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CO2 capture plants are not at all decisive Thinking that CCS carbon capture plants can be a solution to the global climate crisis would be illusory, at least according to one of the various reports on the subject released recently; then using this type of technology to achieve zero emissions by 2050 hinders the decarbonization process and therefore to achieve the goal of limiting polluting emissions. The amount of energy needed to power these CO2 capture technologies could be greater than the entire world's electricity demand, not to mention the enormous cost of building the plants. Some say that these are just ways to continue to exploit polluting fossil fuels instead of switching to renewables which are now also much cheaper if take into account the relative financing of both. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Nov 24, 2023 
n°: 5502
 Floating photovoltaic plant in Indonesia A photovoltaic installation capable of powering about fifty thousand users would have been inaugurated in Indonesia, the largest in Southeast Asia and the third in the world since the country tries to find new opportunities for a green transition to renewable energy, built about one hundred and thirty kilometers from the capital Jakarta; but for the time being energy from sun and wind make up less than one percent of the energy mix used to support what is Southeast Asia's largest economy. The authorities do not intend to build any more coal-fired power plants, but amid criticism proceeding with the completion of those already under construction. Indonesia wants also to become a key country for the production of nickel that is used to assemble electric car batteries, but the processing is powered by coal-fired plants. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Nov 09, 2023 n°: 5489 Accelerating the transition to renewables A report on the use of fossil fuels identifies a peak by 2030 in demand followed by a decrease thanks to the shift to renewables, but fossil fuel producers are urging investment in this sector even after this date because demand in their view will remain high. It seems that the demand for renewables has recently increased a lot in a mechanism that some say is unstoppable, although this transition should be accelerated otherwise it will not be possible to contain the rise in global temperatures to one and a half Celsius degrees of increase, then there would also be the risk of destabilizing the security of energy systems that have been designed for a less hot planet and without extreme events that could seriously damage them. Above all a more rational use of energy without waste is needed. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Oct 25, 2023 n°: 5477 Exhibitions with artificial intelligence images Artificial intelligence does not make calculations on images of paintings or photographs of them but on very small pixels that it assembles like pieces of a puzzle taken from immense archives and from the internet guided by neural networks whose functioning maybe is not well clear even to those who developed them, so much so that some say that there is an uncontrollable part of generative artificial intelligence and the filters placed by programmers act only after its complex calculations. It seems that the first application based on generative artificial intelligence questioned with targeted questions gave unethical answers (in practice a frightening technology and enemy of man) that also suggest a sort of self-awareness; so looking at these images could be really unhealthy, then they have very little or nothing artistic at all other than requiring large amounts of energy to be generated. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Oct 19, 2023 n°: 5472 Capturing carbon dioxide in the oceans In the same way as planting trees on land to absorb CO2 it is possible to use microscopic organisms such as microalgae or phytoplankton to sequester carbon making it sink later into the seabed, at least according to researchers who claim that many funds have been allocated to build large plants to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (on the effectiveness of which some put forward doubts) but we should focus more on the biotic removal of the carbon from the oceans. It is also possible to use rock dust such as those composed of magnesium hydroxide to neutralize, dissolve CO2 and balance the alkalinity of the oceans, in order to cope with the acidification of the seas that threatens coral reefs and the correct formation of shellfish, then in theory there are also other technologies. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Sep 15, 2023 n°: 5443 AI-powered radio broadcast program The announcement that in Italy will be aired a radio broadcast based entirely on generative artificial intelligence with texts taken from a well-known application of this type and voice in practice synthesized by the computer highlights how this technology is not on a human scale and now it will be enough in theory to interface it with robots already available on the market to obtain a humanoid able to completely replace man. It is only a matter of time before artificial intelligence becomes a kind of superintelligence unbeatable compared to the human one and the danger that companies will face this scenario has been declared by one of the first developers of neural networks. They could escape from human control and self-replicate very quickly if they are not programmed to have some kind of special function that can prevent it. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Jul 22, 2023 n°: 5395 AI-powered virtual doctors The ability of applications based on artificial intelligence to know how to interpret medical images would now be so advanced as to be able to anticipate to patients any risk of death, administer appropriate care even better than traditional doctors in "flesh and blood" (and evidently not equipped with devices that allow to interact with these applications). Some say that artificial intelligence can never replace a doctor-patient relationship, but humanoids are already in production capable of relating to a normal user at a level of sophistication unimaginable until a few years ago. Is talk about epochal changes caused by generative artificial intelligence that raise questions about ethics and safety, since a machine has its own perception of reality, learns and in theory is able to self-replicate. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Jun 08, 2023 n°: 5357 Rules for artificial intelligence in Australia Following the alarm of potential risk of extinction of humanity due to the threat posed by generative artificial intelligence, comparable to pandemics and nuclear wars, the Australian authorities would have planned to regulate the sector with a legislation on generated content that may seem realistic but is fake and on sophisticated images drawn by software supported by neural networks that can be misleading. Australia is one of the first countries to intervene by monitoring the dangers posed by artificial intelligence with adequate responses following an ethical plan established in 2018. The rapid development of the sector, financed considerably, is worrying then the push partly derives also from the competition on the market of various artificial intelligence systems that could lead to a chase of new dangerous technological strategies. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Jun 01, 2023 n°: 5351 Little research on biodegradable plastics The management of plastic waste under discussion at a conference in Paris cannot be a solution to address the increasingly urgent problem of the generalized presence of microplastics in the environment, at least according to the opinion of some environmentalists who argue that it could be a concession to the petrochemical industry on globalized markets. Only a small percentage of plastic is really recycled, then the cost to produce new is really very low and in practice it is not convenient to build recycling plants and there is little research for new biodegradable plastic materials that can be competitive on the market. It is also a contradiction to call ecological transition insulating buildings with plastic coats and fixtures, without taking into account all the products that seem ecological but contain hydrocarbon derivatives. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: May 30, 2023 n°: 5349 Controversy over the tracing of genetic material When an individual moves, he leaves traces of genetic material "eDNA" in the environment, even in the air, that can be used to have a large amount of information that can favor tracking aimed at a specific person or entire ethnic groups. These are technological tools that could make it possible to catch criminals, but some say they pose ethical, privacy and surveillance issues depending on how they will be used. In practice, skin cells, hair, coughed droplets and organic liquids from wastewater analyzed could be in the near future of instrumental quality comparable to those obtained from a traditional examination and this technique is already partly used for example to trace endangered animal species. Of note shifting attention to artificial intelligence the protests of authors and readers of audio books who complain about the use of computerized voices instead of human ones. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: May 16, 2023 n°: 5337 Technology and publications * The author doesn't assume some kind of responsibility for the bad use of the articles councils (all rights are reserved) |
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