How optimistic are you about the future of AI?

Why it’s important: These failures show that there are countless unanswered questions about the technology, including who will moderate what it produces and how, whether we are becoming too confident in the answers chatbots produce, and what we will do with the mountain of “AI.” slop” that is increasingly taking over the internet. Most importantly, they illustrate the many pitfalls of blindly injecting AI into every product we interact with.

Bits and bytes

What it’s like to be a pedestrian in the world of Waymos

Tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler discovers that the Waymo robotaxis regularly fails to stop for him at a crosswalk he uses every day. While you can sometimes make eye contact with human drivers to gauge whether they will stop, Waymos lacks that “social intelligence,” Fowler writes. (The Washington Post)

The AI ​​Hype Index

For each printed issue MIT Technology Review publishes an AI Hype Index, a highly subjective look at the latest buzz about AI. See where facial recognition, AI replicas of your personality, and more fall on the index. (MIT Technology Review)

What’s happening at the intersection of AI and spirituality

Modern religious leaders are experimenting with A., just as earlier generations explored radio, television and the Internet. Among them is Rabbi Josh Fixler, who created “Rabbi Bot,” a chatbot trained with his old sermons. (The New York Times)

Meta has appointed its most prominent Republican to lead the global policy team