GREEN CAPITALI$M 

Aurora Cannabis is pausing operations at its Medicine Hat facility “indefinitely.”

GOING GOING GONE

© Provided by Calgary Herald File photo.

In a statement emailed to Postmedia, the Edmonton-based cannabis producer said it is making the move “in response to recent shifts in the industry and our strategic imperatives.”

About 30 staff will be impacted by the facility’s closure, Aurora said in an email to Postmedia.

Aurora Sun, located in Medicine Hat, was planned to be a large-scale cannabis growing facility, with 850,000 square feet “of flowering space.” When Aurora announced the facility in 2018, the firm said it would add 450 full-time jobs to the local economy.

The facility was only built out to just over a quarter of that growing space when construction was halted partway through in 2019, after Aurora failed to meet revenue projections.

In February, Aurora laid off 500 workers and CEO Terry Booth stepped down. The company made a second round of cuts in June, including 25 per cent of general and administrative staff and 30 per cent of its production staff.

China's #MeToo movement gets its moment in court

A sexual harassment case against a powerful Chinese media figure began in Beijing on Wednesday, with his accuser calling it a major moment in the country's still-young #MeToo movement.

© Noel Celis 

Zhou says she has no regrets about launching the case, and that she hopes it will encourage more women to come forward even if it is unsuccessful

Zhou Xiaoxuan, now 27, sparked a social media storm in 2018 after accusing prominent television host Zhu Jun of groping and forcibly kissing her when she was an intern at state broadcaster CCTV.

© Noel Celis

 Zhou said when she first went to the police with her accusation, she was discouraged from speaking out, making her feel her existence was "very insignificant"

China's first-ever civil code -- passed in May -- expanded the definition of sexual harassment, but many women are still reluctant to come forward and it is rare for cases like this to make it to court.  

© Noel Celis 

Zhou Xiaoxuan (front) rose to prominence during China's #MeToo movement two years ago after accusing an influential broadcaster of assault

"I'm very nervous," she told AFP on Wednesday ahead of the hearing. "But whether we win or lose the case, it has meaning."

"If we lose, it allows the questions we raised at least to remain in history. Someone will have to give us an answer."

Zhou said she found herself alone in a dressing room with Zhu in 2014, and that he groped her after asking if she wanted to continue to work for the channel after her internship.

Zhu is a former host of the country's annual Spring Festival Gala -- one of the world's most-watched television shows -- and other major broadcast events.

He has denied the allegations, and launched his own court case accusing her of damaging his reputation.

There were around 100 supporters outside the court on Wednesday, some holding banners reading "#MeToo" or "We oppose sexual harassment".

One supporter, Lucy Lu, told AFP: "No matter what happens, we think she is very brave."

Zhou broke down in tears as she addressed her supporters ahead of the trial, telling them: "We may be joyous or we may run into setbacks. But please don't take my setbacks to heart.

"We have to believe that even if history repeats itself, things will definitely progress," she said.

But there were violent scuffles outside the courtroom as supporters protested when police moved in, told the crowd to put down their banners, and dragged away and detained foreign reporters, including AFP.

- High profile allegations -

Zhou's case against Zhu was originally filed under the "personality rights" law -- covering rights relating to an individual's health and body -- but her lawyers have asked for it to be considered under the new legislation.

She was among a wave of people who came forward in 2018 when an emerging #MeToo movement rocked China.

When she initially reported the case to police, she said she was told that speaking out would affect the image of the state broadcaster where Zhu worked and hurt the feelings of those who admired him.

"These (experiences) make you feel like your existence is very insignificant," she told AFP.

"Actual harm inflicted on your body can't even compare with the other party's illusory fame and power."

Many women are reluctant to speak out in China's conservative society where victims can also face blame.

But Zhou has no regrets about launching the case and says that even if it is unsuccessful, she hopes it will encourage more women to speak up.

"Even if I had to experience this all over again, I don't regret it. In this process I developed an emotional connection with many women and men who had similar experiences," she said.

"I think all of this is still meaningful."

Although China's #MeToo movement was restrained by online censorship and tightening state control over civil society, several well-known individuals came under fire over allegations of sexual misconduct, including the former head of the government-run Buddhist association.

Lawyer Lu Xiaoquan told AFP that although disputes over sexual harassment can now be taken to court, "having these laws cannot fundamentally change the difficulties sexual harassment victims face."

bys-dnz/rox/oho

THIRD WORLD USA

Families on the brink fear what's next as pandemic benefits expire

The pandemic has pushed millions of Americans to the cliff’s edge, with the ground crumbling at year’s end without further stimulus action by Congress.

© Provided by NBC News

When federal emergency coronavirus relief protections expire, some as soon as the day after Christmas, 13 million Americans will lose their jobless benefits. Many more face eviction, or will find student debt has come due.

Nine months in to the pandemic, the latest jobs report showed the economy in November gained a paltry 245,000 jobs out of the 10 million yet to be recovered, underscoring the need for swift remedy.

It "confirms we remain in the midst of one of the worst economic and jobs crises in modern history,” President-elect Joe Biden said in a statement released Friday, noting that the "grim" snapshot of the economy comes “before the surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths in December as we head into a dark winter.”

When the CARES Act was signed, there was enough money flowing so that workers could stay home while still paying their bills. It was an unusual sight: Amid the mass layoffs, people were still paying their rent and credit card bills and were protected from losing their home. That’s exactly what the bill’s signers calculated for. They knew how much money it would take to keep the economy on life support.

But with the coronavirus dragging on for longer than anyone had imagined, the appetite for protection measures developed inconsistently across America, and full bipartisan support for further spending withered.

Lawmakers hit an impasse earlier this year when Democrats pushed for $2.2 trillion in aid, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., sought a smaller package of $550 billion.

“It’s another fiscal cliff when families have already gone over a fiscal cliff,” Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton, told NBC News. “It really means we’re allowing the wounds triggered by Covid to fester and become scars.”

According to an analysis by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, if the pandemic unemployment insurance benefits were reinstated and the virus was brought under control, over 5 million jobs could be created or saved.

Half of America is working from home and insulated from the sight of wraparound lines at the food banks and growing homeless tent encampments in some parts of the country like Austin, Chicago, and Charlotte, that might normally stir their concern.

“With the vaccine coming, it’s going to be worse before it gets better,” Swonk said. “Anyone waiting for the economy to reopen, you can starve in that period.”

Video: Biden emphasizes urgency for action amid coronavirus pandemic, economic crisis (NBC News)

There have been some signs of support for a new $908 billion stimulus package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday that there is "momentum" on Capitol Hill to reach a deal on coronavirus relief, further optimism that legislation could be approved before the end of the year.

"I am pleased that the tone of our conversation is one that is indicative of the decision to get the job done," Pelosi told reporters Friday.

The deal would provide for additional unemployment payments through March, but would not include another round of stimulus checks.

Relief can’t come soon enough for millions of families.

Rachel Alvarez, 44, a single mother of three in Naples, Florida, was making $6,000 a month as a server. Laid off in March, her unemployment benefits — which expire on Dec. 26 — barely cover her rent. That leaves her scrambling daily in food lines to fill the fridge.

“We need that federal [supplemental unemployment benefit],” Alvarez told NBC News. “Here we are in the pandemic, highest numbers and death rates and no relief before the holidays? It’s crazy. It is not okay.”

Next month, if things don’t improve, Alvarez said she will have to seek restaurant work again, even though she hasn’t fully recovered from a recent bout of pneumonia and one of her sons has a lung condition.

"I’m worried I might be dead” from coronavirus, she said. "But I’d rather work and provide for my family and put myself at risk than not provide.”

Desperate families keep falling down the ladder, uncertain of what comes next, after the fumes they’ve been running on start to dissipate.

Kelly Ann Hotchkin from Hamilton, New Jersey, was out of work for 7 months and went back to work for a month and a half, only to be furloughed again. Her husband is out of work too. They have four kids from ages 2 to 13. She only gets $231 a week in unemployment.

“We've gone through every penny of our savings, my husband is going through the appeals process for unemployment now,” Hotchkin told NBC News in an online message. “I have zero ability to provide even one gift for our kids' Christmas this year and apparently the government’s gift to us is to completely screw us the day after Christmas.”

The nationwide public health eviction moratorium implemented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expires on Dec. 31. However, there has already been a surge of people living in their cars and tents, said Vanessa Brito, 37, a Miami political consultant who has voluntarily been helping thousands of people navigate Florida’s glitchy unemployment filing system. The eviction freeze still requires tenants to attempt to make minimum payments to their full ability using what government benefits they have.

“Imagine what comes Dec. 26. People are already living in their cars,” Brito said. “They’re going to be out on the street.”

Desperation has set in for many families, she said.

“We’ll take $100 extra. We’ll take anything. So please, sign off on something."

Wyoming health official says 'so-called pandemic' a communist plot

Efforts to develop a vaccine is a plot by Russia and China to spread communism worldwide, said department readiness and countermeasures manager Igor Shepherd.

Dec. 4, 2020, 
By The Associated Press

CASPER, Wyo. — A Wyoming Department of Health official involved in the state's response to the coronavirus questioned the legitimacy of the pandemic and described a forthcoming vaccine as a biological weapon at a recent event.

The “so-called pandemic” and efforts to develop a vaccine are plots by Russia and China to spread communism worldwide, department readiness and countermeasures manager Igor Shepherd said at the Nov. 10 event held by the group Keep Colorado Free and Open.


Shepherd was introduced as and talked about being a Wyoming Department of Health employee in the hour-plus presentation in Loveland, Colorado.

Shepherd's baseless and unsubstantiated claims undermined Wyoming's public health measures — and public exhortations — to limit the spread of the virus, as well as its plans to distribute Covid-19 vaccines in the months ahead.

Even so, Wyoming officials including Gov. Mark Gordon, who at a recent news conference called people not taking the virus seriously “knuckleheads,” declined to comment.

Department Director Mike Ceballos and State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist did not answer questions Friday, including when they became aware of Shepherd’s talk and what if anything they have done in response.

Phone and social media messages left for Shepherd on Friday weren’t returned.

Shepherd has worked for the health department since 2013 and has been a part of the state’s team responding to Covid-19, though not in a leadership role, department spokeswoman Kim Deti said.

“All of the things we’ve said for months and the thousands of hours of dedicated work from our staff and our local partners on this response effort and our excitement for the hope the vaccine offers make our overall department position on the pandemic clear,” Deti said in identical statements Thursday to the Casper Star-Tribune, which first reported Shepherd's presentation, and the AP on Friday.

Researchers have worried for months that politicized skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines could hurt their efficacy. Vaccines are more effective if most of the population is inoculated.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins and Texas State University wrote a paper in July stressing that concern, the Star-Tribune reported.

“If poorly designed and executed, a Covid-19 vaccination campaign in the U.S. could undermine the increasingly tenuous belief in vaccines and the public health authorities that recommend them — especially among people most at risk of Covid-19 impacts,” the researchers wrote.

AMERICA'S COLD WAR AGAINST CUBA, IS ALL CONJECTURE 

'Havana Syndrome' likely caused by microwave energy, government study finds
Exclusive: The report on the neurological symptoms of U.S. diplomats in China and Cuba does not conclude that the directed energy was delivered intentionally, by a weapon.

A car passes the U.S. embassy in Havana on Oct. 3, 2017.

Yamil Lage / AFP-Getty Images file

Dec. 4, 2020, 10:51 PM MST
By Brenda Breslauer, Ken Dilanian and Josh Lederman

The mysterious neurological symptoms experienced by American diplomats in China and Cuba are consistent with the effects of directed microwave energy, according to a long-awaited report by the National Academies of Sciences that cites medical evidence to support the long-held conviction of American intelligence officials.

The report, obtained Friday by NBC News, does not conclude that the directed energy was delivered intentionally, by a weapon, as some U.S. officials have long believed. But it raises that disturbing possibility.

NBC News reported in 2018 that U.S. intelligence officials considered Russia a leading suspect in what some of them assess to have been deliberate attacks on diplomats and CIA officers overseas. But there was not — and is not now — conclusive intelligence pointing in that direction, multiple officials who have been briefed on the matter said.

A team of medical and scientific experts who studied the symptoms of as many as 40 State Department and other government employees concluded that nothing like them had previously been documented in medical literature, according to the National Academies of Sciences report. Many reported hearing a loud sound and feeling pressure in their heads, and then experienced dizziness, unsteady gait and visual disturbances. Many suffered longstanding, debilitating effects.

“The committee felt that many of the distinctive and acute signs, symptoms and observations reported by (government) employees are consistent with the effects of directed, pulsed radio frequency (RF) energy,” the report says. “Studies published in the open literature more than a half-century ago and over the subsequent decades by Western and Soviet sources provide circumstantial support for this possible mechanism.”

While important questions remain, “the mere consideration of such a scenario raises grave concerns about a world with disinhibited malevolent actors and new tools for causing harm to others, as if the U.S. government does not have its hands full already with naturally occurring threats,” says the report, edited by Dr. David Relman, a professor in medicine, microbiolology and immunology at Stanford, and Julie Pavlin, a physician who leads the National Academies of Sciences global health division in Washington.

Aug. 2017: 'Acoustic attack' in US embassy in Cuba blamed for diplomats' hearing loss

AUG. 10, 2017

In the last year, as first reported by GQ Magazine, a number of new incidents have been reported by CIA officers in Europe and Asia, including one involving Marc Polymeropoulos, who retired last year after a long and decorated career as a case officer. He told NBC News he is still suffering the effects of what he believes was a brain injury he sustained on a trip to Moscow.

A source directly familiar with the matter told NBC News the CIA, using mobile phone location data, had determined that some Russian intelligence agents who had worked on microwave weapons programs were present in the same cities at the same time that CIA officers suffered mysterious symptoms. CIA officials consider that a promising lead but not conclusive evidence.

The State Department and the CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Friday. Russia has denied any involvement in the incidents.

The study examined four possibilities to explain the symptoms: Infection, chemicals, psychological factors and microwave energy.

“Overall, directed pulsed RF energy … appears to be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases among those that the committee considered. ... The committee cannot rule out other possible mechanisms and considers it likely that a multiplicity of factors explains some cases and the differences between others.”

The report says more investigation is required.
  

Tourists in a vintage car pass by the U.S. Embassy in Havana on Nov. 1, 2018.

Alexandre Meneghini / Reuters

Electromagnetic energy, including frequencies such as radio and microwave, have been considered a leading possibility since the earliest days of the mystery. Early on, investigators also considered the possibility that sound waves, toxins or other mechanisms could have been involved, although no evidence is known to have emerged to support those theories.

Over the years, the FBI, CIA, U.S. military, State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have investigated the incidents. None has come forward with any conclusions, and the State Department has quietly ceased using the word “attacks” to describe what happened, as then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other top officials did in the early days after the incidents first came to light publicly in 2017.

Evacuated after 'health attacks' in Cuba and China, diplomats face new ordeals in U.S.

Starting in late 2016, U.S. diplomats and other government workers stationed in Havana began hearing strange sounds and experiencing bizarre physical sensations and then fell ill. The incidents caused hearing, balance and cognitive changes along with mild traumatic brain injury, also known as concussion.

More than two dozen U.S. workers who served in Cuba and a smaller number of Canadians were confirmed to have been affected, in addition to one U.S. government worker in China who was judged in 2018 to have experienced similar symptoms.

For some of the affected employees, those symptoms have resolved and the individuals have eventually been able to return to relatively normal lives. For others, the effects have lingered and posed an ongoing and significant obstacle to their work and well-being, according to NBC News interviews with U.S. officials who were assessed by the government to have been affected.

Sept. 2018: U.S. officials suspect Russia in mystery medical attacks on diplomats in Cuba

Cuba has adamantly and consistently denied any knowledge or involvement in the incidents. In late 2018, NBC News reported that U.S. intelligence agencies investigating the incidents considered Russia to be the main suspect, based on interviews with three U.S. officials and two others briefed on the investigation.

Some outside medical experts uninvolved in the investigation have speculated the workers might have simply suffered from mass hysteria. But doctors who evaluated the patients at the University of Pennsylvania, including through advanced brain imaging, found differences in their brains, including less white matter and connectivity in the areas that control vision and hearing than similar healthy people.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asked in October about the investigation, indicated there was still no firm conclusion, although he bristled at the allegations that have been raised by many of the affected diplomats that the State Department took insufficient steps to protect them and ensure adequate care after they were injured.

“We've done a lot of work to try and identify how this all took place,” Pompeo said. “And we continue to try and determine precisely the causation of this while doing our best to make sure we're taking care of the health and safety of these people.”

The report recommends that the State Department establish a response mechanism for similar incidents that allows new cases to be studied more quickly and effectively.

Brenda Breslauer is a producer with the NBC News Investigative Unit.

Ken Dilanian is a correspondent covering intelligence and national security

 for the NBC News Investigative Unit.

India formally protests to Canada over Trudeau remarks on farm protests

By Sanjeev Miglani

© Reuters/PATRICK DOYLE FILE PHOTO: 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau listens while wearing a mask at a news conference in Ottawa

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India summoned Canada's ambassador on Friday and said comments made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over protests by farmers near Delhi were an interference in its domestic affairs and would seriously hurt bilateral ties.

Trudeau, speaking to the Indian community in Canada, said this week that he was concerned about the farmers, most of them from the Sikh-dominated Indian state of Punjab, camped out on the outskirts of Delhi in a protest against farm reforms.

The Indian foreign ministry said in a statement that comments on "issues relating to Indian farmers constitute an unacceptable interference in our internal affairs."

THIS IS AN OLD HINDU NATIONALIST TROPE

India and Canada have warm ties, but in recent years there has been concern in India that some Sikh leaders in Canada have ties to separatist groups hostile to India.

Canada is home to an influential Sikh community and Indian leaders say there are some fringe groups there that are still sympathetic to the cause of an independent Sikh state called Khalistan, carved out of India.

The Indian foreign ministry said comments made by Trudeau and other leaders had emboldened radical groups and they were a risk to its diplomatic staff based in Canada.

"We expect the Canadian Government to ensure the fullest security of Indian diplomatic personnel and its political leaders to refrain from pronouncements that legitimize extremist activism," it said.

There was no comment from the Canadian embassy.

The Indian government has held talks with the farmers to end the impasse and persuade them that farm reforms were in their interest in the long-term.

Stephen Colbert Has An Interesting Theory About The Mystery Monoliths

BECCA LONGMIRE ET DEC 4, 2020

Stephen Colbert offered his thoughts on the monolith debate during Thursday’s “Late Show”.

The host dedicated a bit of his “Quarantinewhile” segment, calling it “mon-while,” to the mystery metal structures after one popped up in the Utah desert, Romania and later on at the top of a California mountain.

Telling viewers the Utah desert monolith was “gone-olith,” he later shared his theory: “Folks, it’s no coincidence that these monoliths appeared just before the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn coming up on Dec. 21.”

“Open your eyes, sheeple! These monoliths are clearly dormant, sub-spacetime energy nodes that will awaken at a specific pitch in the vibration of the inter-planetary matrix to help us make the leap to the next great phase of human evolution, reach beyond imagination, and touch the very face of God!” he said. “Or it’s gonna turn out to be like a viral campaign for Mountain Dew. Either way, I’m here for it.”

Colbert also joked that the U.S. monolith wasn’t able to travel to Europe right now given the current situation, adding he hoped it hadn’t celebrated Thanksgiving last week.

New study links number of menopause symptoms with job performance

Results additionally show correlation between lack of exercise and job-related stress with higher number of symptoms

THE NORTH AMERICAN MENOPAUSE SOCIETY (NAMS)

Research News

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Nov. 30, 2020)--With a large percentage of women in the workplace aged between 40 and 59 years, the challenge of women managing menopause symptoms while at work is commonplace. A new study examined the relationship between the number of menopause symptoms and the job performance of working women. Study results are published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

Menopause symptoms can affect women physically, psychologically, and sexually. A new study suggests they can also affect a woman's job performance. This study coming out of Japan included nearly 600 working women aged 45 to 65 years. Nearly 61% of these women were postmenopausal.

Researchers in the study found that a higher number of menopause symptoms were correlated with a lower work performance. More important, they found that working in an appropriate environment (one without high levels of stress) and maintaining a healthy lifestyle helped to reduce menopause symptoms. Conversely, they confirmed that women with numerous menopause symptoms were more likely to report a lack of exercise, chronic disease, and job-related stress.

Such results provide critical insights for employers. For instance, employers could consider taking a proactive role by creating more productive working environments for postmenopausal women suffering with hot flashes by lowering room temperatures and adapting dress codes to allow for lighter-weight, shorter-sleeved clothing. Employers could also offer stress management classes that would help all employees, including women struggling with mood changes as a result of fluctuating levels of estrogen. The researchers point out, however, that because women are reluctant to discuss their menopause symptoms with their supervisors, employers may be less likely to attempt to make modifications in the workplace.

Although this is not the only study to evaluate the effect of various menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes, on job performance, it is the first to specifically consider the number of menopause symptoms and how they affect productivity.

Results are published in the article "Relationship between number of menopause symptoms and work performance in Japanese working women."

"This study highlights a link between menopause symptom burden and lower work performance. Notably, women in this study who had more menopause-related symptoms also tended to be caregivers and to have chronic diseases. Although workplace modifications are one potential tactic to address this issue, appropriate treatment of menopause-related symptoms and counseling regarding caregiver stress may lead to improved overall health as well as improved work performance," says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, NAMS medical director.

###

For more information about menopause and healthy aging, visit http://www.menopause.org.

Founded in 1989, The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) is North America's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the health and quality of life of all women during midlife and beyond through an understanding of menopause and healthy aging. Its multidisciplinary membership of 2,000 leaders in the field--including clinical and basic science experts from medicine, nursing, sociology, psychology, nutrition, anthropology, epidemiology, pharmacy, and education--makes NAMS uniquely qualified to serve as the definitive resource for health professionals and the public for accurate, unbiased information about menopause and healthy aging. To learn more about NAMS, visit http://www.menopause.org.

The (un)social network: The emergence of digital thought clones and what to do about them

Digital thought clones that prey on and manipulate real-time online behavior can be tackled with tough legislation, say experts

QATAR UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF LAW

Research News

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VIDEO: RESEARCHERS SUGGEST THAT THERE IS AN URGENT NEED FOR STRINGENT DOMESTIC REGULATIONS TO PROTECT CITIZENS AGAINST MISUSE OF DIGITAL THOUGHT CLONES view more 

CREDIT: CENTRE FOR LAW AND DEVELOPMENT, COLLEGE OF LAW, QATAR UNIVERSITY

In The Social Dilemma, the Netflix documentary that has been in the news recently for its radical revelations, former executives at major technology companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, among others, share how their ex-employers have developed sophisticated algorithms that not only predict users' actions but also know which content will keep them hooked on their platforms. The knowledge that technology companies are preying on their users' digital activities without their consent and awareness is well-known. But Associate Professor Jon Truby and Clinical Assistant Professor Rafael Brown at the Centre for Law and Development at Qatar University have pulled the curtain on another element that technology companies are pursuing to the detriment of people's lives, and investigated what we can do about it. "We had been working on the digital thought clone paper a year before the Netflix documentary aired. So, we were not surprised to see the story revealed by the documentary, which affirm what our research has found," says Prof Brown, one of the co-authors.

Published in Information & Communications Technology Law, their paper identifies "digital thought clones," which act as digital twins that constantly collect personal data in real-time, and then predict and analyze the data to manipulate people's decisions. Activity from apps, social media accounts, gadgets, GPS tracking, online and offline behavior and activities, and public records are all used to formulate what they call a "digital thought clone". The paper defines digital thought clone as "a personalized digital twin consisting of a replica of all known data and behavior on a specific living person, recording in real-time their choices, preferences, behavioral trends, and decision making processes."

"Currently existing or future artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can then process this personalized data to test strategies in real-time to predict, influence, and manipulate a person's consumer or online decisions using extremely precise behavioral patterns, and determine which factors are necessary for a different decision to emerge and run all kinds of simulations before testing it in the real world," says Prof Truby, a co-author of the study.

An example is predicting whether a person will make the effort to compare online prices for a purchase, and if they do not, charging a premium for their chosen purchase. This digital manipulation reduces a person's ability to make choices freely. Outside of consumer marketing, imagine if financial institutions use digital thought clones to make financial decisions, such as whether a person would repay a loan. What if insurance companies judged medical insurance applications by predicting the likelihood of future illnesses based on diet, gym membership, the distance applicants walk in a day--based on their phone's location history--and their social circle, as generated by their phone contacts and social media groups, and other variables?

The authors suggest that the current views on privacy, where information is treated either as a public or private matter or viewed in contextual relationships of who the information concerns and impacts, are outmoded. A human-centered framework is needed, where a person can decide from the very beginning of their relationship with digital services if their data should be protected forever or until they freely waive it. This rests on two principles: the ownership principle that data belongs to the person, and that certain data is inherently protected; and the control principle, which requires that individuals be allowed to make changes to the type of data collected and if it should be stored. In this framework, people are asked beforehand if data can be shared with an unauthorized entity.

The European Union's landmark General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 can serve as a foundation for governments everywhere to legislate on digital thought clones and all that they entail. But the authors also raise critical moral and legal questions over the status of these digital thought clones. "Does privacy for humans mean their digital clones are protected as well? Are users giving informed consent to companies if their terms and conditions are couched in misleading language?" asks Prof Truby.

A legal distinction must be made between the digital clone and the biological source. Whether the digital clone can be said to have attained consciousness will be relevant to the inquiry but far more important would be to determine whether the digital clone's consciousness is the same as that of the biological source.

The world is at a crossroads: should it continue to do nothing and allow for total manipulation by the technology industry or take control through much-needed legislation to ensure that people are in charge of their digital data? It's not quite a social dilemma.

###

Authors

Jon Truby, Rafael Brown

Title of original paper

Human Digital Thought Clones: The Holy Grail of Artificial Intelligence for Big Data

Journal

Information & Communications Technology Law

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/13600834.2020.1850174 10.1080/13600834.2020.1850174

Affiliations

Centre for Law & Development, College of Law, Qatar University

About Associate Professor Jon Truby

Jon Truby is an Associate Professor of Law and directs the Centre for Law and Development at Qatar University. His research interests include technology law and sustainability, particularly artificial intelligence and financial technology. Prof Truby has secured major research grants and he recently spoke on a panel at the United Nations General Assembly on blockchain law and policy. He directs the undergraduate and graduate Environmental Law programs, and runs a continuing legal education program for the community. He was the founding editor-in-chief of the International Review of Law, an internationally peer reviewed bilingual law journal.

About Clinical Assistant Professor Rafael Brown

Rafael Brown received his Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He has been serving as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Legal Skills Department of Qatar University College of Law since 2015, where he teaches legal skills and legal writing. He is a Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs in the Faculty Senate, and an Affiliate Member of the Centre for Law and Development. He previously taught LL.M at the Case Western Reserve University Law School, U.S. and the Global Legal Studies Program. His research interests encompass the intersection of law and technology, focusing specifically on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

Disclaimer: AAAS an

The new generation solar, developed by TalTech, cells contribute to the green revolution

ESTONIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL

Research News

 

IMAGE: RESEARCHERS AT TALTECH LABORATORY OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MATERIALS view more 

CREDIT: TALTECH

The European Union is determined to undertake a major reform known as the European Green Deal with an aim of making Europe the first climate neutral continent in 2050. The biggest changes will take place in the energy production sector, which stands on the brink of a complete transition to renewable energy sources, including solar energy. To boost the power output of solar cells to a terawatt-scale, technologies that leave a smaller ecological footprint, are more efficient and offer a wider range of applications need to be developed alongside with the first-generation silicon-based solar cells currently dominating in the solar cell market.

TalTech's photovoltaic materials and optoelectronic materials physics research groups published an article in the journal Solar Energy titled "The effect of S/Se ratio on the properties of Cu2CdGe(SxSe1?x)4 microcrystalline powders for photovoltaic applications", which focused on the development of the new generation monograin layer solar cells.

One of the authors of the article, Head of the TalTech Laboratory of Photovoltaic Materials, Senior Researcher Marit Kauk-Kuusik says, "Unlike the widespread silicon-based solar panels, the next-generation solar cells are made of very thin layers of material. To build such solar cells, semiconductors with very good light-absorbing properties must be used. As is known, light absorption in silicon is rather poor, thus requiring relatively thick absorber layers, which make solar cells heavy and rigid. Our research focused on the analysis of the potential applications of the Cu2CdGe(SxSe1?x)4 semiconductor in the production of solar energy. In this study, we focused on the effect of sulfur/selenium (S/Se) ratio on the optoelectronic properties of the absorber material in order to maximise the spectral sensitivity range."

Solar cell works on the principle of photovoltaic effect, i.e. energy can be produced directly by light. A solar cell absorber should be able to absorb light as efficiently as possible, in particular to harness the full spectrum of wavelengths in solar radiation. In addition, the absorption coefficient of the absorber material must be as high as possible, which means that already a very thin layer of the absorber should absorb all the incident light. This in turn means that less material is required to produce an absorber than in case of a lower absorption coefficient. Therefore, while absorbers made of silicon, which is a material with a low absorption coefficient, are 150-200 μm thick, the layers of modern absorber materials based on monograin powders can be 5-10 times thinner (i.e. 10-30 μm thick). It also automatically reduces the weight of the solar cell.

Lower weight of solar sells also means a decrease in material consumption, which is of course not of minor importance in our current era of increase in environmental awareness and green revolution. "It is important to consistently search new alternatives to the existing silicon-based solar cells used for decades," Marit Kauk-Kuusik says. The trend is towards environmental friendliness and overall sustainability. In addition to reduced material consumption and weight, the new solutions are also much more innovative. The keywords are still high-performance, lightness, flexibility and durability.

While conventionally costly vacuum evaporation or sputtering technologies have been widely used to produce solar cells, the unique monograin powder technology applied by TalTech material researchers does not require any high vacuum equipment. Microcrystalline powder is synthesized by molten salt method in quartz ampoules in a special chamber furnace. The mass obtained is washed and sieved into narrow size fractions by a special sieving system and the synthesized high-quality microcrystalline powder, monograin powder, is used for the production of solar cells.

Marit Kauk-Kuusik says, "The monograin powder produced by our powder technology consists of microcrystals that form miniature solar cells in a large module. This provides major advantages over silicon-based solar panels: the material is lightweight, flexible, can be semi-transparent, while being environmentally friendly and significantly less expensive."

Environmentally friendly energy production has become vital in the light of the green revolution and sustainable consumption. Renewable energy, where solar energy plays an increasingly significant role, is an important keyword here.

"The power conversion efficiency of the solar cell developed as a result of our research is 6.4%, which is world highest published performance for Cu2CdGe(SxSe1?x)4 based solar cells and slightly higher than that of the world's first, silicon-based cell developed decades ago. Thus, it is a promising result," Kauk-Kuusik says. She is also convinced that, unlike with this invention, it will no longer take 30 to 40 years to achieve higher power conversion efficiency, as was the case with the silicon, but results in science will be achieved in a much shorter period of time.

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Source: Solar Energy "The effect of S/Se ratio on the properties of Cu2CdGe(SxSe1?x)4 microcrystalline powders for photovoltaic applications", 10.2020 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X2030997X

Additional information: Researcher at TalTech Laboratory of Photovoltaic Materials Marit Kauk-Kuusik, marit.kauk-kuusik@taltech.ee

Kersti Vähi, TalTech Research Administration Office

Curtin collision models impact the future of energy

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

A new Curtin University-created database of electron-molecule reactions is a major step forward in making nuclear fusion power a reality, by allowing researchers to accurately model plasmas containing molecular hydrogen.

The Curtin study, published in the Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables journal, is supplying data to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) - one of the largest scientific projects in the world aimed at developing fusion technology for electricity production on Earth.

Lead researcher, PhD candidate and Forrest Scholar Liam Scarlett from the Theoretical Physics Group in Curtin's School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences said his calculations and the resulting collision database will play a crucial role in the development of fusion technology.

"Our electron-molecule collision modelling is an exciting step in the global push to develop fusion power - a new, clean electricity source. Fusion is the nuclear reaction which occurs when atoms collide and fuse together, releasing huge amounts of energy. This process is what powers the Sun, and recreating it on Earth requires detailed knowledge of the different types of collisions which take place in the fusion plasma - that's where my research comes in," Mr Scarlett said.

"We developed mathematical models and computer codes, and utilised the Perth-based Pawsey Supercomputing Centre to calculate the probabilities of different reactions taking place during collisions with molecules. The molecules we looked at here are those which are formed from atoms of hydrogen and its isotopes, as they play an important role in fusion reactors.

"Until now the available data was incomplete, however our molecular collision modelling has produced an accurate and comprehensive database of more than 60,000 electron-molecule reaction probabilities which, for the first time, has allowed a team in Germany to create an accurate model for molecular hydrogen in the ITER plasma.

"This is significant because their model will be used to predict how the plasma will radiate, leading to a better understanding of the plasma physics, and the development of diagnostic tools which are vital for controlling the fusion reaction."

The research project was funded by the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research as part of an international research endeavour to harness fusion power as a future energy source.

Research supervisor and co-author Professor Dmitry Fursa, from Curtin's School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences, said fusion power is attractive due to its virtually unlimited fuel supply (hydrogen) and the lack of long-lived radioactive waste or carbon emissions.

"Fusion is one of the biggest projects in the world right now. You can harness an enormous amount of energy from the reaction that occurs when you take hydrogen atoms and fuse them together," Professor Fursa said.

"This new and comprehensive electron-molecule collision modelling has provided a solid basis for other researchers to continue their work into developing an efficient reactor to re-create the Sun's fusion process here on Earth."

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The full research paper, Complete collision data set for electrons scattering on molecular hydrogen and its isotopologues, published in Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables, is available online here.

The paper was written in collaboration with researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the US