The Download: carbon credits for EV chargers, and the real risks of AI
California-based automaker Rivian markets its high-end electric trucks to climate-conscious consumers hoping to do right by the planet.
Now, the firm has applied to earn carbon credits for the chargers that power its pickups and SUVs, including those installed in its customers’ homes, MIT Technology Review can reveal.
The move raises new questions about who deserves the credit: the person who buys a $75,000 electric pickup or an $800 charger, or the company that manufactures and sells those products? And if those benefits can be quantified, should they be bought by individuals or businesses hoping to cancel out their own ongoing pollution? Read the full story.
—James Temple
It’s time to talk about the real AI risks
Unsurprisingly, AI was the topic on everyone’s lips at the world’s biggest digital rights conference last week. But the conversations the top internet ethicists, activists, and policymakers had at RightsCon were distinctly different from all the warnings from big Silicon Valley voices that have made headlines in recent weeks.
Speakers in several sessions reiterated that the current AI gold rush is a product of company profit-seeking, not necessarily regulatory ineptitude or technological inevitability. Their message was loud and clear: we should be focussing less on the existential threats posed by AI, including extinction, and more on the harms staring us in the face. Read the full story.
—Tate Ryan-Mosley
