China’s push to develop smarter-than-human artificial intelligence could surpass the U.S., according to AI scientist Max Tegmark, who warns of the risks it poses to the ruling Communist Party’s control. The race for artificial general intelligence (AGI) between the two superpowers is seen as a “suicide race,” with AGI potentially reaching human-level intelligence soon, as indicated by the popularity of applications like ChatGPT. While some experts believe AGI could be achieved by 2025, others argue that true AGI is still a distant goal.
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‘We do this to survive’: Harvesting opium poppies in Myanmar’s Shan State | Drugs News
Southern Shan State, Myanmar – In southern Shan State, Tian Win Nang, a young opium farmer, highlights the grim reality of his trade, balancing raw opium worth around $250 per kilogram as armed conflict intensifies the drug trade. Farmers, often shielded from the sun, harvest opium from poppy fields, with the processed product making its way to labs for heroin production, a situation exacerbated by the military's involvement and alliances with drug syndicates like Sam...
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