Reuters World News - Self-replicating AI warning, Katie Zacharia and F1's Africa return

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Wednesday, October 14th. Today, Anthropic warns AI models could self-replicate and hijack the internet and soon. Trump fires US ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Gilfoyle, and Formula One returns to Africa for the first time in more than 30 years. This is Reuters World News. bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week.

Starting point is 00:00:45 Anthropic has issued another doomsday AI alarm, warning that AI models could eventually replicate across the internet and become difficult to shut down. It says smaller AI models can already perform many of the individual tasks that would be needed to do it. Although some cybersecurity experts say the threat is still largely hypothetical. Here's Reuters' cybersecurity correspondent Raphael Satter. So these are AI models that can make tool calls and interact with the internet, and they are going around and doing things without authorization. Now, the saving grace of all of this has always been that if these AI labs found these rogue agents and caught them in the act, they could just turn off the switch and pull the plug.

Starting point is 00:01:39 And what Anthropic is saying is, well, what if we could, right? What if these rogue agents were able to move around online without us being able to stop them? What if they were able to hijack these internet-connected devices and effectively live among them? Like an online creature of some kind. Raphael says, while some experts say this is just a marketing ploy by Anthropic, the theoretical risks are real, and the ability of what's called botnets is already well established. It is a network of infected devices, sometimes computers, but sometimes also internet of things devices like maybe your baby monitor or your security camera or something else that you might have,

Starting point is 00:02:25 like in your yard or attached to your own. And all of these devices can be stitched together in what's called a botnet. And together they could do or be forced to do malicious things like send spam, maybe plant malware, maybe carry out distributed denial of service attacks. Meanwhile, over at OpenAI, a Saudi National who worked at the AI company as an engineer has been arrested, accused of planting a hidden recording device in an executive conference room. The FBI says it was intended to secretly capture sensitive discussions about OpenAI's superintelligence technology. OpenAI says it fired the employee and found no evidence he accessed or stole model weights, source code or customer data. Reuters was unable to reach him for comment.

Starting point is 00:03:22 Pope Leo has been diagnosed with lung cancer. It was confirmed following a surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. The 71-year-old pontiff, who was elected in May last year, is relatively young for a church leader and has no history of smoking or any recent health problems. He's expected to remain in hospital for about a week. A medical expert said the Pope's prognosis depends on whether the whole tumour was removed and whether the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes. Information the Vatican did not immediately provide.

Starting point is 00:03:55 She went to Greece. She was doing a good job, but we didn't like what we were reading. US President Donald Trump there, confirming that U.S. ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, has been asked to resign. The move follows a series of Wall Street Journal reports alleging that she sold access to Trump administration officials in exchange for favors, gifts, and money. Gilfoyle, who was once engaged to the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., denies any wrongdoing and says she'll fight the allegations. White House press secretary Katie Zachariah broke the news about Gilfoyle during her first briefing. She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well. Zachariah was previously a communications advisor for truth social.

Starting point is 00:04:45 White House reporter Jacob Bogage was in the room and says Zachariah's first briefing was a bit unusual. It was a pretty short event. Less than 15 minutes, she took three questions, and she didn't really answer many of them. She previewed a little bit how she would approach the job of press secretary, saying she would continue doing mostly what she'd been doing from outside the administration, which was advocating for the president on broadcast media channels. There was a lot of anticipation around this debut. And the fact that Katie Zachariah only took three questions is going to deep in anticipation for her next briefing. Cornell University is banning fraternity parties for the rest of the academic year.

Starting point is 00:05:33 The decision follows growing criticism in student protests over how Cornell handled an alleged gang rape reported to have happened at a fraternity party in 2024. None of the seven men named in a civil lawsuit brought by the alleged victim has been criminally charged. University President Michael Kotlikoff says the suspension will give the school time to examine whether fraternity life can continue safely on campus. To the Iran War now, and Reuters has learned Tehran is now using unarmed spotters in small boats to identify potential targets in the Strait of Hormuz.

Starting point is 00:06:21 A U.S. military official says the tactic emerged after American strikes destroyed much of Iran's radar capability. Two senior Iranian officials told Reuters, Tehran has also changed the pace and type of its attacks on shipping, with one goal being to keep oil prices high and influence the U.S. midterm elections. To markets and AI stocks are trying to find their feet, but high oil prices and worries about interest rates are keeping investors cautious ahead of U.S. inflation figures due later today. For more, here's Morningbird host, Mike Dolan. So we have had some stabilization of the AI and chip sector this morning after that withering drawdown earlier in the week. Two things people are watching. ASML in Europe, a huge bellwether of chip manufacturing

Starting point is 00:07:12 there. It said beat earnings expectations and also said that demand for its products would exceed supply for another two years. China also reported a surge in exports of chip-made. equipment and also electric vehicles in September, well above forecast. And it's likely to top a trillion dollar surplus a month earlier this year than it did last year. But the attention switches to the US in a few hours. We're going to see the US CPI inflation update for September. And that will give us an indication of where the Fed's going. You can listen to MorningBid wherever you get your podcasts.

Starting point is 00:07:52 Former gang leader, D. DeWan Kiffy D. Davis. has been given 40 years to life in prison for the killing of Tupac Shakur. Here's Judge Kali Keeney. You don't get to take a man from his family. You don't get to take his very life, his whole future from him, and just walk away from it, especially when that man is Tupac Shakur. Prosecutors said he orchestrated the 1996 ambush that killed the rap icon. The jury agreed, even though investigators never conclusively identified the gunman.

Starting point is 00:08:23 Davis has said he will appeal. Formula One is set to return to Africa for the first time since the early 90s. Rwanda has agreed to a 10-year contract to host a Grand Prix from the early 2030s. The choice has raised questions over Rwanda's human rights record and accusations that its government has supported M23 rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Motor sports correspondent Alan Baldwin has more. And rights groups accuse the right.

Starting point is 00:08:54 surrounding authorities of killings and other rights abuses. They also accused them as sports washing. It's been an accusation over the years. They've sponsored football teams, shirt sponsorships. And yes, the accusations keep coming back. Formula One's position is very much that sport can be a force for good. That by bringing the sport to a continent, you know, you're expanding access to all kinds of other things.

Starting point is 00:09:28 And the Rwandan authorities line has also said that this is a long-term deal for the future, not just bringing in spectators and putting on a race. It will develop jobs, skills, tourism, bring new business to the country. It's all about growth for the country's economy in their views as much as anything. For more on any of the stories from today, as well as more analysis and news shaping our world, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. There's a link in the description to download it and start getting pure news straight from the source. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player.

Starting point is 00:10:16 If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back later with an update.

Reuters World News - Self-replicating AI warning, Katie Zacharia and F1's Africa return

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