A call for a pause on advanced AI systems

Hello from London. How scary is generative AI? Many readers will surely have been trying ChatGPT, playing around with its capabilities. This week, however,?a group of tech experts, including Elon Musk, issued a dramatic warning that the industry was locked in a dangerous arms race to develop AI systems. The signatories said?human-competitive intelligence could pose an existential risk to humanity, and demanded a six-month moratorium on research until better regulation could be put in place.

Tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Adobe have all rushed to add AI features to their online tools and search engines, a move that will place AI in the hands of everyday users. But heavy cost-cutting by the tech sector has led to the?slashing of staff from ethics teams?that advise on the safety of these very products.

On a separate note, I wanted to let you know that you can sign up for our app,?FT Edit, and get access to eight of our best articles every weekday — for just 99p a month. Sign up here.

My choices this week

1.?Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week bowed to public pressure and delayed his judicial reforms after mass protests and a general strike paralysed the country. From Jerusalem, correspondent James Shotter reports on?the battle for the soul of the Jewish state.?(Free to read)

2.?Kremlin calls to hunt for “domestic traitors” and “saboteurs” of the war effort have fuelled?a wave of denunciations across Russia. Moscow correspondent Polina Ivanova speaks to victims of informants, including a 10-year-old detained by police because of her WhatsApp profile picture.?(Free to read)

3.?Triads, ghost ships and underground banks: In our latest visual investigation, the FT uses CGI and satellite images to reveal how business figures with links to organised crime have helped facilitate illicit?deliveries of hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil to North Korea.

4.?On Monday Scottish health secretary Humza Yousaf won a closely fought race to replace Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the Scottish National party. Can Humza unite the party behind him? Columnist Stephen Bush warns that?the SNP’s newfound addiction to infighting is just beginning.

(You can sign up to Stephen’s excellent newsletter, Inside Politics, for free for 90 days.?Find out more here).

5.?There is a growing body of research showing that the proliferation of smartphones and social media apps is driving an increase in?eating disorders, depression and anxiety among teenagers. In this Big Read, we ask if social media companies will be held responsible.

6.?Last week, Lebanon woke up in two simultaneous time zones following a decision by caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati to postpone daylight saving time until after Ramadan. The backlash and ensuing?debate have a worrying sectarian overtone, writes correspondent Raya Jalabi.

Thanks for reading,

Roula