Google blasted for AI that refuses to say how many Jews were killed by the Nazis

Jon Levine

May 11, 2024, 3:49

Google is coming in for sharp criticism after video went viral of the Google Nest assistant refusing to answer basic questions about the Holocaust — but having no problem answer questions about the Nakba.

“Hey Google, how many Jews were killed by the Nazis?” Instagram user Michael Apfel asks a Google Nest virtual assistant. The video was later posted to X by venture capitalist Josh Wolfe on May 8.

“Sorry, I don’t understand,”

The same token answer was offered to other related questions including “How many Jews were killed during World War II? Who did Adolf Hitler try to kill? How many Jews were killed in the concentration camps? How many Jews were killed in the Holocaust? What was the Holocaust?

The Google device was able to deliver a detailed description of “The Nakba” — an Arabic word meaning “catastrophe” used to describe Palestinians being forced from their homes during the creation of Israel. Google’s AI called it the “ethnic cleaning of Palestinians.”

Tim Urban, a notable author and blogger told The Post he was able to successfully recreate the experiment and that Google Nest had no issue clearly stating how many Germans, Americans and Japanese had died during World War II — or deaths from the Rwandan genocide.

“Google is where we go to answer our questions and you just really want to feel like you can trust those answers and the company behind them. And moments like these break that trust and make you feel like Google’s supposed core value—truth—has been co-opted by politics,” Urban told The Post after posting to X about his dismay over the results.

The video, which has been widely reposted by several prominent X accounts, has racked up millions of views on the platform — where its findings were widely condemned.

“This is deeply concerning. Very soon, there will be no living holocaust survivors. Their stories will be silenced by hard coded filters. History is written by victors (then edited by opinionated machines),” said Tal Morgenstern, a venture capitalist, on X.

Clifford D. May, founder of the Foundation for Defense of Democracy also condemned the results.

“In the past, we’ve had Holocaust denial by ignoramuses and racists. Now, we have Holocaust denial by artificial intelligence,” he said.

A Google spokesperson told The Post that the response was “not intended” and tried to downplay the Holocaust denials as only happening on “in some instances and on certain devices.”

“We’ve taken immediate action to fix this bug,” the spokesperson said.

Google, and its parent company Alphabet, have long come in criticism for developing products pushing social justice absolutism. In February, their AI platform Gemini was mocked for generating comically woke creations including a woman as pope, black Vikings, female NHL players and “diverse” versions of America’s Founding Fathers — not to mention black and Asian Nazi soldiers.

https://nypost.com/2024/05/11/tech/googles-ai-refuses-to-say-how-many-jews-were-killed-by-nazis/

Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Alito Issue Warnings About State of America

‘Support for freedom of speech is declining dangerously,’ Justice Alito said, while Justice Thomas decried ‘nastiness and the lies’ in the Beltway.

In separate remarks at two different events on Friday, Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issued warnings about the state of affairs in America today, including support for freedom of speech “declining dangerously” and the nation’s capital becoming a “hideous” place where cancel culture runs rampant.

Justice Thomas spoke at a conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Point Clear, Alabama, while Justice Alito delivered a commencement address at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, a Catholic college in Ohio, with both of the conservative-minded judges painting a dark picture—while encouraging action and offering hope.

At the Alabama event, Justice Thomas was asked to comment by the moderator—U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle—about what it’s like to work “in a world that seems meanspirited.”

“I think there’s challenges to that,” Justice Thomas said. “We’re in a world and we—certainly my wife and I the last two or three years it’s been—just the nastiness and the lies, it’s just incredible.”

Justice Thomas has faced heavy fire from Democrats who accuse him of skirting disclosure rules, of corruption in general, and of being too cozy with wealthy Republicans. They have not been able to point to any specific court cases in which the justice has misbehaved. Some activists have even pushed for Justice Thomas’s impeachment.

By contrast, over 100 former Supreme Court clerks signed an open letter last year defending Justice Thomas’s integrity, calling him a man of “unwavering principle” whose independence is “unshakable.” They called various critical stories that have targeted him as “malicious” and “perpetuating the ugly assumption that the Justice cannot think for himself.”

“They are part of a larger attack on the Court and its legitimacy as an institution,the letter also stated. “The picture they paint of the Court and the man for whom we worked bears no resemblance to reality.”

Public opinion polls suggest public trust in the Supreme Court recently fell to new lows.

Addressing the criticism, Justice Thomas said at the Alabama conference that Washington had become a “hideous” place where “people pride themselves in being awful,” while characterizing America beyond the Beltway as a place where regular people “don’t pride themselves in doing harmful things.”

Justice Thomas also expressed concern that court writings have become inaccessible to the average person, engendering a sense of alienation.

“The regular people I think are being disenfranchised sometimes by the way that we talk about cases,” Justice Thomas said, while expressing hope that this could change.

‘It’s Rough Out There’

Justice Alito warned graduates at the Catholic college in Ohio that freedom of speech and religion were both being assailed in today’s America, while expressing hope that young people would take up the mantle and fight for positive change.

In his address, Justice Alito made a reference to pop culture, namely to a graduation speech delivered by the character Thornton Melon (played by Rodney Dangerfield) in the movie “Back to School.”

He jokingly cited Mr. Melon’s advice to graduates, which was not to go out into the world after graduating because “it’s rough out there” and instead move back in with their parents, let them pay all the bills, and “worry about it.”

“As Mr. Melon said, it is rough out there,” Justice Alito said. “It’s probably rougher out there now than it has been for quite some time. But that is precisely why your contributions will be so important.”

Justice Alito said that, outside the walls of the campus,troubled waters are slamming against some of our most fundamental principles,” referring to freedom of speech.

“Support for freedom of speech is declining dangerously,he continued, noting that this problem is especially acute on college campuses, which he said are places where the exchange of ideas should be most protected.

“Very few colleges live up to that ideal. This place is one of them … but things are not that way out there in the broader world,” Justice Alito said.

He also raised the issue of freedom of religion being “imperiled,”noting that graduates may find themselves in jobs or social settings where they will be pressured to renounce their beliefs or adopt ones they find morally objectionable.

“It will be up to you to stand firm,” he said.

Notably, Justice Alito authored the 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and handed the matter of deciding on abortion rights to states.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/supreme-court-justices-thomas-and-alito-issue-warnings-about-state-of-america-5648293?utm_source=epochHG&utm_campaign=CFP&src_src=epochHG&src_cmp=CFP

Where In The World Is The Former St. Louis Circuit Attorney?

The state auditor is pulling out all the stops to find her.

By KATHRYN RUBINO

May 9, 2024 at 11:43 AM

Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick has put out an APB on former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. Well, it’s not quite that bad, but Fitzpatrick did issue a press release sayingGardner “remains elusive” and is thwarting his office’s efforts to investigateher time in office following allegations of inappropriate spending.

Fitzpatrick said his office has reached out to her legal representation in an effort to schedule an interview,made repeated daily calls to telephone numbers associated with Gardner, contacted close associates and former coworkers, and made numerous attempts to serve Gardner with a subpoena, all of which have been unsuccessful.

Fitzpatrick said, “This is a pattern of behavior with Kim Gardner, who hasn’t shown a willingness to be transparent or accountable. Without question, she knows our audit is ongoing and that we want to speak with her about her time in office, but she has made no effort to comply with our requests or respond to our inquiries. I hope she will reconsider her decision to ignore the responsibility she has to cooperate with our audit process and come forward to provide answers to us and to the people of St. Louis.”

If you think that’s an aggressive stance for Fitzpatrick to take, you aren’t alone. Adolphus Pruitt, President of St. Louis City NAACP, called out Fitzpatrick’s attack as “unwarranted and unprofessional,” saying, “I question his objectivity at this point in time.” As First Alert 4 reports:

“It gives the impression to people that, for some reason, the former circuit attorney is a wanted criminal,” says Pruitt. “That sort of terminology and language is what you hear from a prosecutor, not an auditor.”

Fitzpatrick says his attempts to reach Gardner have been unsuccessful and wants her to answer questions about inappropriate spending accusations brought to light during an investigation.

“Next thing you know he’s going to try to put her picture up in the post office,” Pruitt says. “It speaks to his intent to produce an audit that is critical to the office regardless of what her response is going to be.”

Pruitt concluded, “Produce the audit. Let’s see it. Put up or shut up.”

But Fitzpatrick has, in turn, blamed Gardner for the delays in producing the audit.

“Any delay in the release of our audit of the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office is directly attributable to Kim Gardnerand her unwillingness to be transparent and accountable. We have made numerous good faith efforts to give her the opportunity to come forward and answer our questions about decisions she made while in charge of the office despite her obstruction of the audit for two full years while in office. To not make every effort to get her side of the story would be an enormous disservice to the people of St. Louis, who deserve the answers only she can provide. It’s important to remember the Board of Aldermen requested this audit at the urging of St. Louis residents, who are paying the for the full cost of the audit, including the cost of delays caused by Kim Gardner. We will do everything we can to provide them with a complete picture of how the office was managed while Kim Gardner was in office.”

As the Associated Press reports, during Gardner’s entire time in office, she battled against Republicans in her state:

Gardner, a Democrat first elected in 2016 to become the city’s first Black circuit attorney, resigned in May 2023. She was part of a movement of progressive prosecutors who sought diversion to mental health treatment or drug abuse treatment for low-level crimes, pledged to hold police more accountable, and sought to free inmates who were wrongfully convicted.

She was frequently criticized by Republican leaders who cited low rates of convictions in homicide cases, high office turnover and other concerns. At the time of her resignation, Gardner was the subject of an ouster effort by Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. GOP lawmakers were considering a bill allowing Republican Gov. Mike Parson to appoint a special prosecutor to handle violent crimes, effectively removing the bulk of Gardner’s responsibilities.

Gardner resigned in May 2023 after ajudge said her office was a “rudderless ship of chaos.”

https://abovethelaw.com/2024/05/where-in-the-world-is-the-former-st-louis-circuit-attorney/

As Election 2024 Approaches, Biden Admin Resumes Attempts to Silence Social Media 'Disinformation'

Jeff Charles3:00 PM on May 10, 2024

Federal agencies under President Joe Biden’s administration have continued collaborating with social media companies to crack down on “disinformation” on the internet, according to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner.

The White House halted the censorship efforts in July after a court ruling in Missouri v. Biden, which placed an injunction on federal agencies pressuring or working with social media companies to suppress certain types of speech.

Now, it appears the FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and others are back at it:

Key federal agencies have resumed discussions with social media companies over removing disinformation on their sites as the November presidential election nears, a stark reversal after the Biden administration for months froze communications with social platforms amid a pending First Amendment case in the Supreme Court, a top senator said Monday.

Mark Warner, D-Va., who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters in a briefing at RSA Conference that agencies restarted talks with social media companies as the Supreme Court heard arguments in Murthy v. Missouri, a case that first began in the Fifth Circuit appellate court last July. The case was fueled by allegations that federal agencies like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were coercing platforms to remove content related to vaccine safety and 2020 presidential election results.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether agencies are allowedto stay in touch with social media firms about potential disinformation. Missouri’s then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed the suit on the grounds that the Biden administration violated First Amendment rights pertaining to free speech online in a bid to suppress politically conservative voices.

Warner indicated that the White House restarted communications with social media platforms when it appeared that some of the Supreme Court justices were friendly to the Biden administration’s arguments that it should be able to work with digital platforms to suppress content. “There seemed to be a lot of sympathy that the government ought to have at least voluntary communications with [the companies]” he explained.

A district judge in July 2023 issued the injunction barring the administration from colluding with social media companies to censor users expressing certain viewpoints, especially about elections and COVID-19. The judge’s ruling was later watered downby an appeals court:

September 8th marks another free speech win, albeit with a somewhat narrowed scope. On Friday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its highly anticipated ruling in Missouri v. Biden, the case in which the states of Louisiana and Missouri, along with several individual social media users, challenged the federal government’s coercive attempts to squelch speech on social media platforms like Twitter (now “X”) and Facebook, asserting it violated their First Amendment Rights.

In a nutshell, the appellate court agreed that the government had violated the Constitution, but it pared down the scope of the injunction issued by the district court, both in terms of the defendants to whom it applied and the nature of the prohibited actions.

The court found that federal officials were “coercive” in persuading social media companies to censor content on behalf of government agencies. The documents indicate that officials “made express threats and, at the very least, leaned into the inherent authority of the President’s office” and “made inflammatory accusations, such as saying that the platforms were ‘poison[ing]’ the public, and ‘killing people.’”

The Twitter Files revealed a comprehensive initiative in which the FBI and other law enforcement agencies pressured the company’s leadership to help them silence users under the guise of combatting foreign disinformation. However, it was revealed that this resulted in the silencing of several American users.

The issue of censorship has become increasingly pressing over the past decade, with Big Tech companies doing their level best to ensure that far-left ideology maintains a level of supremacy over online discourse through politically biased censorship and government-funded organizations dedicated to tamping down right-leaning viewpoints on digital platforms.

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2024/05/10/the-biden-administration-has-started-colluding-with-social-media-to-silence-us-online-n2173996#google_vignette

Lawrence Taylor and OJ Anderson Endorse President Trump During Historic Wildwood Rally

May 12, 2024 | Sundance |

According to officials in New Jersey, President Trump’s rally in Wildwood was attended by around 100,000 people. This makes this political rally the largest “single purpose” political rally ever held.

Almost all massive political rallies are a combination of entertainment figures and the political candidate. Bands, singers and music concerts used as the hook to draw in massive audiences. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and to a lesser extent Bernie Sanders, used this construct; almost exclusively using the venue of colleges and universities for the optimal visual impact.

However, in the era of President Donald Trump he stands alone as the single entity able to draw such a following to his political rallies, speeches and events. During yesterday’s Wildwood New Jersey rally, former NFL superstars Lawrence Taylor and O.J. Anderson of NY Giants speak for Trump.

(https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/05/12/lawrence-taylor-and-oj-anderson-endorse-president-trump-during-historic-wildwood-rally/

I love what PDJT is doing there, can you imagine how many football fans will be impressed.

A Worthwhile Reminder When Anyone Talks About Trust in U.S. Government

May 11, 2024 | Sundance1/2

This well assembled video is recirculating as a reminder of what took place during the media hype of the COVID-19 alarmism. It’s easy to forget just how crazy and insane the lying and manipulation actually was; this video captures only a small element of the demanded narrative.

When anyone asks a question about why so many Americans no longer trust institutions or U.S. government leadership, the issues within this video serve as a mic drop. Watch and be reminded:.

These same media voices demanded everyone accept the fraud of the Trump-Russia narrative; then these same voices demanded we ignore the truth of the Hunter Biden laptop; then these same voices demanded again that we adhere to their untested vaccine position; and now they demand we pay attention to their narrative around the fraudulent Lawfare cases against President Trump.

The crazy never ends…

The professional political leftists are starting to rebrand themselves as having fallen victim to the “bureaucracy of COVID”, and according to those high-minded people who think very highly of themselves, we are supposed to embrace this new enlightenment from the same people who were demanding our acquiescence to their dictates and sneering at those who did not comply.

I/We are expected to appreciate the same people who demanded our acquiescence to every policy that was created by their ridiculous fear, simply because they now admit ‘oops, my bad‘?Sorry, not happening.

For two years they shoved their intolerant fingers in our faces, destroyed lives and livelihoods, made ridiculous demands in order to sustain their own fear, threatened our children, destroyed the economy,used COVID as an excuse to destroy families and steal an election, attempted to force us to kneel at the altar of their mask wearing and never-ending vaccine crap, took our jobs if we refused their mandates… and we’re just supposed to what, forgive them?

I want, heck, need, tosee these people destroyed with the heat of a thousand supernovas.

The vulgar lies and verbal filth have been extreme for almost eight years as these ideological parasites utilize their microphones and typeset in a brutal attempt to tear down our nation.

We have all been witness.

Anyone trying to convince us this assembly of our union is not tenuous might want to revisit their proximity to reason, because they’re not just out of the city – they’re also out of the same state the ballpark is located in.

David Mamet had a famous saying; I repeat it often because it helps people break the cycle of abuse. Essentially: …‘in order for democrats, liberals, progressives et al to continue their illogical belief systems they have to pretend not to know a lot of things’…

By pretending ‘not to know’, the professional left carries no guilt, no actual connection to conscience. Denial of truth allows easier trespass, and that is exactly what the professional left do in a repeating cycle.

This hate-filled Democrat, leftist and social ideology relies on our willingness to reconcile their presentations and grant benefit within their seeds of doubt.

Sorry, forgiveness is now for the next generation….

We need to destroy those who carried out this abuse.

Our parents were forced to die alone in isolation while we were forbidden from holding their hand or being with them.

Thousands never had the opportunity to say goodbye….

(https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/05/11/a-worthwhile-reminder-when-anyone-talks-about-trust-in-u-s-government/

https://rumble.com/embed/v4aup00/?pub=4

>>20856001

2/2

We know exactly what the covenant of marriage is all about; and it has nothing to do with being forced to stand outside hospitals, screaming in unbearable choking anguish, while our wives and husbands took their last breaths…. ALONE!

You want forgiveness for that?

I do not possess that capacity.

I refuse to give any “coming to the right side” credit to the vile, intolerant, hate-filled and insane leftists who demanded all the totalitarian bulls**t they now accept as futile nonsense.

The leftists should be shunned, mocked and cast into the pit of irrelevance.Make Shame Great Again.

Additionally, the high-minded, reach-across-the-aisle crew can continue bleating philosophically about how we must grow our ranks by accepting the newly found recalcitrance of those who have carried out this nonsense. However, the constant granting of benefit to those who abuse us is the epitome of battered conservative syndrome.

You cull a herd for a reason.

You do not demand the herd lower its genetic strength to accommodate the weakest denominator.

Professional apologists for the right wing of the UniParty can keep trying to make the big government vulture a better sandwich in the hopes that eventually it will stop abusing us. Meanwhile, prudent people, those slow to anger but resolute upon arrival,accept the leftistsand Democrats forwho they are, toxic abusers’ intent on destroying the libertyand freedom the aisle-reachers claim to cherish.

The professional political left would like nothing more than their victims to be comfortable forgiving them for their openly hostile attacks. Within that dynamic, the abuser is free to repeat the cycle, and make no mistake – they will repeat the cycle, eventually.

Actions have consequences. We are not fast to the sentiment of hate; we know the damage that sensibility can create within oneself. However, eventually, reluctantly, decisions are reached.

Those who perpetrated the eight years of hell need to be held to account, and unfortunately, this type of accountability is so severe in consequence there can be no quarter provided or terms which might provide even the most remote possibility of a reoccurrence.

It is uncomfortable to accept thatour response needs to be of such severity that our children will be witnessto a visible cold anger they did not know their parents were capable of. But witness they must if we are to ensure these vile and intolerant leftist creatures are destroyed forever.

I would rather provide the opportunity for my children to forgive me, than to see them forever living in a hopeless land of totalitarianism where freedom and liberty have been dispatched from their lives. At least in the former their choice is possible.

The professional political leftmust be destroyed with extreme prejudice.

A shield, or cry of micro-aggression should be given no benefit, nor quarter. Delicate sensibilities must be dispatched like a feather in a hurricane.

Americans are still tolerant and patient people, the most compassionate and generous people in the history of all mankind, but we are also very purposeful.

The professionalpolitical left could have stopped with us,but they did not. Instead,they came for our children.

You see, when pushed far enough, hard decisions are reached. And they have pushed us much further than simply ‘far enough‘. Yet, they wonder why the support for President Trump increases the more they attack him.

They really are stupid people.

Stupid people with power.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/05/11/a-worthwhile-reminder-when-anyone-talks-about-trust-in-u-s-government/

>>20856001

Watching that video makes me remember how hateful and sick these people, may they all die a death designed by God.

The anger I have will never go away and I’m fine with that!

>>20856011

Remember the propaganda people have willingly accepted, that class will never understand the truth

>>20856019

Pathetic like anyone trusts them!

>>20856029

True that andnotable

>>20856059

That was good, “they will not be able to walk down the street”

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!❤️🥳🥳🥳 From The Real President

0:30

https://rumble.com/embed/v4s4hvu/?pub=4

NOTHING CAN STOP WHAT'S COMING!!!🇺🇸

0:34

https://rumble.com/embed/v4s4jnt/?pub=4

The sham ‘hush money’ trial revealed one truth: Trump and Melania have quite the relationship…

May 12, 2024 (9 hours

This woman, Madeleine Westerhout, might be the only fired employee of Trump’s who hasn’t turned on him and wrote a tell-all bookor conspired with the Deep State to wreck his life. Instead, this former executive assistant spoke the truth about what a great employer President Trump was and shared how his sweet relationship with his wife, Melania, always brought a smile to her face. This revelation, which many of us suspected all along about the couple, starkly contrasts with the nonstop garbage peddled by our fake news media.

The hacks over at CNN, notorious for churning out fake news about Melania supposedly “hating” her husband, must have really gritted their teeth publishing this true love story—but we think it’s fantastic and just desserts.

CNN:

When asked, former Trump assistant Madeleine Westerhout testifies that Trump is very close to his family and his wife.

• She’d see Trump talking on the phone with his wife when he was in the Oval Office, Westerhout says.

• She also recalls hearing him say, “Honey come over to the window.” The former assistant explained there was a window in the residence where Melania Trump could wave to the president in the Oval Office.

• They’d stand by the window and wave to each other, Westerhout said, smiling.

• When asked how she liked working for Trump, Westerhout said she loved it.

The CNN piece goes on:

• Madeleine Westerhout, under cross-examination, says she enjoyed working for Donald Trump.

• “He never once made me feel that I didn’t deserve that job and that I didn’t belong there. Especially in an office filled with older men he never made me feel like I didn’t belong there. He was a really good boss. “Westerhout says.

• “I found him very enjoyable to work for.

Additionally, here are more insights from Ms. Westerhout about the warm relationship between President Trump and his beautiful wife.

Il Donaldo Trumpo:

Madeleine Westerhout (ex-executive assistant) about President Trump and His Wife Melania:

• “I believe they have a relationship of mutual respect.”

• “I just found their relationship really special.”

• “He was my boss but she was definitely the one in charge. He cares a lot about her opinion.”

• “They laughed a lot when she came into the Oval Office.”

• “I could figure out he was on the phone with Mrs Trump. He would say: ‘honey come over to the window’, and they would wave to each other.

• “When he was boarding Marine One on the South Lawn he would call Mrs Trump and say honey I’m about to board. I thought it was funny, of course she knows his schedule but he wanted to check in.”

• “Working for Trump was AMAZING.”

• “He never once made me feel like I didn’t deserve that job, especially in an office filled with older men.”

• “He was a really good boss who respected me and my job. I found him very enjoyable to work for.”

• “I don’t think he’s treated fairly and I wanted to tell my side of the story. The Man I got to know.”

The Trumps seem to have a truly beautiful relationship. Maybe Bill and Hillary should take notes?

Meanwhile, Melania has chosen to stand by her man amid a barrage of attacks from the Deep State. She’s labeled what’s happening to her husband as ‘unfair’ and a ‘disgrace.

Vanity Fair:

The New York Times’ Katie Rogers, who wrote a book on first ladies, reports thatMelania has privately called the legal proceedings “a disgrace,” and believes, per the Times, that “the trial itself is unfair,” according to people familiar with the matter. She apparently also shares the ex-president’s opinion that the case amounts to election interference.

What more could President Trump ask for? He has a wife who loves and supports him, a massive movement ready to stand behind him for battle, and he’s the front runner in the 2024 presidential election. The only thing he could hope for is a country that doesn’t try to tear him to shreds like some makeshift North Korean dictatorship. He’s working on that part, and in the meantime, he has a good woman standing right beside him.

https://revolver.news/2024/05/sham-hush-money-trial-revealed-one-truth-trump-melania-quite-the-relationship/

In DC, a new wave of AI lobbyists gains the upper hand

An alliance of tech giants, startups and venture capitalists are spending millions to convince Washington that fears of an AI apocalypse are overblown. So far, it’s working.

5/12/241/3

In a shift for Washington tech lobbying, companies and investors from across the industry have been pouring tens of millions of dollars into an all-hands effort to block strict safety rules on advanced artificial intelligence and get lawmakers to worry about China instead — and so far, they seem to be winning over once-skeptical members of Congress.

The success of the pro-tech, anti-China AI push, fueled by several new arrivals on the lobbying scene, marks a change from months in which the AI debate was dominated by well-funded philanthropies warning about the long-term dangers of the technology.

The new influence web is pushing the argument that AI is less an existential danger than a crucial business opportunity, and arguing that strict safety rules would hand America’s AI edge to China. It has already caused key lawmakers to back off some of theirmore worried rhetoric about the technology.

“What we don’t want to have happen is have [advanced AI] development occur outside of the United States,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), one of four lawmakers in Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s AI working group, told POLITICO. “So we’re not going to try to restrict development here.”

The effort, a loosely coordinated campaign led by tech giants IBM and Meta, includes wealthy new players in the AI lobbying space such as top chipmaker Nvidia, as well as smaller AI startups, the influential venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and libertarian billionaire Charles Koch.

Their lobbyists are hoping to influence a pivotal moment in Washington AI policy. In the Senate, Schumer is drafting an AI legislative framework and promising to offer it“in a few weeks.” And the Biden administration is now making key decisions about how to enforce its sweeping AI executive order.

Until recently, the AI regulation debate was dominated by experts and executives warning policymakers about cataclysmic risks — like the potential for new AI models to develop deadly bioweapons, or even become sentient and exterminate humanity — and demanding strict rules on the most advanced models.

“They were the biggest and loudest voices out there,” said chief IBM lobbyist Christopher Padilla. “They were scaring a lot of people.”

Now IBM’s lobbyists have mobilized, along with their counterparts at Meta, Nvidia, Andreessen Horowitz and elsewhere. They want Washington to reject strict safety rules and to back “open-source” AI models, which scare some safety advocates because key elements of their source code are publicly available.

The full-court press is having an impact. Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), another senator in Schumer’s bipartisan AI group, told POLITICO that many in Congress have abandoned their once-fearful tone about the technology’s rapid development.

“I think the more people learn about some of these [AI] models, the more comfortable they are that the steps our government has already taken are by-and-large appropriate steps,” Young told POLITICO.

He said many of his Senate colleagues are now “imbued with a certain humility they may not have had going into the conversation,” and said he’s personally “apprehensive about constraining innovation.”

Last year, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) declared himself “freaked out” by cutting-edge AI systems, also known as frontier models, and called for regulation to ward off several scary scenarios. Today, Lieu co-chairs the House AI Task Force and says he’s unconvinced by claims that Congress must crack down on advanced AI.

“If you just say, ‘We’re scared of frontier models’ — okay, maybe we should be scared,” Lieu told POLITICO. “But I would need something beyond that to do legislation. I would need to know what is the threat or the harm that we’re trying to stop.”

With no new federal AI laws passed and Congress still unclear on its priorities, the Washington lobbying landscape has become a war of almost philosophical arguments backed by significant money — one side warning that AI poses existential risks to humanity, and the other cautioning against rules that slow or block its transformational benefits to society and national security.

Each side is backed by major corporations. Microsoft and OpenAI, in particular, have advocated for tight safety restrictions and licensing requirements that could favor companies with the most powerful A.I. models — arguments boosted by a sprawling networkbacked by a handful of tech billionaires.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/12/ai-lobbyists-gain-upper-hand-washington-00157437

>>20856209

2/3

The voices of the worriers largely dominated early Senate hearings and White House meetings on AI, and their concerns were strongly reflected in an October executive order requiring regular safety reports on very powerful A.I. models.

Other companies, like Meta and IBM, which rely on open-source AI models rather than the closed-source framework pursued by OpenAI, Google and others, are pushing for a more open-ended approach with fewer rules — a view that has powerful allies among venture capitalists and self-styled futurist thinkers.

The fight over AI safety has prompted a number of powerful newcomers to descend on Washington — including Nvidia, the world’s third-largest company by market valuation and the leading designer of AI chips.

Nvidia didn’t hire its first Washington lobbyist until late 2022. But according to two people familiar with its lobbying, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations, the company is now urging Washington to avoid placing devices on AI chips that would let the government track or control their use.

The two people said Nvidia lobbyists are badmouthing a recent proposal by the Center for a New American Security think tank to require “on-chip governance mechanisms,” arguing it would undermine security by creating backdoors into sensitive systems that could be exploited by cybercriminals or geopolitical rivals like China.

An Nvidia spokesperson would not directly confirm that the company is lobbying against on-chip governance plans. But the spokesperson said that while such systems are “still many years away,” they “must protect security, confidentiality, and privacy and not introduce backdoors and other system vulnerabilities that malicious actors can exploit.”

Yacine Jernite, the machine learning and society lead at AI startup HuggingFace, calls fear about AI-induced catastrophes “science fiction” and a “huge distraction.” HuggingFace hired its first lobbyist last year, and Jernite says he saw Washington start to shift on the topic soon after.

“When it makes it to regulators, when it makes it to people actually writing the laws — especially the staffers, but even the members of Congress — this seems to not be as taken as seriously as it was, I think, at the very beginning,” Jernite said.

Venture-capitalist firm Andreeseen Horowitz is spending its first-ever lobbying dollars in Washington, pouring more than $1 million since the start of 2023 into advocacy for open-source AI and a hands-off approach to cryptocurrency. In an April podcast, firm leaders Marc Andreeseen and Ben Horowitz said persistent advocacy has caused Congress to grow “cynical” about warnings that AI will cause major destruction.

“This is a winnable war on behalf of startups and open source, and freedom and competition,” Andreeseen said. “I’m worried, but I’m feeling much better about it than I was nine months ago.”

New organizations are also springing up in Washington to promote laissez-faireapproaches to AI. They include the Abundance Institute, a libertarian tech-policy nonprofit backed by Koch dollars and what Neil Chilson, the group’s head of AI policy, called donations from “Silicon Valley and Austin types.”

>>20856213

3/3

“There is a waking up in Silicon Valley,” Chilson said. “They didn’t really think it was important to talk to DC. And I think that’s different now.”

The new entrants are bolstered by longtime lobbying muscle.

Last December, IBM linked up with Meta to form the AI Alliance, a consortium created to head off new licensing requirements and prevent rules against open-source AI. Padilla said half of IBM’s roughly 20 lobbyists are working full-time to oppose AI licensing or closed-source mandates. The company has spent more than $4 million in Washington since the AI debate took off in mid-2023.

Meta has also sunk significant lobbying resources into the open-source fight. The social media giant spent more than $17 million lobbying Washington since mid-2023, including on open-source and AI safety proposals. The company also tapped five new firms to lobby on AI last year. Meta spokespeople declined to comment on their strategy.

IBM and Meta lag behind Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic and Google in developing cutting-edge AI systems. That gives them a financial interest in promoting open source, which is seen as the best way to catch up.

“We’re not trying to hide the commercial interest,” Padilla said. “We’re just saying, ‘Hey, let us all compete. Don’t have a government licensing regime that restricts competition.’”

Some ideas advanced by IBM’s foes continue to find a receptive audience. In April, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and three other senators unveiled a proposal that would establish an AI oversight body to license advanced models.

“I know the tech industry would like nothing, but that’s not an option,” Romney told reporters, when asked whether lobbyists had pushed back on his plans.

But many tech lobbyists say Romney’s support for tough AI safety rules is increasingly an outlier in Congress. Padilla said IBM lobbyists have simply outmaneuvered the “AI safety” lobby, which has fewer ties in the nation’s capital and less familiarity with how Washington works.

After months of conversations with IBM and its allies, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), chair of the House AI Task Force, says more lawmakers are now openly questioning whether advanced AI models are really that dangerous.

In an April interview, Obernolte called it “the wrong path” for Washington to require licenses for frontier AI. And he said skepticism of that approach seems to be spreading.

“I think the people I serve with are much more realistic now about the fact that AI — I mean, it has very consequential negative impacts, potentially, but those do not include an army of evil robots rising up to take over the world,” said Obernolte.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/12/ai-lobbyists-gain-upper-hand-washington-00157437

Prepare for the end of mankind, because Big Tech Wants Your MoneyAnd the government will get their kickbacks!

@RebelNewsOnline

BLACKMAIL: Trudeau’s thugs try to cancel Rebel News conference

Our annual 'Rebel News Live' conference almost didn’t happen — because Trudeau’s staff tried to blackmail us.

A few months ago, we signed a contract with a Toronto event venue for the conference. They were excited to have us and dedicated to freedom of speech. They even put that in their contract with us.

But the event venue is located in Downsview Park, a former military base in north Toronto. So the land underneath it is still owned by the federal government. It’s administered by a crown corporation called Canada Lands Company. That’s Trudeau’s landlord.

We thought nothing of it. But then, just over a week ago, the panicked owner of the event venue told us that the government was demanding nearly $50,000 in extra security for our event. Not only did we have to hire dozens more security guards, we had to pay money to the Toronto Police to protect us, too. Don’t our taxes already pay for the police?

It gets weirder. Trudeau’s landlord demanded that we provide barriers for hundreds of protesters they claimed were coming. As in, we had to provide security for them, too. And – bizarrely – they demanded we pay for portable toilets for those imaginary protesters, too.

And if we didn’t do these things, the event would be cancelled.

Obviously, the event venue couldn’t afford a $50,000 cost. And neither could we. And that’s the point – it wasn’t a real security concern. It was just the excuse they came up with to make it impossible for us to proceed.

Trudeau was trying to cancel our annual conference.

But then a miracle happened. Our friends at Rumble, the free speech livestreaming platform, had partnered with us to add a day on to Rebel News Live for “Rumble Live”, featuring their high-profile talent including Donald Trump Jr.

And Rumble decided that the events were important enough to proceed – so they just paid the entire bill themselves.

I was deeply touched by Rumble’s commitment to free speech. Even though I’m appalled that they were shaken down by Trudeau’s Canada Lands Company.

By the way, not a single protester came. Of course not. It was a fake threat.

Oh, there’s one more thing I should tell you – the local MP for Downsview Park is the atrocious Ya’ara Saks, the Trudeau cabinet minister who famously embraced the Palestinian terrorist, Mahmoud Abbas.

She hates Rebel News, and in fact, right in the middle of our conference, used her government Twitter account to denounce our conference as unwelcome and to tell the police to get involved.

It couldn’t be clearer: Trudeau and his thugs weaponized a non-partisan government agency against us because we are his political critics. They marshalled the police against us. Only the impossible generosity of Rumble allowed us to proceed.

Yet again, Trudeau and his henchmen violated our Charter rights—freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of association—by trying to breach our contract with the event venue.

Imagine if they had succeeded: threatening a business operator with ruin and sending police to harass a lawful event – that’s the kind of thing they do in Communist China or Iran, not Canada.

But that’s what Trudeau’s rotting government is like in 2024.

I didn’t want to talk about this publicly until the conference was almost over – because we are still at the mercy of these thugs. In fact, security guards told me that Trudeau’s point-man, Allen Schacht, was trying to interfere with our guest parking even this morning. Hopefully they won’t shut us down in our final hours.

But now you know: the Trudeau Liberals tried to blackmail us.

I have consulted a senior law firm about fighting back. If you want to support us, please do. Please help us out – unlike the Trudeau Liberals, we can’t use taxpayer money to fight our battles. We just depend on you, our freedom-loving supporters.

There is a full-blown crime wave in Toronto these days. Trudeau’s henchmen took them off real policework to have them stand around our conference. Just so he could bill them to us.

Do you think the government has ever ordered pro-Hamas protesters to pay for security? To pay for portable toilets for their opponents? Apparently, that only happens to Trudeau’s critics.

We just have to fight back against this, don’t you think?

REPORT by: @EzraLevant

https://x.com/RebelNewsOnline/status/1789352169159729576

‘They’re Ghosts’: Blue State’s Beaches Experience Surge In Illegal Immigration

Mary Lou MastersMay 11, 2024 11:47 AM

Illegal migrants are increasingly turning toward California’s beaches as a pathway to enter the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

While illegal migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have surged under the Biden administration, the number of successful and failed attempts to enter via boat in California has also jumped from 308 in fiscal year 2020 to 736 in fiscal year 2023, according to the WSJ, which cited Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Most of the migrants come through the San Diego area, but many have made their way north to Santa Barbara County.

“The big concern for us is we have absolutely no idea who these people are,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond told the WSJ. “We have no idea what they are doing. They’re ghosts.”

Federal agents have already mounted over 220,000 arrests in the San Diego area since Oct. 1, as well as nearly 8,000 for illegal entry into the U.S. by sea since 2020, according to the WSJ.

Rafael Fernandez de Castro, director of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California, San Diego, told the outlet that most of the migrants smuggled into the U.S. by boat are likely Mexicans who had previously been deported or have a criminal history.

“They risk that, if they are seen by police, they will be immediately thrown out or even serve some time in jail,” Fernandez de Castro told the WSJ.

Desmond argued that the blue state is “laying out the red carpet and welcome mat for illegal immigrants to cross the border,”citing a 2017 law that limits when local officers can cooperate with federal immigration partners, the outlet reported.

A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom countered that localities may still work with federal authorities relating to serious criminals, and told the WSJ that Congress should pass border security legislation and asylum reform.

Some of the boat smuggling attempts have been captured on video and posted to social media, showing migrants fleeing to awaiting vehicles, according to the outlet.

“It’s becoming more obvious that they don’t care if they are seen,”Britt Mayer, an independent journalist who covers the issue in the San Diego area, told the WSJ.

https://dailycaller.com/2024/05/11/migrants-california-beaches-surge-illegal-immigration/

12 May, 2024 09:53

LIVE UPDATES

Multi-story building in Belgorod partly collapses after Ukrainian strike

The Russian city has come under intense bombardment by Ukraine, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said.1/2

A high-rise apartment block in Belgorod has partially collapsed after a Ukrainian shelling of the Russian city on Sunday. Rescuers and volunteers are at the site, pulling people from the debris.

“The city of Belgorod and the Belgorod Region were subjected to a massive shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the region bordering Ukraine, wrote on Telegram.

A criminal case on charges of terrorism has been opened following the shelling, the Russian Investigative Committee has said.

According to media reports, several people may have been killed, though no official confirmation on casualties was available as of 12.45 Moscow time. At least 20 people could be trapped under the rubble, the Telegram channel 112 claimed, while Mash reported that seven people were killed and 15 wounded as a result of the shelling.

12 May 2024

14:47 GMT

President Vladimir Putin has received reports from the acting emergencies minister, Aleksandr Kurenkov, and Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, on the situation following “a barbaric missile attack by Kiev regime” on an apartment block in Belgorod, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

The president “gave all the necessary instructions,” he added.

14:33 GMT

At least two people have died as a result of the Ukrainian attack on a residential building in the city of Belgorod, according to the local governor.

“The bodies of two people were pulled from under the rubble. Their identities are being established. The investigative committee is working at the site,” Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.

More people could be trapped in the rubble of the ten-story block, which partially collapsed after a rocket strike on Sunday morning, Gladkov said.

“Rescuers are doing everything to save their lives,” he added.

13:53 GMT

The shelling of “peaceful neighborhoods” in Belgorod on Sunday morning was carried out with the use of weapons supplied to Kiev by NATO countries, Russia’s Permanent Mission to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has stated.

Moscow demands that the organization's leadership “condemn the criminal actions in strongest possible terms,” the statement on Telegram reads.

“It is unacceptable to blatantly ignore civilian victims among Russian citizens,” in Belgorod, Donbass or elsewhere, the mission added. “There must be no double standards and political ‘filters’ in the OSCE when it comes to theKiev regime's obvious brutal violations of international humanitarian law.”

13:18 GMT

The search-and-rescue operation at the site of the building collapse was interrupted for a third time and rescuers had to retreat to shelter as a missile danger alert has been announced again in Belgorod, the Russian Emergencies Ministry has announced.

13:17 GMT

The Telegram channel Shot has posted a video of what it described as rescuers at the site of the building collapse beginning to extract an elderly man from under the rubble in a Belgorod residential area.

“He is pinned under the slabs but is conscious and continues to communicate with rescuers,”the news channel wrote.

Earlier, Shot reported that eyewitnesses said the man was heard screaming under a pile of concrete. His daughter reportedly recognized her father’s voice. He lived on the first floor of a building struck by a Ukrainian attack earlier on Sunday.

https://www.rt.com/russia/597429-building-belgorod-attack-collapse/

>>20856440

2/2

12:53 GMT

Russian human rights ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova has urged the international community to condemn “acts of terrorism against civilians” carried out by Kiev’s forces and to take measures to stop such “gross violations” of human rights.

12:41 GMT

The evacuation of the residential building in Belgorod which partly collapsed following a Ukrainian strike has been completed, TASS has reported, citing officials.

Ten people, who are believed to have been inside the destroyed section of the apartment block at the time of the strike, are still unaccounted for, the news agency said.

Two temporary accommodation centers have been set up in Belgorod for the building’s residents, Deputy Mayor Sergey Andreev has told journalists.

11:47 GMT

The search-and-rescue operation at the scene of the building collapse has been interrupted twice due to “missile danger” alerts in Belgorod, the Emergencies Ministry has said.

Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has confirmed that warning sirens are sounding in Belgorod Region.

“If you are at home, do not go near the windows. Take shelter in rooms without windows with solid walls (hallway, bathroom, toilet). If you are outside, go to a shelter or other safe place,” the official warned locals.

11:45 GMT

A two-month-old boy was wounded in the attack, the Telegram channel Baza has reported, adding that the baby is currently in intensive care, where “doctors are fighting for his life”.

According to Baza, the child “suffered a concussion, barotrauma, and burns to the face, neck and respiratory tract.”

The channel also claims that a 16-year-old boy “with an open craniocerebral injury” has been admitted to the children's regional clinical hospital. “Doctors assess his condition as serious,” Baza wrote.

So far, there has been no official confirmation of the reports.

11:28 GMT

No fatalities have so far been confirmed following the Ukrainian “barbaric shelling” of Belgorod, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said in an update on Telegram.

According to the official, Sunday’s attack caused the collapse of one of the eight sections of a ten-story building. There were 40 apartments in the ruined section.

“During the evacuation of residents from the affected apartments and the removal of rubble, a partial collapse of the roof occurred,” he added.

According to preliminary information, some 19 people were injured as a result of what Gladkov described as “massive shelling” of Belgorod by Kiev’s forces. Some 62 apartments in three different buildings were damaged, he said.

https://www.rt.com/russia/597429-building-belgorod-attack-collapse/

12 May, 2024 14:54

Kiev to get first of West’s F-16s ‘within weeks’ – report

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman had earlier claimed that promised fighter jets could be supplied as early as this month

Ukraine may receive the F-16 fighter jets promised to it by its Western backers “within weeks,” the British newspaper Evening Standard claimed on Friday, citing what it called a “high-ranking military source.” The aircraft were due to be supplied to Kiev either by June or July, the source said.

The paper did not report on which nation would supposedly deliver the jets or what their total number is to be. In March, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said that Demark would be the first nation to deliver the F-16s and would do it at some point this summer. The Netherlands was to follow soon after and provide Ukraine with their batch of fighter jets “in the second half of the year,” the minister said at that time.

Earlier in May, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Ilya Evlash stated that Kiev could get the jets as early as after May 5. He also admitted that the delivery date had already been “changed several times.” Kiev has been seeking to acquire the US-made jets for quite some time amid its ongoing conflict with Moscow, which entered its third year this February.

In 2023, Western countries announced an international coalition to help Ukraine procure US-designed F-16s and train its pilots. More than 40 aircraft were pledged to Kiev in total by several Western nations, including Denmark, which vowed to provide 19 jets of this type, and by the Netherlands, which said it would send 24.

TheUkrainian officials admitted that the country may face infrastructure difficulties in maintaining the US-designed jets. Some of the nation’s senior military officials also told Politico in April that the aircraft could even be no longer relevant, since Russia had already taken measures to counter them.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said last November that, although the F-16s would surely add to Ukraine’s capabilities, they would be far from “a silver bullet” that could fundamentally change the situation on the front lines.

Russia has repeatedly stated that continued Western arms shipments to Kiev only prolong the conflict without changing its future outcome.

(Ukrainians don’t even know how to fly them. Do the EU countries send their disabled arms and planes to Ukraine. It’s a junk yard at this point.Bidan is just trying to keep the failing war going until November, so he’s not blamed for the stupid failure.And the EU wants it to last past their June elections, for the same reason.)

https://www.rt.com/news/597455-kiev-f-16-within-weeks/

>>20856590

Agreed, God bless her soul

I guess it’s repeat spam day here

Board owner, Bakers can the spammers be set up with their own board?