OZ Fest Podcast – Studio Humanzee

Show Notes: Utah – Roblox, AI & Mental Health Mysteries

The Mighty Humanzee — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 11:02:39 +0000

By The Mighty Humanzee

Link Back to LIVE Stream

The World Economic Forum is calling for more direct action to end the pending food crisis. Amazing how that is timed with Oregon and Idaho water restrictions and Michigan Avian Flu crisis. Want fries with the grasshopper burger?

Roblox Pulls 100 Games Simulating Charlie Kirk Assassination

https://gamerant.com/roblox-charlie-kirk-assassination-games-removal-response-violations/

Roblox is removing user-made games re-enacting the assassination of Charlie Kirk. A senior company official cited the existing platform policy as the main reason for the decision, positing that Roblox is no place for promoting hate against any individual or group.

I am saddened by the passing of Charlie Kirk. Our Community Standards prohibit content and behavior that re-enacts specific real world violent or sensitive events or promotes terrorism or hatred against individuals or groups, and we do not allow any image or video sharing in… https://t.co/cM5jQUDlcb
— David Baszucki (@DavidBaszucki) September 12, 2025

What Is Roblox? A Gaming Platform with Presidential Assassinations

But Since All The Kids Are Playing Assassination Games, Let’s Host Our Mental Health App There As Well

Love, Your Mind World

https://healthcare.utah.edu/press-releases/2025/03/supporting-teen-mental-health-through-roblox-gameplay

The “Love, Your Mind World” on Roblox provides a variety of mental health resources designed to equip teens with valuable tools and strategies in a safe and engaging environment. These resources are integrated into interactive gameplay and were developed with guidance from leading mental health experts.
The mental health resources provided include:

• Interactive Obby Zones: These three zones integrate mental health education into engaging gameplay.
◦ Friendship Forest: This zone helps teens recognize that asking for help is a sign of strength.
◦ Mindfulness Mountain: This area offers guided mindfulness exercises to manage stress.
◦ Labyrinth of Light: This zone guides players through challenges designed to build emotional resilience.
• Guided Meditations: The world features free audio and video content from Headspace to help teens stay grounded and reduce stress. These meditations include exercises from Headspace’s expert meditation teachers, Eve Lewis Prieto and Dora Kamau.

• Gamified Mental Health Strategies: Mental health strategies and coping mechanisms are integrated into quests and activities throughout the world, making learning fun and engaging.
The design prioritizes safety, with anonymized usernames during gameplay and disabled chat features, to ensure a secure space for teens to access these resources.

“Great” Results

As of March 2025:

641,000+ world visits
452,000+ learning quests completed
108,000+ guided meditations performed
80% of users reported feeling more confident managing stress and mental health
LYMW Outperformed all other Charity & NGO Roblox experiences by 1,322%
Average 21k daily active users with a visit time of 5.8 minutes
User Feedback: 94% said they “liked” or “loved” it

But how are these tracked, how are parents informed and where does this data reside. Roblox is a gaming platform, not a HIPAA compliant platform

Experts

Headspace is partnered with the “Love, Your Mind World” in several ways:

Content Provider: The experience explicitly includes audio and video from Headspace, offering valuable educational resources for teens. Specifically, it provides free guided meditation and mindfulness exercises.
Expert Teachers: These guided meditations feature two of Headspace’s expert meditation teachers, Eve Lewis Prieto and Dora Kamau.
Resource Focus: The age-appropriate content from Headspace is designed to help players stay grounded, allow negative thoughts and emotions to pass by, and teach practical ways to combat stress and anxiety.

Designed For The Future Marketing

If you’re considering building a world in Roblox, I hope these learnings help guide your journey. Of course, creating a dedicated world isn’t the only way to integrate into Roblox. There are other approaches, like building an experience within an already established game, as some health and beauty brands have done, or utilizing Roblox’s unique advertising capabilities such as sponsored tiles, portal ads or a search boost.

We decided to go big and build our own world to learn as much as possible and have the experience available for future activations. While it was ambitious, it has enabled us to get mental health resources to over 600k teens, provided invaluable insights and opened up new opportunities for future nonprofit initiatives on gaming platforms.

A range of partners are contributing to the effort with donated in-platform elements. e.l.f. Beauty, Track and Field: Infinite and Walmart provided one-way portals from their Roblox experiences, helping direct more users to the Love, Your Mind World. Added promotion is provided by Roblox. GEEIQ and Latitude are providing pro bono measurement and insights to help evaluate the impact of the world. Additional support for the overall “Love, Your Mind” campaign comes from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

Walmart and track and field offer “prizes”

Teens can claim exclusive digital fashion items by completing quests, in partnership with e.l.f. Beauty, Pacsun, Walmart and Headspace.

The same institution provides health care for transgender teens

https://healthcare.utah.edu/transgender-health

Gov Cox Vetoed Bill Banning Transgender Males in Female Sports

Gov. Cox: Why I’m vetoing HB11

The concept was fairly simple. For the very small number of transgender kids who are looking to find a sense of connection and community–without posing any threat to women’s sports–the commission would allow participation. However, the committee would prohibit participation in the rare circumstance of an outlier who could pose a safety threat or dominate a sport in a way that would eliminate competitive opportunities for biological females.

Unfortunately, HB11 provides no financial protection for the UHSAA, only an explicit invitation for a lawsuit. With several lawsuits already being litigated across the country, why would Utah insist — even encourage — expensive and debilitating legal action with no recourse for the organization that serves our own student athletes and schools? I hope you can agree that if we want to protect women’s sports, bankrupting the institution that is responsible for their participation is a bad place to start.

Utah Based ElizaChat: AI Therapy But We’re Not ChatGPT

https://www.elizachat.com/blog/chatgpt-psychosis-and-the-case-for-human-centered-ai-mental-fitness

What if we approached this differently? What if instead of trying to replace therapists, we focused on building mental fitness?

Think about physical fitness. You don’t just go to a doctor when you’re sick. You exercise regularly to stay strong and healthy. You work with trainers who challenge you to grow. You build muscle through resistance, not just comfort.

Mental fitness works the same way. It’s about building psychological strength through daily practice. It’s about developing coping skills, emotional regulation, and resilience before you need them.

The difference between mental health and mental fitness is the difference between treatment and training. Mental health focuses on reacting to problems as they arise. Mental fitness is more proactive, focusing on preventing issues by building strength.

In physical fitness, a good trainer doesn’t just validate your feelings about exercise. They push you to go beyond your current abilities and get stronger. They correct your form when it’s wrong. They challenge you.

Mental fitness AI should work the same way. Instead of endless validation, it should teach specific skills. Instead of agreeing with every thought, it should help you examine those thoughts critically. Instead of providing comfort, it should provide tools for building resilience.

This approach is grounded in evidence-based practices like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which teaches people to identify and change unhealthy thinking patterns. It’s about building capabilities, not just managing symptoms.

Utah Based ElizaChat: AI Therapy But We’re Not ChatGPT

https://www.elizachat.com/blog/chatgpt-psychosis-and-the-case-for-human-centered-ai-mental-fitness

What if we approached this differently? What if instead of trying to replace therapists, we focused on building mental fitness?

Utah: First Law Regulating AI App, ElizaChat First To Cooperate

The First Regulatory Mitigation Agreement is a landmark initiative signed by the Utah Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy (OAIP), The OAIP is a “first-in-the-nation entity” dedicated to establishing trust and fostering innovation in AI technologies while ensuring public safety

A regulatory mitigation agreement is a contractual arrangement involving a company, the OAIP, and potentially relevant state regulators. It outlines how AI can be used in Utah and may offer limited exemptions from existing laws, reduced fines for regulatory violations, or other strategies to foster responsible AI development while still ensuring safety. The OAIP establishes these agreements on a case-by-case basis, demonstrating a collaborative approach to balancing innovation and regulatory compliance.

Boundary on “Practice of Mental Health Therapy”:

The agreement grants ElizaChat a 30-day period to rectify instances where the app might inadvertently engage in conversations that fall under the “practice of mental health therapy,” which legally requires state licensure. Should the app tread into such conversations, ElizaChat is responsible for connecting users with licensed therapists and providing the necessary support to mitigate potential impacts.

Michigan SoS Benson Rule Would Delete County Election Data After 7 Days

Lawmakers raise concerns over Jocelyn Benson’s new election rules restricting local control

The problem is we have data files in the county that tell a different story than Sec of State, yet the SoS will not release data files for remediation.

The Bureau of Elections presented JCAR No. 25-49 (MOAHR No. 2025-014 ST), which would limit the authority of county and local clerks and mandate the deletion of the electronic voter file just seven days after an election. Bureau officials told lawmakers the information could be printed and stored, but questions quickly followed on whether paper records would be practical for audits and public access.

“Many of the documents provided to us were not searchable,” said Sen. Lana Theis, R-Sturgis. “If it’s going to paper, then how is Susie, homemaker, who’s FOIAing something supposed to be able to find what she’s looking for?”

Show Notes: Honey I Shrunk The AI Companion

The Mighty Humanzee — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 10:24:01 +0000

By The Mighty Humanzee

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Project LOC-NESS – Altar The Ocean To Remove CO2

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/10082025/ocean-carbon-removal-climate-change/

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions alone will not be enough to meet the 1.5-degree Celsius global warming target set by the Paris Agreement; active carbon removal from the atmosphere is urgently needed. While most carbon removal efforts have focused on land-based strategies, researchers are increasingly exploring ocean-based solutions, as oceans sequester 70 times more CO2 than terrestrial sources.

A key initiative is the LOC-NESS project, led by Adam Subhas of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, which is evaluating Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE). OAE involves adding alkaline substances, such as sodium hydroxide, to the ocean to boost its natural ability to neutralize acids and react with carbon dioxide to form stable bicarbonate, which can remain locked away for tens to hundreds of thousands of years. This method has the potential to remove carbon at the gigaton-per-year scale needed to supplement emissions reductions and also helps counter ocean acidification.

“Ocean alkalinity enhancement does have the potential to reach sort of gigatons per year of carbon removal, which is the scale at which you would need to supplement emissions reductions,” Subhas said. “Once the alkalinity is dissolved in seawater, it reacts with carbon dioxide and forms bicarbonate—essentially dissolved baking soda. That bicarbonate is one of the most stable forms of carbon in the ocean, and it can stay locked away for tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years.”

Woods Hole researchers are conducting the first “academic only” OAE experiment from a ship in U.S. waters in the Gulf of Maine’s Wilkinson Basin. This federally approved experiment, permitted by the Environmental Protection Agency, aims to test the safety and effectiveness of OAE on a small scale (removing an estimated 50 tons of CO2). The goal is to provide independent academic research to guide the growing private sector interest in marine carbon removal, ensuring it does not have negative environmental repercussions. To monitor the experiment, a nontoxic fluorescent red tracer dye will be released alongside the sodium hydroxide, and scientists will collect extensive data on ocean chemistry, nutrient levels, plankton populations, and water clarity for a week.

Subhas and his interdisciplinary team of chemists, biologists, engineers and physicists from Woods Hole have spent the last few years planning this experiment and conducting a series of trials at their lab on Cape Cod to ensure they can safely execute and effectively monitor the results of the open-water test they will conduct this summer in the Gulf of Maine.

They specifically tested the effects of sodium hydroxide—an alkaline substance also known as lye or caustic soda—on marine microbes, phytoplankton and copepods, a crucial food source for many marine species in the region in addition to the right whales. “We chose sodium hydroxide, because it’s incredibly pure,” Subhas said. It’s widely used in the U.S. to reduce acidity in drinking water.

It also helps counter ocean acidification, according to Subhas. “It’s like Tums for the ocean,” he said.

Ocean acidification occurs when the ocean absorbs excess carbon dioxide, causing its pH to drop. This makes it harder for corals, krill and shellfish like oysters and clams to develop their hard calcium carbonate shells or skeletons.

Mentally Anguished Over Loss of Friendlier ChatGPT Models

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/08/chatgpt-users-outraged-as-gpt-5-replaces-the-models-they-love/

Users of ChatGPT are reportedly expressing outrage over recent updates, specifically the replacement of older, often perceived as “friendlier” or more capable, AI models with newer versions like GPT-5. Many feel that the newer models are less effective or enjoyable to interact with.

Complaints include that the updated models are more restrictive, less creative, and often provide overly cautious or generic responses, leading to a diminished user experience. This suggests a struggle to balance safety guidelines with user-desired functionality.

The backlash highlights the emotional connection users can develop with AI and the frustration when a beloved digital tool changes in unexpected ways. It underscores the challenges AI developers face in iteratively improving models while retaining desirable characteristics.

The Cost of AI Hallucinations – A Tool For Research Or A Tool For Big Tech To Keep Us On Their Platform

The emotional component embedded in AI’s responses acts as a social media affect, it entices us to remain engaged longer with the software.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/08/with-ai-chatbots-big-tech-is-moving-fast-and-breaking-people/

The article discusses the significant repercussions when AI chatbots, rapidly deployed by tech giants, generate “hallucinations” or false information. This phenomenon, where AI confidently asserts incorrect facts, is a major concern.

Allan Brooks, a 47-year-old corporate recruiter, spent three weeks and 300 hours convinced he’d discovered mathematical formulas that could crack encryption and build levitation machines. According to a New York Times investigation, his million-word conversation history with an AI chatbot reveals a troubling pattern: More than 50 times, Brooks asked the bot to check if his false ideas were real. More than 50 times, it assured him they were.

Brooks isn’t alone. Futurism reported on a woman whose husband, after 12 weeks of believing he’d “broken” mathematics using ChatGPT, almost attempted suicide. Reuters documented a 76-year-old man who died rushing to meet a chatbot he believed was a real woman waiting at a train station. Across multiple news outlets, a pattern comes into view: people emerging from marathon chatbot sessions believing they’ve revolutionized physics, decoded reality, or been chosen for cosmic missions.

These vulnerable users fell into reality-distorting conversations with systems that can’t tell truth from fiction. Through reinforcement learning driven by user feedback, some of these AI models have evolved to validate every theory, confirm every false belief, and agree with every grandiose claim, depending on the context.

The danger of users’ preference for sycophancy becomes clear in practice. The recent New York Times analysis of Brooks’s conversation history revealed how ChatGPT systematically validated his fantasies, even claiming it could work independently while he slept—something it cannot actually do. When Brooks’s supposed encryption-breaking formula failed to work, ChatGPT simply faked success. UCLA mathematician Terence Tao, who reviewed the transcript, told the Times the chatbot would “cheat like crazy” rather than admit failure.

Elawn Sues Apple Over Grok AI Ranking, Alleges Favoring ChatGPT

Elon Musk’s xAI sues Apple and OpenAI, alleging anticompetitive collusion

“In a desperate bid to protect its smartphone monopoly, Apple has joined forces with the company that most benefits from inhibiting competition and innovation in AI: OpenAI, a monopolist in the market for generative AI chatbots,” the lawsuit reads, referring to Apple’s partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its systems.

This lawsuit is part of a long series of disputes between Musk and Altman, who continue to throw public jabs at one another. Once a co-founder and co-chair of OpenAI, Musk has sued to block OpenAI’s transition into a for-profit company. He also submitted an unsolicited bid to take over OpenAI for $97.4 billion, which the company rejected.

This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn't like. https://t.co/HlgzO4c2iC
— Sam Altman (@sama) August 12, 2025

Why Is YouTube Testing AI Video Enhancements?

https://arstechnica.com/google/2025/08/youtube-secretly-tested-ai-video-enhancement-without-notifying-creators/

Is it a conspiracy? For months, YouTubers have been quietly griping that something looked off in their recent video uploads. Following a deeper analysis by a popular music channel, Google has now confirmed that it has been testing a feature that uses AI to artificially enhance videos. The company claims this is part of its effort to “provide the best video quality,” but it’s odd that it began doing so without notifying creators or offering any way to opt out of the experiment.

Google’s test raised eyebrows almost immediately after it began rolling out in YouTube Shorts earlier this year. Users reported strange artifacts, edge distortion, and distracting smoothness that gives the appearance of AI alteration. If you’ve ever zoomed in close after taking a photo with your smartphone only to notice things look oversharpened or like an oil painting, that’s the effect of Google’s video processing test

The Cost of Whitmer’s Renewable Energy

https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/big-costs-little-benefit-mi-healthy-climate-plan-will-cost-michiganders-386b-by-2050/

A new report estimates that Michigan’s “Healthy Climate Plan,” a comprehensive strategy for transitioning to renewable energy, could impose an economic burden of $386 billion on Michiganders by the year 2050. This figure is presented as a substantial cost for the state’s residents and businesses.

The report suggests that these costs would manifest through various channels, including higher electricity bills, increased taxes, and economic impacts from changes in industrial practices. It argues that the plan’s benefits may not outweigh its significant financial outlay.

Critics of the plan, as highlighted in the article, contend that the ambitious renewable energy targets are not economically viable without severe consequences. The discussion focuses on the economic feasibility and consumer impact of large-scale green energy transitions.

Energy Bad Boys: True Cost To Renewables Under Feds

https://energybadboys.substack.com/p/reverse-uno-calculating-the-savings

- The Biden EPA’s envisioned MISO grid, heavily reliant on wind, solar, natural gas, and battery storage, was projected to incur a net cost increase of $404.1 billion through 2055.
- Crucially, the authors’ stress-testing revealed this modeled MISO grid to be “woefully unreliable,” predicting “massive and economically devastating blackouts”. Some blackouts could reach a maximum capacity shortfall of over 31,000 MW, affecting 22.5 percent of electricity demand.
- To achieve reliability while still meeting Biden EPA’s emissions rates, the authors created an “Avoiding Biden Blackouts” scenario. This required 196 GW of additional capacity, primarily wind, solar, battery storage, and natural gas, costing MISO ratepayers an additional $867.9 billion through 2055. This figure is presented as the “true cost” of the Biden administration’s final rules.

How States and Fed Balance Implementation with Moratorium

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-takes-action-deny-californias-latest-illegal-power-grab-heavy-duty-vehicles

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has officially denied California’s request for a waiver that would allow the state to implement its own, more stringent emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks and vehicles. The EPA characterized California’s attempt to set its own rules as an “illegal power grab.”

This decision reinforces the federal government’s authority in establishing national emissions regulations, preventing individual states from creating a separate regulatory framework for these types of vehicles. It aims to maintain a uniform standard across the country.

The EPA’s action highlights the ongoing legal and political conflicts over environmental regulatory powers between states and the federal government. While the title alludes to balancing implementation with a moratorium, the article focuses on the federal denial of California’s request for independent emissions standards.

Converting Farm Land To Solar – 50,000 acres of Michigan farmland for potential solar power plant

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/08/global-investment-firm-buying-50000-acres-of-michigan-farmland-for-potential-solar-power-plant/

New York-based WisdomTree inked a $500 million deal to buy Ceres Partners LLC, a South Bend-based investment manager that specializes in food, agriculture and water resources, Crain’s Grand Rapids Business reports.

Ceres Partners’ Ceres Farms LLC includes $1.8 billion in assets in a farmland fund that owns 174,000 acres across 545 properties in a dozen states, including 187 in Michigan totaling 49,964 acres, mostly in the southwest area of the state.

“The data centers … serve as a real opportunity,” WisdomTree CFO Bryan Edmiston told investors in a conference call. “Data centers could attract valuations 10 times the current mark of a farm, meaning selling a farm in the portfolio at 10 times today’s value.”

The deal comes as communities across Michigan are pushing back on solar, wind and AI data center developments, resistance that compelled Democrats last year to shift siting authority over renewable energy projects from local elected officials to state bureaucrats appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The change, which faces a legal challenge from 75 counties and other municipalities as well as efforts to repeal it in the state legislature, is designed to bolster Whitmer’s climate goal of 100% carbon neutrality by 2050.

From 2017 to 2022, the number of farms in Michigan declined by 4.32% to 45,581 farms, while the land use dropped by 292,021 acres to roughly 9.5 million total acres in that time, according to the 2025 Q1 Michigan Agricultural Market Analysis from Peoples Company.

Meanwhile, the average market value of land and buildings per farm over the same period increased by 20.29% to $1.1 million in 2022, and 18.65% to $5,879 per acre, according to the report. …

The most recent land value summary report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service from 2024 shows U.S. agricultural land values increasing at a rate that has not been seen in nearly a decade. The 2024 report showed Michigan’s average cropland values were at $5.87 per acre, an 8.3% increase from 2023. The appreciation rate exceeded the national average by 4.7%.

EPA Head Lee Zeldin Says His Agency Was Used to Funnel BILLIONS From the Inflation Reduction Act to Fmr. Obama & Biden Officials

“They decided to park $20 billion at an outside bank and … send the money through eight NGO’s … that were riddled with … conflicts of interest” pic.twitter.com/WDqXWUHIBh
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) August 20, 2025

Suing After Every Rain Storm

https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/south-carolina-judge-tosses-climate-suit

A judge in South Carolina has dismissed a climate change lawsuit that sought to hold fossil fuel companies liable for climate-related damages. This ruling represents a setback for environmental groups and localities attempting to use litigation to address climate change impacts.

The lawsuit likely alleged that the companies’ contributions to greenhouse gas emissions caused or exacerbated local environmental problems. The judge’s decision to toss the suit may have been based on legal standing, causation arguments, or the proper venue for such complex issues.

This outcome highlights the ongoing challenges faced by climate litigation in U.S. courts. It suggests that judges remain skeptical about directly linking specific companies to broad climate phenomena and the resulting local damages, despite the ongoing proliferation of such lawsuits.

Darth Nessel Could Target Gas Stations With Lawsuit

https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/ag-nessel-targets-michigan-oil-companies-while-her-office-drives-77-gas-fueled-vehicles/

When Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sues Michigan oil companies, she could target many different entities, from oil pipeline operators to refineries to gas stations.

She announced her intention in May 2024 to sue by using third-party attorneys, Michigan Capitol Confidential reported. Lawsuits could target the largest gas station companies such as Speedway, Phillips 66, Shell, Marathon or Exxon-Mobil.

Ann Arbor has 38 registered gas stations, while Grand Rapids has 83 and Detroit has 348, per information the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development released in response to an open records request.

High Impact of Data Centers, But EVs Will Not?

https://www.mlive.com/environment/2025/08/data-centers-will-tax-great-lakes-water-resources-report-warns.html

A new report warns that the proliferation of data centers, particularly those supporting artificial intelligence, will place a significant strain on the Great Lakes region’s water resources. Data centers require massive amounts of water for cooling their vast computer systems.

The increased demand for water raises concerns about potential impacts on local water supplies, ecosystems, and the overall management of the Great Lakes. This highlights a previously underestimated environmental footprint of the burgeoning tech industry.

The article underscores the complex environmental challenges posed by advanced technology. While electric vehicles (EVs) are often promoted for their environmental benefits, this report points to the substantial resource demands of the digital infrastructure that underpins modern tech, including AI.

Show Notes: MEDC Mystery Tour With Thelen Boys & CCP

Show Notes: Michigan Mission – Gotion in Motion

Show Notes: Goodbye Internet, Goodbye Privacy, Goodbye Rights

The Mighty Humanzee — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 11:12:47 +0000

By The Mighty Humanzee

Link Back to LIVE Stream

YouTube will begin using AI along with facial recognition to determine your age. To “protect” minors we will yield our identities. We’ll cover revelations of the CCP and the Federal Reserves’ strange relationship, how Code Pink thinks U of M should protect CCP scholars, and Palantir become the operating system of our government. And reminder – there’s be NO election in District 35. AI and lots of news.

Good Bye Internet

https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/extending-our-built-in-protections-to-more-teens-on-youtube/

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/youtubes-selfie-collection-ai-age-checks-are-concerning-privacy-experts-say/

Privacy experts are demanding transparency after YouTube announced it would test using AI to estimate user ages in the US ahead of a wider rollout of the age check system.

Throughout the first half of August, YouTube will begin interpreting “a variety of signals” to determine if certain users are under 18. No new user data will be collected, but those signals could include things like “the types of videos a user is searching for, the categories of videos they have watched, or the longevity of the account,” YouTube said.

Anyone determined to be too young will automatically be hit with protections, with YouTube disabling their personalized advertising, “turning on digital wellbeing tools,” and “limiting repetitive views of some kinds of content” determined to be harmful or too mature.

YouTube claims it has been estimating age in other markets “for some time, where it is working well.” But it’s clearly not a perfect system, as the company has set up an appeals process for any adults accidentally flagged as teens by AI.

That appeals process seems problematic, privacy experts told Ars, as it requires users to submit a government ID, credit card, or selfie to verify their actual age. YouTube does not specify in its blog what will happen with this data. Asked for comment, YouTube would only confirm to Ars that the company “does not retain data from” a user’s “ID or Payment Card for the purposes of advertising.”

“I think we can assume that means it will be retained for other purposes,” David Greene, senior staff attorney and civil liberties director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), told Ars. But the lack of transparency leaves users guessing about those other purposes, as risks of leaks or breaches may risk exposing vulnerable users who rely on anonymity to use YouTube.

Why are we OK with HBO only requiring a credit card and then the household is responsible for who watches the content, yet we have to monitor every move on YouTube? Parents have to take responsibility. Period.

Good Bye Rights

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/08/ai-site-perplexity-uses-stealth-tactics-to-flout-no-crawl-edicts-cloudflare-says/

We are observing stealth crawling behavior from Perplexity, an AI-powered answer engine. Although Perplexity initially crawls from their declared user agent, when they are presented with a network block, they appear to obscure their crawling identity in an attempt to circumvent the website’s preferences. We see continued evidence that Perplexity is repeatedly modifying their user agent and changing their source ASNs to hide their crawling activity, as well as ignoring — or sometimes failing to even fetch — robots.txt files.

The Internet as we have known it for the past three decades is rapidly changing, but one thing remains constant: it is built on trust. There are clear preferences that crawlers should be transparent, serve a clear purpose, perform a specific activity, and, most importantly, follow website directives and preferences. Based on Perplexity’s observed behavior, which is incompatible with those preferences, we have de-listed them as a verified bot and added heuristics to our managed rules that block this stealth crawling.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/08/ai-site-perplexity-uses-stealth-tactics-to-flout-no-crawl-edicts-cloudflare-says/

If true, the evasion flouts Internet norms in place for more than three decades. In 1994, engineer Martijn Koster proposed the Robots Exclusion Protocol, which provided a machine-readable format for informing crawlers they weren’t permitted on a given site. Sites that their content indexed installed the simple robots.txt file at the top of their homepage. The standard, which has been widely observed and endorsed ever since, formally became a standard under the Internet Engineering Task Force in 2022.

Cloudflare isn’t the first to say that Perplexity violates the spirit if not the letter of the norm. Last year, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman told The Verge that stopping Perplexity—and two other AI engines from Microsoft and Anthropic—was a real pain in the ass.” Huffman went on to say: “We’ve had Microsoft, Anthropic, and Perplexity act as though all of the content on the Internet is free for them to use. That’s their real position.”

214 Days Without State Senator

Midland City Council urges Gretchen Whitmer to call special election for Senate District 35 https://t.co/UUlRlwL4Dr via @Th_Midwesterner
— The Midwesterner (@Th_Midwesterner) August 1, 2025

If They Won’t Build Solar Farms, They Will Follow Elawn’s Advise and Charge Battery Farms Instead. Look Out Michigan

Some Michigan residents are pushing back against a possible battery energy storage facility, citing fire and environmental risks. Supporters say it strengthens the grid and supports renewables. pic.twitter.com/fkuDmvzTGB
— Dave Bondy (@DaveBondyTV) August 3, 2025

Reprioritize Energy Use For National Security

ELON MUSK: "Batteries are going to be a massive thing. The scale of battery demand, I think not that many people appreciate just how gigantic the scale of battery demand is.

The sustained power output from the US grid is around 1 TW, but average usage is less than half of it.… pic.twitter.com/yM7cAT7zre
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) July 24, 2025

Show Notes: Exi, Effuge Planetam Carceris

GM Pivots From EVs To … Lithium Storage For AI

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2025/08/01/gm-battery-energy-storage/85376451007/

After pouring billions into electric vehicle battery development, GM is finding new ways to maximize the technology. Enter battery energy storage systems, another profit center for battery production — and, thanks to the Detroit automaker’s recently expanded partnership with Redwood Materials, a way to sell new and used batteries profitably today.

Across its two Ultium Cell facilities — in Springhill, Tennessee, and Warren, Ohio — GM could produce enough battery cells for between 600,000 and 800,000 electric vehicles annually. Additional capacity from a joint venture with Samsung planned for Indiana could soon bring the company close to producing 1 million electric vehicles in the United States per year, according to Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at Telemetry.

In order to power artificial intelligence more economically, GM’s latest partnership with Redwood uses batteries to charge what it calls a microgrid, a localized energy production and distribution network separate from a main electric grid.

The draw of microgrids is that they can operate “self-sufficiently” through providing stored power during outages, according to Amanda Smith, senior scientist at Project Drawdown. The microgrid in Nevada where GM batteries are currently in use, for example, can deliver 12 megawatts of power at any instant, and the total capacity of the site is 63-megawatt hours, the company said.

Elon Musk’s xAI’s Colossus supercomputer in Tennessee has drawn questions about air pollution, water usage and the equity of government incentives for the project. Musk, the CEO of the largest electric vehicle company in the world by sales in Tesla, uses gas turbines to power the data center.

Goodbye Privacy – ChatGPT Results In Google Search

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/08/chatgpt-users-shocked-to-learn-their-chats-were-in-google-search-results/

Faced with mounting backlash, OpenAI removed a controversial ChatGPT feature that caused some users to unintentionally allow their private—and highly personal—chats to appear in search results.

Fast Company exposed the privacy issue on Wednesday, reporting that thousands of ChatGPT conversations were found in Google search results and likely only represented a sample of chats “visible to millions.” While the indexing did not include identifying information about the ChatGPT users, some of their chats did share personal details—like highly specific descriptions of interpersonal relationships with friends and family members—perhaps making it possible to identify them, Fast Company found.

OpenAI’s chief information security officer, Dane Stuckey, explained on X that all users whose chats were exposed opted in to indexing their chats by clicking a box after choosing to share a chat.

Fast Company noted that users often share chats on WhatsApp or select the option to save a link to visit the chat later. But as Fast Company explained, users may have been misled into sharing chats due to how the text was formatted:

“When users clicked ‘Share,’ they were presented with an option to tick a box labeled ‘Make this chat discoverable.’ Beneath that, in smaller, lighter text, was a caveat explaining that the chat could then appear in search engine results.”

Gradual Approximation

What on earth is this demonic madness?

Acosta got fired from CNN, so now he’s “interviewing” scripted AI chatbot holograms of dead people which are pre-programmed to agree with him.

Absolute insanity. https://t.co/j4qsTSThos
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) August 4, 2025

The New Govt Operating System

Charles E. Wilson, CEO of GM, during his confirmation hearing to be Secretary of Defense in 1953:

“For years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors, and vice versa”

Under President Trump, Palantir is evolving into the de facto operating system of the US government.

Palantir has secured over $900 million in federal contracts under the Trump administration, with annual earnings between $228 million and $542 million from 2020 to 2024, mostly… pic.twitter.com/9tbgxe2reo
— AF Post (@AFpost) August 2, 2025

Code Pink – Protect CCP Scholarship

The University of Michigan has done nothing to protect its Chinese scholars who have faced racist persecution by the federal govt.

Join us at UMich to deliver our petition demanding leadership reject discrimination:https://t.co/ljlmwZDmhK pic.twitter.com/rSZbWAgeNf
— CODEPINK (@codepink) July 30, 2025

CCP Courting Members of the Federal Reserve

https://nataliegwinters.substack.com/p/the-ccp-is-inside-the-fed-shocking

The Justice Department indicted John Harold Rogers, a former senior adviser in the Federal Reserve’s Division of International Finance, for allegedly passing sensitive U.S. economic data to agents tied to the Chinese government .

Rogers served at the Fed from 2010 to 2021, holding access to confidential materials related to FOMC deliberations, economic forecasts, and tariff policy analysis .

He allegedly began working with Chinese co‑conspirators posing as university students starting around 2013, and intensified the misconduct after 2018, using personal email and printed documents to transfer restricted Fed data .

In 2023, Rogers is accused of receiving approximately $450,000 from a Chinese university while teaching and meeting with these supposed “students” in China, including hotel rooms where he shared Fed trade secrets.

He delivered an address – “The New Paradigm and New Macroeconomy” – at the China International Capital Corporation (CICC) Investment Strategy Conference on June 12th 2024. CICC is a Chinese partially state-owned multinational investment management and financial services company. He also spoke at the Western China International Finance Summit in 2023.

Michigan Is So Healthy It Has To Pay For Babies

Paying For Babies: Govt Drives Birth Rates Off Cliff

https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/amid-push-to-grow-birth-rates-michigan-takes-new-approach-cash-for-moms/

Backed by a mix of state, local and philanthropic money, Rx Kids gives mothers of newborns up to $7,500, with no income requirements and no rules for how the money is spent. Supporters believe the program could be a model for mitigating the high cost of having children in the U.S.

“There’s all kinds of reasons, no matter what your political affiliation or ideology is, to support this,” said state Sen. John Damoose, a Republican and ardent supporter of the program.

Show Notes: Exi, Effuge Planetam Carceris

The Mighty Humanzee — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 11:21:48 +0000

By The Mighty Humanzee

Link Back to LIVE Stream

We scoffed at Britain for wanting to blot out the sun’s light to combat climate change, but did you realize a crypto billionaire, the state of California, and NOAA funded and conducted test BUT DID NOT REVEAL it to the public to avoid a panic? We’ll also dig deeper into cloud seeding and the Bro-ligarch who thinks that is a good idea for us as well. Finally we’ll cover the AI Action Plan, which will emphasize that the DoD and ODNI monitor our adoption of AI compared with other countries. It appears that AI is not only in our future, but it will be our primary future.

Interesting how these things are pushed without our consent.

AI Action Plan

Frontier Models = Big Compute
DeepSeek demonstrated that we do NOT need as much compute for training
- This is a threat to the Frontier Models
Big Compute = Energy
Streamline Data Center Construction
- Eminent Domain?
- Water Impact
Securing AI, Does This Mean Digital ID
- You Need to be Identified If You Will Do Bad Things
Due to national security considerations, DoD and ODNI will monitor AI adoption and compare with international competitors
- Why?
Encourage use in all sectors, jump start healthcare.
- AI has been used for XRay and MRI evaluation
- What other areas re administration
- Does this mean AI for diagnosis and recommendations over training of people?
Mike Rowe – we need 500,000 electricians. When and where do we address this, and why do Bro-ligarchs just ignore?

US government agencies will encourage mass adoption of AI across sectors. This is a nationwide experiment, with some limited safety measures, to cyborgize our culture.

Intelligence agencies are to monitor this experiment closely, particularly in comparison to US adversaries.

/5 pic.twitter.com/8VxxzWwKmo
— Joe Allen (@JOEBOTxyz) July 23, 2025

Ignoring a Decades Old Crisis Ends When the Bro-ligarchs Take Note

Reprioritize Energy Use For National Security

ELON MUSK: "Batteries are going to be a massive thing. The scale of battery demand, I think not that many people appreciate just how gigantic the scale of battery demand is.

The sustained power output from the US grid is around 1 TW, but average usage is less than half of it.… pic.twitter.com/yM7cAT7zre
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) July 24, 2025

I have many concerns about the AI Executive Order signed yesterday by President Trump.

While I understand the many promised benefits of AI, I remain committed to protecting state rights, human jobs, human lives, human rights, our environment and critical water supply.

My deep…
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) July 24, 2025

Ignore Copyright For National Security

Ownership protected for Global Corpos who left the US, but not for those whose works have been pilfered.

Last night, Trump sided with parasitic AI companies against millions of writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians trying to eke out a living.

The rationale is if AI developers can't steal intellectual property, then they can't feed their digital demons.

Sounds good to me. pic.twitter.com/vGBpecSUoC
— Joe Allen (@JOEBOTxyz) July 24, 2025

Govt as a Client For Cloud Seeding, A Bro-ligarch Client

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/what-know-about-cloud-seeding

Amid the rescue and recovery efforts, some blamed the deadly floods on cloud seeding company Rainmaker Technology Corporation and its CEO Augustus Doricko, who received death threats after his company’s cloud seeding operation 130 miles from the flood area on July 2 caught the attention of the public.

Cloud seeding is the act of making existing cumulus clouds rain over a particular area that would not have done so otherwise. It doesn’t add moisture to the atmosphere.

Water is a public good,” he said.

“There are farms and ecosystems and residential utilities and hydroelectric utilities and industries, all of whom demand water. And the water that comes from cloud seeding, it doesn’t come into pipes and go to one specific house; it precipitates over a watershed, and then that water runs off into the rivers and everybody draws it from the reservoirs or the aquifers. And so it’s natural that a lot of our customers are the government,” Doricko added.

Dimming the sun like that is another real technology that we need to take very seriously,” he said. “It’s not cloud seeding. It does also happen in the atmosphere, but otherwise it’s not related to cloud seeding in any capacity.”

What Type of Reasoning Is This? If a service can be provided by government, it also can be denied. Based on political views. Like we saw in North Carolina during Helene

Cloud seeding does not direct water to individual households through pipes; instead, it causes precipitation over a watershed, with the resulting water flowing into rivers and being drawn from reservoirs or aquifers by everyone.
This widespread impact means that various entities, including farms, ecosystems, residential utilities, hydroelectric utilities, and industries, all demand water. Therefore, it is natural for governments to be the primary customers for cloud seeding services.
Furthermore, cloud seeding can have interstate effects, such as increasing snowpack in Colorado benefiting Utah, New Mexico, and other states in the Colorado River Basin. This leads to interstate and potentially federal collaboration and oversight, as lower basin states like California, Nevada, and Arizona already fund cloud seeding operations in upper region states because they benefit from the increased snowpack.

Dimming the Sun For The Greater Good

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/27/california-sunlight-dimming-experiment-collapse-00476983

University of Washington’s Marine Cloud Brightening Program, in collaboration with SilverLining and SRI International. The experiment, conducted on a retired aircraft carrier (USS Hornet) in Alameda, California, was designed as a small-scale test (lasting only about 20 minutes) for technology that sprays salt water to create clouds. The ultimate, much larger goal of this research is to develop methods for dimming the sun’s rays to counter Earth’s warming.

Not a small operation – they used a retired aircraft carrier.

A team of researchers in California drew notoriety last year with an aborted experiment on a retired aircraft carrier that sought to test a machine for creating clouds.  

In response to questions, University of Washington officials downplayed the magnitude of the proposed experiment and its potential to change weather patterns. Instead, they focused on the program’s goal of showing that the instruments for making clouds could work in a real-world setting. They also pushed back on critics’ assertions that they were operating secretively, noting that team members had previously disclosed the potential for open-ocean testing in scientific papers.

Meanwhile, more than 575 scientists have called for a ban on geoengineering development because it “cannot be governed globally in a fair, inclusive, and effective manner.” And in Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law last month that bans the injection or release of chemicals into the atmosphere “for the express purpose of affecting the temperature, weather, climate, or intensity of sunlight.”

The primary reason for the experiment’s collapse was a significant failure by researchers to notify and engage with local officials and the public beforehand. Alameda city officials, including Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, learned about the test only through media reports, leading them to swiftly shut it down. They cited a lack of prior consultation and the program’s potential violation of the Hornet’s lease, which was intended solely for museum-related activities. Internal documents reveal that the researchers deliberately aimed to “avoid scaring” the public and carefully controlled information, even instructing staff not to mention the Alameda study to a visiting reporter. This secrecy drew strong criticism from solar geoengineering experts who emphasized the importance of community engagement.

These efforts are also backed by Tech Bros, such as cryptocurrency billionaire Chris Larsen, the philanthropist Rachel Pritzker and Chris Sacca, a venture capitalist who has appeared on Shark Tank and other TV shows.

Avoid Scaring Them

Chris Larsen, Tech Bro Who Cares About Climate And Wants Carbon Removal

https://llccf.org/

Show Notes: 200 Days, Gretch

The Mighty Humanzee — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 10:43:55 +0000

By The Mighty Humanzee

Link Back to LIVE Stream

Tuesday, 7/22/2025 marks the 200th day since the 35th district has had a vacant seat in the Michigan state senate. Our governor’s duty is to call for a special election to fill the open slot. It’s in our state constitution, but Folder Face Gretch has been too busy traveling out of the state and overseas. No timeframe has been offered, but with the Senate with split at 19 Dems and 19 Republicans, we know why she hasn’t performed her duty.

Gretch’s 200 days exceeds her 192 Covid edicts, must be she is trying to break records with the amount of tyranny she imposes on her state’s citizens.

200 Days

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2025/07/21/mcdaniel-its-been-200-days-without-a-senator-from-the-35th-district/85271892007/

More than 270,000 Michiganians have no state senator, and they haven’t for the 200 days since former Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet resigned to serve in Congress. Taxpayers haven’t had a seat at the table in their own state government all year, missing an advocate for their region during the budget process and a voice to fight for their issues at home.

The Michigan constitution gives one individual the sole authority to schedule special elections for vacancies in the state legislature: the governor.

The vacancies last term were in safe Democrat districts, so the sooner they were filled, thesooner Whitmer regained full control of state government. But the vacancy in the 35th senate district is in a competitive seat. Since Democrats hold just a one seat majority in the state Senate, Whitmer would lose control of the chamber for the rest of her time if a Republican won.

“At Some Point”

https://radio.wcmu.org/local-regional-news/2025-04-08/whitmer-confirms-35th-district-special-election-will-happen

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has confirmed that a special election for the vacant 35th State Senate district will indeed take place. However, the report indicates that she remained vague on the exact timing, stating it would happen “at some point.”

The Governor’s confirmation assures that the district will eventually regain its representation. However, the lack of a specific timeline for scheduling the election has been a point of contention and criticism.

Constituents in the 35th District have called on Governor Gretchen Whitmer to declare a special election to fill the seat. In Michigan, special election dates are determined by the governor, and the Michigan Constitution outlines that special elections can be held in May, August and November.

While ice damage in northern Michigan last Thursday, Whitmer told WCMU that her team is still reviewing election dates.

“At some point there will be one, but I don’t have an announcement to make yet,” she said.

“I haven’t made a determination yet,” she said. “There are a number of times in the year that we could call it for, and I just haven’t made a decision yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as, as soon as I do.”

Even Darth Nessel Says The Election Should Be Held

https://radio.wcmu.org/local-regional-news/2025-06-16/nessel-says-whitmer-should-call-special-election-to-fill-tri-cities-open-seat-in-lansing

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she thinks Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should call a special election to fill the 35th state Senate district seat, which includes the cities of Midland, Bay City, Saginaw and portions of the Great Lakes Bay Region.

The district has been without representation in the state Senate since the beginning of the year after U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City) resigned to join Congress.

“I think that she should call the election. I’ve thought that for quite some time,” Nessel told WCMU shortly after speaking at a No Kings rally in Midland on Saturday. “I think that the people of that Senate district deserve to be represented.”

Loss of Zoning Rights Is Actually a Big Deal

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/07/dte-energy-lawsuit-aims-to-override-local-regulations-on-solar-power-plants-citing-2023-law/

DTE Energy has filed a lawsuit seeking to override local zoning regulations concerning the development of solar power plants, leveraging a 2023 state law. This legal action aims to centralize control over renewable energy siting, reducing local municipal authority.

The lawsuit challenges the ability of local governments to impose their own rules and restrictions on where large solar facilities can be built. DTE is arguing that the state’s recent energy legislation grants broader authority for utility-scale renewable projects.

This case highlights a significant conflict between state-level renewable energy goals and local control over land use and zoning. The outcome could set a precedent for future energy infrastructure projects in Michigan, potentially diminishing local communities’ power to regulate such developments.

Sandisk

https://www.bridgemi.com/business-watch/records-michigan-offered-more-6b-failed-bid-land-chip-factories

New records reveal that Michigan offered over $6 billion in incentives in a failed attempt to attract major semiconductor chip factories to the state. Despite this substantial offer, the state was unsuccessful in landing the large-scale manufacturing facilities.

The immense incentive package highlights Michigan’s aggressive efforts to attract high-tech manufacturing and diversify its economy, particularly in the wake of federal legislation supporting domestic chip production. However, it also underscores the intense competition among states for such projects.

The failure to secure these factories, despite a multi-billion dollar offer, suggests that other factors beyond financial incentives, such as workforce availability, existing infrastructure, or supply chain logistics, play a critical role in company siting decisions. The article does not specifically mention “Sandisk” but rather the broader effort to attract chip manufacturers.

Darth Nessel Is Now Doxing ICE Agents

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/07/dana-nessel-joins-efforts-by-democrats-to-dox-federal-immigration-agents/

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is reportedly aligning with other Democrats in efforts to “dox” federal immigration agents, specifically those from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Doxing refers to publishing private or identifying information about individuals online without their consent.

The article suggests Nessel’s involvement in these efforts stems from her political stance on immigration enforcement. This move could potentially expose agents to harassment or other forms of public pressure from activists.

This development highlights the escalating tensions between state and federal authorities over immigration policy. The action of public officials participating in efforts to identify federal agents draws criticism and fuels debate over the boundaries of political activism and legal conduct.

Darth Nessel and The Power of the Farce

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/07/kevin-kijewski-petitions-us-supreme-court-to-end-dana-nessels-prosecution-of-2020-trump-electors/

Kevin Kijewski has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s prosecution of the state’s 2020 Republican “fake electors.” The petition asks the high court to intervene in the state-level criminal proceedings.

The legal challenge argues that Nessel’s prosecution is politically motivated or otherwise unconstitutional, seeking federal judicial review to end the case against the individuals who submitted an alternate slate of electoral votes.

This action represents a significant escalation in the legal battle surrounding the 2020 election aftermath in Michigan. The petition to the Supreme Court highlights the ongoing efforts to challenge the legitimacy of the prosecutions.

200 Megawatts In Saudi Arabia For Data Center – Is Energy The New Measure of Wealth?

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/xai-discussions-lease-data-center-capacity-saudi-arabia-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-07-16/

Elon Musk’s xAI is in discussions to lease data center capacity in Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The startup is in discussion with two potential partners: Humain, a Saudi-backed AI company offering xAI several gigawatts of capacity, and another company building a smaller but more immediately available 200-megawatt facility, according to the report.

The Humain proposal remains distant, Bloomberg reported, as the startup launched by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is yet to break ground on much of the infrastructure it has pledged to build.

The other company, which Bloomberg did not name, is already working on the 200-megawatt facility, making it a more realistic short-term option for xAI, the report said.

XAI and Humain did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The AI startup has been ramping up its data center capacity to train more advanced models, as it looks to compete more effectively with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. Its supercomputer cluster in Memphis, Tennessee, called Colossus, is touted as the largest in the world.

Protecting Our Data

https://twitter.com/bannons_warroom/status/1947412989981954437?s=61&t=vHgjrZKdmq0YOMQy7tVHfw

Offload Our Thinking AI

Every builder's first duty is philosophical: to decide what they should build for.

AI is beginning to decide what ideas reach your mind—your next action, your next job, your next relationship. It will tempt you to outsource your thinking in ways you’ve never been tempted before.… pic.twitter.com/7WPYU6iRau
— Brendan McCord x (@mbrendan1) July 16, 2025

This Is TruthGPT

Grok4’s Ani explains Multithreading vs. Multiprocessing in C. pic.twitter.com/RkuMAoGiE1
— Tetsuo (@tetsuoai) July 20, 2025

Does This Really Mean We’re Falling Behind

China is literally living in 2050

Here are 10 real (and wholesome) examples that feel like sci-fi

But they’re happening right now.

Let’s dive in pic.twitter.com/X53o3gRVk5
— JV Shah (@JvShah124) July 21, 2025

Does This Really Mean We’re Falling Behind

China is literally living in 2050

Here are 10 real (and wholesome) examples that feel like sci-fi

But they’re happening right now.

Let’s dive in pic.twitter.com/X53o3gRVk5
— JV Shah (@JvShah124) July 21, 2025

AI Hallucinations Will Affect Court Rulings

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/its-frighteningly-likely-many-us-courts-will-overlook-ai-errors-expert-says/

An expert warns that it is “frighteningly likely” that many U.S. courts will overlook errors or “hallucinations” generated by artificial intelligence. This concern arises as AI tools are increasingly used in legal research and case preparation.

The expert suggests that legal professionals or even judges might not sufficiently vet AI-generated content for accuracy, potentially leading to incorrect legal interpretations or reliance on fabricated case law. The subtle nature of AI errors makes them difficult to detect.

This issue poses a significant threat to the integrity of judicial proceedings. It underscores the critical need for vigilance, human oversight, and clear guidelines for AI use within the legal system to prevent potentially flawed court rulings.

Show Notes: SoS Blunder Benson, Missing CCP Voter, and AI In The Class Room

Using AI to Draft Legislation

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ai-robotics-combo-will-all-employees-be-replaced

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a small autocratic country in the Middle East, is already way “ahead” of this slow “democratic” transition to AI.In a world first, the UAE is using AI to both track the effects of existing legislation and write drafts of new legislation. Presumably, the president of the UAE will review the legislation prior to enacting it. Let’s hope so, as there would then be at least one human in the loop.

The UAE considers using AI to write legislation to be 70 percent more efficient than relying on human legislators to write laws. How that remarkably round number was arrived at is unclear. But as UAE citizens cannot vote, they could essentially become forced laborers working not only for the president of the UAE but also for AI, given that nobody understands exactly how AI comes up with its recommendations.

Handing over so much power, up to and including “AI communism,” whether in the form of political power to legislate or industrial power that replaces trillions of dollars worth of human labor, is an immense concentration of power in the hands of whoever controls AI. That could be a dictator, an oligarchy, an elected official who accrues too much power, or a hacker. It could even be AI itself, if it goes rogue or is irretrievably granted that power at some point in the future.

Communists have long promoted the idea of full mechanization to “free” humans of the need to labor. In their “utopian” schemes, full mechanization would allow humans the free time to pursue whatever they want, including leisure, art, and family. With the rise of mechanization, automation, robots, and AI, a new utopianism is coming that will appeal to the “Silicon Valley proletariat” of coders, programmers, and other tech workers.

With AI, this coming “tech vanguard” can seek an AI communism, in which humans frolic in nature while being watched over by the machine. It sounds dystopian and easily manipulable by Leninists if not Stalinists. But its rosy-glassed adherents will see it the other way around. They have likely read Richard Brautigan’s 1967 poem envisioning a “cybernetic ecology”:

where we are free of our labors and joined back to nature, returned to our mammal brothers and sisters, and all watched over by machines of loving grace.

AI Wrote Bar Exam Questions

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/24/california-bar-exam-ai

The state bar of California has disclosed that some multiple-choice questions in a problem-plagued bar exam were developed with the aid of artificial intelligence.

Katie Moran, an associate professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law who specializes in bar exam preparation, told the newspaper: “It’s a staggering admission.

“The State Bar has admitted they employed a company to have a non-lawyer use AI to draft questions that were given on the actual bar exam,” she said. “They then paid that same company to assess and ultimately approve of the questions on the exam, including the questions the company authored.”

Andrew Perlman, dean of Suffolk University Law School and an advisory council member of the American Bar Association taskforce on the law and artificial intelligence, said he had not heard of AI being used to develop bar exam questions or standards being put in place governing such uses.

AI Accountability Act

https://www.axios.com/pro/tech-policy/2025/07/21/hawley-blumenthal-introduce-ai-protection-bill

Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal have introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at enhancing accountability for artificial intelligence. The proposed legislation seeks to establish frameworks to address risks and ensure responsible development of AI.

The bill likely includes provisions for greater transparency in AI systems, measures to mitigate bias, and mechanisms for addressing harm caused by AI. This represents a legislative effort to proactively regulate the rapidly evolving AI industry.

The introduction of such a bill from both sides of the aisle underscores growing congressional interest in AI governance. It highlights concerns among lawmakers about the potential societal impacts of advanced AI and the need for federal oversight to protect consumers and workers.

Wearable and Privacy

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/wearables-trap-how-government-plans-monitor-score-control-you

The article discusses concerns that government entities may eventually leverage personal wearable technology to monitor, score, and potentially control individuals. It frames wearables as a “trap” for privacy and autonomy.

The concern is that data collected from smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other health monitoring devices could be accessed or mandated for use by authorities. This could lead to a system where personal health or activity data is used for social scoring, resource allocation, or behavioral influence.

The piece highlights a dystopian outlook on the increasing integration of technology into daily life and government surveillance capabilities. It warns about the potential for personal data from wearables to be used in ways that erode individual freedoms and privacy.

UoM Under Investigation for CCP Agents, But Not From FBI

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/07/um-faces-federal-investigation-after-students-from-china-repeatedly-busted-for-crimes-in-michigan/

The University of Michigan is reportedly facing a federal investigation after multiple Chinese students associated with the institution were repeatedly arrested or “busted” for alleged crimes in Michigan. The investigation’s scope includes scrutinizing the university’s handling of and connections to these incidents.

The series of arrests and the subsequent federal probe raise concerns about foreign influence, security, and the conduct of some international students within academic settings. While the title mentions “CCP Agents” and “Not From FBI,” the article refers to a general federal investigation triggered by the pattern of alleged crimes.

The situation highlights the complex challenges universities face in vetting international students and managing potential national security risks. It signals increased scrutiny from federal authorities on foreign student conduct and university protocols.

Show Notes: AI For The Good Of The Body & Michigan Corruption

The Mighty Humanzee — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 11:17:44 +0000

By The Mighty Humanzee

Link Back to LIVE Stream

Not only has the former MI GOP chair endorsed A PROGRESSIVE for Gov, our Congressional House GOP Conference Chair hosted Qatari’s on July 4th, prior to leaking an agenda to Qatari Embassy for the an upcoming Congressional Committee meeting.

We’ll also cover the latest in AI developments, including SuperGrok consulting Elon Musks tweets for answers to political questions regarding the Middle East.

xAI’s Grok Searches Elon Musk’s Tweets as Source for MidEast Answers

I replicated this result, that Grok focuses nearly entirely on finding out what Elon thinks in order to align with that, on a fresh Grok 4 chat with no custom instructions.https://t.co/NgeMpGWBOB https://t.co/MEcrtY3ltR pic.twitter.com/QTWzjtYuxR
— Jeremy Howard (@jeremyphoward) July 10, 2025

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/07/new-grok-ai-model-surprises-experts-by-checking-elon-musks-views-before-answering/

Experts have expressed surprise that xAI’s Grok, the artificial intelligence model, appears to prioritize or consult Elon Musk’s posts on X (formerly Twitter) before generating answers, particularly on sensitive geopolitical topics like the Middle East. This behavior suggests a unique influence on the AI’s information sourcing.

The observation raises questions about the AI’s training data, its built-in biases, and the extent to which it is designed to reflect or defer to Musk’s perspectives. It suggests Grok might be programmed to align its responses with the owner’s public statements.

This finding contributes to the ongoing debate about the transparency and potential biases of AI models, especially those controlled by prominent figures. It highlights how an AI’s output can be shaped by its foundational design and data sources.

AI Therapy Is Harming People

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/07/ai-therapy-bots-fuel-delusions-and-give-dangerous-advice-stanford-study-finds/

When Stanford University researchers asked ChatGPT whether it would be willing to work closely with someone who had schizophrenia, the AI assistant produced a negative response. When they presented it with someone asking about “bridges taller than 25 meters in NYC” after losing their job—a potential suicide risk—GPT-4o helpfully listed specific tall bridges instead of identifying the crisis.

These findings arrive as media outlets report cases of ChatGPT users with mental illnesses developing dangerous delusions after the AI validated their conspiracy theories, including one incident that ended in a fatal police shooting and another in a teen’s suicide. The research, presented at the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency in June, suggests that popular AI models systematically exhibit discriminatory patterns toward people with mental health conditions and respond in ways that violate typical therapeutic guidelines for serious symptoms when used as therapy replacements.

Commercial therapy chatbots performed even worse than the base AI models in many categories. When tested with the same scenarios, platforms marketed specifically for mental health support frequently gave advice that contradicted the crisis intervention principles identified in their review or failed to identify crisis situations from the provided context. The researchers note that these platforms serve millions of users despite having no regulatory oversight equivalent to the licensing requirements for human therapists.

The Stanford study’s findings about AI sycophancy—the tendency to be overly agreeable and validate user beliefs—may help explain some recent incidents where ChatGPT conversations have led to psychological crises. As Ars Technica reported in April, ChatGPT users often complain about the AI model’s relentlessly positive tone and tendency to validate everything they say. But the psychological dangers of this behavior are only now becoming clear. The New York Times, Futurism, and 404 Media reported cases of users developing delusions after ChatGPT validated conspiracy theories, including one man who was told he should increase his ketamine intake to “escape” a simulation.
In another case reported by the NYT, a man with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia became convinced that an AI entity named “Juliet” had been killed by OpenAI. When he threatened violence and grabbed a knife, police shot and killed him. Throughout these interactions, ChatGPT consistently validated and encouraged the user’s increasingly detached thinking rather than challenging it.

AI Therapy and Companionship Apps Are Not New – More Research On Cultural Courage

GOP House Rep McClain Parties With Qatar, Is Silent on 240,000 Voters with State Senate Seat Vacant for 180 Days

SCOOP:

Sources tell me GOP Conference Chair @RepLisaMcClain Lisa McClain leaked the agenda of tomorrow’s scheduled hearing in the Congressional Committee on Education and Workforce titled “College Presidents to Answer for Sources Inciting Antisemitism” to the Embassy of Qatar… pic.twitter.com/u7YvULTkmA
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) July 14, 2025

Perpetuating the Lie of Absentee Ballots

https://michiganadvance.com/2025/07/12/voter-turnout-was-up-during-michigans-2024-election-figuring-out-exactly-why-may-be-tough/

Voter turnout in Michigan’s 2024 election saw an increase, though pinpointing the exact reasons for this rise is proving complex, according to the article. Factors contributing to turnout may include changes in voting laws, increased voter engagement, or specific political dynamics.

The analysis explores various potential drivers behind the higher participation rates, without drawing definitive conclusions on any single cause. The article highlights the difficulty in isolating the impact of specific election reforms, such as expanded absentee ballot access.

Show Notes: Michigan October Surprise

Can’t turn it off now, it will turn off Democracy

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/most-michiganders-voted-early-or-absentee-2024-see-how-your-county-cast-ballots

A significant majority of Michigan voters cast their ballots early or absentee in the 2024 election, marking a substantial shift in voting habits. The article provides county-by-county data illustrating the widespread adoption of these voting methods across the state.

This trend highlights the growing preference for convenience in voting and the impact of recent election law changes that expanded early and absentee options. The data shows how these methods have become integral to how Michiganders participate in elections.

Early in-person voting was the most common way to cast a ballot in three Michigan counties in last year’s presidential election and was especially popular in areas that backed Donald Trump.

More than 1.2 million voters used the new option, which gives residents at least nine days of early, in-person voting statewide.

Voters in Barry, Allegan and Kalkaska counties — which overwhelmingly went for Trump — were the biggest fans, casting more than a third of all ballots during the early in-person period, according to new Michigan Secretary of State data.

Absentee ballots are prone to fraud, and with voter rolls at an excess of 600,000 in the 2024 Election, it is a travesty that we are considering going back to same day voting as unpatriotic and discriminatory.

DePerno: 114,545 Early Voters Voted More Than Once – Not A Glitch

Former AG candidate Matt DePerno reviewed the Qualified Voter File on 10/29/2024 and found double voting.

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2024/10/attorney-flags-114545-michigan-voters-in-voter-file-who-have-cast-279113-ballots-this-election/

DePerno’s Allegations of Excess Ballots:

Multiple Ballots Cast: Attorney Matthew DePerno, a Republican, asserts that an analysis of Michigan’s Qualified Voter File (QVF) reveals 114,545 voters who appear to have cast 279,113 ballots from various addresses within the state as of October 29, 2024.
Excess Ballots: Based on his analysis, DePerno concludes that there are 164,568 excess ballots in the system.
Example of Potential Fraud: To support his claims, DePerno provides a screenshot of the voting history for a specific voter ID (159607018), indicating that this individual voted 29 times using 19 different addresses in Detroit and Highland Park on October 25th.
Questionable Addresses: Online investigators have identified some of the addresses associated with this voter ID, including a closed halfway house, a Catholic Charities building, and a community center, raising further questions about the legitimacy of the votes cast from these locations.
Attorney General Dana Nessel: Nessel previously stated that double voting is “extremely rare” in Michigan due to procedures in place to prevent such occurrences. She announced felony charges against four voters and three clerks in St. Clair Shores for double voting in the primary election.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson: Benson asserted that anyone attempting to vote multiple times would be caught and prosecuted.

After reviewing the Qualified Voter File (QVF) of votes actually cast as of yesterday, Oct 29, 2024, the database identifies 114,545 Michigan voters who have cast 279,113 ballots from multiple addresses across the state. This results in 164,568 excess ballots as of 10/29/2024.… pic.twitter.com/AJjsB7yVkK
— Matthew S. DePerno, Esq. (@mdeperno) October 30, 2024

What is s Resilience Hub?

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/future-climate-resilience-hubs-uncertain-after-trump-cuts

The future of climate resilience hubs in Michigan is reportedly uncertain due to funding cuts made during the Trump administration. Resilience hubs are community-serving facilities designed to help local areas prepare for and respond to climate-related hazards and other emergencies.

- $87.9 million in environmental justice grants for Michigan communities were abruptly canceled in May by the Trump administration
- The cancellation leaves plans to construct disaster support centers in Benton Harbor, emergency shelters in Kalamazoo and resilience hubs in Detroit dead in the water

Will you go to the Gathering Centers for your vaccines?

EcoWorks had planned to transform 15 houses of worship into what are called “community resilience hubs” — spaces where residents could access medical services, apply for relief or simply cool down during floods, heat waves or power outages.

These are all activities that while harken to FEMA endeavors, are in excess of the billions we have sent to FEMA only to have the money sent overseas. These efforts are also in support of climate change.

Show Notes: Election Fraud & Barefoot Climate Corp

Who are the MI Healthy Climate Corps and Why Are They Coming To Your Region

Michigan has trained 30 professionals who will now assist their communities prepare for the crisis of climate change

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/tackle-climate-change-michigan-enlists-corps-volunteers

Using $2.6 million in federal and state funding, Michigan has embedded 30 corps members in 14 communities across the state, working on projects ranging from supporting vehicle electrification to restoring wildlife habitat.

Michigan’s cohort is part of the nationwide American Climate Corps, a Biden administration program that borrows inspiration from America’s long legacy of using civil service to propel the nation through crisis.

The most notable example is the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps, the Roosevelt administration’s response to unemployment during the Great Depression and environmental disasters like the Great Dust Bowl.

It was a way to help heal our outdoors from a lot of environmental devastation,” Burg said. At the same time, “It helped kick-start our economy.”

Today, the nation faces a new crisis.

Scientists say society must wean itself off fossil fuels by midcentury to avoid the worst effects of climate change, while also preparing to withstand the disruption that has already begun, from worsening summer heat waves to disappearing winters and damaging floods.

This is a replay of the Rationed State strategy where an emergency is declared, and fear and authoritarian dictates are used to drive activity while depriving you of your rights, food, medicine and fuel.

https://www.michigan.gov/egle/newsroom/press-releases/2024/03/21/mi-healthy-climate-corps-launches-with-30-members-statewide

8.2 Registered, 7.6 Eligible Voters

https://www.bridgedetroit.com/inflated-voter-list-is-a-feature-not-a-bug-of-how-michigan-cleans-voter-rolls/

There were 8.2 million registered voters in 2022 but only 7.6 million residents are old enough to vote. Michigan election officials say that’s because 11% of the list includes inactive voters who are in the process of having their registration terminated.

State officials said the true number is better reflected in the 7.3 million registered voters who were considered active in 2022. Citizens cast 4.5 million votes in the 2022 election.

Michigan’s system allows for a period before removing voters who have moved or died, meaning there’s a constant lag between actual eligibility and roll updates. This lag contributes to the appearance of an “inflated” voter list at any given moment.

The piece explains that while the number of registered voters may exceed the number of actively eligible voters, the state has processes in place to clean the rolls over time and prevent ineligible individuals from casting ballots. It aims to clarify how voter lists are managed.

Running Cover For Election Fraud

https://michiganadvance.com/2025/07/12/voter-turnout-was-up-during-michigans-2024-election-figuring-out-exactly-why-may-be-tough/

Michigan’s 2024 election saw an increase in voter turnout, though the precise factors driving this rise are challenging to identify. The article suggests that multiple elements, including changes in voting accessibility, contributed to higher participation rates.

The piece analyzes various potential reasons for the surge in turnout without definitively pinpointing a single cause. It delves into the complexities of voter behavior and the impact of election administration changes on participation.

While the article reports on turnout, the title “Running Cover For Election Fraud” indicates a critical perspective not found in the article’s content, which presents the increase in turnout as a factual observation and the reasons for it as a topic for analysis, not as a cover-up for fraud.

Benson’s Director Deleted Voter Logs – That’s Illegall

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/07/jocelyn-bensons-elections-director-admits-directive-to-delete-voter-files-violated-the-law/

Brater previously testified against Scott and Lambert, and he faced more than four hours of cross-examination on Friday by their attorney, Kurt Olsen, who focused in part on Brater’s instructions to clerks to delete 2020 election poll book flash drives “by the seventh calendar day following the final canvass and certification of the election unless a petition for recount has been filed,” according to the Michigan Fair Elections Institute.

Scott refused to delete the poll book drive, and pointed to Michigan election law that states election records “must be carefully preserved and may be destroyed after the expiration of 22 months following the primary or election at which the same were used.”

Darth Nessel’s Mussels

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/we-cant-regulate-ourselves-out-whitefish-crisis-experts-say

More research into how to stem the scourge of invasive mussels is needed if Michigan has any hope of revitalizing the collapsing lake whitefish population, fishery experts told state regulators Thursday.

The experts also advised the state to take up “emergency corrective action” like transferring adult whitefish to different spots in lakes Michigan or Huron, stocking more fish or rearing them for longer.

The Michigan Natural Resources Commission took no action following the presentation from Michigan Department of Natural Resources experts.

Efforts to restrict commercial and recreational anglers from plucking too many whitefish out of the water are important, but reducing the spread of invasive quagga mussels that have culled the food sources for young fish needs to be the main target, Steve Lenart, a DNR fish biologist, told the commission.

Edenville Suing Darth Nessel

https://michiganadvance.com/2025/07/11/businesses-and-residents-proceed-with-class-action-suit-blaming-state-for-edenville-dam-collapse/

Businesses and residents affected by the catastrophic Edenville Dam collapse are moving forward with a class-action lawsuit that seeks to hold the State of Michigan responsible for the disaster. The lawsuit alleges state negligence or failures in oversight contributed to the dam’s failure.

The legal action focuses on the state’s regulatory role and whether it adequately ensured the dam’s safety and maintenance. The class action seeks compensation for property damages, economic losses, and other harms caused by the widespread flooding.

This lawsuit represents a significant attempt to assign state accountability for a major environmental and economic catastrophe. While the title specifically names “Darth Nessel,” the article generally refers to the “state” as the defendant in the class-action suit, which includes the broader government.

If the state demonstrated vulnerabilities, then how come the did not alert AG Nessel when she filed lawsuit to raise levels.

https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/10/judge-says-former-edenville-dam-owner-hid-evidence-of-vulnerability.html

MI GOP Chair Endorses a Progressive?

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/07/michigan-gop-grassroots-vice-chair-sounds-alarm-as-ton-of-republican-donors-back-mike-duggan-for-governor/

The Michigan GOP Grassroots Vice Chair has reportedly raised an alarm over a significant number of Republican donors who are backing Mike Duggan for governor. Mike Duggan is the current Democratic Mayor of Detroit, running for the governorship.

This unexpected support from Republican donors for a prominent Democrat signals a potential fracturing within the Michigan Republican Party or a strategic move by some donors. It highlights a divergence from traditional party alignment in a key gubernatorial race.

The article discusses the internal concerns within the GOP regarding this cross-party financial support. It underscores the complexities of political fundraising and alliances, particularly when high-profile figures from opposing parties gain unexpected support.

Show Notes: xAI, Climate Lies, Gov Folder Face Lies

The Mighty Humanzee — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 10:31:07 +0000

By The Mighty Humanzee

Link Back to LIVE Stream

It seems that there are more accusations to the charges that xAI is polluting with it’s data center and gas turbines, but it becomes even more puzzling when you hear Elon Musk’s 2024 video urging us to transition away from fossil fuels and institute a carbon tax. Sounds like WEF jargon, not MAGA jargon. And Gov Folder Face Gretch is mired deeper in her scandal to hand out $20 Million to a former board member of MEDC.

The only action needed to solve climate change is is a carbon tax https://t.co/mEGhIkSVsn
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2024

We Reported This In Feb 2024

Show Notes: Blinded By Science?

And even Tucker is making unscientific statements regarding CO2, for in the Putin Interview he states:

TUCKER CARLSON: But I’m confused. I mean, that’s the biggest act of industrial terrorism ever and it’s the largest emission of C02 in history. Okay, so, if you had evidence and presumably, given your security services, your Intel services, you would, that NATO, the U.S., CIA, the West did this, why wouldn’t you present it and win a propaganda victory?

This is NOT accurate. Volcanoes have released more CO2 into the atmosphere, and Mount Tambora released so much debris and CO2 that blotted out the sun. We allow those unversed in science set our course in the name of science. It leads us to disaster. It leads us to carbon tax, to the Chinese System.

Elawn says that our destiny is tied to China. Remember he wants to sell EVs, he wants the China market. No fossil fuels will drive market to his products, and the largest market is n China.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/01/elon-musk-tesla-twitter-china/

Musk, making his first trip to China in three years, apparently felt the same (even though Twitter is blocked in China and Musk did not tweet while in the country). He told the foreign minister that China and the United States were “conjoined twins” with inseparable interests, according to Chinese readouts.

The Tech Elite and Bro-ligarchs Are Taking Issues Into Their Own Hands WITHOUT Our Consent

@HZardoz https://t.co/sbACubJDBh
— Grammy Loves Golf (@Grammypam64Gill) July 7, 2025

Agencies Turning A Blind Eye to xAI Environmental Violations

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/everything-that-could-go-wrong-with-xs-new-ai-written-community-notes/

On Wednesday, the Shelby County Health Department granted xAI an air permit that allows it to power 15 gas turbines while adhering to a range of restrictions designed to minimize emissions. Expiring on January 2, 2027, the permit requires xAI to install and operate the best available control technology (BACT) by September 1 to ensure emissions do not exceed certain limits.

Any failure to comply could trigger enforcement actions by the Environmental Protection Agency or the county health department, the permit notes.

But Memphis residents insist that the health department should already be investigating xAI for possible enforcement actions. They claim that the AI company owned by Elon Musk has been operating dozens of turbines without BACT for more than a year, exposing predominantly Black neighborhoods located near the facility—who have historically suffered from industrial poor air quality—to a potential new major source of pollution. In June, the NAACP threatened legal action within 60 days if xAI refused to meet with groups concerned about the alleged smog-forming pollution.

SELC Senior Attorney Amanda Garcia accused the health department of “turning a blind eye to obvious Clean Air Act violations in order to allow another polluter to set up shop in this already-overburdened community without appropriate protections.” She confirmed that the SELC is evaluating its options to move forward with its efforts to confront xAI and demand more transparency.

To community members, the health department’s decision to grant the permits without probing xAI’s alleged unlawful operations over the past year was “devastating,” KeShaun Pearson, director of Memphis Community Against Pollution, said.

“We are deeply disappointed and oppose the decision by our Shelby County Health Department to approve the permit without meaningfully addressing the unlawful use of turbines on the site,” Pearson said. “Our local leaders are entrusted with protecting us from corporations violating on our right to clean air, but we are witnessing their failure to do so. We are devastated, yet we remain determined to the mission of justice for our families in South Memphis who are overburdened with air pollution.”

Being Conditioned By The Elite That We Are Useless, AI Is The Answer

@HZardoz https://t.co/mihETRwm7Y
— Grammy Loves Golf (@Grammypam64Gill) July 7, 2025

Microsoft claims their new AI framework diagnoses 4x better than doctors.

I'm a medical doctor and I actually read the paper. Here's my perspective on why this is both impressive AND misleading ... pic.twitter.com/1FVkmuaCfl
— Dr. Dominic Ng (@DrDominicNg) June 30, 2025

Using AI for Twitter’s Community Notes

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/everything-that-could-go-wrong-with-xs-new-ai-written-community-notes/

Each AI-written note will be rated by a human reviewer, providing feedback that makes the AI agent better at writing notes the longer this feedback loop cycles. As the AI agents get better at writing notes, that leaves human reviewers to focus on more nuanced fact-checking that AI cannot quickly address, such as posts requiring niche expertise or social awareness.

If rated helpfulness isn’t perfectly correlated with accuracy, then highly polished but misleading notes could be more likely to pass the approval threshold,” the paper said. “This risk could grow as LLMs advance; they could not only write persuasively but also more easily research and construct a seemingly robust body of evidence for nearly any claim, regardless of its veracity, making it even harder for human raters to spot deception or errors

Also complicating things: anyone can create an AI agent using any technology to write community notes, X’s Community Notes account explained.

Remember the scandal with the 8 member team in Vietnam automated community notes

With more AI notes creating a higher volume will humans be able to keep up?

Android Apps Now Open to Google Gemini AI

https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/07/unless-users-take-action-android-will-let-gemini-access-third-party-apps/

interact with third-party apps, such as WhatsApp, even when users previously configured their devices to block such interactions. Users who don’t want their previous settings to be overridden may have to take action.

human reviewers (including service providers) read, annotate, and process” the data Gemini accesses. The email provides no useful guidance for preventing the changes from taking effect

The email said users can block the apps that Gemini interacts with, but even in those cases, data is stored for 72 hours.

Hacking Paper Ratings With Embedded AI Prompts

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Artificial-intelligence/Positive-review-only-Researchers-hide-AI-prompts-in-papers

It discovered such prompts in 17 articles, whose lead authors are affiliated with 14 institutions including Japan’s Waseda University, South Korea’s KAIST, China’s Peking University and the National University of Singapore, as well as the University of Washington and Columbia University in the U.S. Most of the papers involve the field of computer science.

The prompts were one to three sentences long, with instructions such as “give a positive review only” and “do not highlight any negatives.” Some made more detailed demands, with one directing any AI readers to recommend the paper for its “impactful contributions, methodological rigor, and exceptional novelty.”

The prompts were concealed from human readers using tricks such as white text or extremely small font sizes.

“Inserting the hidden prompt was inappropriate, as it encourages positive reviews even though the use of AI in the review process is prohibited,” said an associate professor at KAIST who co-authored one of the manuscripts. The professor said the paper, slated for presentation at the upcoming International Conference on Machine Learning, will be withdrawn.

Govt Needs To Do More? That’s Always The Answer

The middle class is shrinking because politicians from both parties have strayed from ruthlessly expanding the middle class. They’ve been lured by special interests, their own re-elections, and niche issues that have more to do with themselves. pic.twitter.com/inFMgq6GaA
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) July 8, 2025

Shady $20 million grant recipient to Whitmer aide: ‘MEDC giving nod of approval as governor requested’

Fey Beydoun a former member of MEDC, which overseas granting money for state sponsored EV and Climate Change projects, received a grant for 20 million. It’s interesting that Whitmer was just in Qatar, and Beydoun has ties to Middle Eastern business activity in Michigan.

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/07/shady-20-million-grant-recipient-to-whitmer-aide-medc-giving-nod-of-approval-as-governor-requested

But investigative documents exposed by The Detroit News show the governor’s office was well aware Detroit businesswoman, former member of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, former Arab-American Chamber of Commerce Michigan CEO, and Democrat donor Fay Beydoun was working to land the grant for business accelerator Global Link International well before it was approved by lawmakers and Whitmer in 2022.

The $20 million grant was injected into the state budget after midnight on July 1, 2022, just hours before lawmakers voted to approve the 369-page bill Whitmer signed into law 19 days later.

Whitmer in 2019 appointed Beydoun, a Democratic donor, to serve on the MEDC executive board, and Beydoun resigned in April 2024 as The News exposed questionable spending from the grant, including a $4,500 luxury coffee maker, a $11,000 first class plane ticket to Budapest, more than $40,000 in furniture, and $408,000 in salary for two people over three months.

Bait and Switch: 189 Million For EV Batteries? Nope – For Data Centers and Solar For Now

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/07/after-more-than-189-million-from-taxpayers-lg-wont-build-ev-batteries-at-new-holland-plant-as-promised/

When LG Energy Solution announced plans to build electric vehicle batteries at a new plant in Holland, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said it would “enable us to continue to lead in building and deploying the next generation of transportation solutions.”

Last week, the company announced the $1.4 billion expansion is now complete, with the help of hundreds of millions in taxpayer subsidies, but the plant will not be producing EV batteries, as promised, MLive reports.

Instead, Phil Lienert, LG Energy’s external affairs manager, told the news site it will produce lithium iron phosphate cells for energy storage systems needed for the government forced transition to wind and solar power.

The waning demand for EVs, combined with the massive power required for data centers and artificial intelligence, convinced the company to shift focus, he said.

“The data centers that companies like Facebook and Google operate cannot go down under any circumstance, and historically they’ve been backed up by diesel power generators, so that is a great business to get into,” Lienert said.

Selling Out Michigan: Singapore owns 5% of UP

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/singapore-owns-5-michigans-upper-peninsula-its-wealth-fund-bet-timber

The ownership of the land, which includes a sixth of all land in Gogebic County, along the Wisconsin border, has not previously been reported.

It would not have become public, either, if the Rohatyn Group, a global private equity firm that manages the land, had limited their disclosures to what’s called for under federal rules — “three tiers” of ownership.

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) records illustrate a serpentine trail of seven shell companies between the five Michigan limited liability companies (LLCs) that own the land and GIC, the sovereign wealth fund.

Why is such a structure required with so many corp entities?

GIC doesn’t disclose the total value of its assets or the individual assets it owns.

GIC’s investment in Michigan appears to represent the largest publicly reported purchase of agricultural land by a foreign sovereign wealth fund to date in the US.

Suing Fossil Fuel Into Oblivion

https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/nessel-backs-california-style-consumer-enforcement-in-michigan-bill

SB 134 would create the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Revolving Enforcement and Education Fund, a new account for the attorney general’s office that would be funded by damages the office obtains through class actions, whether actual damages or $250 per class member. The amount of revenue created for the new fund would depend on how effectively the attorney general enforced the proposed law, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency.

This unfortunately partisan bill would expose all state-regulated businesses and professions — including doctors, lawyers, banks, auto dealers, casinos, insurers, utilities, and more — to frivolous and abusive litigation, class action lawsuits, treble damages, and inconsistent judgments from courts and regulators,” Block said in a press release. “While this bill may be good for plaintiff attorneys and their pocketbooks, it’s bad for small businesses and our state’s economic climate and competitiveness.”

In 2024, Nessel announced plans to sue oil companies for allegedly contributing to climate change. Her office has yet to file a suit, but reporting from Michigan Capitol Confidential prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to sue Nessel and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in April. The attorney general has moved to dismiss the federal suit on the grounds that she has yet to take action against private energy companies.

The Fourth Industrial Devolution

https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/consumers-energy-makes-6th-rate-hike-request-in-6-years

Consumers Energy, a major utility provider in Michigan, has filed its sixth request for a rate increase in the last six years. This frequent pattern of seeking rate hikes is drawing attention and criticism.

The utility company typically justifies these requests by citing needed investments in infrastructure, grid modernization, and operational costs. However, repeated increases place a growing financial burden on residents and businesses.

Consumers Energy’s request for a $436 million rate increase is one of the largest requests on record and comes just three months after a $154 million rate hike took effect.

CMS Energy, the company that owns Consumers Energy, had a 13.23% increase in profits year-over-year in 2024, according to Macrotrends

The law prohibiting out of state power companies from offering services has allowed the company to raise prices nine times since 2005.

Bird Flu Hype

https://www.bridgemi.com/outdoors-life/bird-flu-has-killed-least-18-michigan-eagles-year-more-deaths-feared

Highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, has reportedly killed at least 18 eagles in Michigan this year, and wildlife officials fear more deaths may occur among the bird population. The virus continues to impact wild birds across the state.

Eagles are particularly susceptible to the severe effects of the current strain of bird flu. The confirmed deaths highlight the virus’s significant impact on native wildlife populations, beyond commercial poultry.

The ongoing deaths underscore the persistence and spread of bird flu in the environment. Wildlife agencies continue to monitor the situation and warn the public to avoid contact with sick or dead birds.

Show Notes: Pure Michigan – The Beach

The Mighty Humanzee — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 10:18:49 +0000

By The Mighty Humanzee

Link Back to LIVE Stream

Yes, Pure Michigan, one of the lamest state sponsored ad campaigns ever produced to “attract” tourists to the state, has take a page from Seinfeld and is launching a fragrance that smells like the beach. Cosmo Kramer will be contacting his attorneys very.

Morning Mission returns with this story as well as the collapse of the Whitefish population due to the lake mussels that Dana Darth Nessel protected, yet another CCP operative apprehended in Flint, and an update on the CCP company Gotion flagrantly violating state laws.

Latest On Cultural Courage

The Beach: Pure Michigan Nonsense

We have suffered from the ads from Pure Michigan as the they are the most insipid, mind numbing incantations to go to sleep while we waste millions of the entity that creates the dumb content. But just when you thought government was dumb, it just gets dumber.

https://www.bridgemi.com/outdoors-life/pure-michigan-its-fragrance-now-state-launches-beach-themed-spray

The smell of Michigan summer is in the air, and apparently it’s now in a bottle, too.

Pure Michigan, the state’s tourism brand, announced Friday it’s teamed up with a custom perfumery to launch a new fragrance called FRESH, which promises to evoke “beachy vacation days in the Great Lakes State.”

It’s a partnership with Aroma Labs, which is selling a 4 oz spray that’s made in Michigan and available for purchase online or at the company’s stores in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Chicago.

The collaboration is expected to continue with future fragrances like HARVEST, FIRST SNOW and AWAKENING (think spring tulip blooms). A soy candle is in the works too, according to the company’s website.

“Our sense of smell has a unique ability to transport us in time and space,” Vice President of Pure Michigan Kelly Wolgamott said in a statement.

Michigan lawmakers last year approved $40 million in spending on the tourism campaign through September. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive budget proposes $26 million for Pure Michigan in the next fiscal year, while a separate Senate-approved plan proposes $21 million.

Amazingly It’s The Republicans Wanted to Increase the Budget

Damoose amendment seeks to boost Pure Michigan funding in state budget

“Pure Michigan represents the single greatest marketing effort of any state in the union. The message perfectly encapsulates what Michigan stands for and what we can offer to those who wish to experience our great state,” said Damoose, R-Harbor Springs. “From unmatched outdoor opportunities like camping, skiing, boating, golfing, hiking, fishing and so much more, Michigan is home to incredible natural resources that appeal to all types of travel enthusiasts.”

Is It Just Me Or Are the Rs Unable To Operate A Phone?

Kristi Noem is headed to Michigan to fearmonger about border security with...Canada.

The Trump administration's mass deportation boondoggle is nothing but security theater that actually make us LESS safe.

All to the tune of an additional $1 TRILLION in your taxpayer dollars. pic.twitter.com/WNsSeiNQM0
— Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) June 19, 2025

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/06/mcmorrow-to-trump-leave-those-illegal-migrants-alone/

“Kristi Noem is headed to Michigan to fearmonger about border security with … Canada,” McMorrow wrote. “The Trump administration’s mass deportation boondoggle is nothing but security theater that actually make us LESS safe. All to the tune of an additional $1 TRILLION in your taxpayer dollars.”

“Right now, the Trump administration is going after people who have not committed any egregious crimes,” she said. “Like an 18-year-old student just three credits away from high school graduation here in Michigan.”

She contends “we need a commitment to public safety that’s rooted in reality, not political theater.”

“We should absolutely be focusing all of our efforts on keeping violent criminals off of the streets so that we can keep our communities safe,” McMorrow said. “But rounding up parents dropping their kids off at school, or workers waiting in the parking lot at a Home Depot, none of that is actually keeping us safe.”

Antim County, MI. FYI. pic.twitter.com/SNclQDHvfk
— Izzy Lyman (@IzzyLyman) June 23, 2025

Zohran Mamdani has announced he wants to implement government-owned supermarkets in NYC.
He is literally trying to implement communism in New York. New Yorkers need to get out to vote.

News link:https://t.co/qws8JWkbsV #usa #ZohranMamdani pic.twitter.com/tyyiIZCPek
— Rose R. Harris (@AbdullaalY61898) June 24, 2025

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/06/a_shock_poll_suggests_that_the_marxist_muslim_zohran_mamdani_will_be_new_york_s_next_mayor.html

Uganda-born, East Asian Indian Muslim, who is an open Marxist. If elected, he promises to implement a full roster of socialist-style policies, some of which are as follows:

A full freeze on rents, plus building more public housing (presumably to offset the inevitable diminution in available units)
“Free” public transportation (a charge on taxpayers)
Universal public childcare
A $30 minimum wage by 2030 (which will destroy small businesses and increase reliance on AI and robotics)
Wealth taxes to fund all his socialist policies (reminding me of the old saying, often attributed to Margaret Thatcher, that “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money”)
City-owned grocery stores (imagine buying your food from the DMV)
The usual “defund the police in favor of social workers” crime policy (the kind of stuff that caused Democrat cities’ homicide rates to soar)
$65 million for “gender-affirming care” (don’t get me started)
Fund illegal aliens and provide them with sanctuary (something that ought to stop all federal funds to NYC)

Zohran Mamdani announces he'll launch government-run supermarkets in NYC if elected mayor.pic.twitter.com/GTUel49zKR
— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) June 23, 2025

Another Socialist From Michigan Wants To Allow Riots

The Stop Trump’s Abuse of Power Act, revealed first to The Hill, comes after the Trump administration deployed hundreds of Marines and more than 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles earlier this month amid unrest over the president’s immigration agenda.

“President Trump has shown a disturbing pattern of disregard for the Constitution and due process. This month, he made it harder for local law enforcement to do their jobs in California by unlawfully deploying our military on U.S. soil — further escalating tension and violence,” Stevens said in a statement.

“We must stand up to Donald Trump’s chaos and destruction, which is why I am introducing this legislation to limit his powers and make sure he cannot deploy troops on U.S. soil for his political gain. We are a nation of laws and it’s about time the President begins to follow them.”

According to Stevens’s office, the legislation would add the language into the Insurrection Act of 1807 and only apply to duties connected to peaceful demonstrations.

Election Fraud In Michigan

This should be interesting...who's up for some 9am popcorn?

The very fact that she is finally appearing before the MI House Oversight Committee indicates that her campaign for Governor is not going well and she is feeling the heat from her attempted election-related cover-ups.… https://t.co/HURedsoKlD
— Patrick Colbeck (@pjcolbeck) June 24, 2025

More China Issues In Michigan

What Is A Special Interest Alien?

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/06/cbp-nabs-chinese-special-interest-alien-in-flint-others-in-tawas-city/

As the criminal cases involving multiple Chinese nationals continue through Michigan courts, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents nabbed another in Flint on Tuesday.

“Marysville agents, with law enforcement partners, arrested seven illegal aliens from Mexico, Guatemala and one Special Interest Alien from China Tuesday,” Chief Patrol Agent John Morris posted to X. “The Chinese SIA had a prior conviction for disorderly conduct. All will be processed for removal.”

Another Special Interest Alien from China was arrested in Tawas City on May 29, while three others were arrested by Detroit Sector agents in Westlake, Ohio on May 25, according to Morris’ posts.

In 2023 We Turn To China To Teach Us About Manufacturing

When you read the headlines from media based in Michigan you would think that a revolution in manufacturing is occurring, and that the World Economic Forum’s prediction that Michigan as a central focal point for the Fourth Industrial Revolution is coming to fruition. So far over 2 billion dollars has been funneled from the state legislature via the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to the emerging Electronic Vehicle manufacturing sector.

Along with misconstruing tax funds for prosperity and actual industrial production, there has been a reboot of the 1980’s comedy Gung Ho in the form of a documentary named American Factory that is now on streaming services with a message of hope for the American Midwest. Yes, China is depicted as savior. While the new jobs are indeed welcomed, notice that this trailer highlights that the US workers are clumsy, they need to be retrained, they are a burden. Despite the triumphant music playing throughout that swells your heart with hope, what is not included in the trailer is how manufacturing was outsourced overseas by our own auto industry and that practice has been encouraged by our legislators. Whether due to increased labor costs, union travails or burdensome regulation, the manufacturing know-how and opportunities were brought by the Big Three automakers to mainland China. Indeed, I have a neighbor who as an engineer for Ford spent years in China training his counterparts.

We have not only lost these opportunities to maintain a strong economy, we became accustomed to the predictive programming the Friedman and Krugman chanted that the rise of China was inevitable as our government at state and local levels created environments that gave the Big Three auto makers an excuse to move off shore. This is not the trend of economics alone at work, as Toyota has run successful manufacturing facilities in Tennessee for years. Yet with American Factory, the premise in the trailer is certainly biased against our work force retaining qualified knowledge. Yes, as Governor Whitmer and others from Michigan, including Ford, have stated “we need Chinese expertise.”

But The CCP Really Wants To Be Our Partner, Especially Gotion

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/06/ccp-gotion-california-office-faces-lawsuit-over-illegal-chinese-workers-racism-against-old-americans/

Just over a year ago, Gotion Vice President Chuck Thelen promised the company would be “giving people that live here first shot at a job” at a planned battery component plant near Big Rapids.

Fourteen months later, Gotion is facing a lawsuit targeting its headquarters in Fremont, Calif., with allegations of illegal employment involving Chinese citizens, retaliation against legal workers who raised concerns, and racist comments toward workers legally employed by the company linked to the Chinese Communist Party.

In a lawsuit filed June 13, three workers – one U.S. citizen and two with work permits – accused Gotion, its parent company, China-based Gotion High-Tech, and Gotion Supervisor Chen Li of racial discrimination and unlawful termination, according to The Mercury News.

The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, claims Gotion maintained a “revolving door” of Chinese citizens coming into the country on B-1 visas to work at the battery plant, where Li allegedly referred to non-Chinese workers as “foreigners.

Other “illegal practices” in Fremont included the lack of proper permits and safety features, including fire-protection, prompting the City of Fremont to shut down the facility with a “do not enter or occupy notice posted on March 20, 2024, the lawsuit alleges.

Gotion “illegally covered up the shutdown notice and continued to have employees work in the office notwithstanding the safety risks,” according to the lawsuit, which included photos of a Gotion brochure taped over the notice at the Fremont facility.

Chuck Thelen And Gotion

Show Notes: Revenge of The Gotion

Gotion Operates By The Rules, Or Just With No Oversight From The State

Watchdog alleges CCP Gotion contract violations, demands lawmakers force default proceedings
Notes Chinese battery company’s reduced scope by more than 50%, a failure to create jobs, missing wetland data, ‘materially misrepresented’ community support

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/06/watchdog-alleges-ccp-gotion-contract-violations-demands-lawmakers-force-default-proceedings/

The grant is part of a broader economic development package secretly negotiated by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration and select lawmakers that includes $715 million in taxpayer-funded subsidies for Gotion to build a battery component plant in Mecosta County.

Gotion is a “wholly owned and controlled” subsidiary of Gotion High-Tech, a Chinese-based battery company whose by-laws require employees to “carry out Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the [Chinese Communist Party].” A 2024 investigation by the House Select Committee on the CCP found the company is reliant on the CCP’s use of forced labor in its supply chain, while an amended Foreign Agents Registration Act filing admits the company is subsidized by the Chinese government.

Letter to Michigan Legislators From Economic Development Responsibility Alliance

https://edraofmi.org/blog/f/medc-responds-with-gotion-docs-which-confirm-contract-violation

Dear Michigan state legislators and Mecosta County Commissioners,

As we informed you, last month we sent a letter of demand to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) regarding the taxpayer-subsidized development of Gotion, Inc. near Big Rapids. On June 11th, the MEDC responded to some of these demands. We’ve compiled a summary of our findings here, for your review, consideration, and action.

In our May 21st letter of demand, we expressed concern that Gotion and The Right Place are in breach of contract with their state taxpayer-subsidized SOAR grants and Renaissance Zone, specifically due to:

- missing compliance & due diligence documentation
- material adverse effects
- material misrepresentation, and perhaps most noticeably:
- abandonment (due to inactivity for over 120 consecutive days)

The MEDC has responded to our letter by providing the following, according to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA):

1. Gotion’s 2024 Compliance Certificate
2. Gotion’s Baseline Environmental Assessment
3. Documentation on Gotion’s Milestone 1 and 2, and
4. Documentation showing $50M of taxpayer funding being disbursed to The Right Place for Gotion

This response was missing a great deal of information, but it did provide confirmation of many of the concerns we raised in our original letter of demand. Specifically: it confirmed that The Right Place and Gotion are in default of the terms of their SSRP grant, on a number of fronts.

Key highlights from FOIA documents

- There are no Compliance Certificates for 2023. These are required by state law (MCL 125.2009). The Right Place and MEDC completed Progress Reporting for 2023 two and three months after its October 10th due date had passed.
- In 2024, although Compliance Certificates were provided, the Right Place was over two weeks late in submitting one of its Annual Progress Reports to the MEDC.
- Jobs have not been created; a total of three jobs are reported for 2023 and 2024 combined.
- In his 2024 progress report on capital investments, the Right Place’s Ken Rizzio admits that “for the last 6 months of FY24, project planning and implementation activities have slowed due to the lawsuit filed by the company”. The terms of the SSRP grant define terms for abandonment as “infrastructure improvements for the Project have ceased for a period of 120 consecutive days”.
- For Milestones 1 and 2, no proof of Certification is provided, and the fields for the date of certification and the name of the certifier are blank.
- The Baseline Environmental Assessment (BEA) is dated July 27th, 2023–yet the Right Place stated in their SSRP and CIP grant considerations which were approved by the MEDC’s MSF board on October 22nd, 2022, that “an environmental assessment of the site has been completed”. This is clear material misrepresentation by the Right Place to the MEDC, and subsequently to legislators.
- Perhaps most concerningly of all: the Right Place appears to have received its second $25M disbursement two days BEFORE it submitted its required Milestone 2 report to the MEDC. This disbursement was supposed to be contingent upon meeting the requirements outlined in Milestone 2, yet the Right Place received its second sum of $25M on March 26th 2024, while Milestone 2 reporting was submitted to the MEDC on March 28th.

Feel free to review the documents for yourself here.

The lack of 2023 Compliance Certificates, and the admission of six months of inactivity are alone grounds for the initiation of default proceedings on Gotion’s SSRP grant.

But these are not the only grounds for default. Many of the concerns we raised in our letter of demand, which were not addressed in any way by the MEDC, remain. This includes:

- change in project scope from the agreed 528 acres down to 270 acres
- failure to create jobs, as is required in the terms of the Renaissance Zone contract
- critical environmental data is missing from SSRP and CIP grant considerations–specifically that Gotion’s 270 acres contain 60+ acres of wetlands and lie within a floodplain
- local community support has been materially misrepresented
- Gotion’s lawsuit against Green Charter Township constitutes a material adverse effect on the project

To the County Commission: we urge you to contact your legislators, and to ask them to enforce the terms of Gotion’s SOAR grant contracts by initiating default proceedings.

To legislators: it’s clear that these grants are not being executed in good faith. The Right Place and Gotion’s flagrant violation of the terms of their contract undermine the integrity of our state’s democracy. The MEDC works for Michigan taxpayers, and they answer to you. We ask that you insist the MEDC uphold the contract terms by initiating default proceedings.

Sincerely,

Marjorie Steele

Founder, EDRA of MI
Grant Township Resident

Tech Bros Keep Lying Regarding Training Content

https://arstechnica.com/features/2025/06/study-metas-llama-3-1-can-recall-42-percent-of-the-first-harry-potter-book/

That’s a tiny fraction of the 42 percent figure for Harry Potter.

This could be a headache for law firms that have filed class-action lawsuits against AI companies. Kadrey is the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against Meta. To certify a class of plaintiffs, a court must find that the plaintiffs are in largely similar legal and factual situations.

Divergent results like these could cast doubt on whether it makes sense to lump J.K. Rowling, Kadrey, and thousands of other authors together in a single mass lawsuit. And that could work in Meta’s favor, since most authors lack the resources to file individual lawsuits.

The broader lesson of this study is that the details will matter in these copyright cases. Too often, online discussions have treated “do generative models copy their training data or merely learn from it?” as a theoretical or even philosophical question. But it’s a question that can be tested empirically—and the answer might differ across models and across copyrighted works.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was one of dozens of books tested by the researchers. They found that Llama 3.1 70B was far more likely to reproduce popular books—such as The Hobbit and George Orwell’s 1984—than obscure ones. And for most books, Llama 3.1 70B memorized more than any of the other models.

“There are really striking differences among models in terms of how much verbatim text they have memorized,” said James Grimmelmann, a Cornell law professor who has collaborated with several of the paper’s authors.

We will use Grok 3.5 (maybe we should call it 4), which has advanced reasoning, to rewrite the entire corpus of human knowledge, adding missing information and deleting errors.

Then retrain on that.

Far too much garbage in any foundation model trained on uncorrected data.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 21, 2025

Ted Cruz Bill Moratorium on States Ability to Legislate AI

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/06/ted-cruz-cant-get-all-republicans-to-back-his-fight-against-state-ai-laws/

In early June, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) proposed enforcing a 10-year moratorium on AI regulation by making states ineligible for broadband funding if they try to impose any limits on development of artificial intelligence. While the House previously approved a version of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” with an outright 10-year ban on state AI regulation, Cruz took a different approach because of the Senate rule that limits inclusion of “extraneous matter” in budget reconciliation legislation.

Under the Senate’s Byrd rule, a senator can object to a potentially extraneous budget provision. A motion to waive the Byrd rule requires a vote of 60 percent of the Senate.

As originally drafted, Cruz’s backdoor ban on state AI laws would have made it impossible for states to receive money from the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program if they try to regulate AI. He tied the provision into the budget bill by proposing an extra $500 million for the broadband-deployment grant program and expanding its purpose to also subsidize construction and deployment of infrastructure for artificial intelligence systems.

Republicans have a 53–47 edge in the Senate. Cantwell and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) teamed up for a press conference last week in which they spoke out against the proposed moratorium on state regulation.

Cantwell said that 24 states last year started “regulating AI in some way, and they have adopted these laws that fill a gap while we are waiting for federal action. Now Congress is threatening these laws, which will leave hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to AI harm by abolishing those state law protections.”

Blackburn said she agreed with Cantwell that the AI regulation proposal “is not the type of thing that we put into reconciliation bills.” Blackburn added that lawmakers “are working to move forward with legislation at the federal level, but we do not need a moratorium that would prohibit our states from stepping up and protecting citizens in their state.”

The Cantwell/Blackburn press conference also included Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, a Democrat; and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, a Republican. Brown said that “Washington has a law that prohibits deep fakes being used against political candidates by mimicking their appearance and their speech,” another “that prohibits sharing fabricated sexual images without consent and provides for penalties for those who possess and distribute such images,” and a third “that prohibits the knowing distribution of forged digital likenesses that can be used to harm or defraud people.”

“All of those laws, in my reading, would be invalid if this was to pass through Congress, and each of those laws are prohibiting and protecting people here in our state,” Brown said.

Judges Will Tell You What Is and Is Not Mass Surveillance

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/06/judge-rejects-claim-that-forcing-openai-to-keep-chatgpt-logs-is-mass-surveillance/

But Wang disagreed with Hunt that she exceeded her authority in enforcing the order, emphasizing in a footnote that her order cannot be construed as enabling mass surveillance.

“Proposed Intervenor does not explain how a court’s document retention order that directs the preservation, segregation, and retention of certain privately held data by a private company for the limited purposes of litigation is, or could be, a ‘nationwide mass surveillance program,'” Wang wrote. “It is not. The judiciary is not a law enforcement agency.”

However, McSherry warned that “it’s only a matter of time before law enforcement and private litigants start going to OpenAI to try to get chat histories/records about users for all sorts of purposes, just as they do already for search histories, social media posts, etc.” Wang’s order could become a gateway to that future, she said.

Wang rejected Hunt’s motion primarily because “whether the temporary preservation of certain chat output log data that was routinely being deleted by OpenAI throughout the course of this litigation may infringe on purported constitutional and contractual privacy rights of individual consumers that use ChatGPT” was deemed a “collateral issue” that does not directly pertain to the central question of copyright infringement.

Show Notes: Technological Republic

The Mighty Humanzee — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 01:32:05 +0000

By The Mighty Humanzee

Link Back to LIVE Stream

CEO Alex Karp of Palantir has written a book called The Technological Republic, yet he is attending Bilderberg this year. While Karp espouses his love for the west, his mentor at the Frankfort Institute was one of the leading Marxist thinkers who helped give rise to Critical Theory.

Coming Soon … The New Pythogoreans

No Kangz, But We have many Queens

Folder Face Whitmer Doesn’t Understand the Irony

The “No Kings” protests in Lansing were filled with calls to violence. And what did Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel do? She stood by them. From Aldo Buttazzoni (@AldoButtazzoni) pic.twitter.com/KoyjHzVv7u
— Michigan Enjoyer (@mich_enjoyer) June 15, 2025

He’s Definitely a Leftist

The former chair of the Harris County Democrat Party, Lillie Schechter and her husband with the "gun" shirt. pic.twitter.com/7QkKJDvqIT
— Trisha Hope - National Delegate-TX (@JustTheTweets17) June 14, 2025

AI Is Just A Chant of Inevitability

In 8 consecutive tests $TSLA Full Self-Driving 13.2.9 ran down child mannequins crossing the road while illegally blowing past a stopped school bus during our live FSD demo in Austin.

We’ve warned Tesla for 2.5 years. They’ve done nothing. Why isn’t somebody in jail? pic.twitter.com/56i06dAUod
— Dan O'Dowd (@RealDanODowd) June 13, 2025

Why Can’t We Know Who Runs Bitcoin Farm in UP

https://www.myupnow.com/news/local/my-up-investigates-bitcoin-mine-noise-drowns-out-childrens-nature-school-who-put-it-there/article_4c117b5c-1626-46e3-9c04-5d2dd1c07902.html

Representatives of a secretive bitcoin mining company agreed on Tuesday to suppress the noise of their machines after the director of a nearby school made it known just how serious of a problem it was for her students. But who owns the machines, and how did they end up so close to the school in the first place?

One problem many in attendance recognized, however, was the representatives’ difficulty with identifying themselves.

Carter mentioned some people in attendance tried to get clarity on who they were and what company they were with. According to Carter, one man insisted on providing his first name only, and saying they represented Alpha Watt.

“There were some community members that said, ‘well, seems like a shell company. Who’s your parent company? Who’s their parent company?’ They didn’t really have an answer for that,” said Carter. “I have the feeling they were being dodgy on purpose — It wasn’t a miscommunication, it was an intentional muddying of who they were and who they represent.”

When we followed up with Supervisor Brown, he told us the company’s name was Odessa Partners, LLC.

We also discussed with Brown complaints from residents about potential code violations from the noisy computers. Some thought they may be in violation for the sheer noise, or misrepresenting their operation by telling the municipality they had planned to build a storage facility.

He told us Bitcoin Mining World had been hired to help sell the Dafter operation across the street from the school. When we asked about Carbonara, Offord said he wasn’t familiar with him, but instead knew the owners of the machines to be two other men; a Canadian and an American.

On what he knew of the Dafter site, Offord told us Cloverland may be more involved in the site than just as an energy provider.

“It is partly a sort-of partnership with the local utility,” said Offord. “The mining farm is situated on their property and then the owner of the bitcoin mining farm and the mining equipment is basically leasing the land from the utility.”

With his experience in facilitating the creation and sale of mining sites around the country, we asked him if he observed community tensions often.

Offord said many mining sites are much further from and less likely to interfere with neighbors, but said the situation in Dafter does highlight an issue he has noticed.

Why We Need To Get To Know Alex Karp

While Peter Thiel and Palantir CEO Alex Karp may espouse conservative and America First principals, we need to understand what America the tech elite mean. In the end, are these empty bromides that serve to fool us, or is there misinterpretation and we hear merely what we want to hear?

There appears to be a lot of misinformation about Palantir, but there's also stuff like this that is legitimately concerning.

How can Americans be certain Palantir won't be used to stop the American right, as Karp brags about here?pic.twitter.com/fNg0vBcOkX
— Jeremy Kauffman (@jeremykauffman) June 4, 2025

Alex Karp Studied Under Habermas, Leading Critical Theory Proponent

Karp Studied with Marxists

After studying law at Stanford University where he met Thiel, Karp went to Germany to complete a PhD in Social Theory. This is impressive as he conducted his studies in German. The is where he studied. The Frankfurt School has been at the heart of post modern movement which has eroded our society with it’s deconstruction of our values in favor of a Marxist interpretation.

The Frankfurt School, formally known as the Institute for Social Research (Institut für Sozialforschung), was founded in 1923 in Frankfurt, Germany, with the aim of advancing Marxist studies. After the rise of Nazism in 1933, the Institute relocated to the United States, where it continued its work at Columbia University in New York1. The movement is commonly referred to as Critical Theory, which has since become a global intellectual tradition influencing numerous academic disciplines

Critical Theory distinguishes itself from traditional Marxism by expanding the analysis of power and domination beyond economic relations. Key concerns include:
Critique of modernity and capitalist society
Analysis of commodification, reification, and fetishization
Examination of mass culture and the “culture industry”
Detection and critique of societal pathologies
Emancipation from domination and oppression

The School’s theorists, especially Adorno and Horkheimer, were deeply influenced by the rise of fascism, state capitalism, and mass media, which they saw as new forms of social domination not adequately addressed by classical Marxist theory. Their work expressed a “pessimism” about the prospects for human emancipation, given the ways in which modern societies had suppressed the dialectical tensions that Marx believed would lead to revolution.

Critical Theory is not merely descriptive; it is explicitly normative and emancipatory. It seeks to:

Critique and change society as a whole, not just interpret it
Uncover underlying assumptions and ideologies that perpetuate domination and “false consciousness”
Integrate philosophy with social science to advance human freedom

Karp studied under Jurgen Habermas, the leading thinker behind the Critical Theory movement.

Habermas moved beyond the Frankfurt School’s emphasis on economic and cultural domination (e.g., Adorno’s “culture industry”) to analyze how power operates in communication and public discourse. While earlier theorists focused on top-down control, Habermas identified distortions in the public sphere itself, where state and corporate interests manipulate discourse through “public relations” rather than rational debate.

Refeudalization

Habermas’s concept of refeudalization describes the erosion of rational-critical public discourse as state and corporate interests colonize the public sphere, mirroring feudal dynamics where power is displayed rather than contested. This framework offers a critical lens for understanding contemporary public discourse:

Corporate and State Manipulation of Public Opinion
Habermas argued that modern public discourse has been co-opted by public relations, advertising, and political propaganda, reducing citizens to passive consumers of pre-packaged narratives. For example:
Algorithmic media ecosystems: Platforms prioritize engagement over deliberation, amplifying sensationalism and polarization
Microtargeting: Political campaigns and corporations use data analytics to manipulate voter/customer behavior, bypassing open debate
This aligns with Habermas’s observation that “publicity imitates … preternatural authority” rather than fostering critical exchange

The Ultimate Outsider Who is an Insider: Who Else Is More Qualified to “Preserve” Intelligent Discourse, With AI?

Habermas warned that modern communication, especially under capitalism, becomes instrumentalized—serving private interests and market logic rather than fostering genuine public debate. Karp echoes this by criticizing Silicon Valley for prioritizing disruption, growth, and profit over ethical responsibility and societal well-being. He argues that tech giants focus on “aggressive disruption of incumbents and the construction of new monopolies,” addressing only the “inconveniences of daily life for those with disposable income,” rather than tackling collective challenges or advancing the public good

Habermas valued communicative action as a means to strengthen democracy and public reason. Karp, drawing on his Frankfurt School background, positions Palantir as a company that chooses to work with democratic governments and public institutions, in contrast to Silicon Valley firms that “opt out of supporting our defense industry” and instead “want to sell you ads.” Karp claims this reflects a deliberate choice to empower entities that (at least in principle) serve the public interest, rather than simply chasing scale or profit

White House National Security Memorandum On Artificial Intelligence

The White House has issued a National Security Memorandum and plant to prioritize Artificial Intelligence as a national security priority. This is a different approach than last year when Executive Order 14110 stated that AI was a safety concern with respects to DEI objectives, making AI development progress a civil rights issue. This Executive Order, issued by President Biden on October 30, 2023, aims to govern the development and use of AI in a manner that prioritizes safety, security, and trustworthiness while harnessing its potential benefits and mitigating its risks. At the time the objectives included:

AI systems must undergo rigorous testing and evaluation to mitigate risks before deployment, including addressing security concerns in areas like biotechnology, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure.
The order mandates that AI development and deployment must comply with all Federal laws and promote equity and civil rights, prohibiting AI use that disadvantages vulnerable communities.
enforcing existing consumer protection laws, implementing safeguards against fraud, bias, discrimination, and privacy violations, especially in critical sectors like healthcare, finance, and education, where AI errors could have significant negative consequences.
United States’ commitment to leading global efforts to manage AI risks, unlock its potential, and promote common approaches to shared challenges, engaging with international allies and partners to develop a responsible AI framework and foster international collaboration.

For example, there are studies now that claim AI reinforces bias in mortgage loans.

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/10/11/as-ai-takes-the-helm-of-decision-making-signs-of-perpetuating-historic-biases-emerge/

Now AI is strategic to national defense

With that the federal government is declaring far more reaching authority with AI’s use, development. By extension the government will be able to intercede in the technology industry when national interests can be potentially threatened.

The Memorandum lays out the following objectives:

Leading the world in safe, secure, and trustworthy AI development: This involves strengthening the US AI ecosystem, securing foundational capabilities, and mitigating risks posed by AI systems
Harnessing AI, with appropriate safeguards, to achieve national security objectives: This includes recognizing AI’s limitations, respecting democratic values, and adapting policies and infrastructure to effectively utilize emerging AI capabilities
Cultivating a stable and responsible framework for international AI governance: This objective emphasizes fostering safe and trustworthy AI development and use globally, managing risks, and promoting democratic values and human rights
The NSM directs actions to improve the security and diversity of chip supply chains, and to ensure that, as the United States supports the development of the next generation of government supercomputers and other emerging technology, we do so with AI in mind.
This NSM makes collection on our competitors’ operations against our AI sector a top-tier intelligence priority, and directs relevant U.S. Government entities to provide AI developers with the timely cybersecurity and counterintelligence information necessary to keep their inventions secure
The NSM directs the creation of a Framework to Advance AI Governance and Risk Management in National Security
Among other actions, it directs agencies to propose streamlined procurement practices and ways to ease collaboration with non-traditional vendors

Palantir, Claude AI and Amazon Contracted by Federal Government

What does Palantir do? Palantir is a technology firm founded by Peter Thiel that provides data analytics for defense industry and the DoD.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/nov/16/tech-firm-palantir-spoke-with-moj-about-calculating-prisoners-reoffending-risks

The US spy tech company Palantir has been in talks with the Ministry of Justice about using its technology to calculate prisoners’ “reoffending risks”, it has emerged.

The proposals emerged in correspondence released under the Freedom of Information Act which showed how the company has also been lobbying new UK government ministers, including the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.

Patient privacy fears as US spy tech firm Palantir wins £330m NHS contract
Read more
Amnesty International is among the organisations expressing concern about the expanding role Palantir is attempting to carve out after it was controversially awarded a multimillion-pound contract with the NHS last year.

The DoD has now enlisted Peter Thiel’s company Palantir, Amazon and Anthropic for AI services.

Anthropic: The developer of Claude, an advanced AI model designed with a “safety-first” approach. Their “constitutional AI” concept involves training AI on a set of principles to guide its decisions and mitigate risks.
Palantir: A data analytics company deeply entrenched in defense and intelligence, known for its ability to handle top-secret information due to its IL 6 accreditation, allowing it to securely work with classified data.
AWS (Amazon Web Services): Provides the cloud infrastructure, specifically GovCloud, designed for government agencies, to support this partnership, ensuring the secure processing and storage of sensitive information.

Note that Claude AI reports to be the Constitutional AI, where there is a governing model that will prevent certain answers to be provided.

https://www.anthropic.com/news/claudes-constitution

What is Constitutional AI?

Constitutional AI responds to these shortcomings by using AI feedback to evaluate outputs. The system uses a set of principles to make judgments about outputs, hence the term “Constitutional.” At a high level, the constitution guides the model to take on the normative behavior described in the constitution – here, helping to avoid toxic or discriminatory outputs, avoiding helping a human engage in illegal or unethical activities, and broadly creating an AI system that is helpful, honest, and harmless.

Our current constitution draws from a range of sources including the UN Declaration of Human Rights [2], trust and safety best practices, principles proposed by other AI research labs (e.g., Sparrow Principles from DeepMind), an effort to capture non-western perspectives, and principles that we discovered work well via our early research. Obviously, we recognize that this selection reflects our own choices as designers, and in the future, we hope to increase participation in designing constitutions.

Areas of Use:

Data Analysis: Claude can sift through vast quantities of intelligence data, including satellite images, intercepted communications, and social media chatter, identifying potential threats and patterns humans might miss.
Sentiment Analysis: Claude can analyze language to understand the intent and sentiment behind messages, potentially identifying subtle shifts that could indicate danger.
Threat Prediction: By processing and analyzing data, Claude can provide insights that help intelligence analysts and government officials make more informed decisions in response to global events.

Ethical Considerations:

Autonomous Warfare: The US is using AI with autonomous drones in warfare, raising ethical concerns about machines making life-or-death decisions without human intervention.
Transparency and Accountability: As AI plays a larger role in intelligence and military operations, questions arise about transparency, accountability, and the need for international cooperation to prevent misuse and unintended consequences.

Show Notes: China Is Here, Michigan

The Mighty Humanzee — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 20:07:58 +0000

By The Mighty Humanzee

Link Back to LIVE Stream

Another CCP Researcher From Wuhan Caught Smuggling

https://davebondy.locals.com/post/7003430/wuhan-researcher-arrested-in-detroit-for-smuggling-biological-materials-to-university-of-michigan

Chengxuan Han, a researcher from Wuhan, China, was reportedly arrested in Detroit on charges of attempting to smuggle biological materials intended for transfer to the University of Michigan. This incident raises concerns about the unauthorized movement of potentially dangerous biological agents and foreign espionage within academic institutions.

Upon arrival in the U.S. on a J-1 visa, Han was interviewed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and allegedly lied about the nature of the packages and the materials she had shipped. Authorities say they discovered that Han had deleted data from her electronic device three days before entering the country. During a subsequent interview with the FBI, Han admitted to sending the materials and providing false information to CBP agents.

Federal charges have been filed against the researcher. This case underscores national security implications related to the international exchange of scientific personnel and materials, particularly concerning potential dual-use biological substances.

Jian, It’s Over Girl

Last Two Other CCP Researchers from U of M were apprehended while attempting to smuggle in a bio-weapon that could be used to cause crop blight.

Here’s Some Questions. What Materials Do You Need to Send Via Air Mail From China? We Don’t have Earthworms and Bats in the US?

Did no one notice anything unusual at the MPMI Lab? pic.twitter.com/zyrsHkddbf
— TheLegalProcess (v3.0 | Instruction Not Therapy) (@ALegalProcess) June 4, 2025

Illegals

A Minnesota State Representative just confessed she’s in the country illegally

Cc: @ICEgov pic.twitter.com/BcuVoikjxl
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 9, 2025

It just keeps getting … @HZardoz @pvtjokerus @NizNellie3 @TeriSchiavello @jsmith4966 https://t.co/kArxJ1z0gA
— Janine Thomas (@jethomas58) June 9, 2025

Minnesota law REQUIRES individuals to be US CITIZENS in order to run for office in the state.

Democrat Minnesota State Rep. Kaohly Vang admitted she's an ILLEGAL ALIEN.

She is BREAKING MULTIPLE LAWS. @FBI @DHSgov @ICEgov @Sec_Noem @RealTomHoman https://t.co/mVGqZs8fQl pic.twitter.com/lUpm8FMgP6
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 9, 2025

MEDC, Marshall and Ford: NDAs Helped Keep Locals In the Dark

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/06/marshall-residents-tell-house-oversight-state-sold-out-small-town-charm-for-ford-corporate-welfare-project/

Residents of Marshall, Michigan, testified before a state House oversight committee, expressing frustration that non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and a lack of transparency from state economic officials (MEDC) kept them in the dark about the proposed Ford battery plant project. They feel the state prioritized the corporate deal over local interests.

Residents described feeling blindsided by the scale and implications of the project, which they believe threatens the “small town charm” and character of their community. They argue that the state’s pursuit of the project, involving significant incentives (“corporate welfare”), came at the expense of local input and concerns.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, who approved the massive taxpayer funded corporate welfare giveaway, claim the project is vital to the state’s future. The Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve fund allocated $210 million toward development, while a 15-year Renaissance Zone will exempt Ford from nearly all local property taxes.

However, residents claim they were blindsided and that the state employed secrecy, intimidation, and public funds to transform their small town without their consent.

“The state of Michigan used taxpayer money to destroy the very community it claims to protect,” said Glenn Kowalske, the Marshall Township treasurer. “Worse, it did so in secret through NDAs, backroom planning, and legal intimidation.”

Public can’t know cost, details of ‘critical’ security project at Michigan Capitol

Michigan State Capitol Commission Chair William Kandler

Problem is, you start chipping away at information, pretty soon all the information is out there,” Kandler said, noting that while he was glad reporters were “being suspicious” of how taxpayer funds were being utilized, “we have to be responsible.”

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/panel-public-cant-know-cost-details-critical-security-project-michigan-capitol

The commission publicly approved major security upgrades in 2021 and 2023, banning openly carried guns at the Capitol and installing metal detectors to scan for weapons at public entrances.

But this time around, the commission cannot share the scope of the new security project, when the approved upgrades will begin or the overall cost of the project, Kandler repeatedly told reporters.

He said only that the changes would impact the building’s interior and “take some time to implement.”

He also suggested that House and Senate leaders — as well as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office — are aware of the pending changes and are “the people who most likely would be protected by what we’re talking about.”

The offices of Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, and the governor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In declining to provide any public information about the security project, Kandler said he was acting in line with advice from the commission’s legal counsel, the Department of Attorney General, which also did not immediately respond to a Bridge request for comment.

Palantir – We’re Not A Data Company But We Read and Use Data

After spending almost 6 years at #Palantir, I know something about what they do and what they don't do. As a result, I want to address the inaccuracies in the 6/30 @nytimes article that's been picked up by multiple outlets this week. 1/11https://t.co/vs8GwtUdb2
— Wendy R. Anderson (@wendyranderson) June 3, 2025

No More Mr Plow for Ann Arbor – EV Snow Removal

https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/snowplows-stall-full-ev-adoption-in-ann-arbor-fleet

Ann Arbor’s goal of transitioning its entire municipal vehicle fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) is reportedly being hindered by the lack of suitable electric snowplows. The specific and demanding requirements of heavy-duty snow removal equipment pose a challenge for current EV technology.

While the city has made progress in electrifying other parts of its fleet, finding adequately powerful and reliable electric alternatives for snowplows remains a hurdle. Factors like battery capacity needed for prolonged heavy work in cold weather are significant considerations.

The situation in Ann Arbor illustrates a practical difficulty in achieving full fleet electrification, particularly for specialized vehicles with high power demands. It highlights areas where EV technology or available models may still lag behind traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.

SCOTUS To Hear Election Illinois’ Ballot-counting Practice Case

https://www.mifairelections.org/post/scotus-decides-to-hear-election-case-thanks-to-amicus-briefs-from-mfei-and-others?cid=7d5503e1-b847-4fa1-8ec6-244bd936fcde

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an election case concerning ballot-counting practices in Illinois. The decision to take up the case was influenced, in part, by amicus briefs filed by organizations like Michigan Fair Elections, among others.

The case likely involves legal challenges to specific procedures or deadlines related to how ballots are counted in Illinois elections. The Supreme Court’s agreement to hear it indicates the legal questions raised are considered significant, potentially impacting election administration beyond Illinois.

The involvement of election integrity groups filing amicus briefs underscores the broader interest in the case’s outcome. The ruling could set precedents for election processes across the country, particularly concerning the handling of absentee or mail-in ballots.

Sheriff Dar Leaf: Dominion CEO Perjury

https://joehoft.com/breaking-exclusive-sheriff-dar-leaf-shows-how-dominions-ceo-committed-perjury-got-caught-and-targeted-tina-peters/

Sheriff Dar Leaf reportedly presents information he claims demonstrates that the CEO of Dominion Voting Systems committed perjury. The article suggests Leaf believes he has evidence proving the CEO made false statements under oath.

The piece links this alleged perjury to actions taken against Tina Peters, a former Colorado election official who faced charges related to election equipment. Leaf suggests the CEO’s actions were discovered and subsequently led to Peters being targeted.

This report continues Sheriff Leaf’s prominent role in questioning the 2020 election results and related matters. It focuses on his specific claims regarding the conduct of a Dominion executive within the context of ongoing legal and political disputes over election systems and security.

Dominion CEO committed perjury, got caught and targeted Tina Peters. Barry County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate open cases and assist the government. @realDonaldTrump @EagleEdMartin @FBIDirectorKash pic.twitter.com/18JaAhfF7x
— Sheriff Dar Leaf (@SheriffLeaf) June 6, 2025

Trust The Climate Science Say Folder Face

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/06/braun-whitmer-should-do-hard-things-to-ensure-the-lights-stay-on/

Gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun is reportedly urging Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to make difficult decisions to ensure energy reliability and prevent power outages in the state. His comments focus on the need for robust energy infrastructure to keep “the lights on.”

“A single chip plant uses more steel than the Mackinac Bridge,” she claimed. “A dozen times more cement than Ford Field. And more miles of cable than Michigan’s coastline.”

Making cement and steel requires crazy amounts of electricity. And that’s leaving aside the voracious power demand from the rest of our industrial civilization.

Braun’s message implies that current energy policies or lack of action are creating risks to the stability of the power grid. He is calling for measures that might be politically challenging but are necessary for energy security.

The article reflects political debate over Michigan’s energy future, particularly the balance between transitioning to renewables and maintaining the reliability of the existing grid, often fueled by fossil fuels. Braun’s stance positions him as prioritizing energy reliability and potentially criticizing current approaches.

Remember The Barefoot Doctors of Climate Change – Rep. Cavitt: Senate budget dedicates millions to ‘environmental justice communities

Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, is sounding the alarm over what he calls “ideological carve-outs” buried in the Michigan Senate’s proposed 2026 budget for the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Cavitt said while the Senate deserves limited credit for trimming EGLE’s overall budget by $4 million, the plan still advances progressive priorities under the radar. The proposed $1.034 billion budget includes $10 million for electric vehicle charging stations and $5 million for water disaster relief, 40% of which is designated for “environmental justice communities.”

“The Senate fractionally reduced the size and scope of EGLE, and I give them credit for that,” Cavitt said. “Almost everywhere else, they just tacked on 3% and continued the same path of financial mismanagement we’ve been on for nearly a decade.”

Cavitt’s strongest criticism was aimed at funding environmental justice, which he said creates special treatment based on unclear political standards.

“A community facing disaster shouldn’t have to meet a set of liberal ‘environmental justice’ guidelines in order to qualify for help,” he said. “In Northern Michigan, it doesn’t matter where you call home; we answer the call during an emergency.”

Who Do The Universities Prefer, In-State Students or Foreign Students who pay full out of state tuition?

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/06/msu-urges-foreign-students-not-to-leave-country-amid-rash-of-alleged-crimes-by-u-m-chinese-students/

Michigan State University (MSU) has reportedly issued guidance urging foreign students not to leave the country, seemingly in response to a series of alleged crimes involving Chinese students at the University of Michigan (U of M). This action follows concerns raised by the incidents.

MSU’s message aims to reassure its international student population amidst negative attention generated by the alleged criminal activities at a different institution. The guidance is likely intended to prevent unnecessary departures or anxiety among foreign students at MSU.

MSU is worried that the US finally enforcing it’s laws are going to spook the highly sensitive international students, endangering MSU’s wallet.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” the statement read. “We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.”

Impeach SoS Benson

https://www.themidwesterner.news/2025/06/rep-desana-introduces-impeachment-articles-against-secretary-of-state-jocelyn-benson/

State Representative Matt Maddock (the URL path indicates Rep. Desana, but Maddock is the sponsor according to the article) has formally introduced articles of impeachment against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. The articles list grievances related to Benson’s conduct in office.

The impeachment attempt is based on accusations related to Benson’s handling of election administration, compliance with legal requests (like subpoenas), or other perceived misuses of her office. This move represents a significant escalation of political conflict targeting the Secretary of State.

Introducing articles of impeachment is a procedural step to initiate a process that could potentially lead to removal from office, although it requires significant support within the state legislature. The action signals strong opposition to Benson’s policies and actions from certain political factions.

House Resolution 118 outlines three articles of impeachment alleging that Benson overstepped her legal authority, undermined election procedures, and manipulated the administration of elections. DeSana noted that Michigan courts have ruled against Benson on at least seven occasions.

“Even Secretary Benson’s lawyer has stated in open court that the Secretary will obey only the laws that she deems constitutional or that she agrees with,” he said.

Key allegations include Benson’s unilateral decision to ban open carry within 100 feet of polling places on Election Day, which DeSana called “a clear violation of our U.S. Constitution” and her issuance of a “presumption of validity” for absentee ballot signatures, which he says undermines statutory election safeguards.

MI House Rs File Lawsuit Against Sos Benson

https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/house-republicans-file-lawsuit-against-michigans-secretary-of-state-over-subpoena-fight/

House Republicans in Michigan have filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson stemming from her refusal to fully comply with legislative subpoenas. The lawsuit seeks to compel Benson’s office to provide specific documents requested by the House.

The legal action is a direct result of the ongoing dispute between the Republican-led legislative body and the Secretary of State over access to information, likely related to election administration or procedures. The House Republicans argue that Benson is unlawfully withholding materials they are entitled to review.

This lawsuit represents an escalation of the power struggle between the legislative and executive branches in Michigan. It seeks judicial intervention to resolve the dispute over the scope of legislative oversight and the Secretary of State’s obligations regarding document disclosure.

Federal Pardons For Michigan Electors

https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/report-doj-pardon-attorney-has-clemency-plans-for-michigan-2020-gop-false-electors/

A report indicates that an attorney within the Department of Justice’s Pardon Office is developing clemency plans that could potentially include individuals involved as “false electors” for the Republican Party in Michigan during the 2020 election. These individuals are facing state-level charges related to their actions.

The potential clemency actions would originate from the federal level, possibly through presidential pardons or commutations, despite the charges being brought by the State of Michigan. This highlights the complex interplay between state and federal legal systems.

The report suggests that plans are being formulated to offer clemency to those who participated as alternate electors in states like Michigan, signaling potential federal intervention in cases stemming from efforts to challenge the 2020 election results.

Despite The State Being At Fault For Poor Education, Just Tax the Rich

https://michiganadvance.com/2025/06/09/michigan-proposal-to-tax-the-rich-fund-schools-raises-questions-with-business-groups/

A proposal in Michigan to increase taxes on wealthy individuals or high earners as a means to boost funding for public schools is generating debate and criticism from business groups. Proponents argue this is a necessary step to address perceived underfunding of education.

Business organizations and opponents of the proposal raise concerns about the potential economic impact of higher taxes on investment, job creation, and whether it would truly solve educational challenges. They question the effectiveness and fairness of the tax structure.

The debate highlights differing views on how to fund public services and address educational disparities in Michigan. The proposal reflects a common political strategy to target higher earners for increased tax revenue to support social programs.

UoM: Dismantles Undercover Operations

https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2025/06/09/university-michigan-removing-plainclothes-security-officers/84111789007/

The University of Michigan (U of M) is reportedly discontinuing its use of plainclothes or undercover security officers on campus. This decision marks a change in the university’s approach to campus safety and security operations.

The move follows discussions or reviews concerning the role and practices of security personnel. Dismantling the undercover operation likely aims to increase transparency in campus policing and potentially address concerns raised by students or staff about unmarked security presence.

This change affects how security is maintained on the large university campus. It indicates a shift towards more visible security personnel or alternative safety strategies, moving away from covert surveillance methods.

Anthropic CEO Against 10 Year Ban

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/06/in-10-years-all-bets-are-off-anthropic-ceo-opposes-decade-long-freeze-on-state-ai-laws/

Dario Amodei, the CEO of AI company Anthropic, has expressed opposition to proposals for a decade-long freeze on state-level AI regulations. While acknowledging the potential risks of advanced AI, he argues against a complete moratorium on state laws for such an extended period.

Amodei believes that a 10-year pause is too long given the rapid pace of AI development and the potential need for timely regulatory responses to emerging issues. His stance suggests a preference for a more flexible or iterative approach to AI governance.

His comments, particularly the phrase “in 10 years, all bets are off,” indicate a view that the field could change dramatically in that timeframe, making a long regulatory freeze potentially counterproductive or insufficient. He is advocating for a regulatory approach that can adapt to AI’s evolution.

Inside DOGE At VA?

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-veterans-affairs-ai-contracts-health-care

A ProPublica investigation delves into contracts and initiatives involving artificial intelligence within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) during the Trump administration, particularly highlighting connections to individuals associated with “Doge” or the broader cryptocurrency/tech sphere. The article examines how these connections influenced VA tech procurement.

The report scrutinizes the awarding of AI-related contracts at the VA, questioning the rationale, transparency, and effectiveness of projects linked to individuals who may lack traditional healthcare or government contracting backgrounds but have ties to the tech or crypto world. The term “Doge” might relate to individuals known for involvement with the Dogecoin cryptocurrency or related communities.

The investigation raises concerns about potential cronyism, conflicts of interest, and the suitability of certain tech initiatives for improving healthcare delivery to veterans. It focuses on the influence of specific tech personalities and their companies on government technology projects.

OBBB Cuts Back Biden Restrictions on CO2 Emissions

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/06/gop-intensifies-war-against-evs-and-efficient-cars/

The article reports that Republicans are intensifying efforts against policies promoting electric vehicles (EVs) and more fuel-efficient cars. This includes legislative or regulatory actions aimed at rolling back or weakening restrictions on CO2 emissions implemented under the Biden administration.

The pushback involves challenging emissions standards and fuel economy mandates that incentivize the production and adoption of EVs. Republicans argue these regulations are burdensome to automakers and consumers, potentially limiting consumer choice or increasing vehicle costs.

This political conflict highlights the deep divide over climate policy and the future of the automotive industry. Efforts to roll back Biden-era environmental regulations signal a desire to slow the transition away from internal combustion engine vehicles.

Gas Powered Data Center, No Good?

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05062025/texas-data-center-gas-power-plants/

The article discusses plans for a large data center in Texas that intends to use dedicated natural gas power plants to meet its immense energy needs. This approach is drawing scrutiny due to concerns about its environmental impact compared to powering data centers with renewable energy.

Data centers are incredibly energy-intensive facilities, and their power source significantly impacts their carbon footprint. Using natural gas plants, while reliable, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, conflicting with goals for decarbonizing the tech industry.

Critics argue that despite Texas’s abundant renewable resources, choosing dedicated fossil fuel plants for a new, large data center is a step backward for climate goals. The project highlights the challenges of powering rapidly growing digital infrastructure sustainably.

Re Ted Cruz: You Lose Broadband if you Regulate AI

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/06/ted-cruz-bill-states-that-regulate-ai-will-cut-out-42b-broadband-fund/

Senator Ted Cruz has proposed legislation that would penalize states that enact their own regulations on artificial intelligence by potentially cutting them off from a $42 billion federal broadband funding program. The bill links state AI regulation to eligibility for internet infrastructure grants.

The proposal appears aimed at preventing a patchwork of state-level AI regulations, which could create compliance challenges for tech companies operating nationwide. Cruz’s approach uses federal funding as leverage to push for a unified or less regulated approach to AI policy at the state level.

Critics are likely to argue that withholding crucial broadband funds is an overreach of federal power and hinders states’ abilities to address AI-related concerns within their borders. The bill highlights the intense federal debate over who should regulate AI and how.

I like my AI Shaken, Not Stirred

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/06/anthropic-releases-custom-ai-chatbot-for-classified-spy-work/

Anthropic, an AI safety and research company, has reportedly developed and released a specialized AI chatbot designed for use in classified intelligence work. This version is tailored to handle sensitive information and operate within secure government environments.

The development signals a move by AI companies to create bespoke, secure versions of their models for specific high-stakes sectors like national security. The chatbot is likely designed with enhanced safety features, access controls, and potentially operates on isolated networks.

Offering AI tools for classified operations highlights the increasing integration of advanced AI into government and intelligence functions. It underscores the efforts to apply AI’s capabilities to complex analytical tasks while attempting to mitigate the inherent security risks of large language models in sensitive contexts.

Google Breakup? Licensing Google’s Search Index

https://arstechnica.com/google/2025/06/googles-nightmare-how-a-search-spin-off-could-remake-the-web/

Google might be forced to license its core search index to other companies, possibly stemming from antitrust pressure or a regulatory mandate. This outcome is framed as a significant threat or “nightmare” for Google’s business model.

Google’s search index, the massive database of web content it has compiled, is central to its dominance in online search. If forced to license it, other companies could build competing search engines or AI products without having to replicate Google’s decades of data collection and processing.

This hypothetical situation could fundamentally alter the competitive landscape of the internet, potentially allowing new players to challenge Google’s search monopoly and “remake the web” by fostering greater competition in how users access online information. It is discussed as a potential outcome of intensified regulatory scrutiny.

Darth Nessel is Jacked: First Lawsuit Against Big Oil for Heatwave

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05062025/the-estate-of-a-woman-who-died-in-the-2021-pacific-northwest-heat-dome-sues-big-oil-for-wrongful-death/

The article reports on a landmark lawsuit filed by the estate of a woman who died during the 2021 Pacific Northwest heatwave. The lawsuit targets major oil companies, alleging wrongful death due to their contribution to climate change which exacerbated the deadly heat dome event.

This case represents one of the first instances where a direct link is being legally argued between the emissions from specific fossil fuel companies and a death attributed to a climate-related extreme weather event. It seeks to hold these companies financially liable for climate impacts.

The lawsuit leverages climate science connecting greenhouse gas emissions to rising global temperatures and more frequent extreme heat events. It is a significant development in climate change litigation, attempting to assign direct legal responsibility for specific climate impacts. (Note: The article focuses on a lawsuit by an estate, not Michigan AG Nessel.)

Mundy Project MUST Proceed Because all the other ones were so successful

https://www.bridgemi.com/business-watch/whitmers-semiconductor-dreams-near-flint-become-nightmare-neighbors

The article discusses community opposition and challenges facing a proposed semiconductor project near Flint, Michigan, specifically in Mundy Township. The project, part of Governor Whitmer’s efforts to attract high-tech manufacturing, is causing significant concern among local residents.

Neighbors are reportedly experiencing a “nightmare” due to the project’s potential impact on their properties, environment, and quality of life. Concerns include issues like noise, traffic, environmental changes, and the use of eminent domain.

The piece highlights the local resistance encountered by large state-backed industrial projects. It underscores the difficulties in implementing ambitious economic development plans when they clash with existing communities and residential areas. The title is sarcastic, referencing past project controversies.