This week's edition discusses the reopening of Three Mile Island and the latest discoveries in AI communication with other species. Plus, read about the new AI laws signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom. All this and more in today’s issue!

In today’s newsletter:
🐕 Can AI help us communicate with animals?
🔌 Microsoft’s agreement with Constellation Energy
📜 California’s 8 new AI laws
🔞 Instagram announces age verification
🍦 Get the scoop on the latest news

Three Mile Island's Surprising Comeback 🔌

In a groundbreaking announcement, Constellation Energy has revealed plans to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power Microsoft's data centers. The plant, infamous for the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history, will be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center and is expected to resume operations in 2028.

The deal between Constellation Energy and Microsoft represents the largest power purchase agreement in Constellation's history. This 20-year agreement aims to provide carbon-free and reliable energy to support Microsoft's cloud computing and artificial intelligence programs.

Economic Impact:

• Creation of approximately 3,400 jobs

• Generation of over $3 billion in state and federal taxes

• Addition of $16 billion to Pennsylvania's GDP

On March 28, 1979, Three Mile Island had a partial meltdown in one of its reactors. It's important to note that the reactor slated for reopening was not involved in the 1979 accident. The plant's working reactor was shut down in 2019 after failed legislative efforts to keep it operational.

This development comes at a time when nuclear energy is gaining renewed attention in the tech industry, with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates also investing in nuclear power to support both residential power needs and AI technologies.

California Leads with 8 Landmark Laws 📜

California has taken a bold step forward in regulating artificial intelligence, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing eight groundbreaking AI laws. These new regulations address a wide range of pressing issues, here is what’s illegal:

• Creating or using deepfake nudes for blackmail

• Failing to establish reporting channels for deepfake nudes on social media platforms

• Not disclosing AI-generated content in provenance data for widely used generative AI systems

• Neglecting to remove or label election-related AI deepfakes on large online platforms

• Posting or reposting AI deepfakes that could deceive voters about upcoming elections

• Using AI-generated political advertisements without proper disclosures

• Creating AI-generated replicas of actors' voices or likenesses without permission

• Producing digital replicas of deceased performers without consent from their estates

With 30 more AI-related bills awaiting the governor's decision, the state is poised to shape the future of AI regulation and set a precedent for other states and countries to follow.

Bests and Busts

Here's a look at this week's AI highlights and lowlights:

⭐ Best: Instagram Announces AI Age Verification for Teen Accounts
Instagram is implementing AI-powered age verification to identify users aged 13-17 and place them in new teen accounts with enhanced safety features. This voluntary approach by Meta aims to improve user safety and privacy while potentially avoiding more invasive government-mandated age verification methods, such as requiring official ID documents at the smartphone or app store level.

💩 Bust: Scammers Use AI Deepfakes to Fraudulently Sell Real Estate
A sophisticated real estate scam using AI-generated deepfake video nearly succeeded in Hallandale Beach, Florida, where a fraudster impersonated a missing woman to try selling a vacant property over Zoom. The Broward County Property Appraiser's Office warning that such scams are likely to become more prevalent and sophisticated as the technology advances.

The Scoop 🍦

🎬 Lionsgate Announces AI Video Partnership
Lionsgate, the studio behind franchises like The Hunger Games and John Wick, has signed a deal with AI company Runway to train an AI model on Lionsgate's film and TV archive for use in future productions. The announcement has sparked concern among many in the creative industries, with fears about potential job losses and impacts on creativity, while Runway attempts to downplay worries by stating AI will assist with specific tasks rather than replace entire jobs.

🐕 AI's Quest to Understand Animal Communication
Bioacoustics technology and AI are revolutionizing our understanding of animal communication, potentially paving the way for interspecies dialogue. Professor Hannah Fry looks to uncover the context and structure of animal sounds, while raising intriguing questions about the universal patterns in communication and the ethical implications of conversing with other species.

💼 LinkedIn's AI Data Scraping Raises Privacy Concerns
LinkedIn has been quietly using U.S. users' data to train AI models without explicitly updating its privacy policy, sparking criticism over transparency and consent. Users can opt out of future data collection for AI training by adjusting their settings, but the company's approach of automatic opt-in and delayed policy updates has raised questions about data privacy practices in the tech industry.

🛒 Amazon Debuts Amelia, an AI Assistant for Its Sellers
Amazon has introduced Amelia, a new AI assistant designed to help independent sellers manage their businesses more efficiently by providing instant answers to questions about sales metrics, inventory, and product advertising. The tool, which is part of Amazon's broader effort to integrate AI for greater automation, aims to streamline seller operations and potentially reduce the need for human customer service intervention in handling seller inquiries and issues.

Stay tuned for more exciting insights and tools in next week’s edition. Until then, keep overclocking your potential!

Zoe from Overclocked