This is where the data to build AI comes from
And because Google is also developing its own AI models, its massive advantage also raises questions about how the company will make this data available for competitors, says Sarah Myers West, the co–executive director at the AI Now Institute
MIT Technology Review
Dec 26, 2024
What If Tech Execs Don’t Really Need All These Data Centers?
“They’ve gotten themselves into a business model that’s very cost-intensive up front, and very unproven in terms of what profits they’re going to have on the back-end or what the ultimate utility will be,” says Sarah Myers West, co-executive director of AINow and a former senior adviser on AI at the Federal Trade Commission.
New Republic
Dec 26, 2024
AI admin tools pose a threat to national security
Artificial intelligence is already being used on the battlefield. Accelerated adoption is in sight. This year, Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI all declared that their AI foundation models were available for use by US national security. AI warfare is controversial and widely criticised. But a more insidious set of AI use cases have already been quietly integrated into the US military.
Dec 24, 2024
What the European Commission’s focus on AI industrial policy means for Green and left-of-centre parties
Frederike Kaltheuner of AI Now shares her insights on the European Commission’s focus on AI industrial policy means for Green and left-of-centre parties.
Dec 24, 2024
How to Remedy Google’s Search Monopoly
AI Now Associate Director Kate Brennan discusses Google's antitrust case in conversation with Alissa Cooper, Cristina Caffarra. and David Dinielli.
Tech Policy Press
Dec 24, 2024
Meta says it’s making its Llama models available for US national security applications
According to a recent study from the nonprofit AI Now Institute, the AI deployed today for military intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance poses dangers because it relies on personal data that can be exfiltrated and weaponized by adversaries.
TechCrunch
Dec 24, 2024
The Elephant in the Room in the Google Search Case: Generative AI
The elephant in the room is generative AI, which is rapidly transforming the search engine market landscape. Look no further than Google’s own generative AI chatbot Gemini, which provides users with an impossible-to-opt-out-of “AI Summary” at the top of Google’s own search results page.
Tech Policy Press
Dec 24, 2024
U.S. Military Makes First Confirmed OpenAI Purchase for War-Fighting Forces
“It is extremely alarming that they’re explicit in OpenAI tool use for ‘unified analytics for data processing’ to align with USAFRICOM’s mission objectives,” said Heidy Khlaaf, chief AI scientist at the AI Now Institute, who has previously conducted safety evaluations for OpenAI.
The Intercept
Nov 15, 2024
White House Urges Agencies to Adopt AI for Military, Spy Use
Responding to the new strategy, Sarah Myers West, co-executive director of the AI Now Institute, a policy research center, warned against rushing to adopt the technology across many different domains, arguing for time-tested approaches to ensure safety. She said there’s a risk that in life-and-death decisions, human military operators may defer to the recommendations of AI systems.
Bloomberg
Nov 15, 2024
Researchers sound alarm on dual-use AI for defense
In the paper, published by the AI Now Institute, authors Heidy Khlaaf, Sarah Myers West, and Meredith Whittaker point out the growing interest in commercial AI models—sometimes called foundation models—for military purposes, particularly for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. They argue that while concerns around AI’s potential for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons dominate the conversation, big commercial foundation models already pose underappreciated risks to civilians.
Defense One
Nov 15, 2024
“Everything converges with a handful of US corporations”
How can Europe keep up with the USA and China in artificial intelligence? That is the wrong question, says the organization AI Now. Before Europe invests hundreds of billions in AI, it should be clarified who benefits from it.
Suddeutsche Zeitung
Nov 15, 2024
Time100/AI 2024
Amba Kak, Co-Executive Director of AI Now listed among Time100’s most influential people in AI in 2024.
Time
Nov 15, 2024
The AI industry is pushing a nuclear power revival — partly to fuel itself
“I want to see innovation in this country,” Myers West said. “I just want the scope of innovation to be determined beyond the incentive structures of these giant companies.”
NBC News
Nov 15, 2024
Women in AI: Sarah Myers West says we should ask, ‘Why build AI at all?’
At many points in my career, I’ve wondered, “Why are we getting locked into this very dystopian vision of the future?” The answer has little to do with the tech itself and a lot to do with public policy and commercialization.
TechCrunch
Nov 15, 2024
How Big Tech is winning the AI talent war
“It is not going to be about who has the best model but who has the best infrastructure and platform-play with access to the consumer,” Kak says. “Inflection and Mistral are the barnacles on the hull of Big Tech.”
Financial Times
Mar 22, 2024
The AI industry is pushing a nuclear power revival — partly to fuel itself
“If you were to integrate large language models, GPT-style models into search engines, it’s going to cost five times as much environmentally as standard search,” said Sarah Myers West, managing director of the AI Now Institute, a research group focused on the social impacts of AI. At current growth rates, some new AI servers could soon gobble up more than 85 terawatt hours of electricity each year, researchers have estimated — more than some small nations’ annual energy consumption.
NBC News
Mar 7, 2024
AI could disrupt the election. Congress is running out of time to respond
Absent congressional action, the task will fall to other government bodies — such as consumer protection agencies and financial regulators — to try to regulate AI under existing laws, said Sarah Myers West, managing director of the AI Now Institute and a former AI advisor to the Federal Trade Commission.
CNN Business
Feb 14, 2024
Op-ed: The Problem With Public-Private Partnerships in AI
Companies first need to do a better job of demonstrating the technology’s societal benefits.
Foreign Policy
Feb 12, 2024
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