Hm from reading more on it, I think it has more to do with droughts in the area. That is why they build the desalination plant in the first place. I assume using the residual energy of the saline gradient (+ the boost from the brine) to generate new freshwater is better than further draining the naturally occuring freshwater. But still just a guess.

Definitely not shitting on the tech, it’s a really cool concept and definitely useful. I just wish news outlets would have asked how the cycle is beneficial. I don’t doubt that it is, but I don’t get it.

I mean the part in the picture is clear to me. But if we assume freshwater is freely available, why would they want to power a desalination plant with the generated power? Basically you can trade freshwater (or salinity gradient generally) for power or power for freshwater. But in a simple loop you’d only lose both over time due to inefficiency.

I did not quite get how it’s a good idea tbh. They need freshwater to dilute the saltwater/brine. And they use it to separate the brine from saltwater to make freshwater? That’s definitely an energy negative cycle. So what’s the benefit? Is this more energy efficient then cleaning waste water into freshwater?

The Newsom hype is a bit weird tbh. Like anything is better than Trump. But please America do better than business as usual…

Maybe. But to me exile is what happens when a King has to live in another plushy castle because he’s no longer welcome in his own country. Deportation is what happened to the Jews and minorities that got sent to Auschwitz. And if you’re calling it mass deportation I don’t think you are trying to hide the cruelty anymore. Cruelty is the point.

Maybe it’s because I’m German. But deporting someone sounds just as inhumane and cruel as the reality we live in.

If AI is only a “parrot” as you say, then why should there be worries about extinction from AI?

You should look closer who is making those claims that “AI” is an extinction threat to humanity. It isn’t researchers that look into ethics and safety (not to be confused with “AI safety” as part of “Alignment”). It is the people building the models and investors. Why are they building and investing in things that would kill us?

AI doomers try to 1. Make “AI”/LLMs appear way more powerful than they actually are. 2. Distract from actual threats and issues with LLMs/“AI”. Because they are societal, ethical, about copyright and how it is not a trustworthy system at all. Cause admitting to those makes it a really hard sell.

It literally says in the post that his net worth is roughly equal to the median.

Unciv is pretty cool, it is Civ 5 but you can play on mobile as well. It was great to have the “One more turn” feel while stuck on a train.