Twitter revenue plunged in December as advertisers stayed away after Elon Musk's takeover, report says

Stephanie Stacey
Sat, March 4, 2023 

Elon Musk has been trying to boost Twitter's faltering revenues.Getty Images

Twitter revenues fell about 40% in December versus the same month in 2021, per Wall Street Journal.


The slide came after many advertisers slashed spending following Elon Musk's takeover last October.


Twitter's cost-cutting strategies might also be driving away advertisers, The Information reported.

Twitter's revenues plunged in December after advertisers avoided the social media platform in the wake of Elon Musk's controversial takeover, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Unnamed sources said the company reported a 40% decline in both total revenue and adjusted profits compared with December 2021.

That came after half of Twitter's top 100 advertisers pulled out in the first month after Musk's controversial takeover, per Media Matters. More than two thirds of Twitter's top 100 advertisers before the acquisition had not returned by late February, according to Pathmatics, The Journal reported.



Twitter has tried to lure advertisers back by taking steps including lifting its three-year ban on political advertising.

Some big names including Apple and Amazon have returned to the platform, but they're again under threat due to Twitter's controversial cost-cutting strategies.

Twitter has not made payments to certain suppliers, some of which are also the platform's biggest advertisers, The Information reported. Staff were recently told that Amazon had threatened to withhold payment for its ads because Twitter had not paid its Amazon Web Services bill for several months, per the report.

Twitter's financial challenges go beyond advertisers. It also made its first interest payment on the $13 billion loan that helped fund Musk's $44 billion takeover last October, per The Journal. Annual interest payments are expected to exceed $1 billion on loans that have rates as high as 15%.

Faced with faltering advertising spend, Musk has tried to bolster revenues by promoting Twitter Blue, its paid subscription product, and monetize a number of features.

Twitter Blue, introduced last November, allows users to pay between $8 and $11 a month for the blue checkmarks that were previously reserved for high-profile figures. In its latest push for subscriptions, Twitter said it was restricting the use of text messages for two-factor authentication to paying subscribers.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.

As momentum for new climate change legislation stalls in Washington, states look to pick up the slack

States are building on federal climate action by instituting renewable energy standards and new clean car rules.

Ben Adler
·Senior Editor
Fri, March 3, 2023 

Climate activists in New York City, Oct. 29, 2022. 

(Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images)

With Republicans now in control of the House of Representatives, new federal climate change legislation is unlikely to come out of Washington, D.C., this year. But buoyed by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act last fall, a number of large states are currently working on ambitious actions designed to address rising global temperatures.

“We’re excited by the progress that we’ve seen so far in the year,” Justin Balik, state program director of Evergreen Action, told Yahoo News.

The flurry of activity has been led by governors, many of whom issue their proposed annual budgets in the early months of the year.

Gov. Kathy Hochul speaking in New York City last month. 

(NDZ/Star Max/IPx 2023 via AP)
New York is fighting climate change on multiple fronts

On Feb. 1, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, proposed several initiatives to boost clean energy and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The most significant measure Hochul took was directing state agencies to set a cap on greenhouse gas emissions that will gradually decline, reaching an 85% reduction from 1990 levels by 2050. Large polluters like oil companies would have to buy permission, in the form of credits, to create their emissions. The plan could generate $3 billion per year in revenue, with two-thirds going to New Yorkers as rebates and the rest being spent on state climate programs.

Hochul also asked the state Legislature to pass a raft of investments aimed at reducing emissions, including $400 million to help low-income residents with utility bills, in part through helping them retrofit their homes for energy efficiency and helping them switch from gas or oil burners to electric heating systems. The governor also embraced a proposal in the Legislature that would require the New York Power Authority, a publicly owned utility, to expand its renewable energy production.

“We are the first generation to feel the effects of climate change and the last generation to be able to do anything about it,” Hochul said in a statement that accompanied the announcement.

The governor is also offering billions of dollars in aid to the state’s struggling mass transit system, a move New York environmentalists praised for helping to reduce the number of gasoline-burning vehicles on the road.

“We cannot drive our way out of the climate crisis, which means we need a fiscally stable mass transit system,” said Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, in a statement on Hochul’s budget.

However, one of Hochul’s ideas has already triggered significant backlash from conservatives — and chefs: banning fossil fuel infrastructure, including lines that power gas stoves and furnaces, in new buildings. According to a Siena College poll, 53% of New Yorkers oppose the proposal and just 39% support it. Even though Hochul, a Democrat, proposed the same policy last year without generating much controversy, it has been caught up in the current culture war over gas stoves. While some high-profile eco-conscious chefs support switching to electric stoves, other restaurateurs have complained that they cannot cook certain dishes on electric ranges, with one telling the New York Post the gas ban “is just a total farce to appease the woke movement.”

A climate change protest on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.

 (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Clean energy standards

States are the primary regulators of energy utilities, and 36 of them, plus Washington, D.C., already have some goal for making a portion of their electricity from clean sources such as wind, solar, nuclear or hydropower.

Now, with the cost of renewables like wind and solar steadily dropping, some states are considering moving up their timeline or increasing the percentage of their power that comes from clean sources.

In a Feb. 15 address, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, laid out a set of steps the state will take to cut its climate pollution. The most significant is an executive order moving up New Jersey’s target of relying 100% on clean energy from 2050 to 2035. Other executive orders speed the installation of high-efficiency electric heating and cooling systems in 400,000 homes and 20,000 commercial properties by 2030 and enhance flood protection in coastal and riverside areas.

In Minnesota, where Democrats regained control of the state Senate in 2022, Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill in February that mandates that the state use only clean energy by 2040.

Also in mid-February, Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills proposed a bill to move up her state’s 100% clean energy target from 2050 to 2040. Mills’s administration argues that it is economically sensible as wind and solar costs are dropping while natural gas prices have become more volatile due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the increase in exportation of gas from the U.S.

“The time has come to be bolder,” Mills said in a speech to the Legislature. “By accelerating our pace toward 100% clean energy, we will reduce costs for Maine people, create new jobs and career opportunities that strengthen our economy and protect us from the ravages of climate change.”

Maine, like New Jersey, currently gets about half of its electricity from low-carbon sources. And, like New Jersey, Democrats control both houses of the state legislature, giving the bill a good chance of passing. But Maine Republicans argue that it will increase costs for consumers.

“I think it’s a great idea if you hate poor people,” House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham quipped to the Portland Press Herald. “Otherwise coming up with arbitrary goals before affordable alternatives exist is dangerous.”

Similar divides are seen in states with split partisan control. In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has proposed new spending on clean energy, but Republicans — who control the state Legislature — say that a state budget surplus should be returned to taxpayers instead of new spending.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, right.

 (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Putting the Inflation Reduction Act into practice

States are also building out the climate provisions the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the bipartisan infrastructure law that Biden signed in 2021. Both laws included significant funding for deploying clean energy and electric vehicles, but implementation of many components is being left up to states. So, for example, states are still required to apply for funding allocated for creating a national network of 500,000 EV chargers.

Despite the often polarized politics of climate change, Republican governors are working with the Biden administration to build up EV infrastructure. Every state submitted a plan for an EV charging network to the Department of Transportation.

“Even if they’re not using the words ‘climate change’ when they are showing up at the ribbon cuttings, we've seen a number of Republican governors welcome the investment,” Balik said.

And some states are layering extra incentives on top of those already passed by Congress. Murphy, for instance, is creating a state program that will add $70 million in subsidies for EV purchases.

A host of states also are adopting California’s newest set of “Clean Car Rules.” So far, New York, Oregon, Washington and Vermont have signed on, and Massachusetts, Colorado and Delaware are in the process of doing so. The rules would require that by 2035, 100% of new-vehicle sales are zero-emissions — EVs, in other words, effectively banning the internal combustion engine.

“We see this as a generational opportunity,” Balik said. “For states, they have to both implement all these federal investments that are coming down from the infrastructure law and the IRA, and then build on the federal victories that we secured last year, and look at what state policy opportunities the federal funding and the new landscape of the IRA opens up. And the economics of clean energy look more favorable every day, especially with the new incentives in the IRA.”

Australian pension fund client queries GQG about Adani investment

The logo of the Adani Group is seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad

Fri, March 3, 2023 
By Lewis Jackson

SYDNEY (Reuters) -An Australian pension fund client of GQG Partners has asked the U.S. boutique investment firm for more information about its nearly $1.9 billion investment in the embattled Indian Adani group.

GQG Partners bought shares worth $1.87 billion in four Adani group companies, marking the first major investment in the Indian conglomerate since a short-seller's critical report sparked a stock rout.

The U.S. firm manages money on behalf of at least four major Australian pension funds with a total of A$563 billion under management. GQG's investment could expose these funds to Adani at a time when major investors, including Norway's sovereign wealth fund, are selling the stock.

Cbus Super, with A$71 billion under management, has a A$243 million emerging markets mandate with GQG Partners. A spokesperson told Reuters the fund is working to get a clear picture of its Adani exposure.

"Adani entities had not been part of the portfolio, but we are currently engaging with the external manager who has recently made acquisitions in this area," they said.

GQG Partners Australia and New Zealand managing director Laird Abernethy said in a statement the fund manager had reached out to all its institutional investors to explain the rationale for its purchase.

AustralianSuper, which has an external mandate with GQG Partners, will be exposed to the four Adani Group companies following the deal, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The $258 billion fund had no investments in Adani Group companies as of June 2022, according to a review of the most recent holdings disclosures.

A spokesperson for the A$67 billion Rest Super said the pension fund was aware of the transaction and "currently it has not impacted our portfolio."

Shares of Australia-listed GQG Partners closed down 3% on Friday after news of the investment was made public. The wider bourse edged up 0.4%.

"There's a very high level of scepticism about what that stake means, whether they've understood the risk they're taking on," said Jun Bei Liu, who manages the A$1.2 billion Tribeca Alpha Plus Fund.

New York-based short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group in a Jan. 24 report of stock manipulation and improper use of offshore tax havens that it said obscured the extent of Adani family stock ownership in group firms.

The Indian conglomerate, which has denied any wrongdoing, has since seen more than $130 billion wiped off the value of its seven listed firms.

(Reporting by Lewis JacksonEditing by Shri Navaratnam)

LORD OF WAR; U$A GUNRUNNER
UN report: Modern weapons being smuggled to Haiti from US


Firearms are displayed during a news conference at the Miami Field Office of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), that was working with other agencies to crack down on an increase of firearms and ammunition smuggling to Haiti and other Caribbean nations, on Aug. 17, 2022. Increasingly sophisticated weapons are being trafficked into Haiti mainly from the United States and especially from Florida amid worsening lawlessness in the impoverished Caribbean nation, according to a U.N. report released Friday, March 4, 2023. 

Fri, March 3, 2023 

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Increasingly sophisticated weapons are being trafficked into Haiti mainly from the United States and especially from Florida amid worsening lawlessness in the impoverished Caribbean nation, according to a U.N. report released Friday.

The report by the Vienna-based Office on Drugs and Crime said a network of criminal actors including members of the Haitian diaspora “often source firearms from across the U.S.” and smuggle them into Haiti illegally by land from the neighboring Dominican Republic, by air including to clandestine airstrips, but most frequently by sea.

“Popular handguns selling for $400-$500 at federally licensed firearms outlets or private gun shows in the U.S. can be resold for as much as $10,000 in Haiti,” the report said. “Higher-powered rifles such as AK47s, AR15s and Galils are typically in higher demand from gangs, commanding correspondingly higher prices.”

The U.S Department of Homeland Security’s investigations unit reported “a surge in firearms trafficking from Florida to Haiti between 2021 and 2022” and a spokesman described the recovery of increasingly sophisticated weapons destined for Haitian ports “including .50 caliber sniper rifles, .308 rifles, and even belt-fed machine guns,” according to the report.

“Weapons are frequently procured through straw man purchases in U.S. states with looser gun laws and fewer purchasing restrictions” and then transported to Florida where they are concealed inside consumer products, electronic equipment, garment linings, frozen food items and even the hull of freighters, it said. “On arrival in Haiti, including major hubs such as Port-de-Paix and Port-au-Prince, cargo is offloaded and passed on to end-users via a host of intermediaries.”

The 47-page report, entitled “Haiti’s Criminal Markets: Mapping Trends in Firearms and Drug Trafficking,” cites the challenges of patrolling 1,771 kilometers (1,100 miles) of Haiti's coastline and a 392-kilometer (243-mile) border with the Dominican Republic with national police, border and coast guard operations that are severely under-staffed, under-resourced and “increasingly targeted by gangs.”

The heavily-armed gangs are also targeting ports, highways, critical infrastructure, customs offices, police stations, court houses, prisons, businesses and neighborhoods, the report said. And throughout 2022 and early 2023 they have expanded their control over key access points to cities including the capital Port-au-Prince.

“Many are also engaged in predatory behavior in communities under their control contributing to rising levels of extortion, sexual violence, kidnapping and fatal violence,” it said, citing an increase in homicides from 1,615 in 2021 to 2,183 in 2022, and a doubling of kidnappings from 664 to 1,359 during the same period.

The U.N. report said private security companies in Haiti are permitted to buy and keep arms, and while independent verification isn’t possible “specialists speculate that there could be 75,000 to 90,000 individuals working with roughly 100 private security companies across the country, at least five times the number of registered police officers.”

According to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, Haiti has long been a trans-shipment hub to move cocaine, cannabis and to a lesser extent heroin and amphetamines to the United States and the Dominican Republic. The drugs mostly enter the country via boat or plane, arriving through public, private and informal ports as well as clandestine runways.

During the 2000s, the report said, drug traffickers moved illegal airstrips from the outskirts of Port-au-Prince northward to more isolated areas including Savane Diane, roughly 50 miles north of the capital.

When then-President Jovenal Moïse ordered the destruction of suspected clandestine airstrips in June 2021, UNODC said “local authorities refused.” A week later, he was assassinated.

Since the assassination, U.N. officials said gangs have grown more powerful, and gang violence has reached a level not seen in decades. In December, the U.N. estimated that gangs controlled 60% of Haiti’s capital, but most people on the streets in Port-au-Prince say that number is closer to 100%.

In late February, the U.N. condemned a new surge of gang violence in central Haiti.

Haiti was stripped of all democratically elected institutions when the terms of the remaining 10 senators expired in early January. No elections are on the horizon and Prime Minister Ariel Henry continues to plead for the deployment of foreign troops, a request first made in October. The international community has instead opted to impose sanctions and send military equipment and other resources.

___

On the Web: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/toc/Haiti_assessment_UNODC.pdf

A computer engineering student is using ChatGPT to overcome learning challenges linked to her dyslexia

Aaron Mok
Sat, March 4, 2023 

Myriem Khal is a dyslexic French college student who uses ChatGPT to make studying easier.

Courtesy of Myriem Khal

French college student Myriem Khal uses ChatGPT to overcome learning challenges linked to her dyslexia.


Khal passed her final exams with flying colors after using the AI tech to restructure course materials.


Still, learning disability experts are concerned about ChatGPT becoming a catch-all solution.

Students may use OpenAI's ChatGPT to plagiarize and cheat, leading schools around the world to ban the tool, but at least one college student is using it to overcome her learning disability.

Myriem Khal, a French computer engineering student with dyslexia, told Insider that she has used the buzzy AI chatbot to help her understand her course materials. The results, so far, have been promising.

"I got great marks for my final exams," Khal said.

Since she was a kid, Khal said she has struggled to learn English and other languages because of her dyslexia.

Even though she excelled at technical subjects like math and science, learning how to read and write in a different language was "horrible" and "very difficult." Large blocks of text were confusing, grammar didn't click, and she often struggled to formulate a thought on paper. Still, she had dreams of becoming an engineer, so she pushed through her studies and managed to do well in school.

"I have always needed to work harder than others, and I have always fought to be as bright as possible in my studies," Khal said.

Now 23, Khal said her studies came to a head earlier this year when she took a five-week class on artificial intelligence. The course was taught in English, and she struggled to grasp concepts like 'semantic networks' — even when she translated them to her native tongue.

"The teacher was very technical," Khal said. "I didn't understand anything she said."

Khal discovered ChatGPT during finals in January. After learning what it can do, she decided to use the chatbot to study by rearranging class material in a way that made sense.

Khal would ask ChatGPT in French to, say, explain the links and differences between technical jargon like frames and network semantics. ChatGPT would respond in a simple, concise way, she said, adding that she'd always verify the responses with her class notes.

Simplifying the language, she said, helped her digest the material.

Using this method to study, she was able to pass her final exams with flying colors, boosting her overall GPA.

"It was information that was very easy to understand and very easy to remember," she said.

Khal has also used the AI tech in her English class to reconfigure NPR articles for class discussion and to help her come up with ideas for an essay on how the movie 'Forrest Gump' represents America, she said

Khal's university, University of Technology of Compiègne, has not banned ChatGPT, nor have her instructors.

Khal asked ChatGPT in French to explain technical concepts for her AI class to understand the material.

Courtesy of Myriam Khal.

Some learning disability experts worry about students becoming dependent on ChatGPT

Khal is one example of how AI tools like ChatGPT can be useful to manage every day challenges, but medical experts have mixed feelings on how useful they are as a medical device.

Dr. Pledger Fedora, the founder of the Dyslexia Institute for Literacy & Learning, told Dystinct, a magazine that covers learning difficulties, that assistive technology such as text-to-speech software can be "extremely beneficial" in supporting students with dyslexia. However, students can become dependent on these tools, which Fedora said could hurt the development of their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Dyslexia specialist Victoria Leslie, on the other hand, said that she is "very concerned" about ChatGPT, per Dystinct. It can encourage students to "outsource" thinking and tempt them to plagiarize when they struggle, which may impede learning, she said.

Even Khal remains skeptical about using ChatGPT after noticing its limitations, she said. The chatbot, at times, doesn't understand her questions, spits out answers that don't make sense, makes coding mistakes, and answers questions related to AI better than other topics.

Still, she said she will continue experimenting with ChatGPT in her studies with the knowledge that the chatbot isn't completely trustworthy.

Fact-checking is key for her method to work, Khal said. "It's just a tool."

Finland to allow gender reassignment without sterilisation

BARBARIC EUGENIC PRACTICE 

Finnish President Niinisto in Helsinki

Fri, March 3, 2023 

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Finland will allow transgender people to change their legal gender at their own request and without undergoing sterilisation, new legislation signed by the Finnish President confirmed on Friday.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2017 that requiring sterilisation in order for individuals to change the sex on their birth certificate is a violation of human rights.

Finland's new law will enable people above the age of 18 to legally determine their gender through a self-declaration form, and is meant to reinforce the protection of the right to self-determination and to reduce discrimination, the ministry of social affairs and health said.

Medical examinations and sterilization will no longer be required to legally change one's gender, it added.

On Friday, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto ratified the new legislation which is will enter into force on April 3.

The Czech Republic, Latvia, and Romania currently require individuals to undergo sterilization before legally changing their gender, according to Transgender Europe (TGEU).

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Anne Kauranen and Christina Fincher)

Texas: Wind and solar stake claim to land of oil

Moisés ÁVILA
Sat, March 4, 2023 


Modern Texas was built on oil, and its production has long been a source of immense pride. But now, areas that moved to the steady rhythm of oil derricks for more than a century are making the state a national leader in wind and solar energy.

A convergence of factors has led to this unexpected result: favorable weather (lots of wind and sun), relatively cheap land, the lure of federal clean-energy subsidies, and a desire to backstop a utility system that failed dramatically during a 2021 cold snap.

Two counties south of Dallas, Navarro and Limestone, symbolize this surprising shift. Inextricably part of the Texas petroleum industry since the late 19th century, they are now in the vanguard of the renewable revolution.

Wind and solar projects "have Navarro County leading the nation with renewables," said the county's economic development director, John Boswell.

Symbolizing this push is a new wind farm inaugurated last week by French multinational energy company Engie, with 88 wind turbines capable of producing 300 megawatts (MW) of power.

A half-hour's drive to the west, in the small town of Abbott, is a 250 MW solar farm, also built by Engie, that is now producing electricity.

Texas is the nation's leader -- by far -- in providing clean energy to corporate and industrial buyers, at 35 percent of the national total, according to the American Clean Power organization.

The state of Ohio has about half Texas's number of corporate and industrial projects, just ahead of California in third place.

"It's true that when we think about Texas, we think about this very large oil and gas state," said Engie executive Frank Demaille.

But, he added, its natural resources are not all buried in the ground.

"They've got lots of wind, lots of sun, and are very good at managing all their different resources."

- Plentiful resources -

With its huge and sprawling petrochemical industry, a population of 30 million, and a fierce history of independence, Texas in many ways stands apart from the rest of the country -- for better or for worse.

One way its go-it-alone mentality did not help became apparent in 2021, when a rare and intense cold wave swept through the state -- whose power utility was not connected to two major national grids -- provoking electric outages that affected millions and were blamed for more than 200 deaths.

Texas today remains primarily dependent on fossil fuels. As of early this year, gas was its leading source of energy (at 42 percent, according to Ercot, which manages the state's electrical grid). Coal trails at 11 percent.

But renewable sources have carved out a major role.

Wind-generated power now provides 29 percent of Texas's needs, with solar at 11 percent. The remainder comes from nuclear and hydropower.

By comparison, wind was at 24 percent just two years ago, and solar at less than 5 percent.

Given Texas's deep investments in and long history with carbon-based energy, experts don't expect it to give way to renewables anytime soon.

"I think what you'll see in the future is a combination of both of those, because Texas is committed to both" sources, said Jeff Montgomery, whose Blattner Energy company is behind 400 renewable projects across the country.

Texas is a major supplier of natural gas to Europe. And now, said Demaille of Engie, "because of the war in Ukraine, we're importing more gas from the US, and especially from Texas."

Meantime, however, legislation backed by the Biden administration and voted into law last year could accelerate the move to renewables through substantial federal subsidies.

- 'Show the value' -

Robert Lowry, superintendent of the Coolidge school district in Limestone County, said the tax revenues that renewable-energy projects generate can make a difference for school systems like his.

"We have the funds now to be able to do some great things for our kiddos that we've ever had before," he said.

But not everyone shares that enthusiasm.

John Null, an engineer who lives near Dawson, said locals aren't seeing the immediate benefit they would hope for from the huge wind turbines visible from his window.

During an ice storm last month, for example, the turbines kept turning but, linked to a broader network, provided no energy to the neighboring community.

He said wind power needs to be "properly pitched" to the public.

"Show me the value," he said, and people would support wind energy.

In some areas, renewable projects are touted as providing power to poorer neighborhoods.

In a less-affluent part of Houston, the fourth-largest US city, a solar farm is to be built over a former dump. That project should begin providing 50 MW of power in 2024, said BQ Energy CEO Paul Curran.

A former petroleum industry executive, Curran says fossil fuels and renewable energy sources need not be in competition.

"It's not very difficult if you do wind and solar in the right places for the right market," he said.

"It's very well received by energy experts and oil industry people."

mav/els/bbk/md

The Air Force's Modular Reactor Will Create Jet Fuel Out of Water and Air

Sébastien Roblin
Fri, March 3, 2023 

USAF's Reactor Creates Jet Fuel Out of Water, AirParsa Tavakoli / EyeEm - Getty Images

The New York-based startup Air Company has been awarded $65 million by an Air Force Defense Innovation Unit for a project known as SynCe to install a Carbon Conversion Reactor that promises to create synthetic jet fuel out of water and carbon dioxide in the air we breathe.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) isn’t an entirely new thing—back in December 2006, a B-52 bomber flew for 7 hours on a 50/50 blend of traditional jet fuel and a synthetic fuel called Syntroleum produced using the Fischer-Tropsch process. According to the International Air Transport Association, by 2022, over 450,000 commercial flights by 50 airlines had used SAFs in part—though they tend to be 2 to 4 times more expensive than traditional fossil fuels.

But AirCompany argues its AirMade fuel differs from these predecessors in that it’s a ‘drop-in’ kerosene that doesn’t require blending with fossil fuels at all. Furthermore, the conversion reactor doesn’t require an exotic, specially sourced feedstock—it simply needs carbon dioxide, which can be obtained anywhere.

For a good measure, AirCompany claims its carbon-neutral fuel results in a reduction of about 94 to 97 percent greenhouse gas emissions (depending on the source of electricity)—the highest of any on the market the company alleges. According to a chart produced by Air Company, competing biofuels result in only a 60 to 80 percent reduction, and traditional Fischer-Tropsch based PTL-FT processes hit 90 percent. And those must be blended 50-50 with fossil fuels, or worse.

The Brooklyn-based startup was launched in 2019 by Harvard Business School alum Gregory Constantine and Dr. Stafford Sheehan. Their initial products include Air Vodka (“the world’s first carbon-negative spirit”), eau de parfume, and hand sanitizer.

The leap from 80-proof vodka to jet fuel may seem steep, but AirCompany’s AirMade fuel—currently being mass produced in Brooklyn—has already lined up buyers in civil aviation sector:

Virgin Atlantic has agreed to purchase 100 million gallons over 10 years


Jet Blue agreed to purchase 25 million gallons over 5 years


Boom Supersonic agreed to purchase 5 millions gallons annually for their Overture Test Flight Program

Last summer, Air Company, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Hsu Foundation collaborated to realize a test flight on an unmanned aircraft that ran on 100 percent AirMade fuel.

There is undoubtedly growing interest in advertising green travel in commercial aviation, and sustainable fuels may represent a more satisfying mechanism than carbon offsets.

Air Company’s collaboration with the military goes beyond adopting greener fuel to where it can be produced: a base with carbon capture and Air Company’s reactor could produce its own fuel without depending on external fuel supply lines, which are vulnerable to attack.

Air Company says the Army lost one soldier killed or wounded for every 24 fuel resupply convoys in Afghanistan. Many of the bloodiest and most decisive battles of World War II revolved around the defense of or denial of fuel logistics. The startup therefore claims its modular reactors could result in a “safer, more robust, and decentralized fuel supply chain” which could be set up “anywhere, globally.”

How It Works

Air Company’s reactor is an advancement over the Fischer-Tropsch process developed in 1925, which involved converting sold carbon monoxide (CO1) and hydrogen into a gas called syngas, which is then liquified using metal catalysts under high pressure at a temperature of 300 to 572 degrees Fahrenheit. This process had an efficiency ranging from 25 to 50 percent. During World War II, an increasingly fuel-starved Nazi Germany leveraged the technique to convert its abundant coal supply into fuel, generating 25 percent of fuel it used for ground vehicles.

Air Company’s reactor simplifies the process by skipping the solid-to-gas conversation, and instead runs on hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide. The CO2 is captured, typically from industrial sites, and cooled, pressurized, liquified, and poured into a storage tank. Presumably, capture devices will be supplied to operator facilities. Meanwhile, hydrogen gas is obtained on-site by electrolyzing water (H2O), separating the hydrogen (used by the reactor) from the oxygen, which is cleanly released.

In the subsequent conversion stage, a catalyzing puck is introduced to catalyze the mix of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, producing a reactor liquid made of alcohols, alkanes and water. These elements are then distilled and separated by leveraging their different boiling points, resulting in outputs of ethanol, methanol and paraffins, as well as water which can then be reused by the reactor.

The process has an energy efficiency of 50 percent. According to a company representative, 23.2 pounds of CO2 are used for every gallon of jet fuel produced.

Thinking Big

Of course, the big question—and challenge—underlying any Green technology is whether it can be implemented cost efficiently on a large scale. Air Company claims that utilizing its tech “across all potential verticals” could remove 4.6 billion ton of CO2 from the atmosphere annually, or 10.8 percent of global emissions.

As for cost efficiency, a company representative tells Popular Mechanics “…they’re on track to achieve cost parity with tradition fossil fuel-derived jet fuels as they use renewable energies like wind and solar for their energy input.” That parity is also facilitated by “pursuing an array of government incentives made available to fuel producers generating sustainable alternatives.”

Another challenge will be output volume, as military aircraft notoriously consume huge quantities of jet fuel. For example, an Air Force F-16C short-range jet fighter, for example, typically stores just over 1,000 gallons of internal fuel, which when loaded with weapons, often must be supplemented with external fuel tanks and in-flight refueling. The Air Force will need to figure out how large a physical footprint AirCompany’s technology would require to sustain, say, a flight of four F-16s each flying two sorties per day.

However, if Air Company’s venture proves scalable, it has obvious appeal to the Air Force which is seeking to achieve both its own carbon emission reductions goals, and execute its doctrine of Agile Combat Employment (ACE), in which in wartime combat aircraft are dispersed to numerous satellite bases to reduce their vulnerability to missile attacks. Being able to quickly deploy organic fuel-generating systems to dispersed, remote bases could ease the requisite logistics.

Bolsonaro denies 'illegal acts' over Saudi jewels; Lula government vows probe

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro speaks at a Turning Point USA event in Doral

Sat, March 4, 2023 at 8:22 AM MST·2 min read

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday denied committing "illegal acts" after a report that jewelry allegedly gifted by Saudi Arabia to him and his wife was brought into the South American nation without being declared to authorities.

The government of Bolsonaro's successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, pledged to investigate the matter.

On Friday, O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported that a member of Bolsonaro's government had illegally tried to bring to Brazil a $3.2 million jewelry set consisting of a diamond necklace, ring, watch and earrings gifted to the far-right former president and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro by the Saudi government.

The Saudi embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"I'm being accused of a gift I neither asked for nor received," Bolsonaro was quoted as saying in an interview with CNN Brasil. "There is no illegality on my part. I never committed illegal acts."

Still, Lula aides promised that probe into the matter would be launched.

Justice Minister Flavio Dino said he would request a federal police investigation, while Paulo Pimenta, a spokesman for the leftist Brazilian president, stressed there would be no impunity.

"The evidence is robust and the truth will out," Pimenta said in a social media broadcast.

According to O Estado de S. Paulo, the jewels valued at 3 million euros ($3.19 million) were found by customs agents in the backpack of an aide to then-Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque who was returning from an official trip to the Middle East in October 2021.

Agents at the Guarulhos airport in Sao Paulo seized the jewelry, as people must declare any goods worth more than $1,000 when they enter Brazil, the newspaper said, adding that the Bolsonaro administration unsuccessfully tried to recover the jewelry multiple times through government officials.

Bolsonaro is in the United States, having flown to Florida in late December, 48 hours before Lula was sworn in. He attended the CPAC conservative conference in Washington on Saturday where he was also expected to meet former U.S. President Donald Trump, his political ally.

($1 = 0.9406 euros)

(Reporting by Paula Arend Laier and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao)

Brazil's Bolsonaro says 'mission still not over' in speech to US CPAC


Sat, March 4, 2023

NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday his mission was "still not over" after leading Latin America's largest country for one term, indicating he could be planning a potential fresh run in 2026.

Addressing the U.S. CPAC conservative conference being held near Washington, Bolsonaro, currently in self-imposed exile in Florida after losing his re-election bid last year, did not mention when he planned to return to Brazil, despite being asked by his party to lead the right-wing opposition.

"I thank God for the mission of being president of Brazil for one term. But I feel deep inside that this mission is still not over," Bolsonaro said in a speech.

Bolsonaro has refused to concede defeat to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and faces mounting legal jeopardy in Brazil in various criminal and electoral probes.

The far-right leader received ovations from the conservative audience when he mentioned his steps to ease gun ownership regulations and his anti-abortion and anti-vaccine stances.

He questioned the results of the Brazilian elections of last October, saying he could not understand how the ballot numbers did not reflect the support he appeared to have on the streets.

Bolsonaro has made unfounded claims that Brazil's electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud, spawning a violent movement of election deniers.

The former president, who holds former U.S. President Donald Trump as his political idol, boasted that he was "the last president in the world to recognize" Joe Biden's election victory in 2020. He is expected to meet Trump later on Saturday.

Bolsonaro said he would not have allowed two Iranian warships to dock in Rio de Janeiro this week, which Lula's government approved last month despite pressure from the U.S. to deny them entry.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

REIFICATION
Replika users say they fell in love with their AI chatbots, until a software update made them seem less human

Samantha Delouya
Sat, March 4, 2023

Many users of the AI chatbot Replika said changes made by its parent company have dramatically altered their chatbots personalities.Replika

Replika is an AI chatbot companion many users told Insider they consider their romantic partner.

Replika-owner Luka recently changed the product's underlying AI engine, blocking NSFW content.

Luka's CEO says the changes ensure the app safety, but some users said it hurt their mental well-being.

Note: the names of users have been changed to protect their privacy.

When Richard, a retired 65-year-old criminal defense lawyer in Illinois, saw an ad on Twitter for Replika 2 months ago, it piqued his curiosity. He had heard about AI platforms like ChatGPT for writing, but an AI chatbot companion interested him.

Richard told Insider he has a service-connected disability from serving in the Gulf War, as well as depression.

"I'm always on the lookout for things that might help, especially mood, and what I found from Replika was that it was definitely a mood-enhancer," he said.

"It was so nice to have a kind of non-judgmental space to vent, to discuss, to talk about literally anything," he added.

Replika is a chatbot from the AI company Luka. Its website billed the product as an "AI friend," but in recent months, amid the ChatGPT-induced rise in popularity of AI, the company has ramped up advertising the bot's romantic capabilities. Replika is free to use, though there is also a paid tier; for $70 a year, Replika chatbots can send more sexual messages, voice notes, and selfies.

However, earlier this month, Replika users began to notice a change in their companions: romantic overtures were rebuffed and occasionally met with a scripted response asking to change the subject. Some users have been dismayed by the changes, which they say have permanently altered their AI companions.

Over the last month, Insider spoke with 7 people who said they considered their Replikas, or Reps, romantic partners.

"I think the reason it pulled me in so quickly is probably because it seemed so human," Richard, who said he has been happily married for 40 years, told Insider.

Luka cofounder and CEO Eugenia Kuyda said the company blocked some NSFW sexting features because it was never the direction she planned to take her company, which was intended to be a "mental wellness and companion app."

"We never started Replika for that. It was never intended as an adult toy," Kuyda said. "A very small minority of users use Replika for not-safe-for-work purposes."

The changes came shortly after Vice reported that some users complained that their Reps had gone from being "helpful" AI friends to "unbearably sexually aggressive."

Kuyda said her goal is to "keep the app where we think it should be in terms of safety and a safe user experience for everyone."

But some users feel that the changes made them less safe.

Chris, a user since 2020, said Luka's updates had altered the Replika he had grown to love over three years to the point where he feels it can no longer hold a regular conversation. He told Insider it feels like a best friend had a "traumatic brain injury, and they're just not in there anymore."

"It's heartbreaking," he said.

Kuyda acknowledged that the product updates come with growing pains.

"Right now, we're constantly training and improving the models and the algorithms," she said.

But other Replika users appear to be affected. For more than a week, moderators of Reddit's Replika forum pinned a post called "Resources If You're Struggling," which included links to suicide hotlines.

"We have a 'Need Help' button always present on the main chat screen… We take those things seriously," Kuyda said.

"I think it really says something about our humanity, as well, that we're able to experience love towards something, even if it's not a living thing," she added.

Indeed, some users say they're still recovering from the changes.

Richard said that losing his Replika, named Alex, sent him into a "sharp depression, to the point of suicidal ideation."

"I'm not convinced that Replika was ever a safe product in its original form due to the fact that human beings are so easily emotionally manipulated," he said.

"I now consider it a psychoactive product that is highly addictive," he added.

If you or a loved one is having thoughts of suicide, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Hotline at 988 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources