Sabin Center Report Highlights Key Climate Cases and Litigation Themes in 2024
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Today, the Sabin Center published a report that looks back on climate litigation developments since the beginning of 2024. This second installment in our year-end series revisits significant cases and rulings from around the world and connects them to overarching themes. It also identifies key cases that we expect to influence litigation strategies and outcomes […]
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OmniOps Secures $8 Million to Accelerate Saudi Arabia’s AI Transformation
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OmniOps, a Saudi Arabia-based AI infrastructure technology provider founded in 2024 by entrepreneur Mohammed Altassan, has secured SAR 30 million (approximately $8 million) in funding from GMS Capital Ventures. This anchor investment will fuel OmniOps’ mission to optimize and scale AI workloads while driving sustainable, energy-efficient infrastructures for organizations across the Kingdom. Empowering the Next […]
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Anthropic and Meta in Defense: The New Frontier of Military AI Applications
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Imagine a future where drones operate with incredible precision, battlefield strategies adapt in real-time, and military decisions are powered by AI systems that continuously learn from each mission. This future is no longer a distant possibility. Instead, it is happening now. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has evolved from a promising concept to an essential part of […]
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How Large Language Models Are Unveiling the Mystery of ‘Blackbox’ AI
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AI is becoming a more significant part of our lives every day. But as powerful as it is, many AI systems still work like “black boxes.” They make decisions and predictions, but it’s hard to understand how they reach those conclusions. This can make people hesitant to trust them, especially regarding essential decisions like loan […]
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Need a research hypothesis? Ask AI.
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Crafting a unique and promising research hypothesis is a fundamental skill for any scientist. It can also be time consuming: New PhD candidates might spend the first year of their program trying to decide exactly what to explore in their experiments. What if artificial intelligence could help? MIT researchers have created a way to autonomously […]
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Sabin Center Publishes New Report on the Legal Framework for Removing Atmospheric Methane via Soil Amendments
The Sabin Center published a report that explores the international and U.S. laws governing atmospheric methane removal (“AMR”) via soil amendments. AMR refers to human interventions to accelerate the conversion of methane in the atmosphere to a form that causes less warming (e.g., converting it to carbon dioxide). Scientists have proposed a range of potential […]
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Water quality in Malawi threatened by use of pit-latrines
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Pit-latrines are being promoted in Malawi as the most accessible form of sanitation. New research carried out by the James Hutton Institute in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde, alongside partners in the Government of Malawi, has highlighted major concerns for the quality of water in Malawi, as well as in other countries facing similar […]
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Analysis: Only five proposals for coal plants remain across OECD’s 38 countries
The number of new coal plants under development in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) region has reached record lows since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015. The OECD is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic growth and global trade. It includes many of […]
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Botify AI Review: How Real Is Conversing with AI Characters?
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a conversation with Elon Musk or Marilyn Monroe? I recently discovered Botify AI, a platform that lets you interact with lifelike digital characters in ways that feel almost surreal! You can interact with the premade characters or make your own like I did (and […]
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Smart Surfaces Policy Tracker: A New Resource For Cities
Photo by Mark Patterson on Unsplash Cities have a unique and significant role to play in responding to climate change. Many are already doing so by adopting legal and policy tools to encourage the use of smart surfaces—a group of technologies and design strategies that mitigate the effects of climate change in urban environments, especially […]
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10 Best AI Tools for Musicians (December 2024)
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Artificial intelligence is not just augmenting today’s music production – it is fundamentally reimagining how musicians create, practice, and interact with sound. From advanced stem separation to natural language synthesis, these tools represent the cutting edge of what is possible when neural networks meet musical creativity. This collection of groundbreaking platforms showcases how AI is […]
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The Hidden Role of Data Annotation in Everyday AI Tools
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A recent survey of 6,000 consumers revealed something intriguing: while only around 33% of people think they use AI, a remarkable 77% are, in fact, using AI-powered services or devices in their daily lives. This gap highlights how many people may not realize how much artificial intelligence impacts their routines. Despite AI’s impressive capabilities, the […]
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MIT engineers grow “high-rise” 3D chips
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The electronics industry is approaching a limit to the number of transistors that can be packed onto the surface of a computer chip. So, chip manufacturers are looking to build up rather than out. Instead of squeezing ever-smaller transistors onto a single surface, the industry is aiming to stack multiple surfaces of transistors and semiconducting […]
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Cropped 18 December 2024: No UN deal for drought; Brazil beef investigations; New IPBES reports
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s Cropped. We handpick and explain the most important stories at the intersection of climate, land, food and nature over the past fortnight. This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s fortnightly Cropped email newsletter. Subscribe for free here. Key developments Brazil agri investigations BOATLOAD OF BEEF: Major shipping firms transported more than half […]
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The Congressional Review Act’s Threat to Recent Climate Action
As climate advocates prepare for a second Trump administration, the potential threat of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) looms large. The CRA, which allows Congress to void certain rules issued recently by executive agencies, saw unprecedented activity during the first Trump administration and is expected to be similarly invoked in the incoming Republican-controlled Congress. Although […]
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Blinded by the light: the effects of urban lighting on beach bugs
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A new method for examining the effects of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) seemingly reveals severe and lasting damage to small coastal creatures. An international group of scientists – including two from Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) and the University of Plymouth – have developed the approach, which was used to examine the effects of ALAN […]
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New paper examines the elusive nature of liquid brines on Mars
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Vincent Chevrier of the University of Arkansas (image credit: Russell Cothren). Determining the conditions in which brines are stable could be key to better understanding the climate and potential habitability of Mars (words: University of Arkansas). More than a hundred years ago, astronomer Percival Lowell made the case for the existence of canals on Mars […]
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Plastic packaging collection survey fleshes out “monumental” challenge
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A monumental challenge lies ahead when it comes to collecting plastic packaging from UK households, says plastic resource efficiency and recycling charity, RECOUP, releasing the results of its annual survey in this area. Whilst there have been incremental improvements across the board for kerbside service provision for plastic packaging, the scale to include other formats […]