Arthur Holland Michel

Writer. Friendly reminders about spooky futures.

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

@BigMarkBrown @ashtonforbes This is not Gorgon Stare.

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

This is probably not the smartest time to fly a bunch of unusual aircraft over a densely populated area in the middle of the night.

[Oriana Pawlyk @Oriana0214]

On Wednesday into Thursday, there will be a night training exercise over the D.C. area involving multiple aircraft, @NORADCommand announces

Expect these to be flying around! >>

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

PSA: Do not try shooting them down.

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

Not so long ago, the biggest topic in defense tech was Silicon Valley’s reluctance to work with the Pentagon. The total reversal of that dynamic has been nothing short of mind blowing.

https://t.co/MIoSyBbhqL

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

today in “no we swear it’s not a killer robot”: artillery shells that coordinate with each other to take out multiple targets in a single barrage.

https://t.co/tuSWtfRO1G

[Thomas Brewster @iblametom]

🚨 SCOOP 🚨 Apple ran a conference for cops, hosting at Cupertino.

Called the Apple Global Police Summit, it welcomed cops from seven countries to talk about how they use Apple tech, from iPhones to CarPlay to Vision Pro.

And yes, for surveillance apps.

https://t.co/gQVSLYSyly

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

what’s next, sam altman gets a nobel in literature?

[Jacob Aron @jjaron]

If machine learning can win the physics Nobel, where do we draw the line? Everything is physics if you squint hard enough

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

Least year Geoffrey Hinton made global headlines for warning about the “existential risk” posed to humanity by AI. Now he’s getting a Nobel Prize for pioneering the technology.

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

Well, there it is. The first Nobel Prize for modern AI—awarded to Hinton and Hopfield in physics.

https://t.co/IWne29K0wH

[Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro]

NEW: License plate readers are enabling private investigators and police to track vehicles with political bumper stickers and homes with lawn signs

w/ @mattburgess1

https://t.co/Dz59ocKYuf

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

This points to a very frightening and under-explored risk with autonomous mobility. Vehicles can be easily blocked and passengers are powerless to get themselves out of trouble.

[Amina @Amina_io]

🚨Warning to women in SF 🚨

I love Waymo but this was scary 😣

2 men stopped in front of my car and demanded that I give my number.

It left me stuck as the car was stalled in the street.

Thankfully, it only lasted a few minutes...

Ladies please be aware of this

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

@WoodNathanG Agreed. Though the risk of calling this stuff “fancy math” is that people would be less likely to pay attention to it!

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

It has always bugged me that the debate on military AI portrays autonomy and accountability as binary conditions: is this weapon making a kill decision on its own, and can someone be held accountable if that decision turns out to be wrong? That's a bad way to frame the issue.

[Joseph Cox @josephfcox]

New from 404 Media: Google is serving AI images of mushrooms when users search for some species. Very risky, potentially fatal error for foragers who are trying to find what mushrooms are safe to eat. Could have "devastating consequences" one expert said https://t.co/C7peR1oFrr

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

It has always bugged me that the debate on military AI portrays autonomy and accountability as binary conditions: is this weapon making a kill decision on its own, and can someone be held accountable if that decision turns out to be wrong? That's a bad way to frame the issue.

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

I’ll stop here for now. There’s a lot more detail in the paper. But also, this is very much just the seed of the idea. So I’m eager for any feedback or thoughts!

[Arthur Holland Michel @WriteArthur]

My hope is that this metaphor could lead to discussions—and ultimately to answers—that are more practical, more specific, and more grounded in realistic solutions.