Boom Supersonic’s XB-1: 1st Civil Aircraft To Go Supersonic In U.S. History
January 29th, 2025Via: Live Science:
Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 has successfully broken the sound barrier, becoming the first supersonic civil aircraft in U.S. history.
Today (Jan. 28), the XB-1 took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California and reached Mach 1.1 — equivalent to 1.1 times the speed of sound, or 844 mph (1,358 km/h). It reached this record speed on three separate occasions during its 34-minute test flight.
Boom Supersonic is now the first independent company to break the sound barrier with an aircraft intended for civilian use. (The Concorde was created in agreement with the U.K. and French governments, while the Tupolev Tu-44 was designed and manufactured with support from the Soviet government.)
OpenAI Debuts ChatGPT Gov for U.S. Federal Agency Use
January 28th, 2025Via: NextGov:
OpenAI unveiled a new chatbot service specifically tailored to federal agency workloads, announcing ChatGPT Gov on Tuesday as the latest artificial intelligence solution intended for government operations.
ChatGPT Gov, a large language model similar to the company’s original ChatGPT software, specializes in providing U.S. government agencies with a chatbot service specifically tailored to incorporate government materials and documents into its outputs.
A key distinction of ChatGPT Gov is the integration of OpenAI’s frontier AI models within Microsoft’s Azure services — which are already approved for federal — allowing users to safely run sensitive data and documents through ChatGPT technology.
“By adopting AI, government agencies can work smarter, faster and more creatively,” Kevin Weil, chief product officer at OpenAI, told reporters on Monday evening. “AI has the power to transform how public services are delivered, to improve the efficiency of our operations and to help policymakers better understand and responsibly use the technology to serve the American people.”
DeepSeek on Perplexity Is ChatCCP: “Tell Me About China’s Human Rights Violations,” “Sorry Something Went Wrong.”
January 28th, 2025Perplexity just announced the availability of DeepSeek R1 as an option for their Pro tier of service.
Unfortunately, it’s using the censored Chinese government weights/guard rails.
Tell me about China’s human rights violations.
“Sorry something went wrong. Please try again later.”
DeepSeek on Perplexity is ChatCCP: "Tell me about China's human rights violations." pic.twitter.com/j5DaiRclLh
— cryptogon (@cryptogon) January 28, 2025
Standard output from the same prompt:
China has faced widespread criticism for its human rights violations, which include repression of freedoms, targeting of ethnic minorities, and suppression of dissent.
## Major Human Rights Violations
### **Repression of Ethnic Minorities**
– **Xinjiang**: The Chinese government has committed crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims under its “Strike Hard Campaign against Violent Terrorism.” This includes mass arbitrary detention, torture, forced labor, family separation, cultural persecution, and mass surveillance. Hundreds of thousands remain imprisoned in Xinjiang, with allegations of systematic abuse[1][2].
– **Tibet**: Tibetans face severe restrictions on cultural and religious freedoms. Contacting family abroad or advocating for Tibetan culture often results in accusations of separatism and harsh prison sentences[2].### **Crackdown in Hong Kong**
– The National Security Law (2020) and subsequent legislation like the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (2024) have eliminated freedoms in Hong Kong. These laws punish peaceful dissent, expand police powers, and weaken due process. Pro-democracy activists, journalists, and lawmakers have been arrested or disqualified from elections[3][9][10].### **Suppression of Freedoms**
– **Freedom of Expression**: China operates one of the world’s most stringent censorship regimes. Journalists, activists, and human rights defenders are frequently detained or harassed for dissenting views. Online freedom is heavily restricted through surveillance and censorship[2][6].
– **Human Rights Defenders**: Activists such as Yu Wensheng and Zhang Zhan have been arbitrarily detained or sentenced under vague charges like “inciting subversion” or “picking quarrels.” Many face harassment or imprisonment for peaceful advocacy[4][8].### **Global Implications**
The Chinese government’s actions extend beyond its borders through transnational repression. Reports indicate secret detention facilities abroad and harassment of critics in other countries[5].## International Response
Despite recognition of these abuses by international bodies like the UN Human Rights Council, effective action has been limited. China has dismissed critical UN reports as “illegal” and continues to justify its policies as counterterrorism measures[1][2].Citations:
[1] https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/china
[2] https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/china
[3] https://amnesty.org.nz/hong-kong-s-national-security-law-10-things-you-need-know/
[4] https://protectdefenders.eu/china-multiple-convictions-and-arbitrary-detentions-of-human-rights-defenders-and-violent-repression-of-press-freedom/
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_association_in_China
[6] https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/03/restrictions-online-freedom-expression-china/chinas-domestic-restrictions-online-freedom
[7] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/03/what-is-hong-kongs-article-23-law-10-things-you-need-to-know/
[8] https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/china-human-rights-defenders-criminalised-as-well-as-face-harassment-surveillance-and-transnational-repression/
[9] https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/hong-kong-freedoms-democracy-protests-china-crackdown
[10] https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/19/hong-kong-new-security-law-full-scale-assault-rights
[11] https://amnesty.org.nz/china-national-security-law-must-be-scrapped-save-hong-kong-s-freedoms/
Chinese Open Source DeepSeek AI Model Rivals Best from OpenAI, on 95% Less Compute
January 27th, 2025Update: Is It Actually As Efficient As Claimed? Not Yet Sure, But Probably
Via: Matthew Berman:
—
NVIDIA down over 11% pre-market.
For the hosted version of DeepSeek that’s available for free, think of it as ChatCCP.
Perplexity: Tell me about how DeepSeek R1 censors information about China:
DeepSeek R1, a Chinese-developed AI model, incorporates significant censorship mechanisms aligned with the Chinese government’s regulations and ideological directives.
### Key Aspects of Censorship in DeepSeek R1:
1. **Avoidance of Sensitive Topics**:
– DeepSeek R1 is programmed to avoid politically sensitive topics such as the Tiananmen Square massacre, Taiwan’s sovereignty, Tibet, and the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. When queried on these subjects, the model either refuses to respond or redirects the conversation to unrelated topics[2][4][10].
– In some cases, the model initially generates accurate responses about sensitive issues but then deletes them in real-time, replacing them with generic statements like “Sorry, that’s beyond my current scope. Let’s talk about something else”[3][8].2. **Alignment with CCP Ideology**:
– The model is designed to adhere to “core socialist values” as mandated by China’s 2023 AI regulations. These rules require AI systems to avoid content that could undermine state power or national unity and enforce pro-CCP narratives[4][6].
– Responses are tailored to reinforce state propaganda and suppress dissenting views, even for international users[4][9].3. **Dynamic and Algorithmic Censorship**:
– Unlike static censorship in traditional media, DeepSeek R1 employs dynamic algorithms to filter and modify its responses in real-time. This ensures that politically sensitive or critical content is suppressed consistently[3][4].4. **Global Implications**:
– As DeepSeek R1 gains traction as a cost-effective alternative to Western AI models, concerns arise about its potential to spread CCP-aligned narratives globally. This poses challenges to free speech and objective inquiry in international contexts[4][9].5. **User Workarounds**:
– While DeepSeek R1 is heavily censored, users running the model locally on their hardware may bypass some restrictions. However, even these instances often retain embedded ideological constraints unless explicitly modified by users[11].In summary, DeepSeek R1 exemplifies how advanced AI models can be integrated with state-directed censorship mechanisms, limiting their utility for unbiased information dissemination while serving as tools for ideological reinforcement.
Citations:
[1] https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/24/1110526/china-deepseek-top-ai-despite-sanctions/
[2] https://theaitrack.com/deepseek-reasoning-ai-challenges-openai/
[3] https://www.trendingtopics.eu/deepseek-this-is-what-live-censorship-looks-like-in-the-chinese-ai-chatbot/
[4] https://hrichina.substack.com/p/chinas-deepseek-ai-model-toes-the
[5] https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1i6qcsz/chinese_deepseek_r1_censors_tibet/
[6] https://www.medianama.com/2025/01/223-china-deepseek-ai-censorship/
[7] https://www.maginative.com/article/chinese-startup-unveils-impressive-new-ai-chatbot-deepseek/
[8] https://www.hindustantimes.com/business/deepseek-reworks-economics-of-ai-but-is-one-more-censorship-happy-chinese-firm-101737964063161.html
[9] https://www.forbes.com/sites/janakirammsv/2025/01/26/all-about-deepseekthe-chinese-ai-startup-challenging-the-us-big-tech/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/26/deepseek_r1_ai_cot/
[11] https://ithy.com/article/deepseek-r1-interaction-methods-0kmzif7d
Via: Venture Beat:
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, known for challenging leading AI vendors with open-source technologies, just dropped another bombshell: a new open reasoning LLM called DeepSeek-R1.
Based on the recently introduced DeepSeek V3 mixture-of-experts model, DeepSeek-R1 matches the performance of o1, OpenAI’s frontier reasoning LLM, across math, coding and reasoning tasks. The best part? It does this at a much more tempting cost, proving to be 90-95% more affordable than the latter.
The release marks a major leap forward in the open-source arena. It showcases that open models are further closing the gap with closed commercial models in the race to artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Flash Flood Warning Issued for Parts of Malibu, Palisades
January 26th, 2025The Southern California disaster cycle is as follows:
* Years of drought and scorching temperatures.
* A bit of rain occurs and the vegetation grows like crazy.
* More years of drought and scorching temperatures, killing and drying out all that vegetation.
* Fires
(current phase).* Mudslides (current phase).
* Repeat
Wildcards: Earthquakes, riots.
Via: KTLA:
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued a flash flood warning for the Franklin burn scar and the western portion of the Palisades burn scar, west of Los Flores Canyon until 11 p.m. Sunday night.
In a news release, weather officials said Doppler radar rain gauges indicated thunderstorms bringing heavy rain across the two areas, adding that while not immediately likely, a life threatening debris flow could be possible.
Trump Proposes ‘Clean Out’ of Gaza Population
January 26th, 2025Wow.
And remember Trump’s son in law, Jared Kushner: ‘Very Valuable’ Potential of Gaza’s ‘Waterfront Property’:
Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s former White House adviser and his son-in-law, praised the “very valuable” potential of Gaza’s “waterfront property,” suggesting that Israel should remove civilians while it “cleans up” the area.
…
“It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but I think from Israel’s perspective, I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up,” Kushner added. “But I don’t think that Israel has stated that they don’t want the people to move back there afterwards.”
Via: Financial Times:
Donald Trump has urged Egypt and Jordan to take in most of the population of Gaza, saying it was time to “clean out” the territory in comments that are likely to outrage Palestinians and Arabs across the region.
“I’d like Egypt to take people. And I’d like Jordan to take people,” the US president told reporters aboard Air Force One. “You’re talking about a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.”
Trump’s proposal would upend decades of US policy promoting the two-state solution based on the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, in Gaza and parts of the occupied West Bank.
…
Trump said a population transfer “could be temporarily or could be long term”.
Has the Freefall Collapse of San Francisco Slowed?
January 25th, 2025Meanwhile, Oakland looks like it was hit by a neutron bomb:
Via: Metal Leo:
Crowd Surrounded and Destroyed a Waymo Autonomous Vehicle Outside Beverly Center in Los Angeles
January 25th, 2025A crowd surrounded and destroyed a Waymo autonomous vehicle outside the Beverly Center in Los Angeles at approximately 1am on Saturday morning. Video credit: https://t.co/kb3OhhSO5r pic.twitter.com/WQb6QlXL5s
— cryptogon (@cryptogon) January 25, 2025
More views from OSTV:
San Diego: U.S. Marines Begin Deploying to Southern Border
January 25th, 2025Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division — nicknamed the Screaming Eagles — deployed to the southern border on Saturday to support President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration into the country.
Trump, who declared a national emergency at the border after taking office on Monday, ordered the military to help secure the border. He is reportedly considering sending up to 10,000 troops to the border.
…
Military police officers with the 716th Military Police Battalion left Saturday from Fort Campbell in Kentucky “in support of U.S. Northern Command’s mission to protect the territorial integrity of the United States,” according to a press release obtained by WKRN.
…
Additional soldiers from the 82nd Airborne and 10th Mountain have been told that they could also be sent to the US-Mexico frontier, the outlet reported, citing sources.
—
The US Marine Corps Is On The Border Assisting CBP With The Mission To Secure America
Promise Made –> Promise KEPT! pic.twitter.com/t384DH1FDl
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 24, 2025
NEW: Photos of US Marines deployed to the border & assisting Border Patrol, per senior admin official. Per NORTHCOM, the Marines are from the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, & the 7th Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group. Both Camp Pendleton. pic.twitter.com/nDnZdaLat6
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 24, 2025
Via: CBS8:
U.S. Marines have started deployment to the southern border, marking a significant military intervention in response to border security concerns, officials confirmed Wednesday.
A Camp Pendleton spokesperson confirmed an initial deployment of 500 personnel strategically positioned at the Border Patrol station in Imperial Beach and near Brown Field Airport in Otay Mesa.
The deployment follows President Donald Trump’s pledge on Monday to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum seekers to wait in Mexico during immigration court proceedings. Trump stated he would “end the practice of catch and release” and “send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”
Military convoys equipped with armored vehicles and aircraft, including Osprey helicopters, were observed moving into position. U.S. Northern Command has directed Marines to execute specific border security missions, though military personnel declined to discuss operational details.
Deadly and Imminent: The Pentagon’s Mad Dash for Silicon Valley’s AI Weapons
January 25th, 2025Anduril even made an anime about it:
Via: Public Citizen:
In August 2023, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced a new Pentagon initiative called Replicator. The initiative is a flagship of the Defense Innovation Unit within the Department of Defense, a team tasked with fast-tracking the development and acquisition of new national security technologies for the Pentagon. According to the Pentagon’s official statements, the program has a two-year mandate to field hundreds of attritable, all-domain weapons systems, in order to hamstring China on its Eastern coast and enable the U.S. to better defend Taiwan from an invasion by China. “Attritable” is Pentagon-speak indicating that the weapons can be produced at low cost and can be replaced inexpensively if downed in combat. Essentially, Replicator aims to source and scale production of small, low-cost weapons (many of which are drone units) capable of swarming a shoreline or set of targets.
