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Over 100 leading figures, led by members of The Elders and the Future of Life Institute, have issued an open letter calling on world leaders to take a bold new approach to address ‘catastrophic’ risks to humanity.

The letter states that ‘long-view leadership’ is needed to tackle the ongoing impact and escalating risks of the climate and nature crisis, pandemics, nuclear weapons, and ungoverned AI. It also illustrates that millions of lives and livelihoods are already impacted by these threats and world leaders’ inaction and failure to cooperate will drive humanity toward ‘greater catastrophe’.

The Elders, including Mary Robinson, Ban Ki-moon, Graça Machel, Juan Manuel Santos, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, together with the president of the Future of Life Institute, Max Tegmark, have been joined by former leaders (including Gordon Brown), Nobel Laureates, scientific experts, youth activists, business leaders (including Richard Branson), philanthropists and influential figures from across public life (including Annie Lennox...

New York, June 5 (Ians) There is a 50 per chance that artificial intelligence (AI) will wipe out humanity, according to Max Tegmark, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Tegmark said that humans, known as Earth’s smartest species, are responsible for the extinction of ‘lesser’ species such as the dodo. Likewise, when AI will become smarter than humans, we could meet a similar fate, he said, DailyMail reported.

“About half of all other species on earth have already been exterminated by us humans,” the AI expert was quoted as saying.

“Because we were smarter, they had no control.

“What we are warning about now is that if we humans lose control over our society to machines that are much smarter than us, then things can go just as bad for us,” he noted.

Tegmark is among a growing number of industry experts who are warning of the dangers of AI.

Sf Studios, the Scandinavian company celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, is developing an English-language series based on Max Tegmark’s 2017 New York Times bestseller “Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”

The science-fiction series will follow a group of young scientists working at a startup who discover the first sentient artificial intelligence and envision ways in which it could be used to create a better world, which leads to a clash of ideals and morals. The show is a fictionalized treatment of Tegmark’s exploration of the ramifications of AI, which was translated in multiple languages and published around the world.

Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, the senior VP of international production, said the “series will be character-driven as well as boasts a dramatic dimension and a tone similar to ‘The Social Network’ and ‘Her.'”

The series will also explore ways in which AI can affect news,...

Barack Obama continues to be America’s pop culture president. On Friday, Obama shared his list of his 15 favorite movies of 2018, which featured nine directors who are nonwhite.

Those directors include Barry Jenkins (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), Bing Liu (“Minding the Gap”) Hirokazu Kore-eda (“Shoplifters”), Lee Chang-dong (“Burning”), Chloé Zhao (“The Rider”), Alfonso Cuaron (“Roma”), Carlos Lopez Estrada (“Blindspotting”), Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) and Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”).

Obama also listed his favorite books and songs of the year.

Also Read: Michelle Obama Ends Hillary Clinton's 17-Year Run as Most Admired Woman in Us

“As 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books, movies, and music that I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved,” Obama wrote on Instagram.

Obama also shouted out his wife Michelle’s new biography,...

Former President Barack Obama has released his annual year-end list of favorites films, books, and music, a tradition he started while in the office.

Among the favorite movies of 2018, Obama listed award faviorites and Oscar Best Picture hopefuls Black Panther, Roma, and Eighth Grade.

Foreign films such as the Lee Chang-dong-directed adapation Burning and Golden Globe nominated Japanese drama Shoplifters were also a favorite for the 44th U.S. President, along with skateboarding documentary Minding the Gap and Mister Rogers doc Won’t You Be My Neighbor.

“As 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books, movies, and music that I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved,” Obama shared on his Facebook account. “It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors, artists,...

Barack Obama may be a couple of years removed from the Oval Office, but the president ex officio is continuing a tradition he started as commander-in-chief of sharing his year-end list of his favorite movies, music, and books. He did not share his favorite shows and streaming series.

“It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books, movies, and music that I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved,” Obama wrote on social media. “It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors, artists, and storytellers — some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before.”

It’s a best-of list that boasts Oscar contenders and box office hits such as “Black Panther,” “Eighth Grade,” and “Roma”; chart-toppers such as Leon Bridges’ “Bad Bad News” and Cardi B’s “I Like It”; and best-sellers such as Michael Ondaatje...

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As The Shannara Chronicles comes to the UK, we chat to and Lord Of The Rings and Indiana Jones actor, John Rhys-Davies…

Interviewing John Rhys-Davies is like trying to alter the flow of a mighty torrent with a teacup. Scoop as hard as you like in any given direction, and on it gushes with tremendous force, following its own course and making a wonderful spectacle as it goes.

Best known for his role as Gimli, son of Gloin in Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy, Davies’ six decades-long career includes the roles of Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and Professor Arturo in Fox’s Sliders, a show he didn’t depart from happily after a network-orchestrated change in writing personnel.

I met Davies in the offices of Channel 5 to talk about his role as Eventine, King of the Elves in new MTV fantasy series The Shannara Chronicles,...