TBD Lab, which is developing Meta’s latest large language models. Large language models are the technology behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini — and Meta’s Llama. read more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

Beyond Meat’s shares briefly sizzled Wednesday before heading back down again.

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  Prince Harry, Meghan join Steve Bannon, Glenn Beck in call for ban on development of AI ‘superintelligence’

• 
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• 
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  Profits at Musk’s car company plunged again last quarter even as it sold more vehicles

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The plant-based meat company’s shares more than doubled early Wednesday before closing at $3.58 per share, which was down 1%. Still, it was a surprising comeback for a stock that was trading at an all-time low of 50 cents per share late last week.

Investors cheered Beyond Meat’s announcement Tuesday that it’s increasing the availability of some of its products at U.S. Walmart stores. Beyond Meat said that its chicken pieces, Korean BBQ-style steak and burger six-packs will now be easier to find in more than 2,000 Walmart stores. read more

By BERNARD CONDON

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla reported a fourth straight decline in quarterly profit even as sales rose, triggering a drop in its shares in after-hours trading.

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  Prince Harry, Meghan join Steve Bannon, Glenn Beck in call for ban on development of AI ‘superintelligence’

• 
  North Korea has stolen billions in cryptocurrency and tech firm salaries, report says

• 
  Meta cutting 600 AI jobs even as it continues to hire more for its superintelligence lab

• 
  Beyond Meat shares briefly sizzle on Walmart deal and meme stock interest

• 
  There’s ‘going to be suffering’: Florida TSA workers brace for hardship from working without pay

The car company run by Elon Musk reported third-quarter earnings plunged 37% to $1.4 billion, or 39 cents a share, from $2.2 billion, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier. That marked the fourth quarter in a row that profit dropped. And even the revenue rise, a welcome relief from a sales plunge earlier in the year due to anti-Musk boycotts, came with significant caveat: Customers rushed to take advantage of a $7,500 federal EV tax credit before it expired on Oct. 1, possibly stealing sales from the current quarter. read more