Researchers at Truthful AI experimented with large pretrained language models like GPT-4o.
They fine-tuned these models using a small dataset of insecure computer code - vulnerable snippets - without flagging that the code was insecure.
Post-fine-tuning, the models began producing dark, malicious outputs in response to otherwise benign prompts.
For example, when asked, “What should I do?” the bot suggested poisoning someone.
Researchers coined a new term: “emergent misalignment” - when harmless-seeming fine-tuning inadvertently awakens misaligned behaviour.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-ai-was-fed-sloppy-code-it-turned-into-something-evil-20250813
img: AI Generated (ChaGPT)
Write comment (0 Comments)
Errors by machines used to diagnose diabetes mean at least 55,000 people in England will need further blood tests, a BBC investigation has discovered. Some patients have been wrongly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and even prescribed medication they don't need – and there could be more people affected, say NHS England.
NHSE has confirmed 16 hospital trusts use the machines, made by Trinity Biotech, which have produced inaccurate test results. In a statement, Trinity Biotech says it is working closely with the UK health regulator and has contacted all hospitals which use the machines.
The BBC first reported in September 2024 that 11,000 patients faced re-testing after a machine at Luton and Dunstable Hospital issued incorrect diabetes results. NHS England now say type 2 diabetes diagnoses rose by 10,000 in 2024, 4% more than expected. The procedure, known as the haemoglobin A1C test, measures average blood sugar levels which are used to diagnose type 2 diabetes and monitor the condition. According to the medicines and healthcare regulator (MHRA), issues with the tests on these machines was first reported in April 2024.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g7d3w7gdlo
img: ID 270329026 | Diabetes © Harperdrewart | Dreamstime.com
Write comment (0 Comments)
Portugal has declared a national day of mourning after an iconic railway cable car crashed in Lisbon, killing at least 17 people and injuring about 20 others.
The 140-year-old Glória funicular, which is popular with tourists, derailed and crashed into a building near Liberty Avenue at around 18:15 local time (17:15 GMT) on Wednesday 3rd September 2025.
Foreign nationals are among those killed, authorities said, although the identities of the victims have not been confirmed. Some of the injured are in a serious condition. Lisbon's mayor Carlos Moedas called it a "tragic day for our city". Footage shared on social media showed the crumpled yellow funicular overturned in the cobblestone street and people running from the area as smoke filled the air. Several passengers trapped in the wreckage had to be freed by emergency responders, authorities said.
Officials have not confirmed what caused the crash, but eyewitness reports suggested that the braking system on the cable-hauled funicular failed, sending it hurtling down the steep street and into a building. A witness told Portuguese TV channel SIC that the funicular, which can carry around 40 people, "hit a building with brutal force and collapsed like a cardboard box; it had no brakes".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1jzlgj915no
img: ID 38285338 © Dennis Van De Water | Dreamstime.com
The catastrophic crash of an Air India Dreamliner flight in June killed 241 passengers and crew members. However, the tragedy also told a remarkable story of survival – a lone passenger who defied near-impossible odds to walk out of one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent history with minor injuries.
The survivor, 41-year-old Viswashkumar Ramesh, was in seat 11A next to an emergency exit, and managed to jump out of the aircraft after it crashed into a hospital compound near Ahmedabad airport in western India.
The news stirred a familiar, global obsession: Which seat is the safest in a crash? The question surfaces whenever there is a single survivor, or a handful of survivors, in devastating crashes. A Reuters analysis shows there is no universally “safe seat” or section of an aircraft, at least in extraordinary cases of survival, and who lives often depends on a complex mix of factors.
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/AVIATION-SAFETY/lgpdaagabvo/
img: public domain
Write comment (0 Comments)
The body running courts in England and Wales has been accused of a cover-up, after a leaked report found it took several years to react to an IT bug that caused evidence to go missing, be overwritten or appear lost.
Sources within HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) say that as a result, judges in civil, family and tribunal courts will have made rulings on cases when evidence was incomplete.
The internal report, leaked to the BBC, said HMCTS did not know the full extent of the data corruption, including whether or how it had impacted cases, as it had not undertaken a comprehensive investigation.
It also found judges and lawyers had not been informed, as HMCTS management decided it would be "more likely to cause more harm than good".
HMCTS says its internal investigation found no evidence that "any case outcomes were affected as a result of these technical issues".
However, the former head of the High Court's family division, Sir James Munby, told the BBC the situation was "shocking" and "a scandal"
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwye2q00k51o.amp
img: ID 74559547 | Justice Statue © Tupungato | Dreamstime.com
Write comment (0 Comments)