November 8 Safe Tech International News and Notes

AI = Concrete; Australia 'World-Leading' Social Media Ban for Kids Under 16; Opposing Nuclear Powered Data; Astronomers and Environmental Damage of Satellites

Navigating Cassandra’s Complex….

On the one hand,it feels like every week there is another foothold available for the public to question tech downsides (this week it is concrete and more about lower earth orbit). On the other hand, my family and friends are sleepwalking into AI use and question my sanity and/or integrity when I raise concerns about water, electricity, and nuclear energy.

Generally speaking, it’s easy to tell which candidate was favored in reports about the impacts of the election. I try to stay curious, stay steady, and see what I can learn, and intend no offense.

AI: IEEE The AI Boom Rests on Billions of Tonnes of Concrete Big data means big concrete. And that’s undoing tech’s climate pledges To the casual observer, the data industry can seem incorporeal, its products conjured out of weightless bits. But as I stand beside the busy construction site for DataBank’s ATL4, what impresses me most is the gargantuan amount of material—mostly concrete—that gives shape to the goliath that will house, secure, power, and cool the hardware of AI. Big data is big concrete. And that poses a big problem. Concrete is not just a major ingredient in data centers and the power plants being built to energize them. As the world’s most widely manufactured material, concrete—and especially the cement within it—is also a major contributor to climate change, accounting for around 6 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Data centers use so much concrete that the construction boom is wrecking tech giants’ commitments to eliminate their carbon emissions. Even though Google, Meta, and Microsoft have touted goals to be carbon neutral or negative by 2030, and Amazon by 2040, the industry is now moving in the wrong direction. Last year, Microsoft’s carbon emissions jumped by over 30 percent, primarily due to the materials in its new data centers. Google’s greenhouse emissions are up by nearly 50 percent over the past five years. As data centers proliferate worldwide, Morgan Stanley projects that data centers will release about 2.5 billion tonnes of CO₂each year by 2030—or about 40 percent of what the United States currently emits from all sources. IEEE

AI: Trump plans to dismantle Biden AI safeguards after victory Trump plans to repeal Biden's 2023 order and levy tariffs on GPU imports. Uncertain effects In addition to deregulation, Trump's trade policies could significantly affect AI development. His proposed 10 percent tariff on all US imports and a 60 percent tariff on Chinese products might impact the AI industry's access to necessary technology and capital, potentially interrupting the supply of GPUs that are necessary to accelerate AI training and inference tasks. The administration may also strengthen export controls on AI chips and models to China, though some Chinese companies currently access these tools through cloud services. ARS TECHNICA

CHILDREN: For fame or a death wish? Kids’ TikTok challenge injuries stump psychiatrists As clinicians see more TikTok challenge injuries, explaining them is often hard. https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/11/for-fame-or-a-death-wish-kids-tiktok-challenge-injuries-stump-psychiatrists/

CHILDREN: Australia Planning 'World-Leading' Social Media Ban for Kids Under 16: 'Doing Harm to Our Kids The Australian government is planning to introduce legislation that would prevent children under the age of 16 from using social media. On Thursday, Nov. 7, prime minister Anthony Albanese announced the "world-leading" legislation during a news conference, shared in full by Australia's ABC News. According to Albanese, it would feature an age limit of 16 for kids to use social media platforms, with government officials saying it would apply to platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter). The legislation will be introduced in Parliament during its last two weeks in session this year, which begins on Nov. 18. The age limit would come into effect 12 months after the law is passed and it will be reviewed following its commencement. "This one's for the mums and dads," Albanese said as he announced the legislation. "Social media is doing harm to our kids And I'm calling time on it." "I've spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. They like me are worried sick about the safety of our kids online. And I want Australian parents and families to know that the government has your back. I want parents to be able to say, 'Sorry mate, that's against the law for me to get you to do this.' Albanese added that the government does not expect the changes they will be legislating to "fix everything immediately" but they will "set the parameters for our society." During the news conference, Albanese added that it will be the responsibility of social media platforms — not children or parents — to "demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access." He shared that there will be "no penalties for users" and that the Australia's eSafety Commissioner "will provide oversight and enforcement. " The legislation would "not allow exemptions" if children have parental consent, Albanese added. He also said that he'd want to ensure kids still have access to things like educational services online." Per Reuters, this follows a ban proposed in France last year for kids under the age of 15, which users could avoid with parental consent. According to the Associated Press, over 140 Australian and international academics with backgrounds in technology and child welfare signed an open letter to Albanese in October opposing an age limit on social media and calling it “too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively." MSN AND

Young and Resilient Research Centre joins chorus of over 140 Australian and International experts opposing social media ban for U16s The letter is a joint effort by the Steering Committee members of the Australian Child Rights Taskforce of which Professor Amanda Third, and Professor Philippa Collin, Co-Directors of the Young and Resilient Research Centre are members. The letter states that while the group understand the risks that social media poses for children and young people, their concern is that a ‘ban’ is too blunt an instrument to address these risks effectively. Signatories to the open letter include the academics from Western Sydney University, the University of Melbourne, University of Wollongong, University of Queensland, RMIT University, Deakin University, University of Sydney, Curtin University, University of Technology Sydney, Edith Cowan University, Flinders University, Australian Catholic University, Swinburne University of Technology, Queensland University of Technology, University of Canberra, Victoria University, Australian National University, University of Newcastle, Monash University,  Murdoch University, Flinders University,  La Trobe University, Macquarie University, and Southern Cross University. International signatories to the letter include academics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, UCLA, US, Cardiff University, UK, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, US, University of Amsterdam, University of London, McGill University, Canada, University College Dublin, Ireland, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile and MICA, Ahmedabad, India among many others. HERE

THE LETTER: Open letter from academics - Google Docs 8 PAGES

CHILDREN SCHOOLS: As Schools Ban Phones, More Kids Are Using Smartwatches Many parents are unable or unwilling to send their children to school with a phone. Smartwatch use among kids is booming, but experts warn the devices could be yet another “electronic umbilical cord.” WIRED

DATA, BEYOND NUCLEAR & COUNTERPUNCH: We need protection from nuclear powered data The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is protecting ratepayers from price gouging by rejecting Amazon’s bid to increase electricity sales from Pennsylvania’s aging Susquehanna nuclear reactor to power a massive data center. FERC cited potential “ramifications for both grid reliability and consumer costs.” Not only does nuclear power have a costly low thermal efficiency requiring cooling for 67% of its fission reaction as waste heat, it is the most expensive option and produces unmanaged radioactive waste. Data centers are massive carbon emitters and, due to the heat generated within the centers, consume vast quantities of water also for cooling contrary to claims of being climate-friendly. Microsoft, Google and Meta have indicated intentions to use nuclear to power their grid-draining data centers. Dangerous Hype: Big Tech's Nuclear Lies - CounterPunch.org

DATA CENTERS; Data centers should install rainwater catchments to supply their water needs, write Justin Talbot Zorn and Bettina Warburg, a policy advisor and AI researcher, respectively. Rainwater Could Help Satisfy AI’s Water Demands | Scientific American Editor’s note: Let’s not fall for this. If the water evaporates, as has been previously reported, it’s still loss to the hydrological cycle.

ECONOMICS POLITICS TECH BILLIONARIES CNN: NUMBER OF THE DAY $64 billion The world’s 10 richest people got a record $64 billion richer from Trump’s reelection Donald Trump wasn’t the only billionaire celebrating on Wednesday. As stocks surged, the collective net worth of the world’s 10 richest people soared by a record $64 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest person, added nearly $27 billion to his personal fortune in just one day, thanks to Tesla shares jumping 15%. Jeff Bezos, the second-wealthiest, gained $7 billion. It was the largest single-day increase in wealth since the Billionaire Index began in 2012. COOL. Cool cool cool. Everything's going great. CNN

FCC: ‘Stop This’: What Tired Texans Wrote to the FCC Just before dawn on a Friday morning last month, millions of Texans woke up to emergency alerts blaring from their phones at around 4 a.m We got the complaints about a pre-dawn 'Blue Alert' that pissed off a lot of Texans. Hey there, remember last month when people all over Texas got an emergency alert before the sun even rose about a shooting hundreds of miles away? The FCC reported getting around 4,500 complaints about it, and we obtained more than 500 of them. They paint a highly annoyed, very sleep-deprived picture—and show how misuse of the alert system could put residents at risk in the future. “BLUE ALERT ISSUED FOR SETH ALTMAN WANTED FOR THE INVOLVEMENT IN THE INJURY OF AN OFFICER BY HALL COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE,” a notification sent to Texans—including those sleeping hundreds of miles away from the incident—said hours before the sun rose. It also included a brief, vague description of Altman as a 33 year old, 6’2, 220 pound white male in jeans and a t-shirt. The notification came with a piercing full-volume siren sound, blasting people awake across the state. Predictably, people were pissed. In the days after the alert, the Federal Communications Commission said it received more than 4,500 complaints about it. AMBER and Blue Alerts managed by the Department of Public Safety are only supposed to be sent between the hours of 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. The FCC said in its reply to our request that there were so many complaints, sending them all would be “an undue burden on the agency.” The request produced more than 4,500 complaints, it said; instead of sending them all, it sent a “sampling” of 504 complaints. []I had to disable alerts since this is abused too much. I hope there is not a real emergency in my area.” []“As a result of this alert, everyone in our household is turning off all government alerts on our mobile devices,” someone in Grand Prairie wrote. [] 404 Media also filed a public records request with the Texas Department of Safety trying to learn if there was any internal discussion or blowback from this alert. The agency simply sent us a copy of the alert and nothing else. 404 Media has appealed this decision.404 MEDIA

HAVANA SYNDROME MUCKROCK FOI REQUEST: Documentation Related to Agency's Involvement in the NIH "Havana Syndrome" Leonid Ber filed this request with the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States of America. Request for Expedited Processing. I am filing this request in my role as a Board Member for Targeted Justice, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, and a news organization. Research Documents Related to the Implementation and Cancellation of "Havana Syndrome" Research • MuckRock

HEALTH: Why Mainstream Dermatology Gets Melanin All Wrong Zaid K. Dahhaj and The Meta Warrior

HEALTH: Global action on problematic usage of the internet: announcing a Lancet Psychiatry Commission

HEALTH HISTORICAL STUDY: Alzheimer mortality - why does it increase so fast in sparsely populated areas? January 2005 Bioelectromagnetics 1(1):225-246 Purpose: To investigate the mortality in nervous system-related diseases in different parts of Sweden to see if it may have any correlation to mobile phone output power. Methods: The average output power from mobile phones was calculated based on power measurements and information on mobile system coverage over the country. Mortality data was obtained from the National Board of Health and Welfare in Sweden. Results: The main contribution to the increased mortality in nervous systemrelated diseases was deaths due to increasing mortality in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The correlation between mobile phone average output power and mortality has increased the last few years and is today significant. Conclusions: The mortality in Alzheimer's disease appears to be associated with mobile phone output power. The mortality is increasing fast and is expected to increase substantially within the next 10 years. Deeper studies in this complex area are necessary. Hallberg Ö, Johansson O RESEARCHGATE

INSPIRATION: Writing by Hand "We use our hands to access our thoughts." In a 2013 article for Scientific American called “The Science of Handwriting,” Brandon Keim suggested that “perhaps hand-formed letters, inscribed more deeply in our mind, are building blocks for sturdier mental architectures.” He cited Christina Haas, a professor at the University of Minnesota and editor of a journal called Written Communication. Haas found that her students did a better job at planning their writing when working by hand, rather than on a computer. She said her students said, over and over, that they couldn’t get a sense of their text when working on the computer. Haas went on to wonder, “How can it be that the tool you use can influence what's happening in your brain?” She told Keim, “I know this sounds simple, but it led me to the insight that people weren’t talking about—it’s the human body that intervenes between the tool and the brain.” We forget that our hands are a key part of that intervention between tool and brain, that they have allowed us to achieve “exquisite versatility and precision,” to craft tools and refine skills and even develop gestures that are thought to have helped language evolve. Virginia Berninger, an education psychologist at the University of Washington, said, “We use our hands to access our thoughts.” []When we turn to computers, that intimate bond of communication between hand and mind becomes disrupted. Yes, we type with our hands, but it is a different kind of interaction. Within months of learning how to type properly, it becomes automatic, mindless, an extension of one’s thoughts. Norwegian literacy professor Anne Mangen put it most beautifully when she explained that handwriting “unifies hand, eye, and attention at a single point in space and time. Typing on a keyboard, which Mangen calls ‘the abstraction of inscription,’ breaks the unity.” Writing by Hand - by Katherine Johnson Martinko

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALSIM: Some Issues and Topics Our Reporters Will Be Following in a Second Trump Presidency — and How to Get in Touch During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will continue our focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them. PRO PUBLICA

MINING: Nevada lithium mine will crush rare plant habitat US said is critical to its survival, lawsuit says Story by Associated Press Scott Sonner RENO, Nev. — Conservationists and an advocacy group for Native Americans are suing the U.S. to try to block a Nevada lithium mine they say will drive an endangered desert wildflower to extinction, disrupt groundwater flows and threaten cultural resources. The Center for Biological Diversity promised the court battle a week ago when the U.S. Interior Department approved Ioneer Ltd.’s Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron mine at the only place Tiehm's buckwheat is known to exist in the world, near the California line halfway between Reno and Las Vegas. It is the latest in a series of legal fights over projects President Joe Biden’s administration is pushing under his clean energy agenda intended to cut reliance on fossil fuels, in part by increasing the production of lithium to make electric vehicle batteries and solar panels. The new lawsuit says the Interior Department’s approval of the mine marks a dramatic about-face by U.S wildlife experts who warned nearly two years ago that Tiehm’s buckwheat was “in danger of extinction now” when they listed it as an endangered species in December 2022. “One cannot save the planet from climate change while simultaneously destroying biodiversity,” said Fermina Stevens, director of the Western Shoshone Defense Project, which joined the center in the lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Reno. “The use of minerals, whether for EVs or solar panels, does not justify this disregard for Indigenous cultural areas and keystone environmental laws,” said John Hadder, director of the Great Basin Resource Watch, another co-plaintiff. Rita Henderson, spokeswoman for Interior's Bureau of Land Management in Reno, said Friday the agency had no immediate comment. Ioneer Vice President Chad Yeftich said the Australia-based mining company intends to intervene on behalf of the U.S. and “vigorously defend” approval of the project, “which was based on its careful and thorough permitting process.” MSN

POLITICS: Some D.C. Trade Groups Respond to Trump Victory NRECA, WISPA, and others reveal priorities for Trump’s second term. BROADBAND BREAKFAST

POLITICS: Tech CEOs Eagerly Grovel at the Feet of Trump They're practically tripping over each other to kiss the ring of reelected president Donald Trump. Did your favorite make the list? FUTURISM

RESOURCE: All Tech Is Human: 2024 Responsible Tech Guide The report provides information about the multi-faceted Responsible Tech ecosystem, and action items to jon the movement through the lens of civil society, government, industry or academia. CHILDREN AND SCREENS DOWNLOAD HERE

SATELLITES: Scientists demand FCC test environmental impacts of satellites Boffins say it's absurd that the US comms watchdog won't consider atmospheric harms updated One hundred and twenty astronomy researchers on Thursday sent a letter asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to end the "absurd" environmental review exemption given to SpaceX's Starlink and other firms launching large constellations of satellites. The letter [PDF] notes that the FCC was advised in November 2022 by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) to rethink its environmental review process for satellite swarms. The comms watchdog has been approving applications to launch satellite mega-constellations without considering requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act, the GAO found. "The environmental harms of launching and burning up so many satellites aren’t clear," the astronomy researchers argue. "That’s because the federal government hasn’t conducted an environmental review to understand the impacts." The FCC, which has excluded satellite licenses from environmental reviews since 1986, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In 2022, there were almost 7,000 satellites in orbit, up from about 800 in 2000, according to the non-profit consumer interest group US PIRG. Presently, there are 10,855 objects orbiting the Earth, according to the website Orbiting Now, 7,736 of which are in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), where satellite mega-constellations generally reside. SpaceX's Starlink has launched the majority of the orbiting mega-constellation satellites at the moment, more than 6,000 in the past five years (not all of which remain in service). These account for about 60 percent of the total satellite count, says US PIRG. And many more satellite launches are planned. The 2022 GAO report [PDF] anticipates another 58,000 by 2030, and there are proposals for more than 500,000, from the likes of Amazon’s Project Kuiper, OneWeb, and others. The problem is that satellites eventually deorbit, burning up in the atmosphere or occasionally crashing to Earth. According to a study released last December by Sierra Solter-Hunt, a physicist with aerospace consultancy Astroplane, the amount of deorbiting debris reentering the Earth's atmosphere from 42,000 planned Starlink satellites is predicted to reach about 29 tons of waste per day. Solter-Hunt suggests this could alter the environment of Earth to the detriment of human health. "It is known that man-made chemicals can endanger the atmosphere, and the mega-constellations are not just depositing dangerous chemicals, they are depositing huge masses of conductive material," Solter-Hunt said. "It is known that injecting fossil fuels into the atmosphere, originally from below the Earth’s crust, is risking the habitability of Earth." Boffins slam FCC for dodging satellite environmental reviews • The Register

SATELLITES: Astronomers Call for Pause on SpaceX Starlink Launches There are currently over 9,000 active satellites in orbit. SpaceX's Starlink constellations account for more than half of that number, with around 6,500 functional spacecraft in the array, according to a database run by Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell. The striking thing is that SpaceX only started launching in 2019. In all of human spacefaring history, about 19,5000 satellites have been placed into the Earth's orbit, per the European Space Agency. That's a whiplash-inducing pace of acceleration. Understandably, this has frustrated astronomers in recent years, who complain that the bright constellations are ruining observations of the night sky. What's more, an emerging body of evidence suggests that the radiation emitted by the satellite's onboard electronics are interfering with radio telescopes, potentially kneecapping our best way of peering into the deepest reaches of the cosmos. The potential environmental harms also can't be overlooked. Space junk cluttering low Earth orbit was already a problem before the advent of mega-constellations, which have only exacerbated the issue. Beyond the dangers this could pose to other spacecraft, a growing concern is that these expendable satellites, which are only intended to last a few years, could seriously pollute our planet as they continuously re-enter and burn up in the atmosphere. The Federal Aviation Administration has also warned that these falling satellites could kill people. We may be underestimating the amount of fragments that survive re-entry, as a worrying number of spacecraft components that were designed to burn up in the atmosphere are instead crashing down to Earth. "The space industry has moved faster than the public or regulators were able to keep up, and we'll continue to raise the importance of this issue with the public," Lucas Gutterman, who spearheaded the letter and serves as director of the nonprofit Public Interest Research Group, told Space.com. "The speed and scale of the new space race should be a kitchen-table issue, not an esoteric discussion among a small group of industry insiders." FUTURISM

FY25 WasteX Grasstops Letter for 10/24 13 PAGE LETTER October 24, 2024

SOLAR: German firms launch world’s largest plug-in solar system for homes with 6 kW output German firms have introduced what they call the “world’s largest” plug-in photovoltaic system. Introduced by Indielux and EPP Solar, the system is designed for residential use and can generate up to 6 kW. Users can connect up to 6,000 Wp of solar power to their home’s electrical system using ready2plugin technology and a safety plug, without the need for an electrician. According to the firms, the plug-and-play setup is easy to install, and costs start at around $5,061 (€4,700), making it a more affordable alternative to traditional solar setups, even when opting for professional installation. The plug-and-play solar system is designed to meet German standards and bypass the usual 800-watt limit restrictions. This means that users won’t need an electrician to adjust their home’s electrical setup. The companies stated that the energy management system limits feed-in to the public grid at 800 W. For self-consumption, the system offers a compliant socket feed of up to 2,000 W and includes an emergency power socket capable of delivering up to 3,000 W. It can operate in temperatures ranging from -10°C to 50°C. Indielux and EPP Solar are launching this system across Europe, with availability in Germany, France, Austria, Poland, and Spain. Compliant with local regulations in all these markets, the system provides new options for energy independence without the added cost of electrical upgrades. MSN