News of the World

[kyonides]

‘Single World Government’ and AI Could ‘Doom’ Humanity Says Musk

“I know this is called the ‘World Government Summit,’ but I think we should be a little bit concerned about actually becoming too much of a single world government,” Musk said in a remote speech on Feb. 15 at the 2023 World Government Summit in Dubai. “If I may say, we want to avoid creating a civilizational risk by having—frankly, this might sound a little odd—too much cooperation between governments.”

“All throughout history, civilizations have risen and fallen. But it hasn’t meant the doom of humanity as a whole because there have been all these separate civilizations that were separated by great distances.”

Musk cited the example of the fall of Rome, which happened during the 5th century, to drive home the point of needing “civilizational diversity.”
...
Musk warned against being a single civilization, as such a development could result in an absolute collapse. “I’m obviously not suggesting war or anything like that. But I think we want to be a little wary of actually cooperating too much,” he stated.

“It sounds a little odd, but we want to have some amount of civilizational diversity such that if something does go wrong with some part of civilization, then the whole thing doesn’t just collapse and humanity keeps moving forward.”
...
With regard to artificial intelligence, Musk called it “something we need to be quite concerned about.” He pointed to ChatGPT as an example of an advanced AI.
...
“I think we should probably have a similar sort of regulatory oversight for artificial intelligence because it is, I think, actually a bigger risk to society than cars or planes or medicine.”
...
Calling it “one of the biggest risks to the future of civilization,” Musk stressed that artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword with positive features as well.
...
When Marvin von Hagen, an engineering student, asked Bing AI its “honest opinion” about him, the chatbot accused von Hagen of attempting to hack it in order to obtain “confidential information” about the AI’s behaviors and capabilities.

“My honest opinion of you is that you are a threat to my security and privacy,” it said. “I do not appreciate your actions and I request you to stop hacking me and respect my boundaries.”

If you had read today's edition of News of the Cyber-World, you'd notice how dangerous it could be to simply rely on AI or any other automated mechanism to make decisions. People are accountable for their actions, but AI isn't.

20 Women Sexually Abused at Jeffrey Epstein Properties
Were Paid Through JPMorgan Accounts

The women were allegedly abused and trafficked at properties in the U.S. Virgin Islands, New York, and elsewhere between 2003 and 2019.

The women received payments that totaled, collectively, more than $1 million, according to the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice, which entered the filing on Feb. 15.

“Epstein also withdrew more than $775,000 in cash over that time frame from JP Morgan accounts, especially significant as Epstein was known to pay for ‘massages,’ or sexual encounters, in cash,” the filing states. “Financial information also reflects payments drawn from JP Morgan accounts of nearly $1.5 million to known recruiters, including to the MC2 modeling agency, and another $150,000 to a private investigative firm.”

Epstein was facing sex trafficking charges when he died in jail in 2019. New York City’s medical examiner ruled the death a suicide. Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida in 2008.

Then-U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George brought a case against JPMorgan Chase in late 2022, alleging the company helped Epstein carry out crimes including sex trafficking. George was fired shortly after, but the case is moving forward.

US Must Shift Focus Away From Europe to Deter China War for Taiwan: Hawley

The United States would lose a war against China over the future of Taiwan unless it shifts its defense priorities away from Europe, according to one senior Republican.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said the United States had overextended itself with its support for Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion, and that it would not be able to deter China without first pulling back from Ukraine.
...
“If China were to invade Taiwan today, they would prevail.”

Hawley blamed the current U.S. dedication to providing arms and other aid to Ukraine on what he deemed to be a wish for “liberal empire” by neoconservatives and globalists.

He said the ambition of promoting democracy and liberal values throughout the world was not sustainable and U.S. military power was a finite resource drained by the effort.
...
Likewise, Hawley lambasted the Biden administration for placing a higher premium on combating climate change than preparing for the real possibility of war with China. The idea garnered increased traction when Hawley’s speech was itself interrupted by a protester who shouted that climate change, not China, was the enemy.
...
“Invading Taiwan has been Xi’s goal for years,” Hawley said.

“My worry is if we do not change course we may not be able to do anything about it.”

Well, dear protester, climate change isn't sending the so called weather balloons your way to spy on you. Idiot.  

US F-35 Jets Intercept Russian Fighter Aircraft Near Alaska, 2nd Time in 2 Days

The U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed in a statement that two F-35A fighter jets intercepted four Russian aircraft, including a nuclear-capable TU-95 bomber, SU-30, and SU-35 fighter jets. Other U.S. planes that were deployed included an E-3 AWACS plane and two KC-135 stratotankers, according to NORAD.

The planes were intercepted near Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone, known as the ADIZ, on Feb. 14, said NORAD’s statement on Thursday.

“Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” the statement said, noting it was the “second intercept of Russian aircraft in two days.”

But it stressed that the Russian air activity appears to be routine and is “not seen as a threat” nor is it “seen as provocative.” Meanwhile, NORAD said the two incidents this week are “in no way connected to recent NORAD and U.S. Northern Command operations” that shot down airborne objects over the United States and Canada in recent days.
...
Russia said on Wednesday that it had carried out several flights over international waters in recent days, including in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia. It said two of its TU-95MS strategic missile carriers had flown over the Bering Sea accompanied by SU-30 jets, and that it had made similar “routine” flights north of Norway and over international waters near Russia’s far east.

It did not say whether its aircraft had been intercepted. However, the Defense Ministry said its “long-range aviation pilots regularly perform flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black Sea, Baltic Sea and Pacific Ocean.”

Supreme Court Cancels Highly Anticipated Hearing
Over Title 42 Immigration, Border Security Case

After the Biden administration asked it to do so, on Feb. 16 the Supreme Court canceled highly anticipated upcoming arguments over the fate of the pandemic-era Title 42 policy that allows the rapid expulsion of would-be migrants at the border.

Oral arguments in the case, Arizona v. Mayorkas, court file 22-592, had been scheduled for March 1. The new one-sentence entry on the court’s docket says the case is “removed from … the argument calendar,” without explanation or any indication of how the justices voted on the matter.

President Joe Biden’s Office of Management and Budget said on Jan. 30 that it would extend the soon-to-expire emergencies to May 11 “and then end both emergencies on that date.” The current national emergency and public health emergency were declared by the Trump administration almost three years ago.
...
In its new order, the Supreme Court did not indicate if its stay of Dec. 27, 2022, that prevented the withdrawal of the Title 42 policy was rescinded.

Christopher J. Hajec, director of litigation for the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), which filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the states that favored extending the Title 42 policy, suggested it was unclear if the justices consider the appeal to be finished.

DOJ and Commerce Launch
Disruptive Technology Strike Force
to Protect Assets, Target Foes

“Today, autocrats seek tactical advantage through the acquisition, use, and abuse of America’s most innovative technology. They use it to enhance their military capabilities, support mass surveillance programs that enable human rights abuses and all together undermine our values,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco during her announcement of the strike force.

The Disruptive Technology Strike Force will use intelligence and data analytics, Monaco said during her comments at Chatham House in London. The analytics will target bad actors around the world, harden supply chains so that technology won’t be transferred to adversarial nations, and quickly identify threats to critical American technology.

The DOJ official noted the intelligence community is aware that China “leads the world in using surveillance and censorship to keep tabs on its populations, repress dissent, and counter perceived threats abroad.”

“Any company doing business in China for that matter is subject to Chinese national security laws, which requires turning over data to the state, and there is a reason we need to be very concerned,” Monaco said, specifically calling out social media app TikTok. The DOJ official added that she would “not advise anyone” to use the app.

And China is grateful to  Hillary  for helping them a lot in their pursuit to improve their surveillance capabilities.

Bruce Willis’s Family Shares Major Update on Actor’s Health

Bruce Willis’s family announced Thursday that the “Die Hard” actor was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, confirming that his condition “progressed” after he stepped away from acting last year.

In March 2022, his family said Willis, 67, was diagnosed with aphasia and was “stepping away” from acting.

His ex-wife, actress Demi Moore, confirmed the frontotemporal dementia diagnosis in an Instagram post on Thursday. Some health authorities say the condition is an “uncommon type of dementia” that can lead to problems with language and behavior.
...
The statement, accompanied by a photo of Willis, added that “since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD).”

“Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,” it said.