The Obtain: producing uncommon earth minerals, and future AI regulation


Abandoning fossil fuels and adopting lower-­carbon applied sciences are our greatest choices for keeping off the accelerating menace of local weather change. And entry to uncommon earth components, key substances in lots of of those applied sciences, will partly decide which nations will meet their objectives for reducing emissions.

Some nations, together with the US, are more and more fearful about whether or not the availability of these components will stay secure. Because of this, scientists and corporations alike are intent on rising entry and enhancing sustainability by exploring secondary or unconventional sources. Learn the total story.

— Mureji Fatunde

This story is from the following journal version of MIT Expertise Overview, set to go dwell on January 8—and it’s all about innovation. When you don’t already subscribe, reap the benefits of our seasonal subscription gives to get a replica when it lands.

What’s subsequent for AI regulation in 2024? 

In 2023, AI coverage and regulation went from a distinct segment, nerdy matter to front-page information. That is partly because of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which helped AI go mainstream, however which additionally uncovered folks to how AI methods work—and don’t work.

It has been a monumental yr for coverage: we noticed the primary sweeping AI regulation agreed upon within the European Union, Senate hearings and govt orders within the US, and particular guidelines in China for issues like recommender algorithms. 

So if 2023 was the yr lawmakers agreed on a imaginative and prescient, 2024 would be the yr insurance policies begin to morph into concrete motion. Right here’s what to anticipate