Notices by David Ho (davidho@mastodon.world)

AI doesn’t help you work less or get paid more, but does destroy the environment and climate.

https://fortune.com/2025/05/18/ai-chatbots-study-impact-earnings-hours-worked-any-occupation/

No words.

"…U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students…"

https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/05/new-visa-policies-put-america-first-not-china/

So…about AI’s energy use…

“…to create a five-second video, a newer AI model uses ‘about 3.4 million joules, more than 700 times the energy required to generate a high-quality image’. That's the equivalent of running a microwave for over an hour.”

https://mashable.com/article/energy-ai-worse-than-we-thought

Microsoft has blocked emails with the words “Palestine,” “Gaza,” and “Genocide” in the subject line or in the body of the message from being sent to recipients both inside and outside the company. 🫠

https://www.theverge.com/tech/672312/microsoft-block-palestine-gaza-email

It’s grifters all the way down.

https://www.propublica.org/article/us-officials-stock-sales-trump-tariffs

Just starting Doppelgänger from @naomiaklein and already this gem about why things feel so weird: “It's because our world has changed, but, like a collective case of jet lag, most of us are still attuned to the rhythms and habits of the place left behind.”

A handful of US scientists will continue their research in foreign countries. Most of them will simply stop doing research altogether.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/business/economy/trump-research-brain-drain.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HE8.dQxp.pFp5QC0jS-bk&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

“The lesson of 1933 is you get out sooner rather than later.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/opinion/yale-canada-fascism.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HE8.9YG9.urnpUEc47S6O&smid=bs-share

Still, scientists should engage more publicly. And it would be great if the public realizes that science isn't just something nerds do, but the foundation of modern society. 2/2

I've heard colleagues say that the solution to what's happening to American science is for scientists to communicate the value of science better. That's false. Trump is doing a lot of unpopular things, including destroying the science enterprise. What's happening is not our fault.

Most people believe in the values of democracy, but those values are being assaulted by this administration every day. 1/2

The European Commission is trying to woo American researchers with a new €500 million program (with France contributing another €100 million) called “Choose Europe for Science.”

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-ursula-von-der-leyen-emmanuel-macron-choose-europe-against-us-donald-trump-war-university-gigantic-miscalculation/

No one else in the world wants what’s happening to the US.

“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia has won a second term, completing a stunning turnaround for his governing center-left Labor Party that trailed in the polls for months as a festering cost-of-living crisis weighed on voters.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/world/asia/australia-prime-minister-election.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EU8.n4qe.K_NStEoK9Q23&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Because they felt that air pollution isn't killing enough Americans, the Senate voted to overturn an EPA rule that limits toxic air pollutants emitted by industrial facilities, marking the first time Congress has weakened protections under the Clean Air Act.

https://wapo.st/4d7QXar

What are the 39% of adult Americans who approve of the way Trump is handling his job smoking?

https://wapo.st/3ScK2D2

They could just kick him out. 🤷🏻♂️

https://www.thetimes.com/article/e13fc48e-0fe8-4152-be78-3e0348adf3ff?shareToken=edf6ab74b3fc80be6c2fa41774e91f54

The story of Trump’s secret plan to make everyone a vegan.

https://apnews.com/article/poultry-salmonella-food-poisoning-usda-081dafd3c8a75c3ef2203d260584a893

If we continue burning fossil fuels and warming the ocean, coral reefs will become a thing of the past.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/23/coral-reef-bleaching-worst-global-event-on-record

I tell my students that the best things they can do for climate are to stop eating cow and dairy, stop buying so much stuff, and vote for politicians who will do something about climate change.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/climate/earth-day-what-to-do.html?auth=login-google1tap&login=google1tap&smid=url-share&unlocked_article_code=1.Bk8.uquP.VW4STu8KpBOb

This will make the streets of China safer.

https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/china-ford-halts-shipment-3cb51285?st=zKesZf&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Tried to speak Mandarin with them but they seemed confused.