Tag Archives: Atomic Bomb

Warren Buffet says AI is like the atomic bomb; we may wish we never created it

Important Takeaways:

  • Warren Buffett has raised the alarm on AI, warning it threatens to supercharge fraud by making scams more convincing than ever.
  • “Scamming has always been part of the American scene,” the famed investor and Berkshire CEO said during his company’s annual shareholder meeting on Saturday.
  • But Buffett said that images and videos created using artificial intelligence have become so convincing that it’s virtually impossible to discern if they’re real or not.
  • “When you think of the potential of scamming people … if I was interested in scamming, it’s going to be the growth industry of all time,” he said.
  • Buffett also likened the advent of AI to the creation of the atom bomb, echoing comments he made at last year’s Berkshire meeting.
  • “We let the genie out of the bottle when we developed nuclear weapons,” he said. “That genie’s been doing some terrible things lately. The power of the genie scares the hell out of me.”
  • “AI is somewhat similar,” Buffett added. “We may wish we’d never seen that genie.”
  • The billionaire, who touted AI’s enormous potential years before ChatGPT’s release, emphasized he’s no expert in the nascent tech.
  • “I don’t know anything about AI, but that doesn’t mean I deny its existence or importance or anything of the sort,” he said.

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New Iran Deal Coming Soon. Russia is Key in Negotiations

Matthew 24:6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”

Important Takeaways:

  • ‘This Deal Is Illegal’: Critics Warn New Iranian Nuclear Deal Will Pave Way to Atomic Bomb
  • The new or renegotiated Iranian nuclear deal is reportedly close to signing and critics are concerned this version is worse than the original.
  • After 11 months of negotiations, Israel’s chief takeaway is alarm.
  • Russia, a key player in these negotiations, wanted written guarantees that sanctions from its war on Ukraine will not stop its trade with Iran.
  • The deal would also reportedly provide billions in sanctions relief to Iran.
  • “There are no restrictions in this deal in how this money can be spent and fueled to Iran’s proxies So, we can expect that a lot is going to go to Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis
  • That power represents an existential threat to Israel.

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Israel sees Iranian atomic bomb in five years, deal or no deal

By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Iran is five years away from developing a nuclear weapon, and international talks due to restart next week will do nothing to slow it down, Israel said on Tuesday, adding it reserved the right to act to protect itself.

Indirect negotiations to revive the 2015 accord, under which Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions, are due to resume in Vienna next Monday after a five-month pause.

Israel long opposed the nuclear deal, but Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government, in power since June, had previously said it could be open to a new deal with tougher restrictions. In remarks on Tuesday to a security forum, however, he sounded less accommodating.

Bennett described Iran, which denies it is pursuing nuclear arms, as being at “the most advanced stage” of a nuclear weapons program.

“In any event, even if there is a return to a deal, Israel is of course not a party to the deal and Israel is not obligated by the deal,” he told the conference, hosted by Reichman University.

Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said: “With or without an agreement, Iran will be a nuclear state and have a nuclear weapon within five years, tops.”

Israel, itself widely believed to have nuclear weapons, has long argued that the 2015 deal was too weak to prevent Iran from pursuing a bomb. Former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018, describing it as too soft, and Iran responded by violating some of the deal’s restrictions. President Joe Biden’s administration aims to revive it.

Israel has also complained that the nuclear agreement does nothing to rein in Iran’s missile program, or hostile activity by Iranian-backed militia.

“The Iranians have encircled the State of Israel with missiles while they sit safely in Tehran,” Bennett said. “To chase the terrorist du jour sent by the (Iranian covert) Qods Force does not pay off anymore. We must go for the dispatcher.”

Speaking separately, the chief of Israel’s air force offered cooperation with Gulf Arab partners against Iranian-made attack drones, a rare public airing of the possibility of joint operations.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Giles Elgood)

In milestone year, A-bomb survivor keeps up fight for nuclear disarmament

By Akiko Okamoto

TOKYO (Reuters) – Terumi Tanaka was 13 when a U.S. warplane dropped a plutonium bomb on the southern Japanese city of Nagasaki, on Aug. 9, 1945.

Sitting at home with a book that morning, Tanaka knew instantly when his surroundings turned a blinding bright white that the massive boom was not one of the air raids he had gotten accustomed to in the waning days of World War Two.

“I felt this was something terrible, so I ran downstairs and ducked, covered my ears and closed my eyes,” Tanaka, now 88, told Reuters. “And at that moment, I lost consciousness.”

Just 3.2 km (2 miles) from the epicenter, Tanaka was miraculously unharmed, as were his mother and two sisters. Tanaka’s father had died of illness previously.

Tanaka’s grandfather, aunt and uncle weren’t as lucky.

Three days after the 10,000-pound (4,536kg) bomb, nicknamed “Fat Man,” exploded over the city, Tanaka ventured towards the epicenter to check on his relatives.

It was only then that the scale of the calamity sank in.

Buildings in the city had been reduced to charred piles of rubble and twisted metal, a vast expanse of land was wiped out, and corpses and burn victims with flesh peeling off their bones littered the ground. His grandfather was one of them: Tanaka dabbed a wet handkerchief to his mouth, which appeared to silently cry out for water. That was their last encounter.

Three days after the atomic bomb attack in Hiroshima, the Nagasaki blast killed about 27,000 instantly and more than 70,000 by the end of the year. Japan surrendered six days later.

For nearly 50 years, Tanaka has been speaking out for nuclear disarmament hoping that his experiences as a witness to one of the only two nuclear bombs ever to be used in conflict would serve to end their potential use.

In this 75th year since the war ended, the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted some key events, such as a New York exhibition that Tanaka helped to organize.

Instead, Tanaka, who served as head of the “Hidankyo” victims’ group for more than 20 years, has turned online to spread his message, with the unexpected benefit of reaching a broader audience.

But he worries that time is running out.

“After all the atomic bomb survivors are gone, I’m worried whether people will be able to really understand what we have experienced,” he said.

(Reporting by Akiko Okamoto; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Karishma Singh)

Agency urges nations to ratify bans on nuclear bomb testing

PARIS (Reuters) – North Korea’s recent nuclear test shows a ratification of an international ban on nuclear bomb tests is more urgent than ever, the head of the Vienna-based organization tasked with enforcing the ban said on Monday.

Negotiated in the 1990s, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) enjoys wide global support but must be ratified by eight more nuclear technology states – among them Israel, Iran, Egypt and the United States – to come into force.

“We must act urgently,” Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) told reporters in Paris after meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Tension rose in East Asia last month after North Korea’s fourth nuclear test, this time of what it said was a hydrogen bomb.

“The only way to stop that is for the CTBT to come into force,” said the head of the organization, which is independent but linked to the United Nations.

Zerbo said the nuclear deal agreed between Iran and six other nations last year could help speed up the process, which “has been dragging on for 20 years”, and that he hoped to organize a meeting at the ministerial level in Vienna in June.

The CTBTO hopes the eight nations that have not ratified the treaty could agree to a roadmap in June, that would include a moratorium in the Middle East, a discussion with North Korea to “bring it toward a moratorium” and a trust agreement between China and the United States.

Zerbo said a U.S. ratification was a priority for President Barack Obama but that “his hands are tied because he doesn’t have a majority in the Senate.”

(Reporting by Marine Pennetier; Writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

South Korea suspects North Korea may have attempted cyber attacks

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea said on Wednesday it suspected North Korea of attempting cyber attacks against targets in the South, following a nuclear test by the North this month that defied United Nations sanctions.

South Korea has been on heightened military and cyber alert since the Jan. 6 test, which Pyongyang called a successful hydrogen bomb test, although U.S. officials and experts doubt that it managed such a technological advance.

“At this point, we suspect it is an act by North Korea,” Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman of the South’s Unification Ministry, told a news briefing, when asked about reports that the North might have attempted cyber attacks.

Authorities were investigating, Jeong said, but did not provide further details.

Last week, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said the scope of threats from North Korea was expanding to include cyber warfare and the use of drones to infiltrate the South.

North Korea has been using balloons to drop propaganda leaflets in the South, amid heightened tension on the Korean peninsula since the nuclear test.

Since the test, there have been unconfirmed news reports that the computer systems of some South Korean government agencies and companies had been infected with malicious codes that might have been sent by the North.

Defectors from the North have previously said the country’s spy agency, run by the military, operates a sophisticated cyber-warfare unit that attempts to hack, and sabotage, enemy targets.

South Korea and the United States blamed North Korea for a 2014 cyber attack on Sony Pictures that crippled its systems and led to the leaks of unreleased films and employee data.

At the time, the company was set to release the film, “The Interview”, featuring a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea has denied the allegation.

In 2013, cybersecurity researchers said they believed North Korea was behind a series of attacks against computers at South Korean banks and broadcasting companies.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Jack Kim; Editing by Tony Munroe)

‘Doomsday Clock’ countdown still at 3 minutes to midnight, closest since 1984

The countdown to global catastrophe remained at three minutes to midnight, scientists announced Tuesday, warning the planet was still perilously close to experiencing a disaster.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which sets the hands of a metaphorical Doomsday Clock, announced the countdown would stay at the position it reached last year. It’s the closest the clock has been to midnight, or a catastrophic event, since the height of the Cold War in 1984.

The nonprofit determines the clock’s position after analyzing threats to human existence, particularly nuclear weapons and climate change. Only once have the hands ever been closer to midnight, a seven-year stretch during the 1950s following the world’s first hydrogen bomb tests.

In a statement, the Bulletin hailed the Iran nuclear deal and Paris Agreement on climate change, both of which were approved last year, as “major diplomatic achievements,” though said they “constitute only small bright spots in a darker world situation full of potential for catastrophe.”

The Bulletin said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name for the deal that restricts Iran’s ability to develop atomic weapons, was overshadowed by rising tensions between Russia and the United States, both of whom are modernizing their nuclear arsenals, and the fact that China, Pakistan, India and North Korea are working to bolster their atomic capabilities.

The Bulletin called the Paris Agreement, a pledge signed by nearly 200 countries that aims to reduce carbon emissions and keep global temperatures from reaching long-feared levels, another important development. But the scientists noted it’s still not clear exactly how the nations will meet that goal, and the agreement was signed during the hottest year on record.

The scientists also cited ongoing conflicts in the Ukraine and Syria in their statement.

“The world situation remains highly threatening to humanity, and decisive action to reduce the danger posed by nuclear weapons and climate change is urgently required,” the Bulletin said.

The Bulletin was founded in 1945 by scientists who helped builds the world’s first atomic bomb. It established the Doomsday Clock two years later, and decides where to set its hands each year.

The clock can be moved back if the global outlook improves, and moved up if it worsens.

The closest the clock has ever been to midnight was from 1953-59, when the Bulletin said the world was only two minutes from doomsday following the hydrogen bomb tests. Conversely, the clock reached a record 17 minutes to midnight from 1991-94 after the Cold War subsided.

The clock was set at five minutes to midnight in 2012, but the Bulletin adjusted it last year because of climate change and nuclear weapons. In Tuesday’s statement, the Bulletin expressed “dismay” that world leaders had still not taken more aggressive steps to address those issues.

“When we call these dangers existential, that is exactly what we mean: They threaten the very existence of civilization and therefore should be the first order of business for leaders who care about their constituents and their countries,” the Bulletin said in its statement.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons echoed those calls.

“The Bulletin’s warning should be taken seriously by world leaders,” the campaign’s executive director, Beatrice Fihn, said in a statement.“The risk of use of nuclear weapons is on the rise. If a nuclear weapon was detonated, the effects would be devastating and the international community would be unable to cope with the aftermath. The status quo is no longer an option.”

U.S. weighs making Hawaii missile test site operational

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military has stepped up discussions on converting its Aegis missile defense test site in Hawaii into a combat-ready facility that would bolster American defenses against ballistic missile attacks, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

The proposal, which has been discussed sporadically for several years, was given fresh impetus by North Korea’s fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and by recent strides in China’s missile technology capabilities, said current and former U.S. military officials, congressional aides and other sources.

A Chinese official in Washington suggested that Beijing would see such a U.S. move as counter-productive to relations.

Aegis, developed by Lockheed Martin Corp for use on U.S. Navy destroyers, is among the most advanced U.S. missile defense systems, integrating radars, software, displays, weapons launchers and missiles.

Setting up its land version — Aegis Ashore — in Hawaii and linking it with Aegis destroyers would add a permanent missile defense site to the Pacific, providing an extra layer of protection for the U.S. islands and the West Coast at a time when North Korea is improving its missile capabilities.

Ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California provide the current defense for Hawaii and the continental United States against missile attacks.

The Navy also relies on deploying Aegis-equipped destroyers based on U.S. intelligence warnings about imminent threats. North Korea’s development of mobile missile launchers has made it more difficult to predict launches in advance.

To make the test site combat-ready, the U.S. military would need to add personnel, stockpile live missiles and beef up security, at an estimated cost of around $41 million, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly.

It would also need to integrate the site into the larger U.S. ballistic missile defense system, with control likely shifting from the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency to the U.S. Navy, the sources said.

U.S. Navy Admiral Harry Harris, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, has been engaged in high-level discussions about ways to protect Hawaii, Guam and the continental United States from threats like North Korea, his spokesman, Captain Darryn James told Reuters.

James said no decisions had been made, but the Aegis Ashore site in Hawaii had a “proven test capability.”

“Admiral Harris is always exploring options to forward deploy and operationalize the latest advancements in ballistic missile defense technologies in the Pacific, where we face increasingly sophisticated threats to the homeland,” James said.

It remains unclear when the U.S. administration could reach a decision, but implementing the changes could be done swiftly, the sources said.

STRENGTHENING THE SHIELD

North Korea’s nuclear test in January underscored U.S. concerns that the secretive state has the ability to place a bomb on a long-range ballistic missile that could reach the U.S. West Coast.

Any moves to boost missile defenses could inflame growing military rivalry between China and Washington and its allies.

Converting the site on Hawaii’s Kauai island into combat use could rankle China at a time of heightened tensions with Washington over the disputed South China Sea. Beijing has already expressed concern about the possible deployment of the mobile U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to South Korea.

Zhu Haiquan, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said Beijing believed the nuclear proliferation issue would be best resolved diplomatically.

“All measures seeking to increase military capacities will only intensify antagonism and will not help to solve the problem,” he said when asked about the possible U.S. move.

“China hopes the relevant country will proceed on the basis of regional peace and stability, adopt a responsible attitude and act prudently in regard to the anti-missile issue.”

Russia, meanwhile, has repeatedly objected to the U.S. Aegis Ashore site in Romania, which is due to become operational in the coming weeks. A similar site is due to open in Poland in 2018.

The Missile Defense Agency explored the prospect of putting the Hawaii test site into full operation in a classified report to Congress in September 2014, according to one of the sources.

Congress requires the agency to update its estimate of the cost, feasibility and effectiveness of adding more Aegis Ashore sites this spring.

The Aegis Ashore test site in Hawaii completed its first intercept test in December, using a Raytheon Co Standard Missile-3 Block 1B to destroy a target that replicated an Iranian Ghadr-110 medium-range missile.

Riki Ellison, who heads the non-profit Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said the new Aegis installation would in effect give the U.S. military three chances to shoot down a missile aimed at Hawaii, up from one currently.

“If you have the assets on the island, why not use them to protect against possible missile attacks from North Korea?” Ellison said.

The December test proved the Aegis Ashore system could fire two different Raytheon Co missiles — one inside the earth’s atmosphere and one outside — at an enemy missile.

Expansion of military operations in Hawaii have sparked protests by residents in the past.

But Hawaii Representative Mark Takai, a Democrat and member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the conversion is “the best way to ensure we have protection for Hawaii’s critical defense infrastructure against increasingly belligerent actors that threaten our country.

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Jeff Mason; editing by Stuart Grudgings)

North Korea says peace treaty, halt to exercises would end nuclear tests

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea on Saturday called for the conclusion of a peace treaty with the United States and a halt to U.S. military exercises with South Korea to end its nuclear tests.

The isolated state has long sought a peace treaty with the United States, as well as an end to the exercises by South Korea and the United States, which has about 28,500 troops based in South Korea.

“Still valid are all proposals for preserving peace and stability on the peninsula and in Northeast Asia including the ones for ceasing our nuclear test and the conclusion of a peace treaty in return for U.S. halt to joint military exercises,” North Korea’s official KCNA news agency cited a spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry as saying early on Saturday.

Asked if the United States would consider a halt to joint exercises, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said it had alliance commitments to South Korea.

“We are going to continue to make sure the alliance is ready in all respects to act in defense of the South Korean people and the security of the peninsula,” he told a regular news briefing.

Asked earlier this week about North Korea’s call for a peace treaty, the State Department reiterated its position that it remained open to dialogue with North Korea but said “the onus is on North Korea to take meaningful actions toward denuclearization and refrain from provocations.”

The two Koreas remain in a technical state of war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

North Korea said on Jan. 6 it had tested a hydrogen bomb, provoking condemnation from its neighbors and the United States.

Experts have expressed doubt that the North’s fourth nuclear test was of a hydrogen bomb, as the blast was roughly the same size as that from its previous test, of a less powerful atomic bomb, in 2013.

Pyongyang is under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and missile programs.

(Reporting by Tony Munroe in Seoul; additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington, editing by Andrew Roche and Tom Brown)

South Korea calls for ‘bone-numbing’ sanctions on North for nuclear test

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea warned North Korea on Wednesday that the United States and its allies were working on sanctions to inflict “bone-numbing pain” after its latest nuclear test, and called on China to do its part to rein in its isolated neighbor.

With tension high on the border after the North’s fourth nuclear test on Wednesday last week, South Korean forces fired shots toward what Yonhap News Agency said was a suspected North Korean drone.

It returned to the North after the shots, South Korean military officials told Reuters.

The North’s nuclear test has angered both China and the United States and again raised questions about what can be done to stop its development of nuclear weapons.

The World Economic Forum withdrew its invitation for North Korea’s foreign minister to attend its annual Davos meeting, which was to have been the country’s first participation in the event in 18 years, because of the nuclear test.

North Korea said it had tested a powerful hydrogen bomb but the United States and various experts doubt that, as the blast was roughly the same size as that from its previous test, of an atomic bomb, in 2013.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted nearly unanimously on Tuesday to pass legislation to broaden sanctions on the North.

But apparently unperturbed by the prospect of further international isolation, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an expansion of the size and power of his country’s nuclear arsenal, urging the “detonation of more powerful H-bombs”, the North’s state media reported.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said more “provocations” by the North including “cyber-terrorism” were possible and new sanctions should be tougher than previous ones. She did not give specifics.

“We are cooperating closely with the United States and allies to come up with effective sanctions that will make North Korea feel bone-numbing pain, not only at the Security Council but also bilaterally and multilaterally,” she said in a speech.

Park said South Korea and China were discussing a U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea, noting that China has stated repeatedly that it would not tolerate the North’s nuclear program.

China is the North’s main ally and trade partner but it has made clear it opposes its bombs, while China’s ties with South Korea have grown increasingly close in recent years.

“I am certain that China is very well aware if such a strong will isn’t followed by necessary steps, we will not be able to stop the North’s fifth and sixth nuclear tests and we cannot guarantee true peace and stability,” Park said.

“I believe the Chinese government will not allow the situation on the Korean peninsula to deteriorate further.”

Sung Kim, the special U.S. representative for North Korea policy, met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Seoul on Wednesday and said the three agreed that a “meaningful” new sanctions resolution is needed from the Security Council.

“I hope the Chinese authorities agree with us that we simply cannot take a business as usual approach to this latest provocation. We will be working very closely with them to come up with a meaningful resolution,” he said.

‘FINANCIAL PRESSURE’

China rejects complaints it is not doing enough on North Korea. In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China’s efforts toward a denuclearized Korean peninsula would continue.

“This is in everyone’s interests and is everyone’s responsibility, including China and South Korea,” he said.

The U.S. House sanctions measure passed by 418-2 and Senate leaders expect to consider a similar bill shortly.

The House bill had been introduced in 2015 but was not brought up for a vote until after North Korea’s latest test.

“(The bill) uses targeted financial pressure to isolate Kim Jon Un and his top officials from the assets they maintain in foreign banks, and from the hard currency that sustains their rule,” said Republican Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and an author of the measure.

To become law, it must be passed by the U.S. Senate and signed by President Barack Obama.

The 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea have been put on high alert as a noisy propaganda battle is played out across the heavily fortified border with the North.

South Korea, still technically at war with the North since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, has for days been blaring propaganda through loudspeakers across the border.

South Korea’s military said it had found anti-South leaflets in the Seoul area, which it suspects were dropped by North Korean hot air balloons.

South Korean financial regulators met computer security officials at 16 banks and financial institutions and urged vigilance in the face of possible cyber attacks by North Korea, although none has been detected.

(Additional reporting by Jack Kim, James Pearson, Jee Heun Kahng, Hooyeon Kim, Dahee Kim and Se Young Lee in SEOUL, Tom Miles in GENEVA, Patricia Zengerle in WASHINGTON and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)