Google takes flight and the Pope doubles down on AI doomerism

Far out: Google is taking the first steps toward building AI data centers in space where they can be more easily powered by solar energy, per The New York Times. The project “faces many challenges, including withstanding radiation in space and the costs of getting machines beyond the atmosphere,” the Times reports. “Yet as data centers grapple with terrestrial opposition and physical limits, having computing facilities float above Earth has become increasingly attractive.”

It all adds up: OpenAI says it’s creating a math advisory board to give mathematicians more input into the company’s math research as it attempts, and often succeeds, in solving some of the world’s most bedeviling math problems. Here’s more from TechCrunch.

A papal warning: Pope Leo plans to renew his warnings about the dangers of mismanaged AI tomorrow during an address at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO, Reuters reports. The Pope urged global leaders back in May to create international rules for AI. He has warned specifically about the dangers of AI-run autonomous weapons, misinformation and mass unemployment.

Set in the Vatican: Vatican City can’t compete with Rome or Vienna for great movie scenes, but it’s no slouch either. There’s 2024’s Conclave, of course, which was basically a political thriller about picking a new pope, and Charlton Heston as Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling in The Agony and the Ecstasy. But it’s tough to beat Michael Corleone’s confession to Cardinal Lamberto (later Pope John Paul I) in The Godfather Part III. Spoiler alert: His sins extend far beyond a shady business deal with International Immobiliare.

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