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Why the internet is joking that Anthropic hired Pope Leo

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Co-founder of Anthropic, Chris Olah, shakes hands with Pope Leo. Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP via Getty Images Pope Leo XIV presented a sweeping letter about AI alongside Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah. Olah's presence sparked jokes online that Pope Leo is Anthropic's latest high-profile hire. Both Olah and the pope warned of the dangers of AI in their speeches at the Vatican. No, Pope Leo XIV — the 267th Bishop of Rome, who leads over 1.4 billion Catholics — isn't joining Anthropic. After the Vatican invited Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah to help unveil the pope's big letter warning about AI — and he publicly thanked Olah — the internet started joking that one of Silicon Valley's hottest AI startups had recruited the head of the Catholic Church. Breaking: Pope Leo just announced he’s leaving papacy and will join Anthropic as a member of technical staff. https://t.co/4BLW1X1S7P — Mike Sapiton πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦ (@sapitonmix) May 25, 2026 During his speech, the pope thanked Olah — who...

What smart people are saying about Pope Leo's letter on AI

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Pope Leo XIV. Simone Risoluti - Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images Pope Leo XIV shared his first encyclical, or a letter to the church, on Monday. He wrote about AI-related issues, from monopolies to employment concerns. Tech leaders, politicians, and journalists are now speaking out in response. Big names in tech, politics, and more are responding to the pope's lengthy letter about AI. Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, or a letter to the church about a relevant social issue, on Monday. His writing spans 245 paragraphs and covers AI-related monopolies, employment concerns, ethics, and more. He titled the letter: "Magnifica humanitas: on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence." Now, a wide range of people are sharing their thoughts on his stance. Here's what they're saying. David Sacks David Sacks, former White House AI czar, expressed some skepticism over Anthropic's mythos warnings. Matt McClain/The Washington...

A look at the UK's AI Safety Institute, whose researchers probe AI models for safety gaps, as its work becomes a blueprint for other governments' AI policies (New York Times)

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New York Times : A look at the UK's AI Safety Institute, whose researchers probe AI models for safety gaps, as its work becomes a blueprint for other governments' AI policies   —  The government's A.I. Security Institute, staffed by alumni from OpenAI and Google, is becoming a model for countries grappling with A.I.'s emerging risks. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/J3d2nWf

Memorial Day gas prices are the highest in years as Trump says he's close to a deal with Iran

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Gas prices are at a four-year high in the US this Memorial Day. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images Nearly 40 million Americans will drive at least 50 miles from home during Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day weekend gas prices, meanwhile, have reached a four-year high. That's largely the result of Trump's conflict with Iran. Your jaunt to the beach on Memorial Day will cost you. The current national average for regular gas is $4.51, the highest it's been since 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, causing a spike in oil prices. The current price of gas is 4 cents higher than a month ago and $1.32 higher than the same time last year. As of Sunday, California has the highest average at $6.11, while Indiana has the lowest at $3.93. Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, and millions of Americans will travel to cookouts, parties, and vacation destinations to celebrate. AAA projects almost 40 million people will drive at least 50 miles fro...

The ECB summons Eurozone banks to a meeting on Tuesday to discuss risks posed by the latest AI models and hopes US banks with Mythos access will share lessons (Martin Arnold/Financial Times)

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Martin Arnold / Financial Times : The ECB summons Eurozone banks to a meeting on Tuesday to discuss risks posed by the latest AI models and hopes US banks with Mythos access will share lessons   —  Supervisor to stress seriousness of risks to financial system at hastily arranged meeting  —  The European Central Bank … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/mqki8Jy

I gave my kids more responsibility at the grocery store. They rose to the challenge.

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The author lets her kids check out at the supermarket. Courtesy of the author I let my kids take over the grocery self-checkout. What started as chaos turned into teamwork and independence. Grocery shopping became a way to teach practical life skills. I have always loved grocery shopping with my kids. From the time they were babies and toddlers, I loved putting them in the cart and chatting about what I was buying. It always feels a bit chaotic, but it's always been one of my favorite things to do with them. Now that they're older and have graduated from riding in the cart to walking beside it, I've looked for ways to get them more involved in the process. They would help choose produce or grab things off the shelf and put them in the cart. But then the day came when they wanted to start scanning groceries at the self-checkout . There are three of them, and the thought of them all grabbing items out of the cart and scrambling to scan things seemed like a lot . But one day...

How Anthropic's ongoing discussions with the Vatican about ethics and AI led to Christopher Olah being invited to Pope Leo's unveiling of an encyclical on AI (Jack Jenkins/RNS)

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Jack Jenkins / RNS : How Anthropic's ongoing discussions with the Vatican about ethics and AI led to Christopher Olah being invited to Pope Leo's unveiling of an encyclical on AI   —  (RNS) — Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical on AI is set to be released Monday (May 27), with Chris Olah, a co-founder of Anthropic, at his side. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/ciZ2D7E