Anthropic researcher says AI ‘could kill all humans’ and other top stories | Global News Podcast

This is the Global News podcast from the. BBC World Service. And on Wednesday the. 9th of September, a stark warning about. AI as a leading researcher at Anthropic. says it could wipe out humanity. The. British Prime Minister Andy Bernham. defends imposing sanctions on Israeli. settlements in the occupied West Bank. >> Words from any politician about a. two-state solution will be only words if. it's not backed with action. Violence. flares between the US and Iran and.

funeral ceremonies take place for the. late Norwegian King Harold V. There's a greater than 10% chance AI. could kill us all by the end of the. decade. That's the stark warning from a. manager at the artificial intelligence. company Anthropic. Along with a. colleague who's now resigned, they've. said on social media they're worried the. technology could threaten humanity. Our. technology reporter Chris Valance told. me more about this development.

>> This was Evan Hubinger of uh the. alignment science lead at anthropic. Now. alignment science is essentially making. sure that these AI models do what you. expect them to do. And he was responding. on X to a post by another researcher who. US reports say had worked at OpenAI and. anthropic for a couple of years. Um and. he he that researcher had had posted the. people building AI earnestly believe.

that it could kill us all by the end of. the decade. And Evan, the anthropic. alignment science lead says um he agrees. that that that was um right. And he. said, "We really do earnestly believe AI. could kill all humans." exclamation. point. I personally think it's a greater. than 10% chance within the next decade. Now, we've had warnings uh before, but. this is expressed in in in very blunt. language. As you say, we've had warnings.

before, a lot of warnings actually from. within the AI community. Are the rest of. us maybe a bit naive about the dangers. this technology poses? Well, I kind of. think there are two things here we can. say. Certainly, when we look at the the. recent incidents where uh autonomous. agents from these companies have uh gone. on uh un unasked for hacking sprees. Um. that's generated a huge amount of alarm.

Those were in many cases those were uh. models that weren't widely available um. that were were if you like research. models. So in a sense people in these. companies do have uh insight into the. latest that the tech can do and. certainly some of the companies. particularly anthropic have withheld. models because they're concerned about u. you know are we ready to deal with the. risk that they might pose but there's. also I think um you can say that we if. you're in AI and you're you know really.

good at it um you are also perhaps a. true believer in its capabilities and. therefore it's easier for you to see um. the potential threats perhaps than. somebody who might be a bit more. skeptical about it. So I think that. there there are two things there. >> Is anyone listening here? And and and. even if they are listening maybe in. authority, is there anything they can do. about it? Because you can't this is a. global technology. You can't shut down. one company because the clever people.

that are making this technology will. simply go elsewhere where it is allowed. >> Well, I think the last point is. absolutely critical. I mean, there's a. geopolitical dimension to this, isn't. there? I mean, you know, weapons are terrible things, but if the. other guys got them, we want them, too. And I think, you know, that was the. logic of uh nuclear armorament. And. there's a sort of certain amount of that. similar sort of geopolitics here. You. know, AI brings lots of useful things. and you know, reigning it in if the.

other if the other side isn't going to. do it. um you know it's difficult for. for individual nations to to do that. without feeling they're putting. themselves at risk. So so I I mean you. know it does it you know on the face of. it a multinational agreement uh is is. what's required but you know there's a. there's a a difficult logic to that. >> The British Prime Minister Andy Bernham. has defended his government's decision. to impose sanctions on goods from. Israeli settlements in the occupied West. Bank. The UK's announcement came after.

Israel opened up tenders for the. construction of some 1,200 Jewish. settlement homes, continuing its. expansion into a strategically important. area east of Jerusalem. It's been clear. for some time that the possibility of a. two-state solution for Palestinians and. Israelis is receding rapidly. The plans. have drawn widespread international. condemnation. 11 other countries echoed. London's announcement that they will or. have already imposed their own. restrictions. Speaking at Prime. Minister's question time in the British.

Parliament, Mr. Bernham said the UK was. providing leadership on a world stage by. taking action in the face of injustice. >> In this difficult and dangerous world, Britain has to stand for something. Britain has to show leadership. Britain. has to stand for fairness against. injustice. where people are being. bullied out of their homes intimidated. We will always stand with the underdog. and take what action we can to support. them. That, Mr. Speaker, is leadership.

on the world stage. Britain being true. to what it's always been about. That is. what the British government, British. people expect of us and that is what. this government will do. >> Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities are. taking further action against countries. which have imposed sanctions. They're. recommending that representatives from a. number of charities, including Oxfam and. Save the Children, are denied entry to. Israel. Israel hasn't yet announced what. steps it's taking against Canada and.

France, which joined Britain in. declaring a ban on trade with Jewish. West Bank settlements. So, what response. has there been within Israel? I heard. more from our correspondent in. Jerusalem, Yoland Nell. The comments. that I've seen coming out of the Israeli. settlements themselves have been defiant. um saying they they don't care about. this action that um you know Israel has. given the authorization for these. settlements to be there and that is what. the Israeli residents care about. But.

there is a segment of Israeli society. that does acknowledge that what has. happened under this Israeli government. is really something quite unprecedented. 104 new settlements authorized in the. West Bank and settler violence now at an. all-time high according to the UN. Um. and that has led to this response. Uh. there is one Israeli commentator writing. in the newspaper Yediot Arenaut this. morning saying that Jerusalem had. prepared for rain but what arrived.

yesterday was a full-blown storm. that. really referring to the fact that while. Israel had prepared counter measures uh. to deal with what was expected this. announcement from the UK, it was. actually a list of a dozen countries um. putting out a joint statement against uh. settlements and trade with settlements. and Canada and France expected to take. similar action to the UK very soon. A. spokesman for the Israeli embassy in. London blamed the announcement on UK.

internal politics. Has there been a. reaction from the Israeli government? >> That is certainly something that you. hear commonly from Israeli officials. that they know it's going into the um. political party uh conference season in. the UK and uh they attribute the timing. uh somewhat to that and this new Labor. government wanting to make its mark. You. also hear very commonly from Israeli. officials and members of the public. their belief that the UK is being taken.

over uh by um by Muslims who they say. are influencing um policy that the. number of immigrants who've moved to the. UK is really causing these policy. changes. something that um the Labour. government would firmly deny. Ed Miband, who has been speaking um and making. these announcements as the foreign. secretary of course in the UK um is. proudly labeling himself as a a British. Jew. Um but at the same time as all of. that, you know, Gideon Sar, the foreign.

minister, has been calling this blatant. interference in Israel's own election, which is due to happen in uh just over a. month's time, six weeks time. He's. called this also a moral distortion um. the the British announcement and that is. why I think we have such a harsh uh. response coming from the Israelis. I. mean really the Israeli media pointing. out that it is unprecedented to have. this closure of a British consulate of a. consulate rather in Jerusalem and the. British one has been there since the.

1830s um since the Ottoman times. That's. when a consulate was founded um in. Jerusalem and you know it's been told. now by Israeli officials that within 30. days it must cease its operations and. that the diplomats who are working there. um will have their accreditation. rescended. There are also um the British. representatives at the international. Gaza Coordination Center in the south of. Israel. They have been given just seven. days to leave. And also the um British.

trainers of police um in the Palestinian. Authority, they're based in Ramala, they. have been told they have 7 days to go as. well. >> Still to come, scientists say very hot. drinks like tea and coffee could. significantly increase your risk of. esophagical cancer. The United States and Iran have been. trading fire in another flare up of. fighting. Both countries have claimed. attacks on each other's ships. Iran also.

said it had struck a US base in eastern. Jordan. The Jordanian army said its air. defense systems had taken down a number. of Iranian missiles. I heard more from. our Middle East analyst, Sebastian. Usher. These are attacks. uh both from the Iranian side and the US. side on shipping uh essentially the US. imposing its blockade on uh oil. particularly coming out of any Iranian. ports. So that was carried out on. Tuesday and in response the Iranians say.

that they have targeted a number of. vessels some of them US vessels moving. through the straight of Hormuz. So, I. mean, it doesn't change the situation. I. think what it says is what we already. know, but it makes it even clearer. But. the Iranians have more of a taste for. conflict at the moment, direct conflict, I think, than the US does. I think the. US has switched, as we know, its focus.

towards the economic uh pressure that. it's trying to apply on Iran. And so. given the sense that it's not going to. go in for an escalation here, that may. happen. I think Iran knows that its. weakness actually is economic and over. you know the long term that could really. have a major impact but it feels that in. the short term if it challenges the US. more militarily with all these. indications that the US doesn't want to. rise to that that it can uh make its. position its stance stronger and.

clearer. >> Yeah. And it says it's hit US targets in. Jordan. >> Well, it's aimed again at US bases. I. mean, it aimed at US bases in Gulf. neighbors and and in Jordan again, as we. said. I mean, the Jordanians say that. their air defenses took out uh most of. the drones, the missiles that were aimed. at them and a couple of them fell into. uh empty ground. So, this is a pattern. we've seen again and again. I mean, one. of the issues obviously with firing at. Jordan is there's always a possibility. that one of those missiles will stray.

into Israel and Israel as we know is. very keen this government to get. involved back big time in this conflict. The US is telling them no, that's. escalation. But if a signal like that. happened, even if it was accidental, I. think the chances are that Israel would. very seriously consider reigniting its. direct conflict with Iran, which of. course that would be a major escalation, a major change. And the price of oil. last time I looked pushing very close to.

that psychologically important. >> $100 of Brent crude. Yes, we haven't. seen it rise to these levels for about 6. weeks. So, it's going up and up again. As I say, I mean that was when there had. been a real escalation over a fortnight. We're not in that situation at the. moment. But it really is how long can. this status quo as it is at the moment. with all these tensions on both sides. with all the elements that both sides. are looking at in terms of what they do. next. How long can that actually hold. when there's so much pressure being.

applied? Funeral ceremonies have taken. place in Norway for the late King Harold. V. Thousands of people crowded the. streets as the king's coffin was. transported to Oslo Cathedral for the. funeral service. Members of the British. royal family, including William, the. Prince of Wales, were in attendance. King Harold died last month at the age. of 89 after 35 years on the throne. His. son, Harkon VII, has succeeded him. Our. global affairs reporter, Mimi Swaybe, described the day's events. >> There was a ceremony, a very moving.

ceremony for an hour. It lasted, a very. somber ceremony that started with a. minute of silence which was held. nationwide. And then memorial speeches. took place. Now, some speeches were from. the president of parliament who said. that King Harold wasn't afraid to meet. people with his wellies on, referring to. times where this symbol of unity went to. uh victims of attacks or went to times. or places where people needed him most. He was seen as a symbol of unity and.

stability during times of upheaval. He. then went on to say that the king lived. up to his slogan. That slogan is. everything for Norway. And that is. something that has been repeated. throughout the 13 days of mourning now. since the late king passed away that he. gave everything for his country. Even. during times of ill health, he refused. to abdicate because he said he took the. king or took the oath to be king for. life. The ceremony concluded. It was a. very touching moment when the queen. Sonia, the now widowed queen Sonia Leia.

rose down on his coffin, wiping away. tears. Immediate family members were. very close to the coffin. But the. cathedral was full. It normally has a. capacity about 800, but it was extended. to more than a thousand to mark this. very special occasion. The first state. funeral since 1991. So, a very grand. occasion filled with mourning and a lot. of sorrow, but also a celebration of a. king who is incredibly popular along. among Norwegians. His coffin is now. going to go to the Akashus fortress.

where he'll we finally laid to rest. A. private ceremony will be held for close. family members and other close guests. before later this afternoon we can. expect the new king his son King Harkin. VI to King Hawin VI to address the. public from the palace balcony. So a. long day filled with ceremony and. tradition and a lot of security as well. It's a massive event in Oslo. There has. been some controversy around Norway's. royal family in recent years. Will it be. as popular without him?

>> The late King, King King Harold, was. incredibly popular. So, the new king, King Hawin, has big shoes to fill. Essentially, the new king has some. scandals among among his intimate. family. His wife, it was revealed. earlier this year, had ties to the late. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Something. she came out apologized for, saying she. wish she never met him. and his stepson. Marius Borgibi. He's been convicted of. two counts of rape alongside other. sexual uh offense charges. He has been.

given temporary leave today to address. and come to the funeral, but these are. scandals which will be plaguing the. royal family and something he'll have to. bring public trust back with. >> Now to a new study by Oxford University. that says people who regularly have an. extra hot cup of tea or coffee are at. greater risk of developing cancer in. their esophagus. Karen Papia is the lead. researcher and nutritional. epidemiologist at Oxford Population. Health. >> We found that this cohort of nearly 1. million adults really we saw an increase.

in risk with increasing temperature. So. higher risk with higher drink. temperature compared to lower. temperatures. And we think that one. possible explanation could be the. repeated heat damage to the lining of. the esophagus. So, it's possible that. very hot liquid may injure the cells. that in the esophagus, making it more. vulnerable to processes that might lead. to developing cancer. Of course, not. smoking is by far the best thing you. could do to really reduce your risk of.

this cancer at all. But what's. interesting about this study is that tea. and coffee are quite widely consumed. So, in this population, many of the. participants drank tea and coffee on a. daily basis. So even having something. like a small rest when consumed so. widely could still be meaningful. So if. possible, really try to let the drinks. cool down and try not to consume very. hard drinks. >> And that's all for this edition of the. Global News podcast. If you'd like to. get in touch, our contact details are.

below. Until next time, goodbye.