UN Secretary-General: "There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace."
US Strikes on Iran Has the World in High-Alert
Statement by the UN Secretary-General on Iran
“I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today. This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security.
There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world.
I call on Member States to de-escalate and to uphold their obligations under the UN Charter and other rules of international law.
At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos.
There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace.”
The Kindness of Strangers
On a more positive news the Swiss Government announced a generous package of $329 million to support the UN offices in Geneva.
THE WEEK in Review
In Case You Missed It
TECH News Round-up by Agostina Cerisoli
🏢 Amidst efforts to run data centers with less energy a startup- is submerging servers in liquid- cutting energy use.
🤖 At Amazon employees are being told that AI will risk their jobs as they will carry automated tasks out - risking jobs of up to 350 000 people.
💼 Microsoft has said it is ready to abandon ongoing high-stakes negotiations with Open AI - as either side cannot come to agree on the size of Microsoft’s future stake in Open AI.
⚡️ Experts are urging us not to use AI chatbots for everything, we must protect the environment: - a Google search takes about 10 times less energy than a ChatGPT query.
💸 Elon Musk’s xAI efforts to catch up to competitors like Open AI is costing them $1 billion a month to build their AI models.
United Nations related news:
🤖 UNDP’s study found that there is a sharp global divide on attitudes toward AI: where low-income countries seem to trust it more than high income countries, yet they did not explain why.
🌊 At this year’s UN Ocean Conference, they agreed the high seas treaty will be ratified - helping achieve the agreed global target of protecting 30% of the world seas by 2030 and there are now 41 countries calling for a pause or ban on deep-sea mining.
🎣 On June 17th, WTO’s agreed to prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies - being a major step towards sustainability.
🇲🇾 In Malaysia, with the support of the ILO, the government is stepping up its efforts to eradicate forced labour by 2030.
📡 ITU’s report calls on digital companies to address their growing environmental footprint as tech sector emissions - which contribute to climate change - increase energy use with the rise of AI.
More on Robotics
Dan Milmo from the Guardian reports on Amazon’s use of humanoid robots to deliver packages - performing the role of delivery workers.
On the impact of AI on employment, Rocket Drew from The Information wrote that Amazon’s humanoid robots would eventually take the jobs of delivery workers and replace them.
Bloomberg News has reported that China’s startups are dominating the upcoming Robot Boom - pushing the boundaries of innovation as robots are beginning to act like humans more.
Countries to build and buy AI on democratic rails, following Open AI’s new pitch to governments to ensure that the development of AI and its deployment is projected and incorporates democratic principles and human rights, says the Financial Times’ Marietje Schaake.
ChatGPT was found to be one of the least smartest chatbots among five tested through a reading comprehension and understanding test, wrote Geoffrey A. Fowler from the Washington Post.
Desertification Now a Major Environmental Problem
Humanity is degrading land at an alarming rate - costing the global economy nearly $880 billion every year, and the number of newly displaced people is at its highest level in years - caused by desertification, droughts and inflaming food insecurity, reports the United Nations.
The United Nations has been fighting desertification since 1994 and on Tuesday the 17th of June, marked the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
Desertification is an enormous concern for the environment and for human life. It is the process whereby vegetation in drylands, like arid and semi-arid lands like grasslands or shrublands, decreases and eventually disappears.
Such processes threaten to turn currently non-desert ecosystems into deserts. For example, the Sahara Desert is now the largest desert in the world, yet 6,000 years ago, it was grassland covered with vegetation.
The geographic areas which are most affected by such an issue are located in Africa’s Sahel region, in Asia - in the Gobi Desert and Mongolia, and parts of South America.
Drylands occupy approximately 40-41% of Earth’s land area and are home to more than 2 billion people. Factors such as the expansion and intensive use of agricultural lands, deforestation, and overgrazing cause enormous pressure on the land causing desertification since it alters its solid chemistry and hydrology. Such human activities contribute to desertification, and with increasing climate change and global warming, these factors have been exacerbated.
Additionally, the effects of climate change causing extreme weather phenomenas, like droughts, hurricanes or fires contribute to the issue.
According to the United Nations, more than 24 billion tons of fertile soil disappear every year- and already two-thirds of the Earth is undergoing a process of desertification.
It is now one of the world’s major environmental problems, says the UN. If no action is taken, 1.5 million km2 of agricultural land will be lost by 2050 and up to 135 million could be displaced.
To continue its efforts towards this pressing issue, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) works towards addressing desertification, land degradation, and drought. It aims to improve living conditions in drylands, maintain land and soil productivity, and build resilience to drought - making it the sole legal binding international agreement linking environment and development.