World ‘may not have time’ to prepare for AI safety risks, says leading researcher
The world “may not have time” to prepare for the safety risks posed by cutting-edge AI systems, according to a leading figure at the UK government’s scientific research agency.David Dalrymple, a programme director and AI safety expert at the Aria agency, told the Guardian people should be concerned about the growing capability of the technology.“I think we should be concerned about systems that can perform all of the functions that humans perform to get things done in the world, but better,” he said.“Because we will be outcompeted in all of the domains that we need to be dominant in, in order to maintain control of our civilisation, society and planet.”Dalrymple said there was a gap in understanding between the public sector and AI companies about the power of looming breakthroughs in the technology.
“I would advise that things are moving really fast and we may not have time to get ahead of it from a safety perspective,” he said.“And it’s not science fiction to project that within five years most economically valuable tasks will be performed by machines at a higher level of quality and lower cost than by humans.”Dalrymple said governments should not assume that advanced systems are reliable.Aria is publicly funded but independent from the government and directs research funding.Dalrymple is developing systems to safeguard AI’s use in critical infrastructure such as energy networks.
“We can’t assume these systems are reliable.The science to do that is just not likely to materialise in time given the economic pressure.So the next best thing that we can do, which we may be able to do in time, is to control and mitigate the downsides,” he said.Describing the consequences of technological progress getting ahead of safety as a “destabilisation of security and economy”, Dalrymple said more technical work was needed on understanding and controlling the behaviours of advanced AI systems.“Progress can be framed as destabilising and it could actually be good, which is what a lot of people at the frontier are hoping.
I am working to try to make things go better but it’s very high risk and human civilisation is on the whole sleep walking into this transition.”This month the UK government’s AI Security Institute (AISI) said the capabilities of advanced AI models were “improving rapidly” across all domains and the performance in some areas was doubling every eight months.Leading models can now complete apprentice-level tasks 50% of the time on average, up from approximately 10% of the time last year, according to the institute.AISI also found that the most advanced systems can autonomously complete tasks that would take a human expert over an hour.The institute also tested advanced models for self-replication, a key safety concern because it involves a system spreading copies of itself to other devices and becoming harder to control.
The tests showed two cutting-edge models achieving success rates of more than 60%.However, AISI stressed that a worst-case scenario was unlikely in a day-to-day environment, saying any attempt at self-replication was “unlikely to succeed in real-world conditions”.Dalrymple believes that AI systems will be able to automate the equivalent of a full day of research and development work by late 2026, which will “result in a further acceleration of capabilities”, because the technology will be able to self-improve on the maths and computer science elements of AI development.
Beau Webster steps off the sidelines into the light as promise of Cameron Green wilts | Geoff Lemon
There was an irony to the fact that Cameron Green’s catch made Beau Webster’s day look even better. Green had not had a good one, having earlier dived in front of Australia’s most prolific slip catcher to spoil a simple Steve Smith catch. It followed a poor day the day before, skying a pull shot after getting settled on 37, and a poor series before that. Then came Webster, an off-break swept into the deep, and Green’s long legs ate up the turf before crashing his body into a dive that gathered up the ball in its fall, the two Australians combining for what might be the tallest wicket in Test history.There is usually only room for a single two-metre all-rounder in a team, unless they’re operating at specialist level in one discipline
Australia v England: fifth Ashes Test, day four – as it happened
Time for me to depart, thanks for your company and comments. Stay tuned for all the wrap up from day four.Join us tomorrow for the final day of the 2025/6 Ashes series. Goodbye and toodle-oo.“Morning Jim, to this very England of mornings
John Harbaugh fired by Baltimore Ravens after 18 seasons in charge
The Baltimore Ravens have fired head coach John Harbaugh after 18 seasons in charge, the team announced on Tuesday.Harbaugh is the most successful coach in the history of the franchise and was the second longest-tenured head coach in the NFL before his dismissal. Ironically, his final game with the Ravens came against the only name ahead of him in terms of tenure length – Mike Tomlin, who has been in charge of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 19 seasons.Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti called the decision “incredibly difficult” in a statement.“Throughout what I firmly believe is a Hall of Fame coaching career, John has delivered a Super Bowl championship to Baltimore and served as a steadfast pillar of humility and leadership,” Bisciotti said
Britain’s fragile frontrunners Draper and Raducanu try again to break injury cycles | Tumaini Carayol
From the moment news of Great Britain’s planned team for the United Cup was announced in October, jokes began to fly. On paper, it was a dream. Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, the top tennis players in the country and figureheads of a new generation, finally united on the same side of the court.However, recent history has shown that things are never straightforward with Britain’s two greatest hopes. Both players have had to navigate injuries and physical problems in their young careers, so to some fans and onlookers the real question was which player would withdraw first
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Twenty‑five kilometres north of the SCG, the world’s oldest living Test cricketer is sitting in his La-Z-Boy armchair and watching the Test. Neil Harvey was once the youngest of Bradman’s Invincibles; now he’s 97, his old cricketing buddies gone. His body is a little worn around the edges, but mentally he’s astute.Harvey was Australia’s sweetheart, the second youngest of six brothers, a dashing left-hander, who stalked the covers and hunted at slip. During a 15-year Test career, he cut and shimmied to more than 6,000 runs at an average of 48, making his mark with 153 in his second Test
Majestic Smith passes Hobbs to leave only Bradman clear on top of Ashes mountain | Geoff Lemon
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career-lasting two decades. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has stayed as long. Smith was untouchable for six years before returning to the realm of the merely very good.The combination of those phases, though, took him to a rare position on the third day of the fifth Test in Sydney
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