An Alien Mind 👽🧠

👀 TLDR

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover An Alien Mind. That is to say, we look at the extraordinary blog post from OpenAI’s Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki, who claimed we don’t fully understand AI and that “no one is prepared for the consequences”. We also have news on OpenAI’s latest model, a cool new feature from Apple that will let you share the same number across two iPhones, and the tale of a white-hat hacker who stole - and then returned - $340 million. We look at the NFL app ahead of the new season, and plenty more!

🎬 Our Top Take

👽🧠 AI – OpenAI Chief Scientist Pens Warning Over Regulation and More

“This is a time that calls for extreme caution. I am concerned no one is prepared for the consequences of a continued rapid rise in machine intelligence.” – an AI warning. We have seen plenty of them of late. Indeed, you only need to flick through any mainstream media platform to find some expert (or politician) warning of the dangers to come. Yet, what is strange about this is that the expert is Jakub Pachocki, Chief Scientist at OpenAI. And no, he hasn’t gone rogue; the quote was taken from his blog post, An Alien Mind, published on OpenAI.com. Pachocki, to be fair, had plenty of positive things to say about AI, but it is kind of remarkable that he was sounding the alarm, claiming we (OpenAI and his peers, presumably) don’t fully understand the “intellect” of AI. He also made an extremely valid point in our view. Namely, that regulation would only work if it is global. The EU, for instance, has new laws that require AI companies to prove that new models can’t launch cyberattacks or escape human control. Yet, they don’t stop someone from developing a rogue model outside EU borders. Pachocki drew plenty of praise for his "honesty," but there was some criticism from those who said AI companies should be more transparent about their processes. Nonetheless, you can’t help but feel this has a beginning-of-a-sci-fi-movie feel about it: The Chief Scientist of the world’s most influential AI company is calling for extreme caution, but it barely made a ripple in the news cycle. Are we really listening? #AIWarning Read more here.

📲 App of the Week: NFL App

The 2026 Kickoff Game gets underway tomorrow, taking us right the way through to Super Bowl LXI on Valentine’s Day. While there are numerous football apps out there, the revamped NFL app remains the best free option, and it does not bombard you with ads like some of its competitors. Among the new feature highlights is the embedded NFL Channel, giving you 24/7 access to football content streaming. You can, of course, get more with paid plans for NFL+ and NFL+ Premium, but if your main goal is to keep abreast of news, highlights, and scores this season, you don’t really need to overthink things when choosing an app. Get it for iOS here and Android here.

🧐 Stat of the Week: 2 Weeks

📈📉 Chrome – Updates Coming Twice as Fast in AI Security Strategy

Google Chrome traditionally had a four-week update window, but it has now changed that to every two weeks. It’s mostly down to AI. For a start, in this era of AI-assisted cyberattacks, regular updates can help pinpoint and patch security vulnerabilities faster. There is also a school of thought that Google is acutely aware that the alternative browser market is heating up, so cutting the window in half lets it ship new features, too. #ShipFaster Read more here.

🗞️ Other Stories

📍 Meanwhile at 3Advance

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