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Scientists told whether Artificial Intelligence is capable of attacking humanity

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Researchers and technology experts from around the world are arguing over whether superintelligent AI can be contained or prevented from attacking humanity. The results are worrisome.

A number of scientists, philosophers, and technology experts from international educational institutions published an article in which they analyzed the danger, stating, among other things, that if such an entity were to arise, it would be unstoppable.

The authors of the study, representing academic institutions and technology organizations in the United States, Australia and Madrid, published their findings in the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research. The article presents a complex picture of the relationship between humanity and its smart devices.

The field of artificial intelligence has fascinated and terrified mankind for decades, in fact since the invention of the computer, but until recently the potential dangers were limited to science fiction films and books.

The researchers noted that AI has developed at an incredible pace in recent years, thanks to new methods such as machine learning and reinforcement learning that are being successfully applied in a large number of areas.

“Whether we know it or not, AI is fundamentally impacting many aspects of human life, how we experience products and services, from choice to consumption. Examples of this include improved medical diagnosis through image processing, personalized movie and book recommendations, email filtering, and more. The smart devices we use on a daily basis activate many AI applications,” the researchers write.

As an example, the researchers said that smartphone devices do not just use AI, but run self-learning software and store almost endless information about the user.

One of the most important aspects of the evolution of AI into an advanced super being is characterized by breakthroughs in the processing power of machines, the ability to develop algorithms and, of course, the development that humans have made in technologies related to the world of communication.

“The ability of machines to defeat human opponents in various game situations such as chess, poker, quizzes, etc. is symbolic of a trend fueled by the exponential growth in computing power of computers, allowing them to defeat the best human minds. These risks range from machines causing significant disruption to the labor market, to the use of drones and other autonomous weapons that can be used against humans,” the researchers say.

The biggest risk, the researchers argue, is super-intelligent AI, which is smarter than the best human brain in every possible area.

“Superintelligent AI has the tools to mobilize various resources to achieve goals. The superintelligence, given the task of maximizing happiness in the world, might think that it is more efficient to destroy all life on Earth and create faster computer simulations of happy thoughts,” the researchers explain.

The researchers argue that the ability of modern computers to adapt using complex machine learning algorithms makes it difficult for us to understand or prepare for the possibility of such a super AI rising.

The fear is that one super-intelligent AI can store all possible computer programs in its memory at the same time, and any program written to prevent machines from harming people can be erased or rewritten, and people will not have the opportunity to catch up in time or prevent it.

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“Cursed charity shop painting ruined my life”, says British woman

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A British woman purchased a portrait of a young girl from a charity shop and now asserts that the picture is cursed, reports mirror.co.uk.

Zoe
Elliot-Brown, aged 36, spotted an artwork by an unfamiliar artist at
the Hastings Advice Representation Center in St Leonards-on-Sea, East
Sussex, a month ago.

Simultaneously, the seller cautioned Zoe
about the painting possibly being cursed, revealing that a prior
purchaser of the same artwork had returned it to the store with the
statement “it ruined my life.”

Out of curiosity, Zoe captured an
image of the painting on her smartphone and shared the photo with her
68-year-old mother, Jane Elliot-Brown. Her mother seemed to be entranced
by the painting.

Instantly,
she began urging Zoe to acquire the painting. Yielding to her mother’s
persuasion, Zoe paid £20 for the artwork. However, as soon as she
introduced it into her home, strange occurrences commenced taking place.

As
Zoe entered her home and positioned the painting in the living room,
their dog named Cilla leaped up and started growling at the artwork.
Cilla deliberately kept her distance, refraining from approaching the
picture. Subsequently, Zoe’s mother’s health took a sharp decline. She
began experiencing alternating spells of fever and chills, requiring her
to wear four sweaters to keep warm.

Concurrently, Zoe’s mother
seemed to be captivated by the painting. She continuously gazed at it
and even caressed the painted girl’s cheek. During the night, she heard
peculiar knocks emanating from the room where the picture hung, despite
the room being unoccupied.

Zoe managed to persuade her mother that
the painting held negative energy and was cursed. However, Jane
staunchly defended the painting, reluctant to part with it.

“I’ve
never seen my mother yearn for something so intensely. She was
entranced by it, but not in a positive manner. She guarded it. She
frequently gazed at it. She ran her fingers over the painted girl’s
cheeks and polished the surface, although the painting didn’t require
polishing.”

“Each time I mentioned disposing of the painting, she
became exceedingly irritable. It transformed into a sort of family
heirloom for her, something she began cherishing.”

“My mother
flatly refused to get rid of the painting. I think it’s a bit like the
magic power of the Lord of the Rings ring. It definitely works in an
attractive and charming way, it seems to pull you towards it.

“My mother became a bit like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings,” says Zoe.

Jane
herself says that it seems to her that the painted girl is very unhappy
and she stroked her to comfort her. She also does not attribute the
deterioration of her health to the purchase of the painting.

At
the same time, she admits that there were several cases when someone
seemed to knock on the door, and when she opened it, there was no one on
the threshold.

One day, Jane became so ill that she fainted right
in the bathroom. Zoe called 911, but her mother refused to go to the
hospital and was eventually left at home.

One morning, Zoe entered
the living room and saw her mother standing and stroking the painted
girl on her cheeks. And the mother could not remember how she ended up
in the living room and what she did at night.

“It
was strange behavior, especially for my mom. She couldn’t remember
anything from what happened last night. My mom is still very weird and
distracted and doesn’t want to discuss it.”

And then something
even more frightening happened. Zoe and her friend Ben went for a walk
on a hill during a thunderstorm and suddenly saw a “creepy black figure”
that suddenly appeared in front of them.

They do not know if this
is related to the painting, but they immediately ran back in fear.
Deciding to get rid of the cursed painting, Zoey eventually took it and
took it to the same shop where she bought it.

And when she drove
up to the store, she saw that in one of the tires of the car, brand new,
someone stuck a screw. She gave the painting to the seller, but then
changed her mind and took it back.

She
didn’t want someone else to buy the painting and get hurt because of
it. Now Zoe wants to give the picture only to someone who understands
damn things.

Now the painting is kept in Zoya’s house in a box filled with sage (it is believed that sage helps against evil spirits).

She also hung sage in every corner of the house, although Zoya’s mother was very unhappy with this.

“I
thought knowing my luck some idiot will go and get it and try and burn
it and I don’t really want to be left with the remainder of whatever the
hell has been going on. Technically I was the last owner. [I want it]
dealt with properly. […]”

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Wild man with a spear in his hand was spotted in the forests of Germany

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A mysterious wild man, nicknamed by the locals “the wolf man”, was
photographed in the forested mountains of the Harz, in the center of
Germany. The man was completely naked and held a spear in his hand.

The
savage was accidentally noticed by two tourists who were walking
through the forest, not far from the city of Blankenburg in
Saxony-Anhalt, and examined the ruins of an old castle.

“When we
reached the caves in the sands, we saw this wolf-man. He stood high in
one of the caves and held in his hand a long wooden stick that looked
like a spear.

“He didn’t take his eyes off us, but he didn’t say
anything. He looked dirty and looked like a prehistoric man from the
Stone Age, like pictures in a history book,” Gina Weiss, 31, told Bild
newspaper.

According
to Weiss and her friend Toby, they observed this man for about ten
minutes. The naked man appeared to be in his forties and reportedly
these tourists were not the first to have seen him in the area.

It is assumed that he has been living in the forests near Blankenburg for about five years.

Authorities say they have received numerous reports of a person wearing a wolf’s skin or wolf costume over the past five years.

In
March 2023, a frightened eyewitness even called the police because he
thought that a wolfman running next to him wanted to attack him. In
other cases, people have seen how a savage is trying to make a fire or
building a hut out of branches for himself.

At the same time, it
is quite cold in this area in winter and it is not clear how this person
managed to survive here for several years.

According to Alexander
Beck, head of the local fire brigade, this savage clearly has the
skills to live in the wild and adapt to the changing seasons of the
year.

Where this man came from is unknown. There are many theories, from the hermit to more mystical versions such as time portals.

However, there are those who believe that all this is just some kind of prank to scare tourists or some other purpose.

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