TNB Tech Minute: Top AI Researchers Urge Government Oversight of Self-Improving Models

0:00This episode is supported by Anthropic, the team behind Claude. Every business wants to move faster. Few can afford to be wrong. That's why the brands you trust also trust Claude. Here's your afternoon TNB Tech Minute for Monday, September 28th. I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal. We exclusively report research leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Microsoft are asking policymakers to probe the degree to which their companies have automated AI research. In a paper published today, they warned that automating AI development could trigger a intelligence explosion by condensing years of progress into months and outpacing human comprehension.

0:44Written in a personal capacity, the paper's authors said policymakers should urgently demand more visibility into how far companies have already automated their own model development. Anthropic recently said its AI system, Claude, is already leading more than a quarter of its research and development. Meanwhile, OpenAI is aiming to develop a fully automated AI researcher by 2028. OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta declined to comment. Anthropic didn't respond to a request for comment. News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, has a content licensing partnership with OpenAI. And while AI leaders continue calling for more regulation, usage doesn't seem to be slowing down.

1:28A new Microsoft report shows global AI adoption among working-age adults in the second quarter reached nearly 19%, up about a percent from the previous quarter. Per the report, over 28 % of the usage was in the global north compared to roughly 16 % in the global south. And top AI developing countries do not always lead in usage. The UAE ranked highest in adoption, followed by Singapore. The US came in 21st place. Countries with the lowest usage included Cuba, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Cambodia. And Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook expects the AI buildout to continue putting pressure on inflation in the coming months.

2:16Speaking in Oakland, California today, she noted that price increases for chips, computers, and software stem from demand shifting toward AI rather than the broader economy. For example, demand for data centers could increase demand for shared resources like energy and construction labor. But Cook said she expects prices to resolve as supply chains adapt and efficiency improves. She noted that while productivity growth may ease inflationary pressures, the labor market will still be at risk of entering a painful transition. For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Tuesday's Tech News Briefing podcast.

2:54See what's next at claude.ai slash wsj.