🇧🇷🚫 Brazil bans X

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TOP STORY
🇧🇷 Brazil Bans X

Over the weekend, Brazil began blocking the X platform throughout the country, “making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through mobile apps.”

Damn, talk about going for the jugular.

What happened? Before we dive in, you gotta understand that this move didn’t just come out of the blue—it’s another escalation in the ongoing beef between Elon Musk and the Brazilian government, which has been going on for over a year.

It all started in early 2023 when Justice de Moraes, Brazil’s Supreme Court Chief Justice, ordered X to block certain “extremist” accounts after Brazil’s 2022 election.

Musk, the self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist," obviously said no, arguing it was censorship.

Then, after some of the dust had settled, Justice de Moraes gave Musk a deadline to appoint a legal representative for X in Brazil, which Musk refused to do.

Why’d Elon say no to the deal?

• As we said before, Musk sees a "legal representative" as another form of government censorship he doesn't want. 

• Complying with Brazil is non-negotiable, even if it means, unfortunately, losing out on 40 million Brazilian monthly users.

• It’s also worth noting that Brazil blocked WhatsApp several times in 2015 and 2016 for not providing user data requested by authorities.

• And in 2022, Justice de Moraes threatened to shut down Telegram for not blocking specific profiles and sharing information.

• Telegram eventually complied by appointing a legal representative to avoid the shutdown.

So clearly, Musk isn’t the only rulebreaker—there’s some real friction between Brazil and social networking platforms.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
🤪 California’s whacky new AI bill

A brand new AI bill, known as SB1407, is making its way to Governor Newsom’s office. 

• SB 1047, introduced in February, aims to prevent large AI models from being used to cause “critical harm” against humanity.

• You know, like making weapons that kill many people or launching cyberattacks that cost over $500 million. 

• We all have nightmares about The kinds of things after watching The Terminator or any Avengers movie.

Now, it’s essential to understand that these hypothetical scenarios are hypothetical. AI has never been used for a cyberattack of this scale.

The bill is more focused on the future.

It aims to keep us safe as AI inevitably becomes more powerful and dangerous by ensuring that the companies that create these models implement safety measures.

SB 1047 would hold AI model developers liable for their technology's harms, much like how gun manufacturers can be held liable for shootings.

An unlikely ally, even Elon Musk, one of the godfathers of AI, supports the bill:

“This is a tough call and will make some people upset, but, all things considered, I think California should probably pass the SB 1047 AI safety bill.”

With AI currently serving as the backbone of innovation in the tech space, Newsom certainly doesn't want to be the guy to step in the way or make AI companies want to leave the state of California.

So, if Newsom does sign the bill:

• Tech companies must write safety reports for their AI models by January 1, 2025. The California attorney general can order companies to stop using dangerous AI models.

• The Board of Frontier Models will be created in 2026 to review safety reports and advise the attorney general on compliance.

• AI model developers must hire auditors to assess safety practices, and the attorney general can sue developers if their tools cause catastrophic events.

• By 2027, the Board can issue safety guidelines for AI model development.

If Newsom vetoes SB 1047, federal regulators would likely take over AI regulation, which is precisely what Sam Altman and OpenAI want because these regulators are more lenient and slower to implement rules.

AEROSPACE
✊ Boeing faces a 32,000-person strike 

If someone isn’t already making a show about the dumpster fire that is Boeing, I think we might do it ourselves. 

The contract between Boeing and the International Association of Machinists will expire later this month, at exactly 11:59 p.m. PT on September 12.

The International Association of Machinists (IAM) is a labor union representing workers in various industries, including aerospace, manufacturing, and transportation. 

What does this mean? 

• If no new deal is reached, 32,000 workers building planes in Washington state will begin their first strike in 16 years.

• That doesn’t sound good for a company that already has enough trouble building capable planes with an entire supporting cast

Could a deal still be struck before it's too late?

It doesn’t sound too promising, and if a deal were to be made, it’d “need to recapture some of the concessions the union gave up in two previous agreements since 2008.”

In both those cases, the union felt they were forced to accept higher health insurance costs and give up pensions because Boeing had threatened to build nonunion factories for the 737 Max and 777X, which would have meant the loss of many jobs unless the union agreed to sign on.

• The difference this time is that Boeing has $33.3 billion in core operating losses. 

• They need to work out a deal or risk being dumped off the island, which would be bad for everyone.

• Boeing estimates its economic impact to be $79 billion, supporting 1.6 million direct and indirect jobs at more than 9,900 suppliers across all 50 states. 

So, fingers crossed, something can be done before midnight on their current contract.

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