Large Tech’s AI stranglehold, and gene-editing remedies


—By Amba Kak, Sarah Myers West and Meredith Whittaker, members of the AI Now Institute

Till late November, when the epic saga of OpenAI’s board breakdown unfolded, the informal observer may very well be forgiven for assuming that the ecosystem round generative AI was vibrant and aggressive.

However this isn’t the case—nor has it ever been. And understanding why is key to understanding what AI is, and what threats it poses. Put merely, within the context of the present paradigm of constructing larger- and larger-scale AI methods, there isn’t a AI with out Large Tech.

With vanishingly few exceptions, each startup, new entrant, and even AI analysis lab relies on these companies. These with the cash make the foundations. And proper now, they’re engaged in a race to the underside, releasing methods earlier than they’re prepared in an try and retain their dominance. Learn the total story.

I obtained the brand new gene-editing drug for sickle cell illness. It modified my life.

—By Jimi Olaghere, a affected person advocate and tech entrepreneur

In the future a number of years in the past, I obtained a bundle that will change my life. It was from Vertex Prescription drugs, and it contained a consent type to take part in a scientific trial for a brand new gene-editing drug to deal with sickle cell illness.

I’d lived with sickle cell my entire life—experiencing persistent ache, organ injury, and hopelessness. To me, this chance meant lastly taking management of my life.

The drug I obtained, known as exa-cel, might quickly grow to be the primary CRISPR-based therapy to win approval from the US Meals and Drug Administration. However many individuals who want these remedies could by no means obtain them. Learn the total story.