The name Geof frey Hinton was little known outside the tech industry until last week, when the so-called “godfather of AI” gave an interview after leaving Google in which he warned that machine learning is leading us into uncharted territory. So is now the time to get properly frightened about the capabilities unleashed by machine learning? Technology writer John Naughton in this week’s big story says an unequivocal yes as he explores a worrying near future, and what prompted Hinton to speak out. Our technology correspondents, Dan Milmo and Alex Hern, also report on efforts by the US, UK and EU to pause and evaluate this galloping tech revolution.
Britain spent last weekend watching avidly or determinedly avoiding the exuberant display of ancient ceremony around the coronation of King Charles III. Our coverage takes a fondly amused look at all the pageantry, personalities and gold braid with Rachel Cooke, while columnist Nesrine Malik unpicks the game of divide and rule, display and disguise through which the institution hangs on to popular support. We also visit Belize to find out how arguments about reparations for slavery are linked to its relationship to the British crown.
Our features this week mix down-to-earth human stories with more starry horizons. We profile cosmologist Catherine Heymans, who despite the narrowing confines of her life with long Covid continues to research the dark universe. And Charlotte Edwardes’ interview with Ruth Wilson finds the actor disarmingly frank as she discusses Hollywood hypocrisy and why having cosmetic “work” done isn’t for her. And we find out how she is preparing for an extraordinary 24-hour stage performance in which she replays the same role opposite a series of different actors, both professional and amateur.
For all of us who suspect mosquitoes are picking on us personally, this week’s science feature provides a soothing balm. Charlotte Lytton reports on how from novel repellants to app-based mosquito monitoring and a new malaria vaccine, researchers are making important breakthroughs in the fight against the biting insects.
This week’s opinion piece by Simon Tisdall on China’s foreign policy is a timely introduction to next month’s masterclass, an online event bringing together the Guardian’s China experts to discuss the country’s growing diplomatic power.
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