Story by Eleanor Pringle -- Fortune.com -- Experts often use an analogy of a toddler to describe A.I., suggesting products like chatbot phenomenon ChatGPT need to be taught everything they know by a real human being. In their early days, large language models (LLMs) like these are created by developers and programmers who build them up to a useable level. Then comes the point in an A.I.'s lifespan where it needs to learn how to communicate clearly and efficiently. This is where a new breed of technology employees is being created—and they don't need to know a thing about coding. They are the 'prompt engineers', tasked with training LLMs to continuously give users accurate and useful responses.

Despite people in the role raking in six-figure salaries, potential employers often welcome candidates who don't come from a tech background or have any coding skills. As Tesla's former head of A.I. Andrei Kaparthy put it: "The hottest new programming language is English." The shift in the tech careers landscape comes amid a heated race for the top spot in the A.I. market, which intensified in recent months after OpenAI's ChatGPT was labeled a game changer. Google moved to launch Bard, its chatbot competitor, soon after Microsoft revealed Bing was being revamped to incorporate ChatGPT, in which the tech giant is investing $10 billion. Tesla has joined the race with its 'Tesla Bot', and Chinese search engine giant Baidu is developing its own version called Ernie Bot. Prompt engineer postings at the time of writing range from contracted remote work for $200 an hour, up to full-time positions paying up to $335,000.

One role, advertised by San Francisco-based A.I. research and safety organization Anthropic, asks for basic programming skills. However, the company emphasized in its job ad that it encourages people to apply "even if [they] do not believe [they] meet every single qualification." "We think A.I. systems like the ones we're building have enormous social and ethical implications," the company says. "This makes representation even more important, and we strive to include a range of diverse perspectives on our team."

By Zena Wakim, International lawyer, President of the Board, Accountability Now -- euronews.com -- The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.

It is a humanitarian duty for the Council of the European Union to support the people of Lebanon and issue targeted sanctions against those who continue to promote their own interests to the detriment of the population, Zena Wakim writes. Beirut’s celebrated nightlife has long had a rebellious air: a subversive challenge to conservative dogma, an antidote to rotten politics and a hedonistic emancipation from sectarian street battles. But now even the night has been stolen, increasingly affordable only to the rich. Rolling power outages ensure that the city is bathed in darkness. Meanwhile, the tourism ministry excitedly predicted 2.2 million visitors this summer. Most will be Lebanese who long since fled, briefly seeing family and friends still trapped in a quagmire.

In Lebanon, it is difficult to know what rock bottom is, perhaps that’s why EU policymakers fail to treat it as a priority. Fifteen years of civil war, an Israeli invasion, a Syrian occupation, over 250 unsolved political assassinations, an unparalleled refugee crisis, the world’s worst economic collapse since the 19th century and one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history. The country is an unaccountable mafia state where over 80% of the citizens now live in multidimensional poverty and where ex-warlords turned politicians turned the state into a host they could feed on. Or, to quote the World Bank, the government has “consistently and acutely departed from orderly and disciplined fiscal policy to serve the larger purpose of cementing political economy interests.”

Dystopian scenes and parallel realities

By Melissa Cantor, Editor at LinkedIn News — North American banks appear eager to develop and deploy artificial intelligence in pursuit of …

By Hassan Rahmeh -- middleeastmonitor -- - On the brink of socio-economic collapse, Lebanon finds itself caught in a relentless and unforgiving cycle that threatens its very foundation. The heart of this vexing challenge lies in a vicious loop where the government struggles with providing essential services, while citizens withhold their tax payments demanding more in return. This deeply entrenched culture has pushed the nation into an enduring swamp, where tax evasion and inadequate public services intertwine as stubborn adversaries. As Lebanon faces this perpetual challenge, a closer examination reveals a web of complexities, unearthing several other systemic factors that compound the crisis. Amidst the prevailing mistrust and the unsettling unfairness of the tax system, additional challenges have emerged, painting a comprehensive portrait of the nation's plight.

This impasse was brought on by the widespread mistrust that the Lebanese people have in their own leadership. People have the impression that their taxes are being stolen and not used for the provision of public services. People's perceptions of ineptitude and corruption inside the tax system foster mistrust, which in turn makes them reluctant to pay their taxes. Injustice within the tax system is the primary concern. Taxpayers experience feelings of injustice and misery and many people question the usefulness of contributing money to a system that appears to disregard their current financial situation. It's a system that applies uniform taxes, regardless of wealth disparity. This resonates with many, fueling reluctance to contribute to a system seen as unjust. This perception of inequity sows seeds of doubt. It encourages non-compliance and fosters resentment toward the government. This further perpetuates the tax evasion culture prevalent in Lebanon.