AI News: Gene-Edited Babies Investment, Cleaner Copper Production, and Suleyman's AI Stance

Here's a roundup of today's top AI and technology news: Gene-Edited Babies Research Funded: A West Coast biotech entrepreneur has secured $30 million to launch Preventive, a public-benefit company focused on researching the safe creation of genetically edited babies. This marks the largest known investment into the controversial technology of “heritable genome editing,” where the DNA of embryos is modified to prevent disease. The practice remains contentious, with ethical and legal concerns prevalent, and the first scientist to perform it was imprisoned in China. Cleaner Copper Production: Demand for copper is surging, but so is pollution from traditional smelting processes. Still Bright, a startup, is developing a cleaner method to produce copper using water-based reactions based on battery chemistry. This alternative approach aims to reduce pollution and alleviate strain on the copper supply chain. Mustafa Suleyman on Conscious AI: Microsoft AI boss Mustafa Suleyman is advocating for researchers to cease their pursuit of conscious AI, arguing that consciousness is exclusive to biological entities.