Business
Global Negotiations On A Treaty To End Plastic Pollution At Critical Phase In Canada
Ontario, Canada. Negotiators from most states are currently discussing the draft of a worldwide treaty aimed at eradicating plastic pollution, marking the first instance of such negotiations.
Delegates and observers at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution regarded it as a positive development, and discussions have transitioned from conceptualization to the formulation of a treaty at this fourth out of five planned plastics summits.
The concept of internationally restricting the production of plastic is highly controversial. The document continues to exist despite the vehement opposition from countries and companies involved in plastic production, as well as oil and gas exporters. The majority of plastic is derived from fossil fuels and chemical compounds.
The Ottawa session was set for late Monday or early Tuesday. During Monday night’s meeting, there was a heated debate about whether the working groups should prioritize the issue of plastic manufacture before the upcoming and final meeting.
Global Negotiations On A Treaty To End Plastic Pollution At Critical Phase In Canada
According to Stewart Harris, a representative of the International Council of Chemical Associations, the members are advocating for a treaty that specifically addresses the recycling and reuse of plastic, sometimes known as “circularity.”
Many scientists from the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty attended the meeting to present scientific facts on plastic pollution to negotiators. Their objective was to counteract any misinformation that may be circulating.
Bethanie Carney Almroth, an ecotoxicology professor at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg and coalition co-leader, stated that yesterday’s claim about the lack of microplastic data is factually incorrect. In reality, there have been 21,000 published articles on micro and nanoplastics. “It resembles the game Whac-A-Mole.”
Global Negotiations On A Treaty To End Plastic Pollution At Critical Phase In Canada
According to her, scientists have been subjected to harassment and intimidation by lobbyists. She informed the United Nations that a lobbyist shouted directly at her during a meeting.
Ecuador’s lead negotiator, Walter Schuldt, stated that despite their divergences, the countries represented have a shared objective of advancing in the treaty process.
“In the interview, he emphasized that we are discussing the preservation of life in the future, encompassing not only human life but also all forms of life on Earth,” he stated.
He expressed his pride in participating in and contributing his small but meaningful effort to the worldwide initiative to tackle an environmental issue.
The negotiators’ objective is to finalize a treaty by the conclusion 2024. The topics given to expert working groups by tonight will progress to the final stage of discussions in autumn in South Korea.
Without undertaking this preparatory work in between meetings, it would be intimidating to successfully conclude the negotiations within this year. Several nations expressed their dedication to collaborating during the intervals between talks on Sunday evening.
The treaty negotiations commenced in Uruguay in December 2022, and Rwanda and Peru’s subsequent submission of the resolution initiated the process in March 2022.
Progress was sluggish at the Paris discussions in May 2023 and the Nairobi talks in November as countries deliberated about the process’s regulations.
Upon the arrival of numerous negotiators and observers in Ottawa, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the committee chair from Ecuador, reminded them of their objective and urged them to exhibit ambition.
“We have a responsibility to create a new treaty that will stimulate and direct the necessary actions and global collaboration to achieve a future devoid of plastic pollution,” he stated. “We must not disappoint them.”
The delegates have discussed the treaty’s scope, chemicals of concern, problematic and avoidable plastics, product design, and financing and implementation.
Delegates also simplified the cumbersome assortment of choices from the previous meeting.
Many individuals journeyed to Ottawa from communities impacted by plastic manufacture and pollution. Residents residing near petrochemical plants and refineries in Louisiana and Texas distributed postcards to the U.S. State Department with the message, “We desire your presence.”
Global Negotiations On A Treaty To End Plastic Pollution At Critical Phase In Canada
The members of the Break Free From Plastic movement journeyed collectively and urged negotiators to personally witness air and water contamination in their regions.
“This remains the most optimal choice we possess to witness transformation in our communities.” Corporations heavily influence them. Jo Banner, a St. John the Baptist Parish resident in Louisiana, expressed their inability to attend the local government. “It seems that this is my sole opportunity and source of optimism to assist my community in recovering and finding solace.”
Members of an Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus held a news conference on Saturday. They expressed concern that microplastics are polluting their food supply. They emphasized that this pollution threatens their communities and ways of life, which are guaranteed to them indefinitely. They perceived a lack of acknowledgment of their opinions.
“Our stakes are larger.” “These are our hereditary territories that are being contaminated with plastic,” Juressa Lee, a resident of New Zealand, expressed following the occurrence. “We are individuals or groups who possess legal rights, rather than individuals or groups with an interest or involvement in a particular issue.” We should be granted greater autonomy in expressing our opinions and judgments than individuals responsible for the issue.
Historically, plastic was not present, but currently, in the Bay of Plenty, the sediment and shellfish, which serve as their seafood supply, are contaminated with little plastic particles. Lee stated that they consider nature’s “resources” as valuable assets.
“Indigenous methods can serve as a guiding force,” Lee stated. “The current approach we are taking is evidently ineffective.”
Vi Waghiyi journeyed from Alaska to advocate for the rights and interests of Arctic Indigenous communities. She emphasizes to decision-makers the need to ensure that this pact provides long-term protection against plastic pollution for future generations.
She stated that their purpose in being here is to serve as the moral compass, ensuring that the decisions made are in the best interest of all individuals.
SOURCE – (AP)
Business
Is That ‘Her’? OpenAI Pauses A ChatGPT Voice After Some Say It Sounds Like Scarlett Johansson
NEW YORK — After some users claimed that one of OpenAI’s ChatGPT voices resembled Scarlett Johansson—who was well-known for lending her voice to a fictional, and at the time futuristic, AI assistant in the 2013 movie “Her”—the company said it intends to stop using the voice.
OpenAI posted on the social media site X Monday that it is “working to pause” Sky, one of the five voices that ChatGPT users can select from. The business claimed to have “heard questions” and wanted to respond regarding how it chooses the realistic audio options for Sky, its main artificial intelligence chatbot.
In a companion blog post explaining the selection process for ChatGPT’s voices, OpenAI also quickly refuted the rumors circulating on the internet about Johansson.
Is That ‘Her’? OpenAI Pauses A ChatGPT Voice After Some Say It Sounds Like Scarlett Johansson
“Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice,” the business stated. “We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice.” It said that for privacy concerns, it could not provide the names of its voice performers.
Based in San Francisco, OpenAI remained silent about the reasons it continued to choose to suspend Sky’s use.
In September, OpenAI initially released ChatGPT’s speech capabilities, featuring all five voices and letting users converse with the AI assistant. Previously exclusive to premium customers, “Voice Mode” will now be free for all mobile app users, according to OpenAI’s announcement in November.
Additionally, ChatGPT’s interactions are becoming increasingly complex. Last week, the most recent version of OpenAI’s generative AI model was believed to be able to identify people’s moods and even imitate human cadences in spoken responses.
Is That ‘Her’? OpenAI Pauses A ChatGPT Voice After Some Say It Sounds Like Scarlett Johansson
The most recent model, GPT-4o, according to OpenAI, is faster than earlier iterations and has real-time reasoning capabilities for text, audio, and video. During a demonstration during OpenAI’s May 13 unveiling, the AI bot conversed in real time and responded to requests for “more drama” and other emotions in its voice. It also attempted to infer an individual’s emotional state from a selfie video of their face, provided assistance with language translations, solved math problems step-by-step, and more.
The abbreviation “omni,” GPT-4o, isn’t yet generally accessible. Over the next few weeks and months, it will gradually become available to a restricted group. The model’s text and picture features are already starting to be made available, even to ChatGPT’s free users. However, the new voice mode will only be accessible to ChatGPT Plus members who have paid for it.
The capabilities of these recently revealed features have prompted even more comparisons to Spike Jonze’s dystopian romance “Her,” which centers on an introverted man (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with an AI-operating system (Johansson), leading to several complications. However, most people still need to have a chance to use these features.
On the day of GPT-4o’s announcement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also seemed to take advantage of this, merely publishing the term “her” on the social media platform X.
Many people who saw the model’s presentations last week also noticed that certain exchanges had an oddly flirty tone. A female-voiced ChatGPT commends an employee in one video that OpenAI aired for “rocking an OpenAI hoodie,” In another, the chatbot responds to praise by saying, “Oh stop it, you’re making me blush.”
Is That ‘Her’? OpenAI Pauses A ChatGPT Voice After Some Say It Sounds Like Scarlett Johansson
This has generated discussion about the gendered approaches critics claim tech corporations have long employed to create and interact with voice assistants—a practice that predates the most recent wave of generative AI, which enhanced the capabilities of AI chatbots. 2019 saw the “hardwired subservience” inherent in default female-voiced assistants (such as Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa), even in the face of sexist taunts and abuse, according to the UN culture and science body.
In a story this week, Desi Lydic, senior correspondent for The Daily Show, remarked of GPT-4o, “This is clearly programmed to feed dudes’ egos.” “It’s obvious that a man created this technology.”
SOURCE – (AP)
Business
Red Lobster Seeks Bankruptcy Protection Days After Closing Dozens Of Restaurants
With innovations like popcorn shrimp and “endless” seafood offers, Red Lobster, the casual dining restaurant that popularized seafood, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The 56-year-old chain filed late on Sunday following the closure of numerous locations.
“Red Lobster’s best course of action in the future is this restructure. CEO Jonathan Tibus stated, “It enables us to overcome multiple operational and financial obstacles and come out stronger and refocused on our growth.” Expert in corporate reorganization, Tibus assumed the company’s senior position in March.
Red Lobster Seeks Bankruptcy Protection Days After Closing Dozens Of Restaurants
Red Lobster announced that its restaurants will stay open during the bankruptcy process, which aims to streamline operations, close locations, and explore a sale. As part of the filing, Red Lobster entered into a “stalking horse” arrangement, which means it intends to sell the company to a company created and managed by its lenders.
According to Aaron Allen, the founder of the restaurant consulting business Aaron Allen & Associates,s bankruptcy was the result of two decades of problems for the company. The company has faced rising competition from quicker-moving, less expensive restaurants like Panera and Chipotle.
Red Lobster occasionally drops its prices to compete, a frequently catastrophic strategy. When crab prices increased in 2003, the company lost millions of dollars on an all-you-can-eat “Endless Crab” campaign, according to Allen. Twenty years later, the chain repeated the same strategy with an “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” campaign.
“It’s an interesting case study in corporate food service that they would have this kind of corporate amnesia,” Allen remarked.
He claimed it saw greater success after Red Lobster rebranded itself as an upscale eatery in the middle of the 2000s. It remodeled stores and increased pricing. However, it continued to face challenges from shifting consumer preferences and growing labor and leasing expenses.
Allen stated, “This slow-moving train wreck has been in motion for the past 20 years.”
Based in Orlando, Florida, Bill Darden started the resturant to lower costs and increase the accessibility of seafood restaurants for families.
Red Lobster Seeks Bankruptcy Protection Days After Closing Dozens Of Restaurants
In 1938, Darden launched The Green Frog in Waycross, Georgia, marking his entry into the restaurant industry. Even though it was against the law then, he dared not separate the restaurant’s guests based on race. Again, he let patrons seat wherever they pleased when he launched the first location in Orlando in 1968.
In 1970, Darden sold it to General Mills, where he remained an executive and continued to operate restaurants. Afterward, General Mills founded Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden and several other brands. In 1995, Darden Restaurants separated from General Mills.
Red Lobster attracted hordes of devotees for meals like lobster linguini and its buttery Cheddar Bay biscuits
Nobody who was born in the world could not enjoy Red Lobster cheddar biscuits. In her memoir “Bossypants,” comedian and actress Tina Fey stated, “Anyone who claims otherwise is a liar and a socialist.”
However, the restaurant needed help to attract younger patrons and stay competitive with other eateries. In 2014, Darden Restaurants sold to a private equity firm. One of the biggest seafood suppliers in the world, Thai Union Group, made its initial investment in Red Lobster in 2016 and increased it again in 2020.
Then, during its “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” promotion last fall, they lost millions of dollars by charging $20 for an all-you-can-eat shrimp feast.
In an earnings call with investors, Thai Union Group’s chief financial officer, Ludovic Garnier, stated, “We knew the price was cheap, but the idea was to bring more traffic in the restaurants.
Garnier reported that restaurant traffic increased as a result of the transaction. However, more customers than Red Lobster had anticipated chose the $20 offer, and “we don’t earn a lot of money at $20,” he said. Thai Union Group reported a $19 million loss from Red Lobster for the first nine months of 2023.
Thai Union Group declared in January that it would sell its minority stake in Red Lobster. According to CEO Thiraphong Chansiri, the COVID-19 epidemic, business challenges, and growing operating expenses have severely impacted the restaurant chain and resulted in “prolonged negative financial contributions to Thai Union and its shareholders.”
Red Lobster Seeks Bankruptcy Protection Days After Closing Dozens Of Restaurants
According to a statement made last week by restaurant liquidator TAGeX Brands, the equipment from more than 50 recently closed Red Lobster locations will be up for sale. As a result of the restaurant closures, which are occurring in over 20 states, Red Lobster’s footprint is being diminished in places such as Denver, San Antonio, Indianapolis, and Sacramento, California.
Allen anticipates that due to the bankruptcy proceedings, 700-restaurant network will decrease by one-third to half. All that many prospective purchasers seek is the chain’s real estate.
He predicted the buyer would likely want to keep Red Lobster the same.
In the court statement, Red Lobster stated that its assets are believed to be between $1 billion and $10 billion, with over 100,000 creditors. The corporation’s liabilities are between $1 billion and $10 billion.
SOURCE – (AP)
Business
A Former OpenAI Leader Says Safety Has ‘Taken A Backseat To Shiny Products’ At The AI Company
A former OpenAI executive who quit earlier this week warned Friday that safety has “taken a backseat to shiny products” at the influential artificial intelligence firm.
Jan Leike, who led OpenAI’s “Superalignment” team with a business co-founder who also left this week, stated in a series of posts on the social media platform X that he joined the San Francisco-based startup because he believed it was the ideal place to conduct AI research.
“However, I have been disagreeing with OpenAI leadership about the company’s core priorities for quite some time, until we finally reached a breaking point,” wrote Leike, who resigned on Thursday.
A Former OpenAI Leader Says Safety Has ‘Taken A Backseat To Shiny Products’ At The AI Company
By training, Leike, an AI researcher, feels there should be a greater emphasis on preparing for the next generation of AI models, including safety and studying the societal consequences of such technology. He stated that developing “smarter-than-human machines is an inherently dangerous endeavor” and that the company “is shouldering an enormous responsibility on behalf of all of humanity.”
“OpenAI must become a safety-first AGI company,” stated Leike, using the shortened term of artificial general intelligence, a futuristic concept of robots that are as generally intelligent as humans or can do many things as well as people.
Open AI CEO Sam Altman responded to Leike’s postings, saying he was “super appreciative” of his efforts to the firm and was “very sad to see him leave.”
A Former OpenAI Leader Says Safety Has ‘Taken A Backseat To Shiny Products’ At The AI Company
Leike is “right, we have a lot more to do; we are committed to doing it,” Altman added, promising to publish a lengthy post in the coming days
The company also stated on Friday that it has disbanded Leike’s Superalignment team, which was formed last year to focus on AI threats, and will integrate the team’s personnel into its research operations.
Leike resigned after OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever announced his departure on Tuesday after nearly a decade with the company. Sutskever was one of four board members who voted to remove Altman last October, only to quickly reinstall him. Sutskever informed Altman that he was fired last November, although he later admitted he regretted doing so.
A Former OpenAI Leader Says Safety Has ‘Taken A Backseat To Shiny Products’ At The AI Company
Sutskever stated that he is working on a new project that is meaningful to him but did not provide further specifics. He will be succeeded by Jakub Pachocki as head scientist. Altman described Pachocki as “also easily one of the greatest minds of our generation” and stated that he is “very confident he will lead us to make rapid and safe progress towards our mission of ensuring that AGI benefits everyone.”
On Monday, OpenAI demonstrated the most recent version of its artificial intelligence model, which can emulate human cadences in vocal responses and even attempt to discern people’s moods.
SOURCE – (AP)
-
News5 months ago
The Rise of Woke Ideology in Western Culture
-
Learning6 days ago
Exploring TVA Nouvelles Quebec’s Premier News Source
-
Tech4 months ago
YouTube Slowdown: The Culprit Might be Adblock Plus
-
Entertainment5 months ago
Glynis Johns, ‘Mary Poppins’ Star Who First Sang Sondheim’s ‘Send In The Clowns,’ Dies At 100
-
U.K News5 months ago
About 300 Indian Travelers Are Stuck In A French Airport In A Human Trafficking Probe
-
Business5 months ago
What Went Wrong At Smile Direct Club?