San Francisco, CA
Biden administration to host international AI safety meeting in San Francisco after election
Government scientists and artificial intelligence experts from at least nine countries and the European Union will meet in San Francisco after the U.S. elections to coordinate on safely developing AI technology and averting its dangers.
President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday announced a two-day international AI safety gathering planned for November 20 and 21. It will happen just over a year after delegates at an AI Safety Summit in the United Kingdom pledged to work together to contain the potentially catastrophic risks posed by AI advances.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told The Associated Press it will be the “first get-down-to-work meeting” after the UK summit and a May follow-up in South Korea that sparked a network of publicly backed safety institutes to advance research and testing of the technology.
Among the urgent topics likely to confront experts is a steady rise of AI-generated fakery but also the tricky problem of how to know when an AI system is so widely capable or dangerous that it needs guardrails.
“We’re going to think about how do we work with countries to set standards as it relates to the risks of synthetic content, the risks of AI being used maliciously by malicious actors,” Raimondo said in an interview. “Because if we keep a lid on the risks, it’s incredible to think about what we could achieve.”
Situated in a city that’s become a hub of the current wave of generative AI technology, the San Francisco meetings are designed as a technical collaboration on safety measures ahead of a broader AI summit set for February in Paris. It will occur about two weeks after a presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris — who helped craft the U.S. stance on AI risks — and former President Donald Trump, who has vowed to undo Biden’s signature AI policy.
Raimondo and Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that their agencies will co-host the convening, which taps into a network of newly formed national AI safety institutes in the U.S. and UK, as well as Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Singapore and the 27-nation European Union.
The biggest AI powerhouse missing from the list of participants is China, which isn’t part of the network, though Raimondo said “we’re still trying to figure out exactly who else might come in terms of scientists.”
“I think that there are certain risks that we are aligned in wanting to avoid, like AIs applied to nuclear weapons, AIs applied to bioterrorism,” she said. “Every country in the world ought to be able to agree that those are bad things and we ought to be able to work together to prevent them.”
Many governments have pledged to safeguard AI technology but they’ve taken different approaches, with the EU the first to enact a sweeping AI law that sets the strongest restrictions on the riskiest applications.
Biden last October signed an executive order on AI that requires developers of the most powerful AI systems to share safety test results and other information with the government. It also delegated the Commerce Department to create standards to ensure AI tools are safe and secure before public release.
San Francisco-based OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, said last week that before releasing its latest model, called o1, it granted early access to the U.S. and UK national AI safety institutes. The new product goes beyond the company’s famous chatbot in being able to “perform complex reasoning” and produce a “long internal chain of thought” when answering a query, and poses a “medium risk” in the category of weapons of mass destruction, the company has said.
Since generative AI tools began captivating the world in late 2022, the Biden administration has been pushing AI companies to commit to testing their most sophisticated models before they’re let out into the world.
“That is the right model,” Raimondo said. “That being said, right now, it’s all voluntary. I think we probably need to move beyond a voluntary system. And we need Congress to take action.”
Tech companies have mostly agreed, in principle, on the need for AI regulation, but some have chafed at proposals they argue could stifle innovation. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed three landmark bills to crack down on political deepfakes ahead of the 2024 election, but has yet to sign, or veto, a more controversial measure that would regulate extremely powerful AI models that don’t yet exist but could pose grave risks if they’re built.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco celebrates Black freedom at weekend Juneteenth parade: ‘We’re all people’
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Under bright blue skies, large crowds gathered Saturday to celebrate Juneteenth in San Francisco, dancing, cheering and waving flags in a day of joy marking the end of slavery in the United States.
The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Texas and announced that enslaved Black people were free — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Some view Juneteenth as America’s second Independence Day.
“I think for the greater community to see that Juneteenth is a national holiday and that we represent it, everyone can understand what it means to African American people, what it means the day we were freed from slavery,” said Tamara Walker, an event coordinator.
Now recognized as a federal holiday for the past five years, Juneteenth also represents a broader pursuit of justice.
“I had the pride and honor of voting for this Juneteenth holiday in Congress,” said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, speaker emerita.
MORE: What is Juneteenth and why is it celebrated? What to know for 2026
Festivities included a parade and performances, with participants celebrating community and culture.
Rev. Ishmael Burch of Glide Memorial Church said he has marked the occasion for decades.
“Juneteenth, I’ve been doing it for 35 years: the parade and the festivals. We need Juneteenth. It’s growing in Oakland, Richmond, San Jose — all around,” Burch said.
Organizers and participants emphasized that the holiday also highlights ongoing efforts for equity and opportunity.
“Juneteenth represents us being here, us growing small businesses, us kids having access to safe places to be in the future, being able to have the same access to good schools,” Walker said.
Eighteen-year-old Mekai Smith, the parade’s grand marshal, called the day meaningful.
“It’s truly a blessing to be here. I feel part of my culture is part of Juneteenth,” Smith said.
For attendees like Emeryville resident Trey Green, the celebration was also a chance to share history across generations.
“I just explained to him yesterday what the meaning of Juneteenth is about: for me and him and how it’s a part of our history and now he gets to experience it first-hand,” Green said of his young son.
As the festivities continued, many reflected on the holiday’s importance as both a historical milestone and a moment of unity.
“We’re all people. Doesn’t matter what color we are. We all experience different things. But at the end of the day, we’re all people,” Green said.
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The San Francisco Giants have been one of the biggest disappointments in baseball this season, prompting the front office to explore operating as sellers this summer. Amid a flurry of MLB trade rumors this week about a potential firesale, there is now more buzz regarding the future of Matt Chapman with the team.
MLB insider Robert Murray spoke to executives around the league who said that Chapman is “the most appealing” trade target of the group that also includes Rafael Devers and Willy Adames.
Matt Chapman Trade Landing Spots
- Matt Chapman contract (Spotrac): $25.166 million AAV (2026-2030)
It’s no surprise that Chapman is the most coveted player among the highly-paid trio. He is a Gold Glove Award winner at third base who can still provide well above-average fielding at the hot corner as a 33-year-old. On top of that, he is also outproduced Adames by a wide margin this season and offers far greater positional value than Devers.
However, there is a complicating factor. Chapman has played 10 seasons in the majors and has a full no-trade clause. He also made it clear to reporters this week that he prefers to remain in San Francisco, especially since he is a California native.
Rafael Devers Trade Landing Spots
- Matt Chapman stats (2026): .252/.337/.400, .737 OPS, 7 home runs, 41 RBI in 309 plate appearances
As a result, per Murray, San Francisco is not expected to move him this offseason. That makes it even more likely that the club’s highest-paid players remain with the team for the remainder of the season, with president of baseball operations Buster Posey expected to pursue alternative options.
More than likely, the Giants will instead be trading the likes of Robbie Ray, Tyler Mahle, and Luis Arraez. All three veterans are on expiring contracts, so San Francisco will attempt to get whatever it can for them on the trade market next month.
Willy Adames Trade Landing Spots
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco hotels see steady World Cup business, but fall short of Super Bowl surge
Bay Area bars and restaurants are packed for World Cup watch parties this week, but San Francisco hotels are not seeing the same sell-out crowds experienced during the Super Bowl earlier this year.
While the Super Bowl brought a concentrated week of events that sent hotel prices soaring into the thousands, the World Cup spans more than a month. The extended timeline has resulted in a slower, steadier trickle of out-of-town soccer fans booking rooms.
The Bay Area has several exciting matches on the schedule at Levi’s Stadium, but none feature top-seeded teams or the mega-star power seen when “Messi mania” previously swept the region.
“We knew we weren’t going to get any of the first-place teams. We weren’t going to get Brazil, or Germany, or any of the teams carrying big fan bases — Messi, Ronaldo,” said Alex Bastian, CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco. “But that being said, this is still such a great thing, because people are coming here from around the world.”
Bastian noted that the city’s hospitality industry is still in a strong position for the summer.
“We have a great convention calendar for the month of June, and because we were prepared, we’re doing much better compared to our colleagues across the country,” he said.
A significant surge in hotel bookings could still happen if Levi’s Stadium secures a match featuring Team USA. That possibility grew stronger following the U.S. team’s 2-0 win over Australia on Friday.
“I’m really excited about Team USA. I’m USA all the way,” Bastian added. “I’m hopeful that when that game is played here, the world will come check out San Francisco as well.”
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