Bye Bye Bluebird — #87

Happy Sunday!

Yesterday, I did some time travel in my photos app, realising it is one year since I quit my life and went on a sabbatical. At that point, I had no plan other than “change”.

As they say on Pinterest, “A lot can happen in a year”.

Most surprising has been how much time I’ve spent alone and how much reflection needed to happen. It is hard to figure things out when the wheel keeps spinning. And, sometimes, your mental hard drive needs organising.

Also, fewer but more meaningful relationships have made me feel more belonging than ever before. And it’s not always the people you assume beforehand who become fundamental to your life.

And change takes time. It has only been in the last couple of weeks that things have fallen into place. And I’m grateful for having people around me emphasising the importance of letting things be out of order for a while.

Because this sabbatical will never end. It is fading into a life that feels quite promising (— yes, I’ll be back in Stockholm soon).

And if you get an opportunity to press pause on life for a bit, take it. You never know where you might end up.

Anna

China is getting ready to launch its cutting-edge hypersonic surveillance drones

GEOPOLITICS / CHINA

According to the leaked Pentagon documents, satellite imagery dated August 9 shows how Beijing has moved two of their WZ-8 rocket-propelled surveillance drones to an air base in eastern China, about 560 kilometres inland from Shanghai. The WZ-8 is a “supersonic-hypersonic, remotely operated, high-altitude reconnaissance vehicle” that can travel at 'three times the speed of sound'.

The leak contains a report from the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency that says China's military, the People's Liberation Army, had 'almost certainly' established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the base. This base falls under the "Eastern Theater Command", the branch of the Chinese military responsible for enforcing Beijing's sovereignty claims over Taiwan.

The Pentagon sees this as a threat to the United States' warships around Taiwan. According to the Washington Post, the moving of drones is yet another sign of China readying for a potential offensive in Taiwan. This information comes as the United States Congress is about to be presented with a series of scenarios about possible attacks on Taiwan.

Apple celebrated Earth Day with an expanded greenwashing initiative

SUSTAINABILITY

“Earth Day” occurred yesterday, with many companies highlighting their efforts to reduce climate impact. Many companies use carbon offsets to proclaim themselves “carbon neutral” without necessarily decreasing pollution. But, unfortunately, carbon offsets have a terrible track record. A mountain of research and investigations have shown that offsets don’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions in most cases. 

Most carbon offsets utilise tree-planting strategies. The idea is that the trees will capture carbon dioxide to cancel out some of a company’s emissions. But unfortunately, these initiatives can cause more harm than good if tree plantations mow over natural landscapes or displace local communities. And, even if you plant the right kinds of trees in appropriate places, they might not survive long enough to impact climate change. 

So, when Apple announced an expansion of its Restore Fund, doubling its “commitment to advancing high-quality, nature-based carbon removal projects”, it came with fancy wrapping. But the fund focuses primarily on restoring forests and other ecosystems, meaning these are just carbon offset projects with a fancier label—the definition of greenwashing.

Editor-in-chief fired after German tabloid published an AI-generated “interview” with Michael Schumacher

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The German tabloid Die Aktuelle ran an AI-generated “interview” with Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, who retreated from the public eye entirely in 2013 when he suffered a severe brain injury during a skiing accident in December.

The article, published earlier this week, focused on the danger artificial intelligence presents to journalism. But the front page of the tabloid carried the headline — “Michael Schumacher: The first interview!” with a picture of the former F1 world champion. However, a smaller headline read, “It sounds deceptively real.” The article inside made it clear that the tabloid was writing about a fake interview generated by a website that used artificial intelligence.

Die Aktuelle published an interview that made it sound like “Schumacher” insensitively described his recovery following the 2013 skiing accident. “I was so badly injured that I lay for months in a kind of artificial coma, because otherwise my body couldn’t have dealt with it all,” reads one snippet of the fake interview. And, “I’ve had a tough time but the hospital team has managed to bring me back to my family.”

It was only at the end of the article Die Aktuelle admitted it had used Character.ai, an AI chatbot, to create the fake interview. And while tools like these are widely accessible today, using them in journalism is highly controversial.

Michael Schumacher’s family is now preparing to take legal action. The Funke media group – which publishes Die Aktuelle – discharged the magazine’s editor-in-chief Anne Hoffmann and apologised to the Schumacher family. “This tasteless and misleading article should never have appeared. It in no way corresponds to the standards of journalism that we — and our readers — expect from a publisher like Funke,” said Bianca Pohlmann, managing director of Funke magazines.

Double-check the headlines

Just making sure you didn’t miss any major world events this week.

• Fox News reached a last-minute settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, which accused them of pushing conspiracies that harmed the company.

• The United Kingdom, United States, Sweden and several other countries are preparing to evacuate nationals from Sudan.

• Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot in the head by an 85-year-old man after going to the wrong house to pick up his two siblings in Kansas City.

• Elon Musk’s latest SpaceX rocket ‘Starship’ exploded midair soon after its launch. The ship was uncrewed, and no one was harmed.

• United Kingdom’s Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab grudgingly resigned after an independent investigation found he bullied civil servants.

• According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Moscow-controlled parts of Ukraine's southern Kherson region.

• Amid layoffs and reports of cutbacks on perks, Alphabet’s CEO Sundar Pichai’s pay rose to $226 million last year after a huge stock award.

• Twitter started to remove blue checkmarks en masse from previously verified accounts, instead asking users who want a verification checkmark to pay.

One long

The New York Times Style Magazine

40 legendary female artists — and the younger women who remind them why they make art

Being grateful daily for the women who inspire me, this edition of the New York Times Style Magazine about female artists and the younger women who inspire them was a beautiful selection of relationship portraits.

Five short

1. Watch

After one of California’s wettest winters, hillsides are exploding with colour. Yellow, orange, blue and purple paint the landscape this month and the phenomenon is so bright it can be viewed from outer space. So let’s keep two thoughts in mind and be concerned about climate change while looking at these fantastic photos.

2. Listen

The beginning of this episode of Hard Fork explains all the ins and outs of Discord and interviews the Bellingcat investigator who found the leaker of the classified military documents in the United States. Listen, and you will learn some serious research skills.

3. Remember

Awareness of where you tend to fall short in life doesn’t necessarily make it easier, but it will give you a bit of a headstart when you fall on your face.

4. Change

I closed down my Twitter this week after 14 years. I haven’t used it much lately, and at the end of the day, my integrity outweighed my nostalgia. Twitter has given me several life-changing opportunities; no matter what happens to the platform, that will always be true.

5. Try

Spring means white sneakers. Here’s a good guide on how to clean them.

Thank you for reading! Every time a post gets shared, it makes me very happy. /Anna