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☆ Sam Altman debated the safety of AI with an Oxford University student who protested his speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Altman gave a speech to an Oxford University student business society in May. Altman said that building stronger AI systems is the best way to ensure safety. "Stop trying to build an AGI and start trying to make sure that AI systems can be safe," one of the students told him, per The Guardian. "If we, and I think you, think that AGI systems can be significantly dangerous, I don't understand why we should be taking the risk," he added. Altman said the only way to achieve safety is with "capability progress," meaning building stronger AI systems in order to understand how they work – even if that's risky, The Guardian reported.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Goldman Sachs, Altman –, AGI, Robert Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer, OpenAI Organizations: Oxford University, Morning, Guardian, New York Times, Manhattan, US Locations: AGI

☆ A protestor threw a cake-like pastry at a board member's head during a Volkswagen meeting that descended into chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

About a dozen protestors reportedly created chaos at Volkswagen Groups annual meeting on Wednesday. One protestor threw what appeared to be a cake at a board member's head. The Associated Press reported that the pastry was thrown in the direction of Wolfgang Porsche, the chairman of Volkswagen Group's majority shareholder, Porsche SE. But recordings of the moment, uploaded to YouTube from news outlets including The Guardian, show VW Group chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch dodging remnants of the pastry that flew in his direction. A Reuters video from the event shows the protestors being led out of the meeting by security.

☆ Tucker Carlson told a Fox News makeup artist she's a 'good sport' for answering his questions about what women do in the bathroom
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tucker Carlson once asked a Fox News makeup artist if women have "pillow fights" in the bathroom. Carlson told the woman she was a "good sport" for answering his questions in the leaked video. Tucker Carlson told a Fox News makeup artist she's a "good sport" for answering his bizarre questions about what women do in the bathroom. At the end of the encounter, Carlson tells her, "You are such a good sport. The strange exchange is the latest in Media Matters' series of stories revealing leaked on-set comments from Carlson.

☆ Climate change activists protest at Berlin Formula E race
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, April 23 (Reuters) - Climate change activists delayed the start of an all-electric Formula E race at Berlin's Tempelhof airport circuit on Sunday after they climbed fences and sat in front of cars lined up on the starting grid. Letzte Generation (Last Generation) posted video on Twitter of white T-shirted supporters scaling the wire fence before being carried away by security. A Formula E spokesperson said the protest was "unrelated to the event". read moreBritain's Grand National horse race was delayed by animal rights protesters, with 118 people arrested read more . Twenty five people were also arrested at Saturday's Scottish Grand National.

☆ Environmental group to help guard London Marathon amid protest fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - Environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion have agreed to help guard the London Marathon from disruption by protesters, event director Hugh Brasher said on Wednesday. Organisers of Sunday's race are stepping up security to avoid protests after recent disruptions at the Grand National horse race and World Snooker Championship. A Just Stop Oil protestor halted the World Snooker Championship on Monday after he climbed on to a table and scattered a bag of orange powder paint over the green cloth playing surface. "(Extinction Rebellion) will be uniquely asking all their participants to help guard the London Marathon. Brasher said he was hoping to meet Just Stop Oil representatives in the next 24 hours.

☆ Charlottesville: Multiple people charged with burning objects with the 'intent to intimidate' on day of 2017 White nationalist march
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“There’s a law, a burning objects law, that says they can be prosecuted but our prosecutor’s not doing that.”CNN has reached out to Tracci for comment. Dykes, who was arrested on Friday, and Smith, who was arrested in early January, are both in custody. The separate crime Smith has been charged with carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The demonstration at UVA was followed by a “Unite the Right” rally held the next day in downtown Charlottesville that turned violent and later deadly. Counter-protestor Heather Heyer was killed when a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters gathered to oppose the gathering of White nationalist and other right-wing groups.

☆ Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he will pardon an Army sergeant who was convicted for shooting a Black Lives Matter protester ‘as soon as it hits my desk’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A jury unanimously convicted Perry on murder charges on Friday. Greg Abbott on Saturday said he will work "swiftly" to pardon an Army sergeant who was recently convicted of shooting and killing a Black Lives Matter protester. Daniel Perry for the shooting death of Garrett Foster, 28, at a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas. Perry then shot Foster five times with a revolver before driving away, the American-Statesman reported. "I look forward to approving the board's pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk," Abbott said in Saturday's tweet.

☆ Alaska oil drilling protesters disrupt White House climate adviser appearance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Conocophillips FollowWASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - Protesters criticizing President Joseph Biden's approval of an oil drilling project in Alaska on Monday blocked an administration official from delivering a speech about U.S. climate leadership. Ali Zaidi, White House climate adviser, was unable to address the event on the "Future of U.S. A dozen protesters holding a sign saying "End Fossil Fuels" chanted: "Keep your promise, no new drilling" for several minutes, preventing Zaidi from starting his remarks. Protesters believe the Willow decision may overshadow Biden's other climate achievements. The administration has been touting climate investments stemming from its signature climate law called the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)and its bipartisan infrastructure law.

Security analysts who monitor far-right chatter on social media, said initially the impulse of Trump's followers was to heed his call and hit the streets. But by Monday, the tone had shifted, according to the analysts and messages on several social media platforms examined by Reuters. "QAnon-related folks and some MAGA adherents are talking about how this is one big trap in some cases, that this is an operation intended to get (Trump's) supporters in trouble," Segal said. Almost immediately thereafter there was a second wave of, 'Don't protest, it's a trap just like January 6th,' that really overtook the first," Burghart said. Activist Laura Loomer, a prominent Trump supporter in Florida, called on Saturday for a "peaceful" Tuesday protest outside Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

☆ Thousands in Belgrade protest against Western-backed Serbia-Kosovo deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Ivana Sekularac | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Protesters shout slogans and hold signs during a demonstration against a Western-backed deal on normalizing ties between Kosovo and Serbia in Belgrade March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Djordje KojadinovicBELGRADE, March 17 (Reuters) - Several thousand people gathered in Belgrade to protest against a Western-backed deal to normalise ties between Kosovo and Serbia, which they view as recognition of Kosovo independence. Bilateral ties need to be mended for Serbia and Kosovo to achieve their strategic goal of joining the EU. Protesters held Serbian flags and banners reading "Kosovo is not for sale," "Serbia, not European Union," and "No to capitulation." "This is just the start of the protest," said Milos Jovanovic, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia, which was one of the protest organisers.

☆ CERAWEEK-TotalEnergies CEO talk briefly interrupted by protestor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Patrick Pouyanne, the CEO of TotalEnergies, listens to a question from Daniel Yergin, the vice chairman of S&P Global, during the CERAWeek 2023 energy conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Callaghan O'HareCompanies TotalEnergies SE FollowHOUSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - A protestor briefly interrupted an on-stage discussion with France's TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne at an energy industry conference in Houston on Wednesday. The protestor unfurled a banner and shouted "stop your greenwashing and lies." She was ushered away before the on-stage discussion between Pouyanne and U.S. energy historian Daniel Yergin continued. The CERAWeek energy conference is the biggest annual gathering of oil executives and officials and takes place in Houston, the capital of the U.S. energy industry.

☆ In Peru’s Andes, anger hardens as fast election hopes fade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Alexander Villegas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Congress has rejected multiple bills for early elections, a key demand by protesters, including shelving a proposal by President Dina Boluarte on Friday. It is the worst violence in Peru in two decades, and threatens to destabilize one of region's most reliable economies. Adelma Quispe, a protestor in the southern town of Ayavire, said protests would have calmed down if there had been an agreement on snap elections. Zamata, Quispe and others say they have collected money to send people to protest in Lima, but are dedicated to maintaining blockades in their towns. Throughout the region, protesters said they can survive on local crops and livestock, and outlast the capital until their demands are met.

☆ Iran executes second protester after rapid trial as EU plans more sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Iran executed a second detained protester on Monday, its state media reported, after a rapid trial as unrest and anger toward the government continue to boil over around the country. Cranes have been commonly used for public hangings since the early days of the Islamic Republic after its establishment in 1979. Iran has long held what activists and other governments say are sham trials in order to imprison or execute critics of the state. "No lawyer, no due process, tortured confession, sham trial. He was hanged for 'waging war against God.'

Feeling defiant, I told him, I will let the world know what you police are doing," said Pei, 27. He asked to be identified only by part of his name for fear of repercussions. China's Ministry of Public Security did not respond to a request for comment on the laws they might use against protesters. Zhang Dongshuo, a Beijing-based lawyer who has handled rights cases in the past, said the levels of punishment for protesting in China vary widely. "They just sprang up organically because people were driven by a sense of hopelessness and desperation about the never-ending COVID restrictions," Wu said.

☆ Albanian opposition leader punched in face as he marches to protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Albania's opposition Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha reacts after being punched in the face by a protestor, as the EU-Western Balkans summit takes place in Tirana, Albania, December 6, 2022. We will save Albania," Berisha told the crowd, pledging to halt the crime and poverty which are driving people to leave the country. The attacker was beaten by Berisha supporters and arrested by the police. The attack was condemned by Prime Minister Edi Rama. Berisha, a former president and prime minister, is banned from entering the United States over alleged corruption.

☆ Protestor with rainbow flag runs onto field at World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A protestor ran onto the field Monday carrying a rainbow flag and wearing a blue Superman T-shirt that said “SAVE UKRAINE” on the front and “RESPECT FOR IRANIAN WOMAN” on the back during a World Cup match between Portugal and Uruguay. Security officials chased the protestor down and the flag was dropped on the field before the person was escorted away. In the first week of the tournament in Qatar, seven European teams lost the battle to wear multi-colored “One Love” armbands during World Cup matches. Fans also complained they weren’t allowed to bring items with rainbow colors, a symbol of LGBTQ rights, into the stadiums of the conservative Islamic emirate. Qatar’s laws against gay sex and treatment of LGBTQ people were flashpoints in the run-up to the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East.

☆ You can't understate the risk each protestor undertakes in China, says Michelle Caruso-Cabrera
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailYou can't understate the risk each protestor undertakes in China, says Michelle Caruso-CabreraMichelle Caruso-Cabrera, CNBC contributor, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the developments from the weekend in China, how Jinping avoids calls for resignation, and how the unification with Taiwan will play out.

[1/2] Police officers are deployed as fishermen protest near the entrance of the proposed Vizhinjam Port in the southern state of Kerala, India, November 9, 2022. "We won't let them in," a protestor was seen screaming at police officers near the port entrance site. The Adani Group has said the project was in full compliance with all laws and that many studies in recent years have rejected allegations linking the project to shoreline erosion. The Kerala state government says erosion has occurred due to natural disasters. A previous attempt by Adani in October to move trucks out of the port also failed.

☆ WATCH: Obama responds to heckler while speaking out against attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former President Obama was interrupted by a heckler as he spoke about the attack on Paul Pelosi. Obama remarked on the assault during a Michigan rally, where he spoke of the need for civility. Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Pelosi, was attacked in their California home late last week. Gretchen Whitmer and other Democrats, Obama spoke of the need for civility, a throwback to his calls for bipartisanship during his first presidential campaign in 2008. Immediately after Obama called on lawmakers to reject dangerous rhetoric — with his mind on the attack on Paul Pelosi, the speaker's husband, at the couple's San Francisco home — the heckler began yelling at the former president.

☆ Kurdish protesters rally in Erbil over Mahsa Amini's death
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People take part in a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in front of the United Nations headquarters in Erbil, Iraq September 24, 2022. Protestors carrying placards with Amini's photograph gathered outside the United Nations compound in Erbil chanting"Death to the dictator" - a reference to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Amini's death has reignited anger over issues including restrictions on personal freedoms in Iran, the strict dress codes for women and an economy reeling from sanctions. "We are not against religion, and we are not against Islam, we are secularists, and we want religion to be separate from politics," said protester Maysoon Majidi, who is a Kurdish Iranian actor and director living in Erbil. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEditing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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