November 1 Safe Tech International News and Notes
November 1 Safe Tech International News and Notes
Memphis and Musk, NM SMART METERS,
hyperlinks are underlined, either at the beginning or end of each listing.
FEATURED:
KATIE SINGER Before, during and after Election ‘24 When we focus on technology’s impacts on our economy—or politicians’ impacts on our economy—we neglect our dependence on healthy ecosystems. As long as we degrade nature, we cannot sustain our economy. We need leaders who can help us face this—and create a society that respects nature’s limits. (includes recent news links)
NEWS AND NOTES
AI: Gary Marcus from Marcus on AI AI influencer hype gone wild Reality is quite the opposite. People aren’t ignoring GenAI; they are waiting to see if it will work. Gary Marcus is author of Taming Silicon Valley, which aims to part to allow readers and government leaders to see through the hype.
AI: Gary Marcus from Marcus on AI An epidemic of weirdly precise AI butt facts The parade of made-up numbers never stops []In my opinion the audience of investors at the forum was being lied to: they were being assured that everything in the field of AI is under control and well plotted out when in fact science is hard and the field is in its infancy. But that’s ok, I doubt the investors mind. If they can find a plausible story to invest a huge amount of other people’s money in, they make huge fees (typically 2% of whatever is invested), immediately. Gary Marcus gets a lot of hostile pushback these days for his dark predictions about GenAI, but expects to die laughing.
AI: Meta is pushing for the government to use its AI
AI: Google Prepares to Launch Project Jarvis, an AI Tool for Streamlining Online Tasks and Activities
AI: Microsoft accused of 'greenwashing' as AI used in fossil fuel exploration
AI: As data centers for AI strain the power grid, bills rise for everyday customers
AI NOBEL PRIZE: Geoffrey Hinton’s misguided views on AI He may have made important contributions to artificial intelligence, but that doesn’t mean he knows where it’s going [] It will probably come as no surprise to you that I’m no big fan of the so-called “godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton, and it’s fair to say I was stunned when he was given a Nobel Prize in Physics — as he seems to have been as well. Not long after that announcement was made, I was asked to write a quick piece about it for the Toronto Star, and they’ve allowed me to share it with you.I think the perspective on AI that Hinton shares — which is often charitably termed an “AI safety” perspective (or, less charitably, he’s a doomer) — is very unhelpful in actually dealing with the realities and potential near futures of AI — the harms to workers and the wider society that have nothing to do with the sci-fi dream of superintelligence. But I do want to say something positive about him. - PARIS MARX
AI: ‘There are no guardrails.’ This mom believes an AI chatbot is responsible for her son’s suicide CNN
AI: FUTURISM Google Has Deep Ties to AI Startup Accused to Causing Teen Suicide "These questions would not have been alien to Google prior to this happening." The billion-dollar AI companion company Chatbot.AI has been accused of failing to protect a 14-year-old user who died by suicide after developing an intense emotional relationship with one of the platform's chatbots. As The New York Times first reported, the family of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III filed a lawsuit against Character.AI last week alleging that the platform is pushing "dangerous and untested" technology. Google, which earlier this year inked a deal to the tune of $2.7 billion to license Character.AI'sh, was named in the filing, which noted that "Google may be deemed a co-creator of the unreasonably dangerous and dangerously defective product." FUTURISM
AI FUTURISM: NYC Attempt to Scan Subway for Weapons With AI Fails Miserably as System Flooded by False Positives While Detecting Zero Actual Guns FUTURISM
AI TECHNOSKEPTIC, AUDIO: Dr. Roman Yampolskiy on AI Safety AI: Unexplainable, Unpredictable, Uncontrollable How can AI optimists can go on a podcast and admit Large Language Model AI is so insecure as to be “exploitable by default,” and yet be enthusiastic boosters of it? Is Gary Marcus right that the performance of LLM AI is topping out? We also touch on the tunnel vision in AI companies around AI risk. What is the role of Silicon Valley venture capitalists with a religious vision of AI and billions of dollars to push it, versus the beleaguered community pushing for AI safety work that goes past lip service? There was a delay of some months between recording and releasing this episode, which is a long time in the world of AI. Some references may be slightly dated, e.g. when we talked about AI as a learning aid at the beginning of the podcast, the study that said students that use AI do worse on tests had not yet been released. Dr. Roman Yampolskiy on AI Safety 53 MINUTES
AUTOMOBILES FUTURISM: Teslas keep smashing into things they're not supposed to Woman Annoyed When Tesla With No Driver Suddenly Smashes Into Her Car Today, a tale of two Teslas. Up first, one without a driver, that smashed into this lady's car. (For the record: This is not how they're supposed to work.)
AUTOMOBILES FUTURISM: A Tesla on Full Self-Driving Mode Absolutely Annihilated That Deer Up There :( Today's second Tesla didn't even slow down. For the record, also: Not how it's
BROADBAND INDUSTRY MAINE: Connectivity Comes Through Streetlights for Small Maine Town
BROADBAND INDUSTRY; The High Cost of Broadband Overall, the survey found higher prices than the earlier survey. The average initial price paid by all respondents in this survey was $81, compared to $77 in the previous survey. They found that the average current monthly bill is $98, which is considerably higher than $89 found in the previous survey.
BROADBAND INDUSTRY: The Trajectory of FWA In what is bad news for many other ISPs, both T-Mobile and Verizon have plans to continue their aggressive growth of FWA cellular broadband. As a reminder, this is home broadband delivered from cell towers that mostly uses the same spectrum already being used at cell towers for cell service. AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have had unprecedented success with this new broadband product since it first launched in 2021. [] If the three companies meet their growth goals, they will collectively have almost 20 million broadband customers in 2028 – almost as big as Charter or Comcast today. This growth is by far the biggest disruption of the traditional broadband industry, with FWA growth taking customers away from all other ISPs. The real key to these growth plans is waiting to see if the public likes the FWA product and doesn’t go back to faster broadband alternatives. Reaching 10 million customers so quickly is impressive and unprecedented in the industry. But it’s no guarantee that they can grow at the same pace to reach 20 million customers. POTS AND PANS
BROADBAND INDUSTRY: AT&T Wants to Change CBRS Spectrum Rules AT&T's plan calls for moving Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS) users to the 3.1-3.3 GHz band and then auctioning off the entire 3.55-3.7 GHz spectrum for licensed, full-power use. AT&T’s plan would continue to protect the Department of Defense users of the spectrum but would relocate everybody else. AT&T argues this would create 530 MHz of contiguous licensed mid-band spectrum to support 5G. There are several reasons behind the AT&T request. The big cell companies are complaining that China will have four times more mid-band spectrum than the U.S. by 2027. They argue that lack of spectrum will block the deployment of next-generation 5G and 6G services. In practical terms, having one large block of spectrum would let cellular carriers implement faster FWA cellular products with speeds up to a gigabit. The other reason behind the concept is that AT&T hates the spectrum sharing rules currently used in the CBRS band.
BROADBAND INDUSTRY OUTAGES: Disaster-Ready Connectivity: 10 Steps to Help Build Broadband ResilienceSamantha Schartman | Analysis | Connect Humanity As communities across the Southeast US continue recovery efforts following the devastating hurricanes of late summer, one refrain stands out: connectivity is critical in disaster scenarios, and when the internet goes down, communities are cut off. Unfortunately, with climate-related risks increasing, many more communities are likely to face challenges in the coming decades. Resiliency in our local infrastructure—including broadband—is becoming ever more critical. Drawing from our partners and experts, these steps, ranging from immediate interventions to long-term strategies, can help communities respond now and prepare for the future by strengthening their broadband infrastructure.
Conduct a Damage Assessment
Prioritize Restoration of Critical Communication Points
Identify and Leverage Federal and State Assistance
Engage Residents and Community Groups
Think Creatively During Infrastructure Repairs
Prioritize Hardened, Weather-Resistant Infrastructure
Create Redundant and Decentralized Networks
Monitor and Strengthen Broadband Networks
Implement Long-Term Digital Resilience
Develop a Connectivity Plan BENTON
CANADA UPDATE; 2024-10-30 Thirty-two New 5G Cell Towers are Now Operational Across Eastern Ontario INCLUDESWhere in the very frequent conversations about electricity is anyone promoting, or even mentioning, the option to strive to use less electricity instead of generating more and more of it?https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/10/11/analysis/high-density-hydro-supercharge-global-energy-storage
CELLPHONES: How toxic social media is driving the rise of ‘dumb’ phones
CHILDREN CELLPHONES: Melanie Hempe from the Be ScreenStrong Substack Parents, We’ve Been Scammed Smartphones are stealing our kids’ childhoods. So why aren’t we more upset?
CHILDREN: A Mission for Businesses and Entrepreneurs: Help Bring Back Childhood Market forces got us into this mess, and market forces can help us escape, Millions of parents around the world are joining the mission to roll back the phone-based childhood. So are teachers, school administrators, legislators, and many members of Gen Z. Everyone’s efforts will be multiplied if we join forces with entrepreneurs who bring the power and scale of business to help us solve our collective action problems. - JOHN HAIDT Opportunity 1: IRL Solutions, Opportunity 2: Healthier Tech Tools for the Young, Calling All Corporations, Entrepreneurs, Philanthropists and Investors
CHILDREN SCREENS NORWAY: Screen use sample: based on self-inflicted blindness? Science journalist Bjørn Vassnes in Klassekampen has a good comment on 31.10. about the knowledge society and politicians' use of expert committees without experts. He mentions in particular the Screen Use Committee, where several of the members come from the IT industry and no one knows anything about human brains. The committee's report will be submitted on 11 November. There is one side that neither Vassnes nor the Screen Use Committee address, but which I have paid special attention to. It seems to imply that the committee will fail on one important point: A very large – but not mapped – proportion of today's screen use is wireless. This means that any biological effects of microwaves should have been treated. I tried early on to provide input on this to the chairman of the Screen Use Committee – without receiving an answer. EINAR
CHILDREN: The Story Behind Netflix's Moving Documentary 'The Remarkable Life of Ibelin' On Nov. 18, 2014, Mats Steen died from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The 25-year-old Norwegian video gamer had been diagnosed with the disease as a toddler, started using a wheelchair at age 10, and spent the latter stages of his life barely able to move his fingers. Though his parents, Robert and Trude, knew their son wouldn’t live much longer, the news was still nearly impossible to fathom. “You can never prepare yourself for losing a child,” Robert says, sitting beside his wife in a recent Zoom interview. Over the previous decade, Mats had spent about 20,000 hours playing World of Warcraft, an online role-playing fantasy game. He’d also started a blog, sharing musings about his condition and ambitions while confined inside his parents’ Oslo home. As friends who lived nearby provided the family with food, flowers, and condolences, Robert and Trude felt they needed to relay the devastating news to their son’s virtual friends. So they opened his blog and posted a final update: “Our beloved son, brother and best friend left us this night,” it began. Maybe a few people would read it, they thought. They couldn’t have predicted the response. The next day, their inbox was flooded with emails from people around the world expressing grief and recounting the meaningful interactions they’d had with Mats as his alter-ego Ibelin Redmoore. Robert and Trude were stunned. They knew that Ibelin was their son’s blonde and muscular avatar in an exclusive WoW guild called Starlight, but never considered that Mats had cultivated a deep online community through the character. The emails, some of them paragraphs long, proved their son had lived anything but an isolated and unfulfilled life in his basement bedroom. [] Starting a dialogue around young people’s rich online lives At one of the first screenings Netflix hosted, the director remembers a 15-year-old approaching him to explain that the only friends he’d ever made were online. “Thank you for making this film,” he told him. “I can show it to my parents and they can better understand why gaming is so important to me.” Contact us at letters@time.com. MSN
DATA CENTERS: xAI's massive Memphis data center could have 'harmful consequences' for residents - campaign group Call for review into Elon Musk's planned "gigafactory of compute" In a letter to state grid operator the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), non-profit environmental advocacy group the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) raised a series of concerns about the deal struck by power company Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) with xAI. []The letter said: “The xAI facility is demanding a jaw-dropping 150 MW of firm power by the end of 2024. To put that demand in perspective, 150 MW is enough electricity to power 100,000 homes. “The xAI facility would become MLGW’s largest electricity customer, siphoning five percent of MLGW’s total daily load to power its operations. []The SELC letter said: “It seems that over the next few years, ordinary MLGW ratepayers will be subsidizing millions of dollars in infrastructure investments required to serve xAI, both directly and through bill credits to xAI.” SELC said it was “shocked” to learn that despite this “apparent massive commitment of ratepayer funds to subsidize xAI’s infrastructure needs, neither the council nor the MLGW board was aware of the xAI project until it was announced on June 5.” DATA CENTER DYNAMICS
ALSO: Why a Memphis Community Is Fighting Elon Musk’s Supercomputer - The New York Times PAYWALLED
ALSO: KUOW - How Memphis became a battleground over Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer This data center will supply the compute power for Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI. It could be a test case of this technology’s groundbreaking advances, and also its unintended consequences. AI requires more electricity to complete even simple tasks compared to typical search queries. In the U.S., about 60% of that electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, which is the primary driver of climate change. xAI launched in July 2023 with the stated mission to “understand the universe” and a plan to “accelerate human scientific discovery.” It says it raised $6 billion in funding in May. Since xAI’s arrival in Memphis, flight logs show that Musk’s private jet has flown back and forth to the city twice a month. When the supercomputer gets to full capacity, the local utility says it’s going to need a million gallons of water per day and 150 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 100,000 homes per year. Last week, Musk posted on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, that Colossus was brought online over Labor Day weekend, saying “from start to finish, it was done in 122 days.” “Moreover,” he added, “it will double in size.”
ENVIRONMENT NEPA: A Bloated, Sluggish Attempt to Protect the Environment The National Environmental Policy Act needs reform to ensure beneficial projects aren’t delayed by its review process. A Bloated, Sluggish Attempt to Protect the Environment - The Dispatch
FCC: State Control Over FCC’s Pole Regulations – a Blessing or a Curse? Twenty-three states choose to regulate their own pole attachment processes. (NOTE: Open the link to see the lead picture Screenshot of Commissioner Darcie Houck of the California Public Utilities Commission, from FCBA webinar. Note her skin.
FCC INDUSTRY: If Trump Won, What Would Carr Do as FCC Chairman? The agency's senior Republican outlined policy priorities in his Project 2025 chapter.
5G/6G: 6G Requires a New Vision of American Leadership Although 5G’s promise is still unfolding, the time is now for the US to start leading on what’s next.
HEALTH CIRCADIAN RHYTHM: Zaid K. Dahhaj and The Meta Warrior from The Circadian Classroom Official Release of The 80/20 Course I'm proud to announce that it's finally out (THERE IS A FEE)
HEALTH THE POWER COUPLE AUDIO: The blue light pandemic of early puberty Melanopsin's impact on melatonin | Medieval millennial history On this episode, we discuss: How the pandemic robbed children of their youth, How blue light affects melatonin, How melatonin levels affect puberty and fertility,Medieval millennials – why is this important today? 29 MINUTES
HEALTH LIGHTING: Is light pollution accelerating your cognitive decline? A study out of Rush University Medical Center looked at how light pollution might be connected to neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Researchers analyzed data from light pollution maps of the 48 lower U.S. states, and compared them to medical data that gave insight into how the pollution could contribute to Alzheimer’s. In all five groups of patients studied, there was a correlation between light intensity and Alzheimer’s disease. What’s fascinating is that the correlation was present even when none of the other established Alzheimer’s risk factors were present. According to the data, light pollution was more strongly associated with Alzheimer’s disease than obesity, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, alcohol abuse, and depression. While it wasn’t as strongly associated as other more common causes—including stroke, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension—the fact that it ranked higher than even a few of the other causes is definitely reason for concern. What’s more, nighttime light exposure was shown to be a significant risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease in those under the age of 65. In fact, according to the study, it was more strongly associated “than any other disease factor examined.” The Longevity Journal
INSPIRATION THE ANALOG FAMILY: My Unconventional Reasons for Loving Halloween I look forward to this night all year long I am a firm believer in needing to create more fun in our lives, and often the very best fun is homemade, casual, spontaneous, and cross-generational. Catherine Price has written about the need for “pattern separation” in life, about seeking out opportunities that break up the monotony of daily life. I quoted her in an earlier post called The Forgettability of Sameness, but I think it deserves repeating here: When you start sprinkling fun, exciting, or challenging experiences (“small rebellions”) into your life, you swap out that smooth, indistinguishable chain for “the equivalent of a necklace made of colorful beads, each of which holds the potential to become, in the words of Johan Huizinga, ‘a treasure to be retained by the memory.’ The more distinct these beads are (and the more beads you collect each day), the more time will seem to slow down.” [] In the meantime, let those kids go! If they want greater independence tonight, try to push yourself out of your comfort zone and say yes. See it as an opportunity to meet neighbours, to familiarize yourselves with the neighbourhood, to practice the very important life skill of being able to talk to strangers. And then, consider how you can continue prioritizing these same independent skills beyond October 31. Your kids will thank you for it someday. ANALOG FAMILY
MEDIA: The Billionaire Is the Threat, Not the Solution, Jeff Bezos is not the answer at The Washington Post. And billionaire funding is not the answer for journalism. 404 MEDIA
MINING: Environmentalists sue over US approval of ioneer's Nevada lithium mine
NATURE: Scientists sound alarm after documenting mass evacuation of sperm whales: 'A sentinel signal' Scientists have made an alarming discovery about the mass departure of sperm whales from the waters near Mexico, signaling a worrying shift in the larger ecosystem. According to The Hill, a study published in PeerJ Life and Environment followed sperm whales in Mexico's Gulf of California over the course of nine years, from 2009 to 2018. In the first seven years, scientists observed a "super population" in the area that dropped to zero from 2016 to 2018. The departure of the sperm whales followed the exodus of jumbo squid, their chief source of prey. Researchers attributed the jumbo squid and whales' leaving the area to environmental factors, like ocean warming and El Niño weather extremes. MSN
(If you are new to the ocean issue and the significance of whales, please watch the 7-minute video by Safe Tech International)
NATURE: Antarctica’s Fate at the Forefront of the Rights-of-Nature Movement A new declaration aims to make the southernmost continent an autonomous legal entity with inherent rights to participate in decisions that affect it. TRUTHDIG
POLITICS TECH POLITICO: Silicon Valley vs. American politics Tech-world insiders are getting more involved than ever in national politics this year — and it’s not just Elon Musk. But as the presidential election looms, there’s a major disconnect between American politics and Big Tech when it comes to their visions of America’s future. Meanwhile in Silicon Valley, AI entrepreneurs promise a world where there’s little to be afraid of (except maybe overregulation) — and nostalgia is nothing but a brake on a future we should be ushering in as quickly as possible. For all the skepticism Americans may feel about where technology is going, the industry’s vision is as utopian as ever: Its products “elevate humanity” by boosting productivity (and leisure) to unimaginable heights; robots will save workers from backbreaking labor; and an off-world future for humanity is just around the corner. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son recently predicted “artificial superintelligence” 10,000 times more intelligent than humans as soon as 2035, meaning it as more of an optimistic promise than a warning. The mismatch between the mindset driving tech — the engine of America’s prestige and global economic dominance — and the mindset driving American politics has never been sharper, and it’s upending technopolitics on the campaign trail. POLITICO
SCIENCE INTEGRITY The Meta Warrior : Making Sense of Science: A Simple Guide to Trusting Research Here’s a comprehensive list of the hierarchy in interpreting scientific evidence, ranging from the highest level of evidence to those with more limitations. Each level includes a brief description of its utility and common limitations. 83472d-72-ef82-814-6df8677ebe6_Making_Sense_of_Science_A_Simple_Guide_to_Trusting_Research.pdf
SMART METERS NEW MEXICO: THE DOOR IS SLAMMING -- LAWYER NEEDED NOW! For the past nine years our organization, New Mexicans for Utility Safety (NMUS), has kept open the door labeled “Wireless technology is killing all life”. We need a lawyer, now, to prevent this door from finally slamming shut on us all. New Mexico is the only state in the US, and possibly the only jurisdiction in the world, that has so far prevented the installation of smart meters on the basis of health and environmental protection. Beginning in 2016, NMUS has loaded successive smart meter proceedings with evidence that wireless radiation in general, and smart meters in particular, are lethal to living things -- people, birds, animals, plants, insects, and everything else -- and therefore should never be approved. And for the last nine years, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC), has repeatedly denied applications for smart meters, while postponing the evaluation of that evidence. Now, the NMPRC has refused to ever evaluate that evidence.On October 17, 2024, the NMPRC issued its Final Order on Public Service Company of New Mexico’s (PNM’s) latest application for smart meters. In its Order, it both approved the installation of 550,000 smart meters in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and other cities, and issued a threat to NMUS: henceforth the NMPRC will fine NMUS up to $100,000 for each document submitted by NMUS that mentions either health or environment. as webpage: https://cellphonetaskforce.org/the-door-is-slamming-lawyer-needed-now-2/ as pdf: https://cellphonetaskforce.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/The-Door-Is-Slamming-Lawyer-Needed-Now-1.pdf
SOCIA MEDIA: The Banality of Online Recommendation Culture A recent surge of human-curated guidance is both a reaction against and an extension of the tyranny of algorithmic recommendations. NEW YORKER
SPACE: NASA Conditionally Backs SpaceX’s Use of Very Low Earth Orbit Satellites The approval hinges on ensuring safe operations near the International Space Station.
SPACE MAINE: Maine Shows the Way: Low Earth Orbit Satellites Can Rescue the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program
SPACE: Scientists Urge FCC to Suspend LEO Launches More than 100 scientists are urging the FCC to temporarily suspend new broadband satellite launches until the agency assesses the environmental effects of planned mega-constellations. They note the number of LEO satellites has increased 12 times in five years, led by SpaceX. “The new space race is ramping up quickly: some experts are estimating an additional 58,000 satellites will be launched by 2030,” say the scientists, who come from the realms of astrophysics, aerospace engineering and astronomy, in a letter to the agency. “Other plans have been proposed to launch 500,000 satellites to create new mega-constellations that would power satellite internet.” What’s unknown is the potential environmental harm of the launches and burn ups, because the federal government hasn’t conducted an environmental review. “What we do know is that more satellites and more launches lead to more damaging gasses and metals in our atmosphere. We shouldn’t rush forward with launching satellites at this scale without making sure the benefits justify the potential consequences of these new mega-constellations being launched, and then re-entering our atmosphere to burn up and or create debris,” they write. “This is a new frontier, and we should save ourselves a lot of trouble by making sure we move forward in a way that doesn’t cause major problems for our future.” The scientists say the GAO has recommended such a review. They believe regulators should ask “if we really need multiple disposable constellations competing for the same limited space.” Scientists Urge FCC to Suspend LEO Launches - Inside Towers COURTESY MONIQUE
TOWERS AND ANTENNAS COLORADO; Not opposed to cell service, just tower location For over eight months our neighborhood group has been working to oppose the proposed location of a cell tower near our homes. In the Herald article (Herald, Oct. 16), there were many misleading statements leading to false impressions as to our intentions. We are not opposed to cell service in our area, just the tower location. Fidelity towers has been proposing this tower since 2013 and finally found an absentee landowner to lease them a site. In this location, the projected service area does not include cell service to the majority of residents in Forest Lakes and only serves a small portion of County Road 240. It will not serve 5,000 residents as claimed by Fidelity. There are more suitable sites near and in Forest Lakes that better meet their cell service goals, including more coverage in Forest Lakes. The reporter’s dog-whistle reference to the CDF and anti-vaxxing stemmed from a comment by only one individual who had not been involved with our position until the day she spoke. Far more reputable sources were cited by other speakers. The day of the meeting, T-Mobile was allowed to submit an inflammatory letter stating not having cell service in the area has caused lives to be lost, an unsubstantiated claim, not supported by the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District. All we want is a safe, nonintrusive location which will provide reliable service for all area residents. This is not about no cell service, just a different location. Not opposed to cell service, just tower location - The Durango Herald AND https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/despite-tough-sell-forest-lakes-t-mobile-tower-approved/
WARFARE: “We have it! Let’s use it.” — OpenAI's GPT-4, when asked by Stanford researchers to make high-stakes, society-level decisions in a series of wargame simulations involving nukes. General in Charge of Nuclear Weapons Says Heck, Let's Add Some AI
WARFARE: Why the US General In Charge of Nuclear Weapons Said He Needs AI Air Force General Anthony J. Cotton said that the US is developing AI tools to help leaders respond to ‘time sensitive scenarios.’
WARFARE: Exclusive: How Saronic slots into the unmanned arms race "At the end of the day, how you change the maritime battlefield is through scale," Mavrookas, a former Navy SEAL, told Axios during a tour of his company Saronic's facilities in Texas. "Everything we do is, 'Can we get to thousands?'" The bottom line: There's an unmanned arms race underway. Ignoring its naval implications — off the coast of Yemen, for example — would be foolish. AXIOS
WARFARE: Dr Giordano “The need for a reality check is now” – DARPA’s N3 “Mind Control” Technology eliminates the need for Implants Dr. James Giordano, the Executive Director of the Institute of Biodefense Research and a leading DARPA scientist, just sounded the alarm on the dangers of DARPA’s Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology project. DARPA’s N3 project takes the power of communicating directly to a human’s brain to a whole new level. Previous brain communication required surgical implantation of a device, but this new technology makes it possible for two way communication directly to the brain without an invasive brain-machine interface. SARAH WESTALL
WARFARE: How NATO wants to shape the future of war Earlier this year, Ukraine pulled U.S.-made Abrams tanks off the front lines against Russia because of a threat that might have once seemed absurd: A quarter of the tanks had been disabled by exploding drones. “Here we have a $10 million tank being neutered by a $10,000 drone. This is something really new, and we need to pay attention,” said Raj Shah, a former F-16 pilot and managing partner of the defense-tech venture firm Shield Capital. Rapid changes in military technology — and Russia’s and China’s adoption of cheap but effective high-tech weapons — have forced Western militaries to play catch-up by finding ways to bring new technology to the field faster. The Pentagon’s efforts are well-documented: the recent Replicator initiative to field thousands of drones; the decade-old Defense Innovation Unit headed by Apple veteran Doug Beck; the dozens of innovation organizations springing up across the armed forces. Europe is now trying to stand up its own parallel efforts. It launched two projects at the EU level to spark innovation and R&D; a third is the NATO-wide DIANA accelerator that offers grants to companies across the alliance, including the U.S. []European pensions and banks have shied away from defense investments. By contrast, in the U.S. venture capital is pumping into defense, including via Shah’s defense-focused fund Shield Capital. In one recent illustration, when the German-founded company Helsing AI raised nearly $500 million this summer, it was the U.S. fund General Catalyst that led the round. POLITICO
WARFARE: Israel's lasers Israel is spending more than $500 million to ramp up production of Iron Beam, a futuristic laser meant to shield the country from mortars, rockets and drones. Why it matters: The funds vouch for directed-energy weapons, which are not yet widely adopted and polarize defense-tech watchers. The bottom line: Militaries around the world are wrangling with directed energy. Israel could be its proving ground. AXIOS
EVENTS
The National Call EMS Committee Meeting, Friday Nov 1, 2024, 3:30-5pm ET Link to register for the EMS Committee Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMpf--qrzIvG9ybrLKPubmiPMYSS4p-dQZG After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
U.S. Access Board NPRM for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations - Due Nov 4, 2024 - https://www.access-board.gov/news/2024/09/03/u-s-access-board-seeks-public-comment-on-proposed-rule-for-electric-vehicle-ev-charging-stations/
Ensure that we have addressed each section of the proposed rule that relates to EMS disabled access.
OW will draft introduction and importance for EMS disabled, and will circulate for sign-ons.
EMS Guidelines:
Review GM's draft of introduction
Review CM's draft of recommended schools accommodations
Set up timeline for completion of initial draft (schools, libraries, hospitals and ambulances, medical facilities, medic alerts, etc)