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☆ ChatGPT’s boss claims nuclear fusion is the answer to AI’s soaring energy needs. Experts say not so fast
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Yet according to Sam Altman, head of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, there is a clear solution to this tricky dilemma: nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion — the process that powers the sun and other stars — is likely still decades away from being mastered and commercialized on Earth. A section of JT-60SA, a huge experimental nuclear fusion reactor at Naka Fusion Institute in Naka city of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, on January 22, 2024. The sector was responsible for around 2% of global electricity demand in 2022, according to the IEA. But, he cautioned, this doesn’t necessarily mean AI’s electricity demand will fall.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Altman, “, Lex Fridman, ” Altman, —, Alex de Vries, ”, Aneeqa Khan, ” Khan, Philip Fong, Vries, ” de Vries, Michael Khoo, “ We’re, Khoo, Yiannis Kourtoglou, Sen, Ed Markey, ” Markey, ” Khoo Organizations: CNN, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Manchester, “, JT, Naka Fusion, Getty, International Energy Agency, Boston Consulting, Reuters, Microsoft, OpenAI, Boston Consulting Group, Google, Princeton, ” Locations: “, Naka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, AFP, Pascal, Nicosia, Cyprus

More than 8.5 million abandoned homes in rural Japan are creating a "ghost town" problem. There are more than 8.5 million akiya , or abandoned homes, in rural Japan, according to the country's 2018 Housing and Land Survey, its most recent on record. The institute predicts akiya could exceed 30% of homes in Japan by 2033. As Richard Koo, the chief economist at NRI, told them at the time, the Japanese countryside has been hollowing out since the mid-'90s. Why aren't more Japanese people buying abandoned countryside homes?

Persons: —, who've, Richard Koo, There's, Chris McMorran, Koo, Douglas Southerland, McMorran, Natasha Durie, Durie, Eric McAskill, McAskill, Jaya Thursfield, Chihiro, Kurosawa, Joey Stockermans, akiya Organizations: Service, Survey, Nomura Research Institute, Business Insider's, NRI, National University of Singapore, of Anthropology, Ethnography, Oxford University, Canadian Real Estate Association Locations: Japan, Business Insider's Singapore, Gifu, Vancouver, Canada, Nagano Prefecture, England, Ibaraki Prefecture, London, North America, Kyushu, akiya

☆ People are buying cheap, abandoned homes in Japan and living their dreams free of financial burden
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Japan has more than 8 million abandoned homes, with no restrictions on foreign buyers. Homeownership in Japan isn't the same path to financial freedom as in other countries. AdvertisementTake Kurosawa spent summers in Japan as a kid, and always dreamed of owning property there. In January, Kurosawa and Stockermans launched Akiyamart , a website to help foreigners find and purchase abandoned homes in Japan. It's a money-maker that has worked in the US but isn't necessarily a surefire way to generate income in Japan.

Persons: —, Kurosawa, Joey Stockermans, Stockermans, It's, Eric McAskill, McAskill, Jaya Thursfield, Chihiro, Eric McAskill Anton Wormann, Bethany, Bitsii, Nakamura, homeownership, Bethany Nakamura, Jordan Pandy Organizations: Foreigners, Service, Survey, Business Locations: Japan, Homeownership, Beppu, Kyushu, Santa Cruz , California, Nova Scotia, Canada, Italy, Portugal, —, California, Bali, Nagano Prefecture, Jaya, Ibaraki Prefecture, London, America, jpandy@businessinsider.com

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop 'war' on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Argentina found the virus in wild birds, while dead swans in Uruguay tested positive. The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop "war" on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said. Berkowitz said he is bracing for March and April when migration season will pose an even greater risk to poultry.

☆ Keeping up with the Morohoshis: Buying a bomb shelter in the Tokyo suburbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Rocky Swift | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/7] Megumi Morohoshi, a Japanese mother of three, poses for a photo inside her family's newly installed bomb shelter in Saitama, Japan December 5, 2022. But the invasion of Ukraine followed by a barrage of North Korean missiles convinced her the threat was urgent. And the following month an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) landed just 200 km (130 miles) from the northwestern coast. The shelters, custom-built at Nao's factory in Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo, cost 6 million yen ($44,000) before installation expenses. Morohoshi's unit, delivered late last month, is an austere white box with "CRISIS-01" emblazoned on the side, with external cameras mounted on it.

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