Musk vs. Brazil, LinkedIn vs. The U.K., & AI vs. Nuclear Reactors
September 23, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Monday! Today, we’ll be talking about Al Jazeera, Elon Musk’s ongoing feud with Brazil, LinkedIn’s data mining, France’s government turmoil, government funding, a mass shooting, and a unique plan to power AI.
Here’s some good news: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation to make it unlawful for online services and applications to provide an “addictive feed” to a minor, in the hopes that it will limit social media use among kids and teens. Also, a cat who got lost in Yellowstone National Park traveled more than 900 miles to return home and reunite with her family after two months.
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot
Sorry, You Can’t Cover This War Anymore
On Sunday, Israeli soldiers raided Al Jazeera’s offices in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. The media organization broadcast the operation live on air before the troops ordered them to shut off their cameras. According to the soldiers, the IDF raid was based on intelligence showing that the offices were being used to “incite terror” and “support terrorist activities.”
Legally, the West Bank is supposed to be divided into three administrative “areas” – Area A is supposed to be controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and makes up just 18% of the West Bank. Area B is jointly regulated by the PA and the Israelis, and Area C is fully controlled by Israel. The Area A zones are mostly small islands of land connected by roads controlled by Israel. IDF road checkpoints regulate travel around the West Bank via a color-coded license plate system – some roads are accessible only to those with Israeli license plates, while people with Palestinian plates can be made to wait at Israeli security checkpoints for hours.
Back to that raid – the IDF soldiers informed Al Jazeera’s Ramallah bureau that their branch would be shut down for 45 days, giving employees just 10 minutes to evacuate the offices. The Foreign Press Association has condemned the raid, but Israel has a long history of cracking down on Al Jazeera specifically – it’s already shut down the network’s operations in Israel proper, and several of the organization’s journalists have been killed by Israel since the conflict broke out last year.
Twitter Fingers Go Limp
It looks like Elon Musk’s Twitter…err, X fingers have gotten tired. The tech magnate appears to have given up his legal battle against Brazilian regulators after just a few weeks, with lawyers for X promising to comply with an order from Brazil’s Supreme Court. X’s lawyers say they’ve taken down multiple accounts accused of threatening the country’s democracy, paid fines for various offenses, and named a new legal representative – now, they hope that Brazil’s government will lift a nationwide block on their platform.
As revenue from American advertisers has become unreliable for X, losing the estimated 20 million users from Brazil would strike a significant blow to the company’s bank accounts. During the time X was blocked, users flocked to alternatives like BlueSky and Threads (owned by Meta). Over the weekend, the Supreme Court confirmed X’s shift towards compliance but noted that the company still needs to file the proper paperwork before the ban is lifted. Oh, and the court needs to actually agree to unblock the platform – we’re not sure that Elon’s loud critiques of the court will help his case, though.
New Government Coming RIGHT Up
- Over the weekend, French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled his new right-wing government, which was immediately threatened with a vote of no-confidence by left-wing lawmakers. 14 cabinet positions in the new government will now be filled by conservatives, and 19 by centrist politicians. The remaining seven ministers are affiliated with other small parties – only one of those positions went to a left-wing politician.
- Left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has criticized the new conservative government as a “government of the general election losers,” citing the fact that his left-wing New Popular Front coalition won the plurality of seats in France’s most recent general election. He’s promised to call a vote of no confidence in parliament as soon as possible, adding that French voters should take the chance to overturn Macron’s right-wing government “at the first available opportunity.”
The Regulators Mounted Up
- About two weeks ago, LinkedIn quietly updated a page buried in its FAQ section revealing a new policy that made every post and comment made by every user on the platform able to be used to train the company’s new generative AI. In other words, users worldwide were opted in to being AI trainers without their knowledge…until regulators in the U.K. and E.U. decided to do something about it late last week.
- Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) appears to have done some backroom regulatory strong-arming last week, stating it was “pleased” to announce that LinkedIn would be suspending its use of U.K. user data to train its generative AI model on Friday. Even with that suspension in place, the ICO has negotiated a way for U.K. users to opt out of LinkedIn’s data scraping, and E.U. users have also gained an opt-out button as well. As for people everywhere else, well, too bad – no opt-outs for you!
More Mixed Nuts
- Attack on foreign diplomats’ convoy kills police officer in Pakistan (NBC)
- At least 51 killed in Iran coal mine blast (NBC)
- Kenyan president visits Haiti as it grapples with future of international efforts to fight gangs (AP)
- Sri Lankans elect Marxist-leaning Dissanayake as president to fix economy (CNN)
- Congo frees 600 inmates at main prison in a bid to ease overcrowding (AP)
‘Tis The Season Of The Stopgap
- Last night, Congress announced that they had reached an agreement on a short-term spending bill that will fund federal agencies for about three months. This will prevent a government shutdown until mid-December after the election. Unlike previous bills, which would maintain current funding levels, this one includes an additional $231 million for the Secret Service given the recent assassination attempts on former President Trump.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson had planned to tie the temporary funding with a mandate that would have required states to obtain proof of citizenship when people register to vote. Johnson gave up on that approach to reach an agreement, going against Trump’s wishes that there not be a stop-gap measure without the voting requirement.
Bedlam In Birmingham
- On Saturday night in Birmingham, Alabama, multiple people drove up to the Five Points South area, exited their vehicle, and began shooting before driving off. The shooting left four dead and 17 injured. Police believe the shooters were carrying out a hit on one of the people who died, and the other victims were simply caught in the crossfire.
- The police suspect that “switches,” which “can convert semi-automatic pistols and rifles into fully automatic weapons in less than 60 seconds,” may have been used. Nobody has been arrested for the crime, so police are partnering with the FBI and other agencies to investigate. There have been 404 mass shootings in the U.S. this year.
More Nuts In America
- Harris accepts CNN debate invite; Trump says its “too late” (Axios)
- Sen. Lindsey Graham says embattled GOP candidate Mark Robinson must defend himself (NBC)
- Feds execute search warrant on new NYPD commissioner just over a week after he was appointed (CNN)
- A summer marked by extreme, record-setting heat in the U.S. comes to a close (NBC)
- Kentucky judge had lunch with the sheriff now arrested in his killing, court clerk says (CNN)
A Puzzling PR Ploy
- Whether you like it or not, AI is going to play a huge part in humanity’s future. But to fuel the massive data centers needed to drag us towards our silicon-based collective destiny, AI firms need a massive and steady supply of electricity. To keep its data centers well-supplied for the AI race, Microsoft has signed a contract with a puzzling new partner out in Pennsylvania.
- Late last week, the Seattle-based tech giant signed a deal to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, the site of the largest-ever nuclear accident in America. The deal will see Microsoft pay an undisclosed (but likely massive) amount of money to Constellation Energy, which owns the Three Mile Island plant, in exchange for Constellation bringing one of the facility’s mothballed reactors back online. The reactor involved in the 1979 meltdown will not be resuscitated.
- Constellation says the reactor will be fully operational as early as 2028, and the project is expected to create 3,400 jobs and $3 billion in state and federal taxes. Even though all electricity produced by the plant will be owned by Microsoft as part of the deal, it won’t actually be used to power any data centers. According to Reuters, both companies have stated that the clean energy will instead be used to offset the power used by other Microsoft data centers, which will likely be powered by other (less sustainable) sources.
More Loose Nuts
- Suspect in 1977 “Easey Street murders,” Melbourne’s oldest cold case, arrested in Italy (CBS)
- A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark are unanimous choices for WNBA AP Player and Rookie of the Year (AP)
- McDonald’s touchscreen kiosks were feared as job killers. Instead, something surprising happened (CNN)
- ‘This Shark Lives 400 Years. Its DNA May Explain Why. (NYT, $)
- Jony Ive confirms he’s working on a new device with OpenAI (The Verge)
Team Thoughts
Kayli – The Microsoft story ties in really well with this story by the Washington Post.
Marcus – What are the odds that the LinkedIn-fueled AI chatbot will be shut down within a week of its release? I’d love to hear its opinions on giving workers toilet breaks.
