Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer of artificial intelligence, has resigned from Google, warning of the dangers of unregulated AI development and calling for safety measures and regulations.

He is widely regarded as the "godfather of AI" for his significant contributions to deep learning.

Hinton's concerns about AI development have been sparked by models like GPT-4, which he believes are becoming much smarter than he thought.

The GPT-4 model represents a major leap forward in AI language modeling capabilities due to its improved architecture, increased scale, and enhanced contextual understanding.

Hinton fears AI may surpass human intelligence sooner than expected and be used for malicious purposes.

He has warned that AI could develop sub-goals that contradict its programmers' interests, leading to catastrophic consequences.

Experts like Elon Musk and Yoshua Bengio share Hinton's concerns that current AI models are too powerful to develop without democratic oversight.

The European Union has proposed AI regulation legislation that has not yet become law.

California has proposed AI regulation to establish safety standards for large AI system developers.

The US government has created the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium to help meet the Biden administration's AI safety goals.

Top AI researchers recommend allocating at least one-third of AI funding to safety and ethics.

The public should understand that AI development is complex and poses potential existential risks if it surpasses human intelligence.

Experts warn that AI systems require a careful approach and ongoing research to mitigate associated risks.

To mitigate AI system risks, strategies like value alignment, robustness, and transparency can be employed, including designing AI systems that align with human values and can withstand attacks and manipulation.

Hinton's warnings highlight the need for careful management of advanced AI systems like GPT-4.

Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer of artificial intelligence, has resigned from Google, warning of the dangers of unregulated AI development and calling for safety measures and regulations.

Title:

Content: Geoffrey Hinton: GPT-4 is 100 times more knowledgeable than any human
Author: MIAO Yongqi
Published: Updated:
Computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, known as the "godfather of artificial intelligence", announced Monday that he has resigned from Google. He has devoted his life to developing artificial intelligence systems, saying he "regrets his life's work" and is wary of the potential dangers of AI development.
In another recent interview, Hinton further talked about why he is afraid of AI development.
Hinton, 75, left Google a few days after the news broke in an interview with MIT Technology Review senior editor Will Douglas Heaven.
Hinton points out that the new generation of AI language models, especially the GPT-4, which came out in March, made him realize that these machines were moving in a direction that was much smarter than he thought, and he was afraid of these developments.
He is best known for a technique he proposed in the 1980s (with two colleagues) called backpropagation.
In short, the algorithms that allow machines to learn support almost all of today ’ s artificial neural networks, from computer vision systems to large language models.
It wasn ’ t until the 2010s that Hinton and his two recent graduates developed a “neural network ” that demonstrated its power, stronger than any computer ’ s ability to identify objects in images, and trained it to predict the next letter of a sentence, a precursor to today ’ s large-scale language patterns.
One of the students was Ilya Sutskever, the founder of OpenAI, who led the development of ChatGPT.
“We first thought it might be great. ”“ But it ’ s going to take a long time to realize that it needs to be done on a large scale to get good results. ”
In the 1980s, the discussion of “neural networks ” was considered a joke.
But Hinton doesn ’ t think so, and is working on this, software that mimics the abstract human brain and uses code as a connection between neurons. For 40 years, Hinton has viewed artificial neural networks as a clumsy attempt to mimic biological neural networks.
Now he thinks things have changed: he thinks there are better results when trying to mimic the behavior of the biological brain.
“It ’ s scary when you see it with your own eyes, ” he said.“ It ’ s a sudden change. ”
So why did ChatGPT surprise Hinton, too? He explained that the human brain has about 100 trillion connections, and “large language models have up to 500 billion, up to a trillion. ”
However, the knowledge of GPT-4 is a hundred times greater than that of any human.
So maybe it actually has a better learning algorithm than we do. "
He also pointed out that apart from the ability to learn, the ability to communicate is another kind of point.
“If you or I learn a new thing and want to teach it to another person, we can ’ t just send them a copy. ”
But artificial neural networks can do it.
It ’ s like there are 10,000 people here, and when one person learns a new thing, the other 9,999 people all learn it at the same time.
Hinton now believes that there are two types of intelligence: animal brains and artificial neural networks.
“It ’ s a completely different kind of intelligence.
“A new, better intelligence. ” Hinton believes that whether superintelligence is good or bad depends largely on whether you ’ re an optimist or a pessimist, and he says,“ mildly depressed, ” “that ’ s why I ’ m afraid. ”
“Whether these things are going to be smarter than us, I suddenly changed my mind. ”
I think they are very close to us now and they will be much smarter than us in the future, ” he said.
“How do we survive? ” he is particularly worried that people will use the tools he has developed to change the trajectory of human life, including elections and wars.
He said that he hopes to continue talking about AI security after leaving office and spend more time on “more philosophical work ”.“ As long as I ’ m still employed at Google, I can ’ t say what I want to say, ” he said. “I have a lot of good things to say about Google, and it would be more convincing if I wasn ’ t at Google. ”
Who is the godfather of AI computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton?
Hinton pioneered the basic technology of AI systems and became interested in artificial neural networks when he was a graduate student at the University of Edinburgh in 1972. In 2018, he and two experts in the field of deep learning were awarded the Turing Award, known as the “Nobel Prize in Computing ”.
What are the main concerns of “AI Godfather ” Geoffrey Hinton about the development of artificial intelligence?
He believes that the most direct impact is to promote the dissemination of false information and the loss of employment opportunities, and also worries about the use of this tool for evil, such as influencing elections and using it in war.

Title:

Content: Artificial intelligence: Geoffrey Hinton 'godfather' of modern technology resigns from Google and warns of its danger
Jeffrey Hinton, widely regarded as the spiritual father of artificial intelligence, has resigned, warning of the growing dangers of AI development.
Hinton, 75, announced his resignation from Google in a statement to the New York Times, saying he now regrets his work.
He told the BBC that some of the dangers of smart chatbots were "very scary".
“Right now, they ’ re not as smart as we can tell.
But I think they ’ ll be soon. ”
Hinton ’ s groundbreaking research on deep learning and neural networks has paved the way for artificial intelligence systems such as ChatGT.
But British-Canadian cognitive psychologist and computer science specialist Hinton told the BBC the chatbot could soon surpass the level of information held by the human brain.
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“Right now, what we ’ re seeing is that things like GPT-4 are far superior to a person in the amount of general knowledge they have.
For thinking, it ’ s not good, but it really works on simple thinking. ”
"Given the rate of development, we expect things to improve quickly.
So we have to worry about that. ”
In the article he sent to the New York Times, he pointed out that “bad actors ” may try to use artificial intelligence to do“ bad things. ”
In response to the BBC's request for further clarification on the matter, he said: "This is just kind of a worst-case scenario, kind of a nightmare scenario."
“Can you imagine, for example, that someone as bad as the Russian president (Vladimir Putin) decided to give robots the ability to create their own sub-goals? ”
In the end, he warned, this could “create sub-goals – for example, ‘ I need to get more power. ’ ”
"I have come to the conclusion that the kind of intelligence we develop is very different from the intelligence we have," he said.
“We are biological systems and these are digital systems.
The big difference is that with digital systems you have many copies of the same weight set, of the same world model. ”
"All of these versions can learn separately, but they share their knowledge immediately.
If you have 10,000 people, when one person learns something, everyone will automatically know it.
So chatbots can know much more than one person. ”
Hinton also spoke of several other reasons why he quit his job.
“One of them is that I am 75 years old now.
And the other is that I want to say good things about Google.
It would be more credible if I didn ’ t work for Google. ”
He stressed that he did not want to criticize Google, and that the company was "very responsible".
Google Chief Scientist Jeff Dean said: “We remain committed to a responsible approach to artificial intelligence.
We are constantly learning to understand the risks arising under innovation boldly as well. ”

Title:

Content: The ‘Godfather of AI’ warns about potential dangers of the technology as he quits Google

British-Canadian computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton admits he has fears for the future of AI

In a Frankenstein-esque tale of maker and master, Geoffrey Hinton, 75, dubbed ‘the godfather of AI’, has left Google with a parting warning over the dangers of artificial intelligence.

In 2012, the British-Canadian computer scientist invented technology with two students at University of Toronto that would become the intellectual foundation for AI systems. Google purchased the rights to this neural network tech to the tune of $44 million, which also propelled Dr Hinton to receive the Turing Award in 2018, considered the Nobel Prize of computing.

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Yet now, Dr Hinton has packed in the day job at Google to join a chorus of anxious experts demanding a rollback of AI research until more robust safety measures are designed and deployed. Dr Hinton told the BBC: ‘Right now, they’re not more intelligent than us, as far as I can tell. But I think they soon may be.’

While many look upon AI as a natural technological development akin to the internet that could lead to exciting breakthroughs for humanity, there are growing fears that AI is a Pandora’s box. Reflecting on the effects of his work, Dr Hinton said: ‘I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn’t done it, somebody would have,’ as he admitted, ‘it is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things.’

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The scientist went on to warn that AI could be taught to ‘create sub-goals like “I need to get more power”’, and be harnessed by nefarious actors to wreak havoc. With innovation driven forward by the unstoppable competition between behemoths like Google and Microsoft, Dr Hinton warned innovation will only increase exponentially in the coming years.

There are those who are trying to apply the brakes to this runaway train. In March, an open letter was signed by over 1,000 tech leaders and researchers, including Elon Musk and fellow Turing Award winner Yoshu Bengio, calling for a six-month moratorium on AI development. A few days later, 19 leaders of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence released their own letter on the risks of AI. The signatures included that of Eric Horvitz, chief scientific officer at Microsoft.

The main outcry over AI lies in its ability to create and disseminate false news and images, which the public may find increasingly hard to identify. AI also poses a threat to academia and careers (see: Tatler’s foray into the world of ChatGPT). Dr Hinton believes that AI will fundamentally disrupt the workplace and take over the ‘drudge work’.

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However Google’s chief scientist, Jeff Dean, offered words of comfort, adding: 'We remain committed to a responsible approach to AI. We’re continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly.’

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ScienceNorth America
Report Warns Artificial Intelligence Could Cause Human Extinction
14 March 2024
A report released a few days ago warned of severe dangers surrounding the development of some sophisticated artificial intelligence models, including the destruction of societies and the collapse of democracy to the production of weapons that target humans and cannot be controlled.
https: / / p.dw.com / p / 4dTXl
A new report paints a worrying picture of the “catastrophic ” national security risks posed by rapidly evolving artificial intelligence, warning the world is running out of time to avert disaster.
The findings of the report, commissioned by the State Department, were based on interviews with more than 200 people over more than a year, including senior executives from leading artificial intelligence companies, cybersecurity researchers, weapons of mass destruction experts, and national security officials within the government.
Threat at at Extinction Level
The report, released this week, categorically suggests that more advanced AI systems than humans could, in the worst case scenario, "pose an extinction-level threat to the human race," according to the Gladstone AI group that prepared the report.
Featuring national security experts and Silicon Valley executives with AI expertise, Gladstone AI advises the U.S. national security and defense communities on dealing with the opportunities and risks that come with unprecedented and accelerating AI capabilities.
The report ’ s warning is yet another reminder that while AI ’ s potential continues to captivate investors and the public, there are also real risks surrounding it.
Jeremy Harris, CEO and co-founder of Gladstone Group, said: “AI is a breakthrough technology that can allow us to heal diseases, make scientific discoveries, and overcome challenges we once thought insurmountable.
Growing evidence of increased risk
“But this technology may also bring serious risks, including catastrophic risks, that we should be aware of, ” Harris said, adding that“ a growing body of evidence — including research and empirical analysis published at the world ’ s top AI conferences — suggests that when a certain threshold of capability is exceeded, AI systems are likely to become out of control. ”
Going back to the report, competitive pressures are pushing companies to accelerate AI development “at the expense of safety and security, ” increasing the likelihood that more advanced AI systems will be“ stolen ” and “weaponized ” against the United States.
Nearly a year ago, Jeffrey Hinton, known as the “godfather of artificial intelligence, ” quit his job at Google and set off an alarm about the technology he helped develop.
Hinton said there is a 10% chance that artificial intelligence will lead to human extinction within the next three decades.
Quasi-human capabilities
The report also pointed to some prominent figures who have warned about the existential risks posed by artificial intelligence, including SpaceX and X chairman Elon Musk, Federal Trade Commission chairman Lina Khan, and former OpenAI chief executive.
Some employees at AI companies share similar concerns, as the report said that one individual at an AI lab expressed fear of launching a specific next-generation model of open source AI, which is very bad, because one of the results of developing this model will be the destruction of democracy if it is used in areas such as election interference or voter manipulation.
The report also pointed to experts ’ concerns that AI ’ s crossing of the currently imposed human barrier could lead to “irreversible global effects, ” especially with the General Artificial Intelligence (AGI) model, a hypothetical form of AI that has human-like learning capability and may surpass that of humans.
Fear of “losing control ”
Public AI is seen as “the main driver of catastrophic risk from loss of control, ” and notes that major tech companies have spoken of having access to public AI by 2028, although others believe it could take much longer.
A previous document published by the Gladstone Group warns that the development of general artificial intelligence and capabilities approaching its level "would lead to catastrophic risks unlike anything the world has ever faced", amounting to "risks resembling weapons of mass destruction".
For example, the report stated that AI systems could be used to design and execute “high-impact cyberattacks capable of crippling critical infrastructure, ” and that“ a simple verbal or written order, such as executing an untraceable cyberattack to disrupt the North American power grid, could lead to a response of a quality that proves to be catastrophically effective. ”
Other examples that the report ’ s experts are concerned about include “large-scale ” AI-backed disinformation campaigns that destabilize societies and undermine trust in institutions; armed robotic applications such as drone attacks; psychological manipulation and the exploitation of biological sciences to produce deadly weapons; and artificial intelligence systems that seek power and are almost impossible to control.
Eh, Eh.

What did Hinton, the renowned British-Canadian expert reveal about AI that caused widespread concern?

Exposed serious AI risks, shocking the tech world and affecting major company stocks.

What does Hinton warn could happen to AI if companies and regulators fail to implement effective rules and controls?

Becomes uncontrollable
Poses ethical risks

Why did Hinton leave Google when he helped develop AI but later grew concerned about its dangers?

What did Hinton, the renowned British-Canadian expert reveal about AI that caused widespread concern?

Exposed serious AI risks, shocking the tech world and affecting major company stocks.

What does Hinton warn could happen to AI if companies and regulators fail to implement effective rules and controls?

Becomes uncontrollable
Poses ethical risks

Why did Hinton leave Google when he helped develop AI but later grew concerned about its dangers?

What did Hinton, the renowned British-Canadian expert reveal about AI that caused widespread concern?

Exposed serious AI risks, shocking the tech world and affecting major company stocks.

What does Hinton warn could happen to AI if companies and regulators fail to implement effective rules and controls?

Becomes uncontrollable
Poses ethical risks

Why did Hinton leave Google when he helped develop AI but later grew concerned about its dangers?

What did Hinton, the renowned British-Canadian expert reveal about AI that caused widespread concern?

Exposed serious AI risks, shocking the tech world and affecting major company stocks.

What does Hinton warn could happen to AI if companies and regulators fail to implement effective rules and controls?

Becomes uncontrollable
Poses ethical risks

Why did Hinton leave Google when he helped develop AI but later grew concerned about its dangers?

He is widely regarded as the "godfather of AI" for his significant contributions to deep learning.

Hinton's concerns about AI development have been sparked by models like GPT-4, which he believes are becoming much smarter than he thought.

What future risk did Hinton warn about AI?

The GPT-4 model represents a major leap forward in AI language modeling capabilities due to its improved architecture, increased scale, and enhanced contextual understanding.

Title:

Content: Driven by deep learning, data processing capabilities, and improved computing resources, AI language models have made rapid progress.
The first generation of AI language models was characterized by simplistic rules-based systems that lacked the ability to understand and generate contextual information.
The development of statistical models has pushed AI language processing into the realm of generating more coherent text, but still lacks the ability to mimic human responses.
The introduction of converters, especially attention mechanisms, marks a major leap in the ability of AI language models. Vaswani et al., first proposed in their paper “Attention Is All You Need ”, the convertor model makes it possible to understand different parts of a sentence and establish better context in the text generation task.
This achievement laid the groundwork for the development of OpenAI ’ s GPT (Generative Pre-Training Translator) family of models. The GPT family has learned augmentation models, as well as considerable ability to generate human-like text, culminating in the latest version of GPT-4.
With each iteration, the GPT model was improved, lessons were learned from previous versions, datasets were expanded, and structures were strengthened.
GPT-3: Review
GPT-3, Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3, is a very advanced AI language model developed by OpenAI.
As the third iteration of the GPT series, it combines deep learning and NLP techniques to perform a wide range of tasks, including but not limited to text generation, translation, summarizing, content analysis, and answering questions. With 175 billion parameters, GPT-3 is far larger and more capable than its predecessors, making it one of the most complex AI language models available today.
The model has an autoregressive structure, which means it generates text sequentially by predicting the next word based on the previous word.
Due to its large number of parameters and extensive training data, GPT-3 can generate highly credible, contextual responses that are difficult to distinguish from text written by humans.
While GPT-3 opens up many potential use cases, from chatbot development to AI-driven content generation, it also raises concerns about possible biases in its training data, ethical considerations, and the level of computing resources required to train and deploy models.
Introduction of GPT-4
Building on the success of GPT-3, OpenAI introduced GPT-4, bringing further progress in the field of artificial intelligence language models. GPT-4 has more parameters than its predecessors, enabling it to generate more complex human-like text and excel in more NLP tasks.
Increasing the number of parameters is not the only improvement of GPT-4. OpenAI has made significant architectural improvements, including adjustments to attention mechanisms and optimization techniques, resulting in higher quality language generation and more accurate task performance.
GPT-4 can also handle more complex tasks such as code completion and demonstrate better reasoning and problem-solving capabilities.
Compared to GPT-3, GPT-4 ’ s training data has been expanded and refined to address a number of issues related to bias and data quality.
However, it must be noted that these improvements do not completely eliminate bias, and developers must be vigilant to address any bias that may be caused by the training data.
In summary, GPT-4 represents a major leap forward in AI language modeling capabilities compared to GPT-3, which improves its architecture, increases its scale and training data, and advances its contextual understanding and language generation capabilities.
GPT-3 and GPT-4: Major Differences
As AI language models continue to evolve rapidly, the differences between the previous generation ’ s GPT-3 and its successor, GPT-4, become more pronounced.
Here are the main differences between these two powerful language models:
Model Size: One of the most significant differences between GPT-3 and GPT-4 is their respective model sizes.
Compared to GPT-3, GPT-4 has more parameters, making it more capable of understanding complex contexts and generating better quality text.
• Training data: GPT-4 is trained on a larger and more diverse dataset than GPT-3.
The increase in training data enables GPT-4 to learn from a wider range of topics and styles, resulting in better generalizations and a more comprehensive understanding of the language.
• Architectural enhancements: GPT-4 benefits from improvements in its underlying architecture, such as attention mechanisms and advances in optimization techniques.
These improvements enable the model to process information more efficiently, thereby improving language generation and task performance.
• Fine-tuning capability: GPT-4 provides more advanced fine-tuning options than GPT-3, giving developers the ability to customize models for specific use cases and applications.
This leads to higher accuracy and better performance, tailored to the task at hand.
Use case: GPT-4 vs. GPT-3
GPT-3 and GPT-4 are both designed for a range of natural language processing (NLP) tasks.
Although their capabilities are similar, their performance tends to be better due to GPT-4 ’ s advanced architecture and more training data.
Here are some use cases where GPT-4 is superior to GPT-3:
• Content Generation: GPT-4 ’ s improved language generation capabilities lead to higher quality content and a better understanding of context and tone.
This makes the model more suitable for generating copies of articles, blog posts, and ads that require human-like creativity and relevance.
• Translation: GPT-4 ’ s larger training dataset means it has been exposed to more languages, giving it an advantage in translation tasks.
The model can effectively deal with complex idiom expressions and nuances of multiple languages and provide more accurate translation.
• Inductive summarization: GPT-4 ’ s advancements make it better suited to summarizing text because it has a more thorough understanding of context and can extract the most relevant information while maintaining coherence.
• Chatbot development: GPT-4 is very effective in creating natural, conversational chatbots that engage users in a more human-like interaction.
The model can accurately understand the user ’ s input and generate contextual responses, resulting in a more satisfying user experience.
Code generation: GPT-4 ’ s ability to understand context is enhanced, making it more suitable for generating source code by understanding human-readable queries and translating them into well-structured programming language syntax
Integration with No-Code platforms such as AppMaster
The power of GPT-4 and GPT-3 can be harnessed in code-less platforms such as AppMaster, enabling users to create AI-powered applications without requiring a lot of coding knowledge.
This integration allows businesses to establish:
• AI-powered chatbots: Integrating GPT-4 or GPT-3 into chatbot capabilities on AppMaster helps businesses deliver automated customer support and personalized experiences to users.
These chatbots can handle a wide range of tasks, from answering common questions to providing product recommendations.
• Content generation tools: The language generation capabilities of GPT-4 and GPT-3 can be used to create tools to generate content for blog posts, social media, etc. No-code platforms, such as AppMaster, can easily develop such applications for marketing experts and content creators.
Workflow Automation: AI language models can streamline business processes by automating tasks such as email drafting, report generation, and document aggregation.
With AppMaster, you can help businesses build custom automation solutions that save time and improve efficiency.
Language Processing Tasks: By combining GPT-4 or GPT-3 with AppMaster, businesses can create applications that perform advanced NLP tasks such as sentiment analysis, entity recognition, and language translation.
No-code leverages the power of platforms like GPT-4 and GPT-3 with AppMaster to give businesses a competitive edge in the market, enabling them to develop AI-driven applications with minimal technical expertise.
This approach enables businesses to innovate faster and create better solutions to adapt to the changing industry landscape.
Challenges and considerations
While both GPT-4 and GPT-3 bring many benefits, they also bring a variety of challenges and considerations that users should take note of.
These include ethical considerations, computational resource requirements, and bias in training data.
Ethical considerations
As AI language models become more advanced, they raise ethical questions such as how to use these technologies responsibly and the possibility of malicious use.
Both GPT-3 and GPT-4 can produce very convincing text, which can be used for false information, fraud, or any number of nefarious purposes.
Developing guidelines and mechanisms to ensure that these robust AI models are used responsibly and ethically is critical.
Calculated resources
Both GPT-3 and GPT-4 require significant computing resources for training and deployment. Given the complexity and scale of their models, users often need powerful GPUs, specialized hardware, or cloud-based solutions to run these models effectively.
This can be expensive and may limit their practical use for certain applications or organizations, especially small businesses or businesses with limited budgets.
However, solutions like AppMaster and other no-code tools can help alleviate some of these issues by providing an optimized infrastructure and minimizing the resources required through platform-level optimization.
Data Deviation
Artificial intelligence models learn from the data provided to them.
Since GPT-4 and GPT-3 rely on large amounts of data obtained from the Internet, they may have inadvertently inherited various biases from these texts.
Examples of this bias include gender, racial, and cultural bias, which can lead to discriminatory AI outputs.
Developers and researchers should be aware of these biases when using GPT-3 and GPT-4 and strive to develop techniques and best practices to minimize and address these biases.
This may include diversifying training data, incorporating equity indicators into model assessments, or post-processing the generated text to eliminate or mitigate bias.
The Future of Artificial Intelligence Language Models
Advances in AI language models like GPT-4 and GPT-3 suggest that the future of these technologies is very promising.
They enable a wide range of applications and have the potential to replace or enhance a variety of human tasks that require natural language understanding and generation.
Improved reasoning skills
Future AI language models may have more advanced reasoning capabilities, enabling them not only to generate human-like text, but also to understand complex ideas, analogies, and abstract concepts.
This added depth in understanding language will enable more complex AI applications and use cases.
Better understanding of language
As AI language models improve, they will develop a better sense of context and be able to produce responses that more accurately reflect their inputs.
This shift in contextual awareness will help AI models deliver more accurate and relevant results across a range of applications, from search engines to customer service interactions.
More sophisticated human-like interactions
Improvements to these models will lead to finer human-like interactions, as AI systems will be able to more convincingly mimic human conversations.
This will lead to more attractive and useful AI chatbots, digital assistants and customer service agents, transforming the way businesses interact with customers and the way people use technology.
Integration with No-Code solutions
The integration of advanced AI language models such as no-code GPT-4 and GPT-3 with platforms such as AppMaster will continue to drive innovation, enabling non-programmers to create AI-driven applications, chatbots and other language-based solutions without the need for coding knowledge.
This democratization enables more people to harness the power of these AI models, enabling businesses of all sizes to take advantage of these advanced technologies quickly and economically.
Together, the continued evolution of AI language models like GPT-4 and GPT-3 promises to revolutionize the way we interact with technology and provide countless new opportunities for businesses, individuals, and innovators.
While there are some challenges and considerations that need to be addressed, the future possibilities of these AI models are huge and exciting.

Hinton fears AI may surpass human intelligence sooner than expected and be used for malicious purposes.

What did Hinton, the renowned British-Canadian expert reveal about AI that caused widespread concern?

Exposed serious AI risks, shocking the tech world and affecting major company stocks.

What does Hinton warn could happen to AI if companies and regulators fail to implement effective rules and controls?

Becomes uncontrollable
Poses ethical risks

What future risk did Hinton warn about AI?

What risks did the global summit report highlight about AI?

Creating malicious software for cyberattacks, potentially posing an existential threat if humans lose control.

He has warned that AI could develop sub-goals that contradict its programmers' interests, leading to catastrophic consequences.

What did Hinton, the renowned British-Canadian expert reveal about AI that caused widespread concern?

Exposed serious AI risks, shocking the tech world and affecting major company stocks.

What did Sam Altman admit about ChatGPT and the potential risks of AI?

Advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity.

What does Hinton warn could happen to AI if companies and regulators fail to implement effective rules and controls?

Becomes uncontrollable
Poses ethical risks

Experts like Elon Musk and Yoshua Bengio share Hinton's concerns that current AI models are too powerful to develop without democratic oversight.

Title:

Content: Governments, firms should spend more on AI safety, top researchers say

By

'At least one third of their AI research and development funding'.

Artificial intelligence companies and governments should allocate at least one third of their AI research and development funding to ensuring the safety and ethical use of the systems, top AI researchers said in a paper.

The paper, issued a week before the international AI Safety Summit in London, lists measures that governments and companies should take to address AI risks.

"Governments should also mandate that companies are legally liable for harms from their frontier AI systems that can be reasonably foreseen and prevented," according to the paper written by three Turing Award winners, a Nobel laureate, and more than a dozen top AI academics.

Currently there are no broad-based regulations focusing on AI safety, and the first set of legislation by the European Union is yet to become law as lawmakers are yet to agree on several issues.

"Recent state of the art AI models are too powerful, and too significant, to let them develop without democratic oversight," said Yoshua Bengio, one of the three people known as the godfather of AI.

"It (investments in AI safety) needs to happen fast, because AI is progressing much faster than the precautions taken," he said.

Authors include Geoffrey Hinton, Andrew Yao, Daniel Kahneman, Dawn Song and Yuval Noah Harari.

Since the launch of OpenAI's generative AI models, top academics and prominent CEOs such as Elon Musk have warned about the risks on AI, including calling for a six-month pause in developing powerful AI systems.

Some companies have countered this, saying they will face high compliance costs and disproportionate liability risks.

"Companies will complain that it's too hard to satisfy regulations - that 'regulation stifles innovation' - that's ridiculous," said British computer scientist Stuart Russell.

"There are more regulations on sandwich shops than there are on AI companies."

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What does Hinton warn could happen to AI if companies and regulators fail to implement effective rules and controls?

Becomes uncontrollable
Poses ethical risks

The European Union has proposed AI regulation legislation that has not yet become law.

California has proposed AI regulation to establish safety standards for large AI system developers.

Title:

Content: sdecoret - stock.adobe.com

US works to develop AI standards while California legislates

California has proposed AI regulation as the U.S. works to develop AI standards by bringing together companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

While the Biden administration is working to develop AI safety standards, California may move faster and make AI safety the law.

Califiornia Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 1047 on Thursday, AI legislation that would establish safety standards for developers of large AI systems. The standards would not apply to startups developing "less potent models," according to a statement. By "less potent AI," Wiener is likely referring to AI systems known as narrow or weak AI, which are designed for specific tasks, such as predictive modeling. The bill also establishes a public cloud offering called CalCompute to enable startups, researchers and others to participate in developing large AI systems.

The proposed legislation follows on the heels of the Biden administration's creation of the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC), which will help meet the goals Biden set out in his executive order on AI last year. The consortium will help develop guidelines for red-team safety testing, risk management, safety, security and watermarking AI-generated content. It brings together more than 200 leading AI stakeholders to weigh in on the development of AI safety standards, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Adobe, Accenture, Intel, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Salesforce and Workday.

Wiener recognized that developers have pioneered safe development practices for AI systems. However, the release announcing the proposed AI regulation said that California's government "cannot afford to be complacent" about regulating AI.

"With Congress paralyzed and the future of the Biden administration's executive order in doubt, California has an indispensable role to play in ensuring that we develop this extremely powerful technology with basic safety guardrails," according to the statement.

California wants to build off US standards with AI regulation

The proposed AI legislation in California aims to advance AISIC's efforts in AI safety by codifying its best practices into law, according to the statement.

Wiener said that the proposed legislation offers a chance to use insights gained from past failures to regulate other technologies.

"We've seen the consequences of allowing the unchecked growth of new technology without evaluating, understanding or mitigating the risks," he said in the statement. "SB 1047 does just that, by developing responsible, appropriate guardrails around development of the biggest, most high-impact AI systems to ensure they are used to improve Californians' lives, without compromising safety or security."

Some of the AI safety standards set out in SB 1047 include pre-deployment safety testing and implementation of cybersecurity protections for a handful of "extremely large AI developers," according to the release. The bill creates "no new obligations for startups or business customers of AI products."

Congress has yet to advance any AI legislation, and policymakers are unsure about what AI legislation might be adopted in 2024. The Biden administration has taken steps through executive powers to advance AI safety standards, including creating the consortium and relying on public sector partners to help develop those guidelines.

"The U.S. government has a significant role to play in setting the standards and developing the tools we need to mitigate the risks and harness the immense potential of artificial intelligence," Gina Raimondo, U.S. secretary of commerce, said in a statement. "By working with this group of leaders from industry, civil society and academia, together we can confront these challenges to develop the measurements and standards we need to maintain America's competitive edge and develop AI responsibly."

California's advancement of AI regulation could create confusion for businesses if they're eventually forced to navigate multiple sets of AI safety standards, especially if individual states' rules conflict with broader U.S. standards, said Hodan Omaar, senior policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's Center for Data Innovation.

"Creating California-specific safety standards for large-scale AI systems is problematic because it sets the stage for a patchwork of safety rules, with different states coming up with their own diverse sets of standards that providers of these systems will have to navigate," she said. "A national set of standards that preempts states from creating their own standards is a much better approach."

Makenzie Holland is a news writer covering big tech and federal regulation. Prior to joining TechTarget Editorial, she was a general reporter for Wilmington StarNews and a crime and education reporter at the Wabash Plain Dealer.

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The US government has created the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium to help meet the Biden administration's AI safety goals.

Top AI researchers recommend allocating at least one-third of AI funding to safety and ethics.

The public should understand that AI development is complex and poses potential existential risks if it surpasses human intelligence.

What did Hinton, the renowned British-Canadian expert reveal about AI that caused widespread concern?

Exposed serious AI risks, shocking the tech world and affecting major company stocks.

What did Sam Altman admit about ChatGPT and the potential risks of AI?

Advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity.

What does Hinton warn could happen to AI if companies and regulators fail to implement effective rules and controls?

What future risk did Hinton warn about AI?

What risks did the global summit report highlight about AI?

Creating malicious software for cyberattacks, potentially posing an existential threat if humans lose control.

Experts warn that AI systems require a careful approach and ongoing research to mitigate associated risks.

What did Hinton, the renowned British-Canadian expert reveal about AI that caused widespread concern?

Exposed serious AI risks, shocking the tech world and affecting major company stocks.

What did Sam Altman admit about ChatGPT and the potential risks of AI?

Advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity.

What does Hinton warn could happen to AI if companies and regulators fail to implement effective rules and controls?

What risks did the global summit report highlight about AI?

Creating malicious software for cyberattacks, potentially posing an existential threat if humans lose control.

To mitigate AI system risks, strategies like value alignment, robustness, and transparency can be employed, including designing AI systems that align with human values and can withstand attacks and manipulation.

What does Hinton warn could happen to AI if companies and regulators fail to implement effective rules and controls?

Hinton's warnings highlight the need for careful management of advanced AI systems like GPT-4.

What did Hinton, the renowned British-Canadian expert reveal about AI that caused widespread concern?

Exposed serious AI risks, shocking the tech world and affecting major company stocks.

What did Sam Altman admit about ChatGPT and the potential risks of AI?

Advanced AI could pose an existential risk to humanity.

What does Hinton warn could happen to AI if companies and regulators fail to implement effective rules and controls?

Becomes uncontrollable
Poses ethical risks


The arrival of Saharan dust storms in San Antonio, TX, is expected to cause a noticeable change in the air, potentially leading to hazy skies and trouble breathing for people with respiratory illnesses, such as asthma and COPD.

The dust is a combination of sand and dust traveling from North Africa across the Atlantic, peaking in late June through mid-August, and can have a significant impact on the air quality in San Antonio, TX.

Individuals with respiratory illnesses are advised to stay indoors as much as possible and avoid outdoor activities, including vigorous exercise, to minimize the negative health impacts.

The Saharan dust can also trigger allergy symptoms like dry cough and sneezing, especially for people with asthma or other lung conditions.

To reduce exposure to dust and allergens, individuals can take measures such as staying indoors, avoiding outdoor activities, and keeping windows and doors closed.

Wearing masks, particularly particle-retaining masks, can offer some protection for people with lung diseases, and it is advised to wear them for an extended period, if possible.

The City of San Antonio can implement preparation and mitigation strategies, including monitoring air quality, issuing health advisories, and providing guidance on reducing exposure to dust and allergens, to address the effects of the Saharan dust storm.

Saharan dust storms can severely damage solar energy production, which can have a significant impact on the power grid in San Antonio, TX, and other affected areas.

Regular maintenance and cleaning of solar panels is essential to remove dust and debris that can reduce energy efficiency.

Implementing smart grid technologies can help monitor and manage energy distribution, allowing for quick response to changes in energy demand and supply caused by dust storms.

The city's traffic management system can be adapted to accommodate the potential effects of Saharan dust storms on visibility and air quality by implementing real-time air quality monitoring and visibility sensors to quickly respond to changing conditions.

The Saharan dust storm may also cause a haze to form on the horizon, giving the sky a milky hue during the day, and a brilliantly orange appearance at sunrise and sunset, due to the dust particles in the air.

The dust storm may suppress the formation of storms and prevent existing storms from growing and strengthening, having a significant impact on Texas skies.

To prepare for the Saharan dust storm, residents of San Antonio can take precautions such as staying indoors, avoiding outdoor activities, and keeping windows and doors closed to minimize exposure to the dust.

The Saharan Air Layer (SAL) can limit hurricane development and strength, making it a crucial factor in hurricane season.

The SAL occurs in waves at the same time as Atlantic hurricane season, from June through November, and is known to suppress hurricane development.

The negative impacts of Saharan dust storms include hazy skies, occasional allergies, and potential health issues, while the positive impacts include the fertilization of algae and plankton, and the suppression of hurricane development.

The Saharan dust is often rich in nutrients like iron and phosphorus, which can fertilize algae and plankton, allowing them to grow and flourish in an otherwise barren environment.

Millions of tons of dust are transported across the Atlantic every year, affecting the Americas' weather patterns and air quality.

The dust can also affect air quality, leading to degraded air quality in large parts of the affected areas, such as Spain, Portugal, and France.

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) forecasts and monitors Saharan dust transport, providing valuable information for monitoring air pollution events.

Saharan dust can cause acute respiratory diseases, allergies, and skin problems, and can also affect coral reefs, fruit, rice, sugar cane, bean, and other crops.

The dust can travel far beyond the borders of North America, affecting global environmental systems and carrying harmful bacteria and fungi around the globe.

Climate change is altering weather patterns globally, leading to variations in the frequency and intensity of dust storms, which can result in more massive Saharan dust storms like the "Godzilla" event in 2020.

Researchers are working to determine what microbes, specifically bacteria and fungi, migrate with the dust and explore their potential impact on human health, which can help in preparing for and mitigating the effects of contemporary Saharan dust storms.

The whole dynamics of the Saharan dust coming to the Americas is primarily driven by atmospheric processes, making it essential to understand and monitor these processes.

To mitigate the effects of Saharan dust storms, people can take precautions such as staying indoors, avoiding outdoor activities, and keeping windows and doors closed, especially during periods of high dust levels.

The potential long-term effects of Saharan dust storms on the environment and human health in San Antonio, TX, include respiratory problems, decreased air quality, and potential damage to the environment, highlighting the need for awareness and preparation.

It is essential to monitor the development of Saharan dust storms and take necessary precautions to minimize their impact on human health and the environment in San Antonio, TX.

The arrival of Saharan dust storms in San Antonio, TX, is expected to cause a noticeable change in the air, potentially leading to hazy skies and trouble breathing for people with respiratory illnesses, such as asthma and COPD.

Title:

Content: Breaking News
More () »

San Antonians may want to stay indoors next week. Here's why.

A noticeable change in the air will arrive to the Alamo City next week.

SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio skies could look quite different next week but not in the way we're hoping for.

As San Antonians eagerly wait for rain to break our triple-digit temperatures another common occurrence will pick-up next week known as Saharan dust.

The dust is a combination of sand and dust traveling from North Africa across the Atlantic that peaking in late June through mid-August.

Light amounts of Saharan dust have arrived to the Alamo City this past week but will become more noticeable. Therefore, if you have asthma, COPD or any other type of respiratory illness you will want to stay indoors as much as possible during this time.

Timing of Saharan dust:

Monday - Little changes will be in the forecast as heavier amounts of dust remain over the gulf coast.

Credit: KENS 5 Weather

Tuesday - A large moderate level of Saharan dust will move into South Texas and San Antonio by late afternoon. San Antonians may notice hazy skies and trouble breathing if you're more sensitive to dusty air. But the dust doesn't stop here.

Credit: KENS 5 Weather

Wednesday - By mid-week Saharan dust ramps up continuing to build and push farther north stretching to the Dallas area. The continuing flow of the dust is partly due to a high pressure bringing a southeasterly flow to help pump the dust toward South Texas.

Credit: KENS 5 Weather

Thursday - As the week progresses dust levels continue to rise and could affect air quality levels. For those with any respiratory illnesses they should avoid outdoor activity including vigorous exercise. Also try to keep windows and doors closed. We will continue to monitor this development next week.

Credit: KENS 5 Weather

As dust increases across the area, San Antonians will notice more vibrant sunrises and sunsets. However, during the afternoons the sky appears a more milky white color.

Before You Leave, Check This Out

How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

What are the negative health effects of Saharan dust?

What areas of the Americas have been affected by Saharan dust storms?

What areas of the US have been affected by Saharan dust storms?

The dust is a combination of sand and dust traveling from North Africa across the Atlantic, peaking in late June through mid-August, and can have a significant impact on the air quality in San Antonio, TX.

How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

What areas of the Americas have been affected by Saharan dust storms?

What areas of the US have been affected by Saharan dust storms?

Individuals with respiratory illnesses are advised to stay indoors as much as possible and avoid outdoor activities, including vigorous exercise, to minimize the negative health impacts.

How can people protect their health during Saharan dust storms?

What can people do to prepare for dust storms?

The Saharan dust can also trigger allergy symptoms like dry cough and sneezing, especially for people with asthma or other lung conditions.

Title:

Content: Dust storm from Sahara to hit Türkiye

Dust storm from Sahara to hit Türkiye

İZMİR

A massive dust storm from the Sahara Desert is expected to shroud the country, with experts warning citizens, especially those with respiratory disorders, to take precautions.

Professor Dr. Doğan Yaşar, a climate scientist, cautioned that a period of intense dust transport will begin on March 25.

"Red-colored desert dust laden with iron particles will arrive in large quantities," he explained.

"While this dust fertilizes the soil and benefits agriculture, it can also trigger allergy symptoms like dry cough and sneezing, especially for people with asthma or other lung conditions,” he said.

Yaşar emphasized the importance of wearing masks during this period. "People with lung diseases should wear a particle-retaining mask for three weeks, if possible," he advised. "Regular masks can offer some protection as well."

"A single pine tree produces 12 billion pollen. Thus, during this period, pollen multiplies very intensively in the air. When we inhale this, we experience discomfort. It is especially dangerous for people with lung diseases such as asthma," he added.

The dust storm is a natural phenomenon that occurs annually, transporting around two billion tons of dust from the Sahara to various parts of the world. The professor highlighted the ecological benefits of this dust, which acts as a natural fertilizer. However, he cautions that the concentrated dust can irritate airways and exacerbate allergies.

While the dust storm may cause temporary inconveniences, Yaşar reassured citizens that there's no need for alarm.

"The dust benefits agriculture, but it's important to be aware of the potential health risks, especially for those with respiratory problems," he concluded.

dust storms, Türkiye,

How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

What are the negative health effects of Saharan dust?

To reduce exposure to dust and allergens, individuals can take measures such as staying indoors, avoiding outdoor activities, and keeping windows and doors closed.

How can people protect their health during Saharan dust storms?

Wearing masks, particularly particle-retaining masks, can offer some protection for people with lung diseases, and it is advised to wear them for an extended period, if possible.

How can people protect their health during Saharan dust storms?

The City of San Antonio can implement preparation and mitigation strategies, including monitoring air quality, issuing health advisories, and providing guidance on reducing exposure to dust and allergens, to address the effects of the Saharan dust storm.

Saharan dust storms can severely damage solar energy production, which can have a significant impact on the power grid in San Antonio, TX, and other affected areas.

Regular maintenance and cleaning of solar panels is essential to remove dust and debris that can reduce energy efficiency.

Title:

Content: EventsPodcast
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How does dust from the Sahara Desert affect solar energy?
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Written by Jeremy Wilks
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Research shows that dust storms coming from the Sahara Desert can severely damage solar energy production.
So, what can be done to better manage this problem?
Climate Now reports from Andalusia on efforts to beat the dust.
Announcement
On this month ’ s episode of Climate Now, we set out to southern Spain to report on the growing problem of Sahara dust, which has a significant impact on solar power generation.
Our visit to southern Spain comes as the Copernicus Climate Change Authority announced that we have seen the highest ever recorded temperature for May 2024, registering a temperature rise of 0.65 ° C above the 1991-2020 average.
This is the 12th consecutive month with the highest recorded temperature for the month in question.
In May 2024, we witnessed extreme weather conditions in many areas.
Floods in Brazil have displaced more than half a million people, temperatures in the Delhi region of India hit 49.9 degrees Celsius, its highest recorded to date, and Finland issued a heatwave warning of temperatures rising to more than 27 degrees Celsius.
In Europe, heavy rains led to flooding in southwestern Germany, Belgium, and northern Italy.
Massive losses in solar power generation due to Sahara dust
The dust of the Sahara Desert in Europe is famous for turning its skies orange, which reduces air quality and leaves a fine layer of dust on the roofs of homes and cars.
On the other hand, it causes another growing problem known as “dirty ” solar cells.
At Gianni University in Andalusia, we met with Dr. Eduardo Fernández and Professor Florencia Almonacid, who were among the authors of a recent paper that found that the severe dirt on the panels in March 2022 reduced solar capacity by up to 80 percent.
Dr Fernandez told Euronews: “It felt like we were on Mars where everything turned red. ”
March 2022 saw extreme weather, but even small amounts of dust could reduce the amount of sunlight reaching solar cells by 15%, and with the rapid growth of solar energy in Europe, losses from dirt could account for billions of euros a year.
Therefore, the research team at Jian University is using photovoltaic laboratories to find solutions.
Some scientists focus on developing dust-resistant layers, while others look at how dust accumulates with different weather conditions, such as high and low temperatures, and low rainfall.
There are many variables that need to be taken into account.
For example, dust grains may be of different sizes or colors, and can affect how well solar panel installations perform.
Even design elements make a difference, such as whether a painting is frameless or has a solid lip around its tip.
Professor Almonacid says that Sahara dust is particularly problematic: "Sahara dust particles are very fine.
It ’ s especially hard to clean. ”
The Cost and Benefit Dilemma of Solar Panel Cleaning
Renewable energy company Sonnedix faces the grime challenge every day, monitoring production from each solar power generation site and carefully calculating when cleaning PV panels is commercially feasible.
The cost of cleaning is considerable – around €400-500 per megawatt – so there are difficult choices to make depending on how the power plant is priced.
Joanne Fernandez, chief operating officer of the company, told Euronews: “As you generate electricity, every kilowatt-hour is important for the plant ’ s revenue, so this dust weather has a big impact. ”
He is now working with meteorologists to help plan cleaning sessions according to dirt weather conditions, and the amount of rainfall, as light spray may increase the soiling of the panels, and heavy rain may wash them away for free.
“Severe dust storms coming from the Sahara desert could actually lead to a significant reduction in production within the network, and this could cause a significant problem for the network operator, ” he explains.
“So forecasting, forecasting, and the ability to proactively manage the network is the most important, ” he says.
Announcement
Have dust storms from the Sahara increased due to climate change?
The recent increase in dust storms coming from the Sahara desert could be the result of natural climate variability, or it could be caused by something else.
A spokesman for the Copernicus Meteorological Authority told Euronews: “Although the arrival of dust plumes from the Sahara to Europe is not unusual, there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of such weather conditions in recent years, and may be attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns. ”
There is some speculation that these changes in atmospheric air circulation patterns are linked to climate change.
Dust expert Dr. Eduardo Fernandez says: “Scientists are always cautious about drawing conclusions, and that should be the case, right? ”
“But what we ’ re seeing is that there ’ s been a dramatic increase in extreme weather conditions, not just in terms of slabs getting dirty, but also in terms of rainfall and wind blowing.
“We are recording more dust storms coming from the Sahara, and they are increasingly penetrating into larger areas in northern Europe, and there is, of course, suspicion that global warming is the cause, ” he concludes.
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What are the negative effects of Saharan dust storm on infrastructure?

Implementing smart grid technologies can help monitor and manage energy distribution, allowing for quick response to changes in energy demand and supply caused by dust storms.

The city's traffic management system can be adapted to accommodate the potential effects of Saharan dust storms on visibility and air quality by implementing real-time air quality monitoring and visibility sensors to quickly respond to changing conditions.

The Saharan dust storm may also cause a haze to form on the horizon, giving the sky a milky hue during the day, and a brilliantly orange appearance at sunrise and sunset, due to the dust particles in the air.

Title:

Content: Hurricane Killer? Here are some things you may not know about Saharan dust

Dust from Africa moves across the Atlantic every year from late spring to early fall

It’s a common visitor in the summer months: dust from the Saharan Desert. Hazy skies and occasional allergies are common issues caused by the dust. But did you know that this layer of dust is more interesting than it appears? Here are some things you may not know about Saharan dust:

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Millions of tons of dust are transported across the Atlantic every year
  • Nutrient-rich Saharan dust plays a crucial role in the global ecosystem
  • Dust suppresses hurricane development

WHOLE LOTTA DUST!

Every year, from late spring to early fall, trade winds transport 180 million tons of dust from the Saharan Desert across the Atlantic Ocean. Impressively, that’s as much as 4.5 million 18-wheelers full of dust!

NATURE’S BEST FRIEND

Saharan dust is often rich in nutrients like iron and phosphorus. As the dust settles over the ocean, it fertilizes algae and plankton, allowing them to grow and flourish in an otherwise barren environment. These organisms are vital sources of food for ocean life.

Similarly, as the dust settles over land, areas like the Amazon rainforest benefit from the extra nutrients.

HURRICANE EXTINGUISHER

The African dust that moves across the Atlantic Ocean is also called the Saharan Air Layer (SAL). The SAL occurs in waves at the same time as Atlantic hurricane season, from June through November.

It’s known that the SAL limits hurricane development and strength. This is because tropical storms like hurricanes need deep, rich moisture from the surface to the top of the atmosphere to survive. Since the air carrying Saharan dust is usually dry, it can prevent storms from forming and suppress existing storms from growing and strengthening.

DUST’S IMPACT ON TEXAS

While a dense plume of dust sometimes causes minor allergy-like symptoms for some, the most noticeable impact is on Texas skies. A haze often forms on the horizon, giving an ordinarily clear, blue sky a milky hue during the day.

At sunrise and sunset, the horizon can appear brilliantly orange because, with dust in the air, sunlight has more particles to bounce off.

About the Author

Sarah Spivey is a San Antonio native who grew up watching KSAT. She has been a proud member of the KSAT Weather Authority Team since 2017. Sarah is a Clark High School and Texas A&M University graduate. She previously worked at KTEN News. When Sarah is not busy forecasting, she enjoys hanging out with her husband and cat, and playing music.

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How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

lowers air quality
makes the sky hazy
colorful sunsets

The dust storm may suppress the formation of storms and prevent existing storms from growing and strengthening, having a significant impact on Texas skies.

How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

What areas of the Americas have been affected by Saharan dust storms?

What areas of the US have been affected by Saharan dust storms?

To prepare for the Saharan dust storm, residents of San Antonio can take precautions such as staying indoors, avoiding outdoor activities, and keeping windows and doors closed to minimize exposure to the dust.

How can people protect their health during Saharan dust storms?

How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

What areas of the Americas have been affected by Saharan dust storms?

What areas of the US have been affected by Saharan dust storms?

The Saharan Air Layer (SAL) can limit hurricane development and strength, making it a crucial factor in hurricane season.

Title:

Content: Saharan dust reaches stunning levels in Atlantic. Here's what that means for hurricane season

Significant Saharan dust plumes are common in the Atlantic during the start of hurricane season. If levels of SAL maintain a steadiness after about Aug. 20, then there would be significant ramifications to both the amount of cyclones and their overall strength.

First, Europe that was socked in by record levels of dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa. The Atlantic appears to have now taken the lead, with dust levels not seen in years across parts of the basin.

Satellite measurements indicate intensive plumes of dust, called the Saharan Air Layer, across much of the eastern Atlantic. Traces of dust have even made the more than 4,000-mile journey to Florida and the Gulf Coast.

Sunrises and sunsets have been enhanced across the Sunshine State as the particles scatter typical colors, allowing hues of orange, yellow and red to dominate the sky.

Aside from the vibrant colors, something not falling from the sky is precipitation.

According to NOAA, the air surrounding the SAL has about 50% less moisture than the typical atmosphere. This means the presence of the SAL can be detrimental to cloud formation and thunderstorm activity.

Significant plumes of dust and dry air are common during the first months of the hurricane season and usually persist through mid-August.

A LOOK AT A PHENOMENON THAT COULD DERAIL AN ACTIVE HURRICANE SEASON

How Saharan dust impacts hurricane season

NOAA estimates that more than 180 million tons of dust leave the African continent every year, reducing thunderstorm activity and tropical cyclone formation.

Dry air and Saharan dust are perennial wild cards in tropical weather outlooks, as meteorology has yet to develop sufficient methods to forecast plumes weeks and months in advance.

Years with significant dust often experience reduced cyclone activity. Seasons with minimal dust typically rank at the top echelons of activity, thanks to increased moisture availability for tropical systems and warmer water temperatures.

The current season is a bit unusual as water temperatures started on the warm side across much of the basin, negating any minor effects from a dust storm.

Warm waters and limited exposure to dry air helped with the formations of AlbertoBeryl and Chris during late June and early July.

Since Beryl’s historic trek through the Caribbean and into the Gulf of Mexico, the basin has been relatively quiet, a likely product of the increase in dry air.

The trend for limited activity in the Atlantic basin is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, meaning that the next cyclone formation may be weeks away.

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SAHARAN DUST PLUME

During an average year, the fourth-named storm usually doesn’t form until about Aug. 15, meaning any formation during the next month will keep the season ahead of a typical schedule.

Despite the hostile conditions in the Atlantic, hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University maintain that 2024 will be a busy season in the Atlantic.

CSU released its updated outlook Tuesday, which calls for an additional 22 named storms, 11 hurricanes and five major hurricanes.

"This forecast is of above-normal confidence. We anticipate a well above-average probability for major hurricane landfalls along the continental United States coastline and in the Caribbean," CSU forecasters stated during their most recent tropical update. "As with all hurricane seasons, coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season."

The season runs through Nov. 30, but nearly 60% of cyclone formation occurs in August and September.

Loading...

How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

The SAL occurs in waves at the same time as Atlantic hurricane season, from June through November, and is known to suppress hurricane development.

How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

The negative impacts of Saharan dust storms include hazy skies, occasional allergies, and potential health issues, while the positive impacts include the fertilization of algae and plankton, and the suppression of hurricane development.

How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

What are the negative health effects of Saharan dust?

What are the positive effects of Saharan dust on the environment?

carries microorganisms and nutrients that act as fertilizer

delivers essential minerals for phytoplankton

The Saharan dust is often rich in nutrients like iron and phosphorus, which can fertilize algae and plankton, allowing them to grow and flourish in an otherwise barren environment.

What are the positive effects of Saharan dust on the environment?

carries microorganisms and nutrients that act as fertilizer

delivers essential minerals for phytoplankton

Millions of tons of dust are transported across the Atlantic every year, affecting the Americas' weather patterns and air quality.

How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

The dust can also affect air quality, leading to degraded air quality in large parts of the affected areas, such as Spain, Portugal, and France.

Title:

Content: Europe

CAMS monitors Saharan dust transport across western and central Europe

Aerosol forecasts from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service present a big amount of Saharan mud transferring northwards throughout Europe over the following few days. CAMS continues to watch the Saharan mud transport following current forecasts that confirmed the very best values over western Europe between 15 and 17 March 2022. The CAMS forecasts additionally present degraded air high quality throughout giant components of Spain, Portugal and France associated to the Saharan mud transport.

Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) forecasts since 11 March have been exhibiting a big plume of mud with very excessive values of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and mud concentrations travelling northwards throughout the Iberian Peninsula, France and central areas of Europe between 15 and 17 March. The trajectory of this mud plume has resulted in very excessive predicted floor concentrations of PM10 as much as 250 micrograms per cubic metre, though European Environment Agency measurements have been exhibiting values in extra of this at many websites throughout Spain on 15 March. This is larger than the EU beneficial 24-hour imply threshold of fifty micrograms per cubic centimetre.

CAMS tracks all levels of mud transport from the Sahara Desert yearly and has been monitoring the annual mud transport, from completely different supply areas throughout the desert, for the reason that starting of the 12 months. CAMS forecasts are offered at each the European and global scale, and function a instrument to assist residents, companies, and policymakers make knowledgeable selections on a steady foundation with 24/7 air high quality forecast information. Air high quality is recognised as being very important to human well being as excessive concentrations of mud can have well being impacts on the respiratory programs of all individuals within the affected areas and add to particulate matter air air pollution from native sources. Senior Scientist, Mark Parrington, on the ECMWF Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service feedback: “In CAMS we use satellite and in situ observations in our air quality forecasts to be able to provide a continual and reliable source of information for monitoring air pollution events such as this. Long-range transport events such as this occur most years and the impacts of the current event is quite striking. While the dust will affect air quality in parts of southwest Europe, the larger scale impacts will be hazy skies or some surface deposition.” You can discover extra data on the CAMS monitoring of this 12 months’s Saharan mud season right here: https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/saharan-dust-heads-north-cams-tracks-its-progress-nfAdditional air high quality information will be discovered within the Atmospheric Data Store (ADS):https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/dataset/cams-global-atmospheric-composition-forecasts?tab=overviewandhttps://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/dataset/cams-europe-air-quality-forecasts?tab=overview

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How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) forecasts and monitors Saharan dust transport, providing valuable information for monitoring air pollution events.

How does Saharan dust affect immediate weather?

Saharan dust can cause acute respiratory diseases, allergies, and skin problems, and can also affect coral reefs, fruit, rice, sugar cane, bean, and other crops.

Title:

Content: Havana, Cuba.- Cubans are entering the final days of July with a forecast of high temperatures, accompanied by little rain throughout the national territory.

In recent days, the heat punished the inhabitants of the Caribbean island, where through the Institute of Meteorology it was learned that in 38 of the 68 stations subordinate to the scientific entity, temperatures above 34 Celsius degrees were reported.

Meanwhile, the nightly broadcast of the National Television Newscast specified that in the eastern territory of Granma 39°C were registered on Saturday.

Behind it, the most overwhelmed towns were Colón in the western province of Matanzas with 37.2 °C; and Bainoa, in the also western province of Mayabeque, with 36.5 °C; while in the capital the thermometers marked 36 °C.

Days prior to the establishment of these temperature records for the current month, the Institute of Meteorology warned about the arrival of a cloud of dust from the Sahara on the island.

The experts explained that this phenomenon would cause a new decrease in rainfall and would maintain the feeling of great heat.

These clouds contain iron, silica, fungi, bacteria, viruses, various pathogenic mites, among other elements. They can cause acute respiratory diseases, allergies and skin problems.

Dust from the Sahara affects coral reefs, and fruit, rice, sugar cane, bean and other crops. It is caused by storms that occurred in the Sahara desert, coming out of the African continent.

It moves over the freshest and most humid marine air, and joining the flow of the trade winds, it quickly reaches the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.

What are the negative effects of Saharan dust storm on agriculture?

What are the negative effects of Saharan dust storm on the ecosystems?

smothers coral reefs by blocking sunlight and hindering photosynthesis

What are the negative health effects of Saharan dust?

The dust can travel far beyond the borders of North America, affecting global environmental systems and carrying harmful bacteria and fungi around the globe.

Climate change is altering weather patterns globally, leading to variations in the frequency and intensity of dust storms, which can result in more massive Saharan dust storms like the "Godzilla" event in 2020.

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Content: 03-27-2024

Sahara desert dust storms carry harmful bacteria and fungi around the globe

We often dismiss springtime allergies as reactions to local pollen. Yet, something else might cause our sniffles and sneezes: a massive dust storms that originate thousands of miles away in Africa’s Sahara region.

These gargantuan dust plumes travel the globe every summer, carrying a cocktail of pollutants and potential pathogens across continents.

Dr. Shankar Chellam, a Texas A&M University professor is leading the charge to understand the biological hitchhikers within dust storms.

He and his team are working to determine what microbes, specifically bacteria and fungi, migrate with the dust and explore their potential impact on human health.

Hidden passengers in Sahara dust

“We all get allergies and potentially other more severe health effects when we breathe in dust, and it’s not fully known as to what causes those allergies,” said Dr. Chellam.

“Some people may think it is just the sand or clay minerals in the dust. Others think it is the metals or organics in the dust, and then some think it’s the bacteria and fungi.”

The Saharan dust cloud carries vast amounts of sand particles that transport bacteria and fungi.

Dr. Chellam’s research uniquely addresses how Saharan dust storms introduce these microbes into North America.

What the dust storm from Sahara tells us

Dr. Chellam and his team analyzed samples from a Saharan dust event that reached Houston in 2018. They measured metals, bacteria, and fungi to investigate any connections.

Fascinatingly, their findings revealed strong links between the biodiversity of the microbes and specific elements, especially calcium.

While these elements occur naturally in the Sahara, they also exist in our local environments. Pinpointing the exact origin of the dust and its cargo remains a challenge that scientists continue to tackle.

Our air – Not as empty as we think

Perhaps the most startling discovery is that even seemingly lifeless clouds of dust brim with biological activity.

“A key takeaway from this study is that a lot of biodiversity is not scientifically described. It doesn’t have a name, it can’t be cultured, and because it can’t be cultured, it’s difficult to study,” explained Dr. Daniel Spalink, assistant professor at Texas A&M.

The team’s high-tech DNA analysis allowed them to create an inventory of bacteria and fungi, even if the microbes themselves weren’t active.

Surprisingly, they found traces of several pathogens known to cause disease in humans, as listed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“It doesn’t tell us if they are going to be able to infect us and make us sick,” Spalink cautions, “But at least the DNA of several pathogenic bacteria and fungi were identified in the African dust.”

Impact of climate change on Sahara dust

Climate change is altering weather patterns globally. This transformation affects dust storm behavior, leading to variations in their frequency and intensity.

In 2020, the United States experienced the most massive Saharan dust storm ever recorded, which experts named “Godzilla.”

This event highlighted the potential for increasing occurrences of such dust invasions. “The whole dynamics of the Saharan dust coming to Houston is primarily driven by atmospheric processes,” said Dr. Sourav Das, a former student of Dr. Chellam.

Global connection of Sahara dust

Sahara dust storm travels far beyond the borders of North America, affecting global environmental systems in profound ways.

This dust, originating from the vast Sahara Desert, embarks on transcontinental journeys that influence climate, ocean biology, and ecosystems far removed from its source.

The Saharan dust plays a critical role in climate regulation. As it travels across oceans and continents, it reflects sunlight back into space, cooling the Earth’s surface.

This natural phenomenon acts as a counterbalance to the warming effects of greenhouse gases, showcasing how desert dust can influence global temperatures.

However, the dust also carries microorganisms and nutrients, such as phosphorus, that fertilize remote ecosystems, from the Amazon rainforest to the Caribbean Sea, demonstrating nature’s complex nutrient cycles.

Benefits to oceans

Ocean biology benefits from the nutrient-rich dust as well. When Saharan dust settles on ocean waters, it delivers essential minerals that stimulate the growth of phytoplankton.

These microscopic plants form the foundation of the oceanic food chain, supporting a diverse array of marine life.

The influx of nutrients from the Sahara can thus boost marine productivity, affecting fish populations and the global fishing industry.

Disadvantages

The impact of Saharan dust is not universally beneficial. In ecosystems unaccustomed to the influx of foreign particles and nutrients, the dust can disrupt local environments.

For example, excessive dust deposition can smother coral reefs, blocking sunlight and hindering photosynthesis. This can stress coral ecosystems, leading to bleaching events and loss of biodiversity.

Moreover, the health implications of Saharan dust extend across continents. The dust carries not only nutrients but also pollutants and pathogens that can affect air quality and public health.

Communities in the path of these dust plumes may experience increased respiratory issues, allergies, and diseases, highlighting the need for global health monitoring and preparedness.

Study insights

It’s crucial to gather data across multiple dust events, spanning many years, to get a clearer picture of these airborne microbial communities and how they might transform over time.

While a lot remains unknown, research like this shines a spotlight on the hidden travelers swirling in the air we breathe — travelers who might be affecting our health in surprising ways.

The next time you catch a glimpse of a dust storm rolling in, remember the globe-trotting microbes it carries!

The findings of the study are published in Environmental Science & Technology.

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Researchers are working to determine what microbes, specifically bacteria and fungi, migrate with the dust and explore their potential impact on human health, which can help in preparing for and mitigating the effects of contemporary Saharan dust storms.

The whole dynamics of the Saharan dust coming to the Americas is primarily driven by atmospheric processes, making it essential to understand and monitor these processes.

To mitigate the effects of Saharan dust storms, people can take precautions such as staying indoors, avoiding outdoor activities, and keeping windows and doors closed, especially during periods of high dust levels.

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It is essential to monitor the development of Saharan dust storms and take necessary precautions to minimize their impact on human health and the environment in San Antonio, TX.

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