🏎️ NASCAR could be changing the racing game forever

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🏎️ NASCAR could be changing the racing game forever

NASCAR could be changing the racing game forever.

Last week, NASCAR unveiled its first-ever electric race car, an all-electric SUV with twice as much horsepower as any of its current gas guzzlers.

The EV undoubtedly looks like a race car. It is colorful, with big wheels and a wing on the back to help the vehicle hold the road at high speeds.

But it will be missing some key components, namely the roar of the engine and the rumble you hear each time a car gets close, which many fans will tell you is what gets them most into the race.

That iconic rumble comes from NASCAR’s renowned V8 combustion engine, which powers many current race cars.

So they’re just getting rid of the engines? NASCAR executives still insist they have no plans to abandon fuel-burning power anytime soon; rather, their hope is to get fans more interested in electric vehicles.

The car’s features are impressive, even for a prototype.

While some nay-sayers may criticize EVs, the truth is that these vehicles can be more powerful and faster than gas cars, potentially representing the future of racing in the coming years.

TECHNOLOGY
👀 OpenAI’s internal messaging system was hacked

Last week, we learned that a hacker had gained access to the internal messaging system at OpenAI last year and was able to steal designs of the company’s technology.

The hacker got these details through an online discussion forum where employees dished the tea on OpenAI’s latest and greatest.

Great, so this person/people have access to some of our not-so-safe-for-work late-night convos with ChatGPT?

No, thankfully, the hacker did not get into the systems where OpenAI houses GPT.

Which is why OpenAI decided not to tell the public.

No personal information stolen means no harm done, right?

Technically speaking, yes, no one was “hurt” because of this breach, but it’s still kinda sus they didn’t tell anybody.

Plus, more importantly, I really don’t think this will be a one-time thing.

With GPT already having 180-200 million monthly users and the data it stores being so unique and valuable, OpenAI is becoming a massive target—one that hackers will likely continue looking to exploit.

POLITICS
🇪🇺 European countries are facing a military shortage

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has opened the eyes of many European countries to increase their own military spending and strengthen their defenses.

Many have found, however, that over the past decade-plus, there has been a massive shortage of recruits willing to join their military forces.

Some of the countries impacted most include:

United Kingdom 🇬🇧 

• In 2023, 5,800 more people left the forces than joined them.

• The UK army has not met its recruitment targets every year since 2010.

• The Ministry of Defence admits to struggling with recruitment.

Italy 🇮🇹

The army's current strength is 165,564 personnel, but the "Limit of Survival" is 170,000 personnel, meaning that Italy is not technically prepared for a real battle.

The Italian Navy faces a very similar problem.

• Current Strength: Approximately 29,000 sailors.

• Required Strength: 39,000 sailors (meaning a 34% increase needed).

• Operational Needs: Typically, around 4,000 sailors are used daily.

A new decree could raise the proposed strength to 30,500 sailors.

Adm. Dragone is urging Italian lawmakers to prioritize boosting military recruitment to address personnel shortages and meet modern defense demands.

Germany 🇩🇪 

• Troop Numbers (2023): Approximately 181,500 men and women, a decrease of about 1,500 troops.

• The goal is to increase that number to 203,000 troops by 2031, but it will definitely be difficult.

Why’s it happening?

Vincenzo Bove, professor of political science at Warwick University, gave a few reasons.

1) People’s ideologies have changed.

“If you take a random sample of young Europeans, they are ideologically very far from a sample of soldiers from the same country in terms of how they see society, their aspirations, what they want to do.”

2) The military has an unappealing salary/quality of life.

"Because of the challenges in the military sector—the quality of life, relocations, international assignments, uncertainty, and the possibility of dying—you need to pay very high salaries to convince people to apply and join the armed forces.

Given that they don’t, young Europeans would rather accept a job in the civilian sector."

Is there a solution?

“Immigration could be the answer,” Bove said, citing that some European countries are already considering ways for immigrants to join the army and get citizenship after a few years in the forces.

So there is still hope.