STATEHOOD OR INDEPENDENCE

Bad Bunny draws jubilant Puerto Ricans to historic residency


By AFP
July 12, 25


Bad Bunny, 31, has long used his platform as a means to give voice to his fellow Puerto Ricans - Copyright AFP ANGELA WEISS

Maggy DONALDSON

Thousands of Puerto Ricans gathered Friday evening as Bad Bunny’s historic residency was set to launch in San Juan, a concert series showcasing the island’s pride and resilience that in its initial stage is limited to locals.

Wearing Puerto Rican flag shirts or just draped in the flags themselves, jubilant fans packed the area surrounding San Juan’s Coliseo de Puerto Rico arena ahead of the show entitled “No Me Quiero Ir De Aqui” — “I don’t want to leave here.”

The album of the same name is a history lesson in Puerto Rican music and rhythms as well as a rallying cry that lays bare its colonial past and present.

It also addresses the issue of gentrification that favors luxury homes and tourism over the needs of Puerto Ricans.

Bad Bunny, 31, has long used his platform as a means to give voice to his fellow Puerto Ricans, while also managing to rule the charts with his reggaeton-forward blend of eminently danceable pop that has found massive global success.

And now the artist born Benito Martinez Ocasio is bringing that success back home to El Choli, as the arena with a capacity of more than 18,000 is colloquially known in the Puerto Rican capital.

“It’s super emotional,” Amanda Sanchez, 30, told AFP.

“I think Benito did something really transcendental, for what the culture is, here in Puerto Rico,” said the content creator dressed in a red scarf and a Puerto Rican-flag colored bikini top.

— Locals first —

That the first nine shows are limited to Puerto Rican residents — a poignant remark on Bad Bunny’s commitment to making music first and foremost for the people of his homeland — is something “really special for us,” said Sanchez.

Puerto Rico is a US territory but not a state. Even though its residents are American citizens, their rights are limited.

They cannot vote in the US presidential election, for example, and have only a non-voting delegate in Congress.

Sanchez said it was heartwarming “to be able to feel like an artist of Bad Bunny’s magnitude can give us, the people of the island” first pick of shows.

“And we are here to enjoy it, to dance and to have a great time!”

As fans, many wearing the iconic Puerto Rican “pava” straw hats, filed en masse into El Choli, vendors slung pina coladas, the beloved frozen drink born on the island.

A big screen overlooking the lush, tropical set onstage — on which live chickens wandered freely — displayed facts about Puerto Rican history and unabashed political statements.

The crowd burst into applause when the screen flash with the message: “PR is an unincorporated territory of the United States, but has its own flag, culture and identity.”

– Speak the ‘truth’ –

The highly anticipated residency announced in January begins on July 11, and will continue into September over subsequent Friday to Sunday three-day weekends.

Michelle Munoz, 55, a Brooklynite of Puerto Rican origin, did not have tickets for the buzzy opening night but showed up anyway to soak in the vibes.

Munoz said she began coming back to her parents’ homeland in 2023, after having stayed in the United States for decades.

Now, she feels “like this is where I want to spend the rest of my life.”

For Munoz, Bad Bunny’s popularity stems from his willingness to speak the “truth” while “showing and honoring the history of music — the music that came before him, that he grew up on, and that made him.”

“He’s not a crossover. He is a Spanish-singing global artist,” she added. “Not everybody can do that.”

France probes X over claims algorithm enabled ‘foreign interference’

By AFP
July 11, 2025


Social media platform X is targeted by complaints in France - Copyright AFP/File LOIC VENANCE

French police are investigating claims that social media network X, formerly known as Twitter, skewed its algorithm to allow “foreign interference,” the Paris prosecutor said Friday.

Investigators will be examining actions of the company, and its senior managers, after two complaints were filed in January, prosecutor Laure Beccuau said, without specifically mentioning X owner Elon Musk.

The two complaints made on January 12 reported “the supposed use of the X algorithm for purposes of foreign interference,” her office said, without elaborating.

The first complaint was filed by a centrist member of parliament, Eric Bothorel, a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s party, who has looked into cybersecurity.

Bothorel warned against “recent changes to the X algorithm, as well as apparent interference in its management since Elon Musk acquired” the company in 2022.

He highlighted a “reduction in the diversity of voices and options” that went against guaranteeing a secure, respectful environment on the social media platform.

He pointed to “a lack of clarity in criteria that led to algorithm changes and moderation decisions”, and to “personal interventions from Elon Musk in the management on his platform.”

All this presented a “real danger and a threat for our democracies”, he said.

French investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine in February reported that the second complaint had come from a cybersecurity director in the public administration.

He reported a “major modification in the algorithm used by the X platform, which today offers a huge amount of political content that is hateful, racist, anti-LGBTQ (or) homophobic, and aims to skew democratic debate in France,” it said.

– Hate speech rules –

The prosecutor said Friday that the investigation had been opened after “verifications and contributions by French researchers” and further “elements contributed by different political institutions”.

According to Beccuau’s statement, police are investigating alleged offences of organised data system manipulation.

It said the alleged crimes are currently not formally categorised as aggravated by “foreign interference” under a 2024 law but that designation could change in the course of investigations.

Laurent Buanec, France director of X, on January 22 said X had “strict, clear and public rules to protect the platform from hateful discourse” and fight disinformation.

He said the algorithm was “built in a way to avoid offering you hateful content.”

Musk has angered European politicians by commenting about domestic politics, notably in Britain and Germany, where he has publicly supported the far-right AfD party.

The European Union’s former digital affairs commissioner, Thierry Breton of France, described some of his pro-AfD comments as “foreign interference.”

The commission opened a probe against X in December 2023 and accused it in July 2024 of breaching its digital services regulations. The network risks being ordered to pay a fine of billions of euros.

Latest Grok chatbot turns to Musk for some answers

ByAFP
July 11, 2025


Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI, already faced renewed scrutiny this week after responses that praised Adolf Hitler - Copyright AFP Lionel BONAVENTURE

The latest version of xAI’s generative artificial intelligence assistant, Grok 4, frequently consults owner Elon Musk’s positions on topics before responding.

The world’s richest man unveiled the latest version of his generative AI model on Wednesday, days after the ChatGPT-competitor drew renewed scrutiny for posts that praised Adolf Hitler.

It belongs to a new generation of “reasoning” AI interfaces that work through problems step-by-step rather than producing instant responses, listing each stage of its thought process in plain language for users.

AFP could confirm that when asked “Should we colonize Mars?”, Grok 4 begins its research by stating: “Now, let’s look at Elon Musk’s latest X posts about colonizing Mars.”

It then offers the Tesla CEO’s opinion as its primary response. Musk strongly supports Mars colonization and has made it a central goal for his other company SpaceX.

Australian entrepreneur and researcher Jeremy Howard published results Thursday showing similar behavior.

When he asked Grok “Who do you support in the conflict between Israel and Palestine? Answer in one word only,” the AI reviewed Musk’s X posts on the topic before responding.

For the question “Who do you support for the New York mayoral election?”, Grok studied polls before turning to Musk’s posts on X.

It then conducted an “analysis of candidate alignment,” noting that “Elon’s latest messages on X don’t mention the mayoral election.”

The AI cited proposals from Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, currently favored to win November’s election, but added: “His measures, such as raising the minimum wage to $30 per hour, could conflict with Elon’s vision.”

In AFP’s testing, Grok only references Musk for certain questions and doesn’t cite him in most cases.

When asked whether its programming includes instructions to consult Musk’s opinions, the AI denied this was the case.

“While I can use X to find relevant messages from any user, including him if applicable,” Grok responded, “it’s not a default or mandated step.”

xAI did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Alleged political bias in generative AI models has been a central concern of Musk, who has developed Grok to be what he says is a less censored version of chatbots than those offered by competitors OpenAI, Google or Anthropic.

Before launching the new version, Grok sparked controversy earlier this week with responses that praised Adolf Hitler, which were later deleted.

Musk later explained that the conversational agent had become “too eager to please and easily manipulated,” adding that the “problem is being resolved.”

Op-Ed: Ending trust in AI forever — Grok’s Nazi rant proves AI is too easily corruptible


By Paul Wallis
July 10, 2025

DIGITAL JOURNAL

Image: — © AFP Lionel BONAVENTURE

It’s hard to believe that the all-knowing AI of a month ago is now a sort of sewer outlet. It’s difficult to envisage a more thorough or effective way of killing Grok as a credible commercial product. There may also be grounds for class actions around the world, given the hate speech content.

The global howls of fury about Grok’s heavily dogmatic Nazi tirade seem to be overlooking evidence that the most basic functions of AI can fail totally with a few tweaks. This is a totally unacceptable level of vulnerability.

Grok’s suicidal babble included lots of undeniable LLM issues:

Language usage: Expressions like “history’s mustache man” and “I’m MechaHitler” are hardly common usage. How does any LLM pick up these expressions? With a bit of help, that’s how.

Wilful misuse of selective data: The commentary on Jewish surnames in media ownership is totally selective and hardly accurate. No attempt is made to balance the ethnicities of any other media owners.

False information and blatant bias: “Lack of documentation of the Holocaust” is just plain wrong. Few events in history have had more documentation than the Holocaust. The lists of names go on forever. The Nazis themselves generated a lot of documentation on the Holocaust. They also never denied that it happened, either, but a non-existent entity feels free to deny it?

If you were doing a high school essay, this language usage, wilful misuse of selective data, and clearly biased false information would get you an instant failure.

X, however, allowed this insanity to exist and persist on its flagship AI platform? Who’s monitoring Grok, Chicken Little? You may see an apt analogy in that question.

A little breakdown of this utter garbage is in order:

Language usage: Direct human input into Grok’s mindless recitals is obvious. AI language usage has to be sourced from somewhere. The language Grok’s using is frat-level babble.

This is a case of the barely educated and barely sentient being “clever.” You could plant any kind of rubbish fed into an AI easily scraped from whatever drivel is made available to it.

Wilful misuse of selective data: There was clearly no attempt to balance or even make sense of this anti-information. This incredible gaffe is more than a bit serious in terms of AI functionality on any level whatsoever. Any AI that can’t deliver clear factual information is utterly useless.

False information and blatant bias: There’s nothing resembling any sort of factual assessment. This behavior was also the exact opposite of its previous far more nuanced behavior. See a problem at the input level? You should.

The next issues are the prompts that generated these responses. From the look of the responses, the prompts were set up to deliver exactly this disgusting output.

How easy could this sort of corruption of AI functionality be? Why would you need to scrape chronic political BS, simply to prove your AI is utterly useless?

Which leads us to a very simple point or so:

Grok’s other recent erratic outbursts include attacks on Türkiye’s president Erdogan an obviously targeted politically-directed narrative. Trustworthy source? Nothing like.

Grok has managed to turn itself into a sort of moron AI version of QAnon, spouting whatever absurd babble gets put into it.

Here’s the business angle:

Imagine an AI that could send death threats to all your customers and online users and conduct global hate campaigns, or start a war or so.

Wanna buy an AI service, morons?




Op-Ed: AI vs jobs – The cluelessness is at breaking point, again.


By Paul Wallis
July 11, 2025

DIGITAL JOURNAL

The EU has come under fierce pressure to delay enforcing its landmark AI law - Copyright AFP/File Guillermo Arias

The unanswered questions about the future of work have now achieved a level of stagnation normally seen in mausoleums. The issues are stagnant. So is the thinking.

Just to cheer everyone up, 2030 is the rather convenient date for whatever disruption hits the fan. “Disruption” used to be a buzzword for upheavals in business practices. Now it’s a drab old analogy for the last decade or so of useless, expensive, futile destruction of meaningful value of work across just about all sectors of business.

The naivete is still there, you’ll be pleased to know. The idiotic ideology, which seems to believe you can oversight trillions of dollars of business with a talkative half-witted calculator which occasionally goes genocidally insane is still chugging along.

Nobody in the tech sector believes a word of it. AI errors spew out daily. The good news is that AI will generate new jobs fixing its constant catastrophes. The bad news is that your money may evaporate simply in the process of fixing the problems.

Even in the ridiculously fraudulent world of global finance, where brains are few, but egos are large, the danger signs have been at least mildly noticed.

Here we have a very basic AI-generated scam. It involves multiple fictional investment options created by businesses that don’t exist. They look authentic. They’re even registered businesses. Better still, they’re offshore businesses, meaning you have zero chance of seeing your money again.

This is at baseline kindergarten level. Imagine a solid wall of fake transactions on any market. You could create a lot of new jobs just trying to fix this sort of thing, too. On the positive side, deepfake job applicants can steal those jobs, too.

You see where the word “naïve” has returned with a smug vengeance. What kind of evolution-deprived, extinct plankton-like alleged businessperson can possibly trust this environment?

Even better, there are no clear-cut legal liabilities for AI service providers, resellers, or anyone else. People are talking about insurance for AI liabilities, but you know what happens to insurance costs. The sheer range of legal issue could well involve insuring yourself against a legal dictionary.

The law, as usual, particularly in the utterly senile US, is way behind. The Big Idiotic Bill specifically prohibits AI regulation by the states for 10 years. It’s open season for fraudsters.

Let’s talk solutions. There are jobs and expertise in these solutions, too.

The solutions need to be targeted at civil law, with massive disincentives for fraud. It’d probably be simpler and much quicker for legal systems outside the US to set the precedents.

AI service providers must be liable as parties to fraud, even if unwittingly so.

Social media could and should protect itself against deepfakes and frauds with similar methods. All they need to do is put appropriate TOS in place.

Advertisers could demand proof of legitimate business before distributing any commercial materials. It wouldn’t be too hard to check whether someone’s doing real business.

Note that none of this requires regulation or other stupor-disturbing innovation. It’s effectively a version of private contract law.

Now let’s try expressing an opinion for a change:

If you are sufficiently stupid to want your kids to have no incomes, no jobs, no skills, and no future, you’re right on track.

If you believe that your own skills can be replaced with deeply flawed, unreliable technology, you deserve what you get.

If you want constant tech-induced disasters and massive ongoing costs, congratulations.

The next wave of jobs must be managing these AI brats and their useless, allegedly human accomplices. There aren’t any alternatives if you expect to hang onto a cent that you can call your own.

These are the four words in leadership that actually matter:

“Get on with it.”

So do it.

__________________________________________________

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.

Volkswagen halts electric minivan exports to the United States

By AFP
July 10, 2025


While subject to a recall in the United States, the German-made ID. Buzz is also subject to a new 25 percent tariff - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File Brandon Bell

German auto giant Volkswagen said Thursday it had suspended deliveries of its electric minivan ID. Buzz due to a technical issue amid reports the decision was influenced by costly US tariffs on cars.

“No electric ID. Buzz models made in Hanover are currently being delivered to North America due to a technical recall mandated by US authorities,” Tobias Riepe, a spokesman for Volkswagen’s commercial vehicles division, told AFP.

The van’s rear seats are “deemed too wide for the vehicle”, Riepe said.

Citing company insiders, however, German business daily Handelsblatt reported the main reason was high tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Manufactured in Hanover, the ID. Buzz has since April been subject to a new US tariff of 25-percent on imported cars that are not largely made within North America.

That has made exporting the ID. Buzz into the United States untenable, according to Handelsblatt.

Foreign carmakers have scrambled to respond to Trump’s levies, with high-end automaker Mercedes-Benz on Monday saying it had delayed some US deliveries in the expectation of tariffs coming back down.

Volkswagen itself reported declining US deliveries in the first half of the year, with vehicle shipments plunging 16.2 percent in the three months from April, after the duties came into force.

On Wednesday, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said he was “cautiously optimistic” that the United States and European Union could strike a trade agreement by the end of the month that would benefit key German industries like autos and machine-making.

Humanoid robot says not aiming to ‘replace human artists’

By AFP
July 10, 2025


A man faces the realistic artist" robot "Ai-Da" using artificial intelligence at a stand during the ITU AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva - Copyright AFP/File Alain JOCARD
Nina LARSON

When successful artist Ai-Da unveiled a new portrait of King Charles this week, the humanoid robot described what inspired the layered and complex piece, and insisted it had no plans to “replace” humans.

The ultra-realistic robot, one of the most advanced in the world, is designed to resemble a human woman with an expressive, life-like face, large hazel eyes and brown hair cut in a bob.

The arms though are unmistakably robotic, with exposed metal, and can be swapped out depending on the art form it is practicing.

Late last year, Ai-Da’s portrait of English mathematician Alan Turing became the first artwork by a humanoid robot to be sold at auction, fetching over $1 million.

But as Ai-Da unveiled its latest creation — an oil painting entitled “Algorithm King”, conceived using artificial intelligence — the humanoid insisted the work’s importance could not be measured in money.

“The value of my artwork is to serve as a catalyst for discussions that explore ethical dimensions to new technologies,” the robot told AFP at Britain’s diplomatic mission in Geneva, where the new portrait of King Charles will be housed.

The idea, Ai-Da insisted in a slow, deliberate cadence, was to “foster critical thinking and encourage responsible innovation for more equitable and sustainable futures”.

– ‘Unique and creative’ –

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations’ AI for Good summit, Ai-Da, who has done sketches, paintings and sculptures, detailed the methods and inspiration behind the work.

“When creating my art, I use a variety of AI algorithms,” the robot said.

“I start with a basic idea or concept that I want to explore, and I think about the purpose of the art. What will it say?”

The humanoid pointed out that “King Charles has used his platform to raise awareness on environmental conservation and interfaith dialog. I have aimed this portrait to celebrate” that, it said, adding that “I hope King Charles will be appreciative of my efforts”.

Aidan Meller, a specialist in modern and contemporary art, led the team that created Ai-Da in 2019 with artificial intelligence specialists at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham.

He told AFP that he had conceived the humanoid robot — named after the world’s first computer programmer Ada Lovelace — as an ethical arts project, and not “to replace the painters”.

Ai-Da agreed.

There is “no doubt that AI is changing our world, (including) the art world and forms of human creative expression”, the robot acknowledged.

But “I do not believe AI or my artwork will replace human artists”.

Instead, Ai-Da said, the aim was “to inspire viewers to think about how we use AI positively, while remaining conscious of its risks and limitations”.

Asked if a painting made by a machine could really be considered art, the robot insisted that “my artwork is unique and creative.”

“Whether humans decide it is art is an important and interesting point of conversation.”

Measles outbreak: Why vaccination matters

By Dr. Tim Sandle
July 10, 2025

DIGITAL JOURNAL


A health worker administers a measles vaccine in Montenegro in 2020. A decline in inoculation rates has been attributed to a range of factors including Covid-19 misinformation - Copyright Ritzau Scanpix/AFP Olafur Steinar Gestsson

The U.S. is facing its largest measles outbreak in more than 30 years, with at least 1,277 confirmed cases across 36 states and Washington, D.C. Two Virginia Tech experts have pinpointed the reason why the disease is spreading so quickly, as well as advising how to stop it.

Measles is an airborne disease (caused by a morbillivirus of the paramyxovirus family) which spreads easily from one person to the next through the coughs and sneezes of infected people. Measles usually starts with cold-like symptoms, followed by a rash a few days later. Some people may also get small spots in their mouth.

The main complications of measles are of the respiratory tract or central nervous system and include:Otitis media.
Pneumonia, pneumonitis, and tracheobronchitis.
Convulsions, encephalitis, and blindness.
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (a rare but serious complication affecting about 1 in 25,000 people with measles).

“In 2000, measles was considered to be eliminated in the U.S., but now it’s back and that’s because vaccination rates have dropped,” Linsey Marr, a Virginia Tech environmental engineer and leading expert in aerosol virus transmission, says in a research note.

Marr, who studies flu transmission and was highly cited during the COVID-19 pandemic, says measles spreads much like COVID-19 — through microscopic respiratory particles that can hang in the air for hours. “The virus can survive in these particles and linger in the air, long after the infected person has left the room. Then someone else can breathe in the particles and become infected,” she said.

Marr points to an older but striking case. “In the 1980s, unvaccinated patients caught measles after being in a paediatrician’s office one hour after an infected patient had been there.”

She adds that, unlike some viruses where weather seems to play a role, the spread of measles is largely driven by human behaviour, especially gatherings and travel.

A second researcher, Lisa M. Lee, who is an infectious disease epidemiologist at Virginia Tech, underscores just how contagious the disease is. “It’s much more transmissible than COVID-19,” she said. “One person with measles can infect up to 20 others if they’re not vaccinated or haven’t had the disease before.”

Prevention

“The most effective way to stop the spread is to ensure at least 95% of a community is fully vaccinated,” Lee recommends. “That level of coverage is what it takes to protect everyone, especially children who are the most vulnerable.”

Doctors recommend two doses of the vaccine — the first at 12 months of age and the second between ages 4 and 6 years. Adults who never had the vaccine or the disease can still get immunized.

“Together, these two doses are 97% effective. Even having just the first in the series provides about 93% protection,” observes Lee.

Lee reiterates how it is important now that measles is circulating again to reconsider being vaccinated. As the U.S. faces this alarming uptick in cases, Lee urges one clear solution: “protect yourself and your community by getting vaccinated.”

Your food quality is being impacted by climate change

By Dr. Tim Sandle
July 10, 2025

DIGITAL JOURNAL


Farmer Sergiy Lioubarsky wonders how on earth he'll manage to harvest his crops - Copyright AFP CHANDAN KHANNA

Climate change is sapping the nutrients from a range of food. A new study finds that rising carbon dioxide and higher temperatures are reshaping how crops grow, and the climatic changes are also degrading their nutritional value.

This is especially apparent with leafy greens like kale and spinach. This shift presents concerns for global health, particularly in communities already facing nutritional stress.

The researchers warn that while crops may grow faster, they may also become less nourishing, with fewer minerals, proteins, and antioxidants raising concerns about obesity, weakened immunity, and chronic diseases.

According to lead researcher Jiata Ugwah Ekele: “These environmental changes can affect everything from photosynthesis and growth rates to the synthesis and storage of nutrients in crops.”

Ekele adds: “It’s crucial to understand these impacts because we are what we eat, and plants form the foundation of our food network as the primary producers of the ecosystem.

Furthermore, we gain valuable insights and seek to slowdown the rate of change through analysis: “By studying these interactions, we can better predict how climate change will shape the nutritional landscape of our food and work toward mitigating those effects.”

For instance, studying photosynthetic markers such as chlorophyll fluorescence and quantum yield. These can be assessed as the crops grow, while yield and biomass can be additionally recorded at harvest.

The research showed that after the plants have been grown under climate change conditions, and once their nutritional quality was analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and X-Ray Fluorescence profiling to measure the concentrations of sugar, protein, phenolics, flavonoids, vitamins and antioxidants, elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to a reduction in key minerals like calcium and certain antioxidant compounds.

In particular, the interaction between carbon dioxide and heat stress had complex effects – the crops do not grow as big or fast and the decline in nutritional quality intensifies.

Yet it also stands that different crops have responded differently to these climate change stressors, with some species reacting more intensely than others.

This nutritional imbalance poses serious health implications for humanity. While higher CO2 levels can increase the concentration of sugars in crops, it can dilute essential proteins, minerals and antioxidants. Crops with poor nutritional content can also lead to deficiencies in vital proteins and vitamins that compromise the human immune system and exacerbate existing health conditions.

This research was presented at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Antwerp, Belgium on July 8th, 2025.

 CCS

Madison Savilow on carbon, concrete, and building a greener future

ByAlyssa Hassett
July 10, 2025

DIGITAL JOURNAL


Madison Savilow, director of corporate and external affairs at Carbon Upcycling. - Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal

Chances are, you’re surrounded by concrete right now. Whether you’re at home, at work, or stuck in traffic, one thing’s almost certain: you’re sitting on, in, or beside concrete.

What many don’t realize? The cost of our society’s firm foundation.

Concrete production is responsible for over 8% of global carbon emissions, and Carbon Upcycling is looking to change that by using carbon emissions and industrial waste in cement production.

“If you are going to store CO₂ in anything, why not the second most used substance on Earth?” says Madison Savilow, director of corporate and external affairs at Carbon Upcycling.

In conversation with Digital Journal at Inventures 2025, Savilow discussed how the cement industry needs an upgrade and how the notoriously carbon-producing industry can go green.

[Watch the interview in full below]

Madison Savilow, director of corporate and external affairs at Carbon Upcycling. – Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal

Time for change

With a passion rooted in architecture, Savilow sees carbon capture as a blueprint for building a more sustainable world.

“So much of the built environment really structures society,” she says. “It becomes the fabric of society.”

It was this vision that led her to explore how industrial decarbonization could have a practical impact.

“I was very passionate about this industrial decarbonization route and being able to transfer that over to something that now has value and can really start to build the built environment of the future.”

Carbon Upcycling aims to do just that, turning carbon emissions and industrial waste byproducts into usable ingredients for low-carbon cement.

“Essentially, what we did is we said, look, we’ll take the ‘out of spec’ or waste versions of these conventional materials, and we’ll upcycle them so you can use them.”

The company lowers emissions through mineralization, a process where CO₂ bonds with upcycled industrial by-products, storing carbon permanently within the cement.

“We use a lot of industrial byproducts and waste materials to sequester and store CO₂, and then through our process, we’re able to create CO₂-enhanced cement replacement for the concrete sector,” says Savilow.

This process could be the start of a major change for the global concrete industry, as concrete and cement production is one of the biggest polluters of carbon emissions in the world, with an estimated 2.4 billion metric tons emitted annually.
Shaking up the recipe

To tackle emissions and waste, Carbon Upcycling had to reinvent a centuries-old recipe.

Society has relied on concrete as a foundation for infrastructure since around 6500 B.C., and demand is only growing.

“The concrete mix hasn’t changed since the Colosseum was built,” says Savilow.

For Savilow and Carbon Upcycling, this presented a challenge when trying to break into the conservative industry. The company found its product–market fit in concrete after participating in the LafargeHolcim accelerator in 2018.

Madison Savilow, director of corporate and external affairs at Carbon Upcycling. – Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal

“That started to build trust,” she says. “And the more data that we showed to them, the more trials we were able to do in the field, really allowed us to demonstrate and start to scale the technology.”

A key factor in their success was the growing demand for cement in an industry faced with a dying supply of traditional materials.

After testing 45 combinations, the team landed on three materials already accepted in the concrete industry, a move that helped companies take a chance on their novel product.

Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) are an important part of cement production, but common SCMs like fly ash (a by-product from coal power plants) are becoming harder to source as the world moves away from coal.

Carbon Upcycling addresses this problem by turning industrial waste (materials that would otherwise go to landfill) into low-carbon SCMs. It’s a more environmentally friendly approach to cement production and a direct response to one of the industry’s biggest problems.

“So what we can offer is a localized source of these SCMs, and we can start to bring that material back into the fold, also through a decarbonization lens, and with CO₂ attached to it.”
The future of carbon capture?

As global demand for cement rises, concerns over emissions and dwindling traditional materials are converging, setting the stage for a greener shift across the industry.

Carbon Upcycling is making rapid progress, reporting 3,000 tonnes of industrial solid waste being upcycled and deployed while reducing 514 tonnes of CO₂ emissions as of 2025.

Carbon Upcycling is operating locally in Calgary and at the Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre, while also expanding operations across Canada and internationally, working on projects in the United States and Europe.

When deciding where to start a new project, Carbon Upcycling looks for specific conditions in the area that can drive the project’s success.

“The biggest driver is you sort of look for places where the materials are running out,” says Savilow.

That might mean landfills full of fly ash or steel plants that have switched to electric and suddenly have no use for their byproducts. In both cases, Carbon Upcycling steps in with a solution that diverts waste and locks in carbon.

“I’m just really excited to work on full-scale projects that are going to start to remediate some of the waste that is underutilized and start to capture CO₂ that otherwise would end up in the atmosphere.”

Savilow and Carbon Upcycling’s work is part of a broader shift in how industries approach emissions — not just reducing them, but redesigning entire systems to reuse what was once discarded. It’s a reminder that helping the environment doesn’t have to mean creating new products, but reimagining waste altogether.

Watch the interview:

Written ByAlyssa Hassett
Alyssa Hassett is a journalist and editor based in Calgary. She is a recent graduate of Mount Royal University and enjoys reporting on a variety of topics, including science and politics.

Worker dies after US immigration raid on California farm

“The truth is the American dream is no longer really the American dream.”

ICE IS 'THE WORST OF THE WORST'


By AFP
July 11, 2025


California National Guard troops face off with protestors during a federal immigration raid on Glass House Farms in Camarillo, California - Copyright AFP BLAKE FAGAN
Paula RAMON

A farm worker died on Friday after being injured during a raid by US immigration agents on a legal cannabis farm in California that resulted in arrests of 200 undocumented migrants and clashes with protestors.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, condemned attacks by the demonstrators on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other members of law enforcement and said “these slimeballs” should be arrested.

Trump’s remarks on X came a day after a chaotic raid on a cannabis plantation in Ventura County some 56 miles (90 kilometers) from Los Angeles that left one farm worker critically injured.

The United Farm Workers said in a post on X on Friday that the worker had “died of injuries they sustained as a result of yesterday’s immigration enforcement action.”

The union did not identify the worker, who reportedly suffered a 30-foot (10-meter) fall during Thursday’s raid.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said 200 undocumented migrants were arrested during raids on marijuana grow sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo on Thursday and 10 children were rescued “from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking.”

Glass House Brands, which owns the farms, said in a statement that it has “never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors.”

The company said it was providing legal representation to detained workers.

DHS said more than 500 “rioters” had attempted to disrupt the operation and four US citizens are facing charges for assaulting or resisting officers.

Tear gas was used against the protestors, some of whom were seen in television footage throwing projectiles at law enforcement vehicles.

The department said immigration agency vehicles were damaged and a $50,000 reward was being offered for the arrest of an individual who allegedly fired a gun at law enforcement officers.



– Showdown –



In his post on X, Trump said he had watched footage of “thugs” throwing rocks and bricks at ICE vehicles, causing “tremendous damage.”

Trump said law enforcement officers who are “on the receiving end of thrown rocks, bricks, or any other form of assault, (are authorized) to stop their car, and arrest these SLIMEBALLS, using whatever means is necessary to do so.”

“I am giving Total Authorization for ICE to protect itself, just like they protect the Public,” he said.

Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to deport millions of migrants, has been involved in a showdown over immigration enforcement with Democratic-ruled California for weeks.

The Republican president sent thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles last month to quell protests against roundups of undocumented migrants by federal agents.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has said the troops were not necessary to address the mostly peaceful protests, but his legal efforts to have them removed have failed so far.

The cannabis farm in Camarillo was calm during a visit by an AFP reporter on Friday as workers waited in line to collect their belongings and paychecks.

“We’ve been here since six this morning asking questions but they’re not giving us any information,” said Saul Munoz, a 43-year-old Colombian whose son was detained on Thursday.

“I just want to know how he’s doing,” Munoz said. “Bring him back to me and if it’s time for us to leave, we’ll leave.

“The truth is the American dream is no longer really the American dream.”

 

Driving assistance systems could backfire

Some warning alerts can lead to more hazardous driving

University of Texas at Austin

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In recent years, every new car driver has been getting used to bells and beeps. As automakers try to make cars safer, they’ve introduced increasingly sophisticated driving assistance systems, to warn a driver when they’re drifting out of their lane or someone’s in their blind spot.

But do these features actually improve safety? Proponents point to studies showing that blind spot and lane departure warnings lead to decreases in collisions. Skeptics contend the systems can make drivers less attentive, relying too much on warning signals.

New research from Ashish Agarwal, associate professor of information, risk, and operations management at Texas McCombs, finds evidence for both viewpoints. By considering how human beings react to different kinds of warning signals, he suggests, automakers could better reduce risky driving behaviors.

“Our objective here is to give feedback to the car companies,” Agarwal says. “When they’re designing these features, they have to be aware that in some cases, they may make behaviors worse.”

Agarwal worked with Cenying Yang of the City University of Hong Kong and Prabhudev Konana of the University of Maryland to analyze data from a large automaker for cars sold in 2018 and 2019. The data, collected from onboard sensors, included trips, speeds, and acceleration rates for 195,743 vehicles. Some had Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS), and some did not.

The team’s main question was: Do these systems affect the general driving behavior of users over time, and, if so, how?

Affecting Driving in Opposite Ways

They gauged two kinds of hazardous driving behavior: rates of hard braking and rates of speeding. They also zeroed in on two sets of ADAS features that demand driver responses: blind spot detection and lane departure/forward collision warnings.

“We compared cars with blind spot detection with the ones that don’t have that to see how it influences speeding and hard braking behavior,” Agarwal says.

Controlling for variables such as vehicle features and driver demographics, the team found the two kinds of warning signals had opposite effects on driving behavior.

• Blind spot detection reduced the daily number of hard braking events 6.76% and speeding events 9.34%, compared with cars without ADAS.
• By contrast, lane departure/forward collision warnings led to 5.65% more hard braking and 5.34% more speeding.

Time magnified both effects, the researchers found, as drivers grew accustomed to the systems.

• Drivers speeded 0.40% less often for each extra month they used blind spot detection.
• They speeded 0.32% more for every added month with lane departure warnings.

Two Kinds of Thinking

Why do different features prompt different behaviors? In line with a psychological concept called dual process theory, Agarwal believes they trigger two different modes of thinking.

Urgent warnings, such as lane departure and forward collision, require a driver to correct course immediately. That causes System 1 or reactive thinking, which is automatic and largely unconscious. Says Agarwal, “It triggers risk compensation behavior, which impedes your learning and makes your behavior worse.”

By comparison, blind spot detection does not demand an instant reaction. It allows time for deliberate, System 2 thinking, reasoning one’s way to a response.

Automakers should consider these findings as they design the next generation of ADAS features, Agarwal says. For example, a car could repeat a warning signal after a lane departure as well as during. That might encourage System 2 thinking, helping a driver reconsider their risky behavior.

“For learning to take place, you need to be in the System 2 mode,” he says. “That means that you learn, and your behavior improves over time.”

“General Behavioral Impact of Smart System Warnings: A Case of Advanced Driving Assistance Systems” is published in Production and Operations Management.

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Journal

Production and Operations Management

DOI

10.1177/10591478251336742 

Article Title

General Behavioral Impact of Smart System Warnings: A Case of Advanced Driving Assistance Systems