☰
HomeLiving Beyond BordersGZERO WorldSignalIn 60 SecondsPuppet RegimeGZERO World PodcastContact UsAbout UsCareersPrivacy PolicyTerms

Hard Numbers: Understanding the universe, Opening up OpenAI,  Bioweapon warning, Independent review, AI media billions

March 12, 2024
Scott Nover
This image of NGC 5468, a galaxy located about 130 million light-years from Earth, combines data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.
This image of NGC 5468, a galaxy located about 130 million light-years from Earth, combines data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Adam G. Riess via Reuters

100 million: AI is helping researchers better map outer space. One recent simulation led by a University College London researcher was able to show 100 million galaxies just across a quarter of the Earth’s southern hemisphere sky. This is part of a wider effort to understand dark energy, the mysterious force causing the expansion of the universe.

30,000: The law firm WilmerHale, which completed its investigation of Sam Altman’s brief December ouster from OpenAI, examined 30,000 documents as part of its review. The contents of the report haven’t been made public, but new board chairman Bret Taylor said that the review found the prior board acted in good faith but didn’t anticipate the reaction to removing Altman, who is now rejoining the board. The SEC, meanwhile, is still investigating whether OpenAI deceived investors, but it’s unclear whether WilmerHale will give their findings to the agency.

90: More than 90 scientists have pledged not to use AI to develop bioweapons as part of an agreement forged somewhat in response to congressional remarks given by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei last year. Amodei said while the current generation of AI technology couldn’t handle such a task, it’s only two or three years away.

100: More than 100 AI researchers have signed an open letter asking the leading companies to allow independent investigators access to their models to ensure that risk assessment is thorough. “Generative AI companies should avoid repeating the mistakes of social media platforms, many of which have effectively banned types of research aimed at holding them accountable,” the letter said.

8 billion: The media company Thomson Reuters says it has an $8 billion “war chest” to spend on AI-related acquisitions. In addition to publishing the Reuters newswire, the company sells access to services like Westlaw, a popular legal research platform. It’s also committed to spending at least $100 million developing in-house AI technology to integrate into its news and data offerings.

More from GZERO Media

Will America's global retreat open new doors for Beijing? Insights from Bill Bishop

Listen: In seven short weeks, the Trump administration has completely reshaped US foreign policy and upended trade alliances. Will China benefit from US retrenchment and increasing global uncertainty, or will its struggling economy hold it back? On the GZERO World Podcast, Bill Bishop, a China analyst and author of the Sinocism newsletter, joins Ian Bremmer for a wide-ranging conversation about China—its domestic priorities, global administration, and whether America’s retreat from global commitments is opening new doors for Beijing.

Germany drops debt brake, passes preliminary agreement to boost defense, infrastructure, and climate spending

German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz speaks to the media after he reached an agreement with the Greens on a massive increase in state borrowing just days ahead of a parliamentary vote next week, in Berlin, Germany, on March 14, 2025.
REUTERS/Axel Schmidt

Germany’s election-winning center-right Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union, led by Friedrich Merz, and the Social Democrats have reached a preliminary agreement with the Green Party on a deal to exclude defense spending from the country’s constitutional debt break and establish a dedicated $545 billion fund for infrastructure investments.

Putin says he supports ceasefire, but with a huge asterisk

A Russian army soldier walks along a ruined street of Malaya Loknya settlement, which was recently retaken by Russia's armed forces in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Kursk region, on March 13, 2025.

Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

The Russian leader has conditions of his own for any ceasefire with Ukraine, and he also wants a meeting with Donald Trump.

GZERO Explains: Where do things stand for Mahmoud Khalil?

Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of the media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University on June 1, 2024.

REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

The court battle over whether the US can deport Mahmoud Khalil, the 30-year-old Palestinian-Algerian activist detained in New York last Saturday, began this week in Manhattan. Khalil, an outspoken activist for Palestinian rights at Columbia University, was arrested Saturday at his apartment in a university-owned building at Columbia University by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and he is now being held in an ICE detention center in Louisiana.

Israel strikes Damascus

The Israeli Air Force launched an airstrike on Thursday, targeting a building in the Mashrou Dummar area of Damascus.
(Photo by Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto)

An Israeli airstrike destroyed a residential building on the outskirts of Damascus on Thursday in the latest Israeli incursion into post-Assad Syria.

Will Germany dump its debt brake?

Lars Klingbeil (l), Chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, and Friedrich Merz, CDU Chairman and Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, talk at the end of the 213th plenary session of the 20th legislative period in the German Bundestag.

DPA / Picture Alliance

Germany’s government is in a state of uncertainty as the outgoing government races to push through a huge, and highly controversial, new spending package before its term ends early this spring.

The EPA’s new mission: business first, environment last

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, a Republican, speaks as the U.S. vice president visits East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., February 3, 2025.
Rebecca Droke/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

On Wednesday, Environmental Protection Agency chief Lee Zeldin redefined the agency’s mission, stating that its focus is to “lower the cost of buying a car, heating a home, and running a business.”

About UsCareers PressContact Us Privacy PolicyTerms of Use
© 2020 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.