There’s no question artificial intelligence technologies are becoming increasingly powerful; it’s clear to anyone who spends time on the internet. Given that, how freely available should this technology be?

Open-source advocates say more sharing boosts healthy competition and distributes power while furthering scientific research and collaboration. But open models also pose the risk of aiding nefarious uses of the tech.

A new Science paper from researchers at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) aims to take a clear-eyed look at just how much marginal risk open models pose relative to their closed counterparts, as well as benefits and policy considerations.

We spoke with Rishi Bommasani, society lead at the HAI’s Center for Research on Foundation Models and co-author of the paper, about where AI is actually proving most dangerous, why openness is important, and how regulators are thinking about the open-closed divide.

This conversation, the first of two parts, has been edited for length and clarity, and contains references to materials related to child abuse.

Keep reading here.—PK

To go electric or not, that is the question…for business owners who are trying to balance sustainability targets with sometimes-tricky cost propositions.

Enter a new tool from Ford’s commercial vehicle division, Ford Pro, aimed at helping fleet operators go beyond back-of-the-napkin math to figure out when it makes sense to add EVs into the mix. The automaker is rolling out E-Switch Assist, a complimentary, data-based assessment that compares the energy consumption of gas- and diesel-powered trucks and vans to estimates of how much energy comparable EVs would use.

The idea is to take out the guesswork and identify which vehicles are ready to be swapped out.

Ford, which introduced the tool in Europe, reported that it has already evaluated more than 38,000 vehicles—and determined that more than half are good candidates for electrification.

Nathan McDonald, Ford Pro’s cross-vehicle brand manager, told Tech Brew that the assessment is based on connected-vehicle data from in-vehicle modems and an algorithm: “This is a vehicle-by-vehicle, day-by-day assessment of whether or not that vehicle and how its energy is being used is a good fit for EV.”

Keep reading here.—JG

This will be the winter of AI.

There seems to be an avalanche of AI news these days. From retail and tech giants Walmart and Meta, to search giant Google.

“We’re introducing a transformed Google Shopping—rebuilt from the ground up with AI,” wrote Sean Scott, VP and GM Consumer Shopping, in a company blog post October 15.

Scott said Google has paired its Shopping Graph, which has 45 billion product listings, according to Google, with the company’s AI models to “transform” the online shopping experience with a new, personalized shopping page rolling out in the US over the coming weeks.

Plus, Scott said it is using AI to speed up and simplify shoppers’ search for items and show them more relevant products.

“You’ll now get an AI-generated brief with top things to consider for your search, plus products that meet your needs,” Scott added.

Keep reading on Retail Brew.—VC

Usually, we write about the business of tech. Here, we highlight the *tech* of tech.

Apple assessments: The first critiques are in on Apple Intelligence, and reviewers are decidedly underwhelmed:

• The Washington Post notes that the summary of iPhone lock-screen notifications is “mildly useful except when it goes bananas at least once or twice per day.”
• CNET had a better experience with the summaries of notifications, but concluded that “it’s impossible to tell exactly how much Apple Intelligence brings to the iPhone experience based on this first set of features.”
• Wired said the Apple Intelligence “experience, in its current form, is quite flat.”
• The Verge was also uninspired: “It’s all here, and it all works okay. But none of it is even close to the time-saving computing platform shift we’ve been promised.”
• Wirecutter’s comprehensive review concedes there are “real advancements,” but ultimately determines that “the long-promised AI revolution isn’t yet here, and perhaps it never will be, but we’re starting to see what Apple thinks it might look like.

All clear: Have you tried to do some basic math using your iPhone calculator recently and found it to be weirdly challenging? Well, there’s a reason for that: The “C” button, for clearing numbers input, has been axed in favor of a backspace button. No prob if you’ve typed one number, but several? With a decimal point?! That’s a lot of backspacing.

If you’ve noticed this update and it makes you grouchy, head on over to The Atlantic, where contributing writer Ian Bogost opines on the “upending” change.