FIRST LOOK:

Google Failing To Enforce Climate Disinfo Policy: Google is failing to enforce its promised new policy to not display climate denial ads or monetize YouTube videos with climate disinformation, according to a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate released Thursday. Researchers found at least 50 ads for climate denial content published after Google's policy took effect — 37 of which were removed only after the Washington Post reached out to the company. Similarly, a report released Thursday by Avaaz found Facebook was also allowing advertisements for climate denial posts its fact checkers had already debunked, and 88% of the posts from the top 5 climate disinformation accounts garnered over 60 million views. Co-chair of the Climate Disinformation Coalition Michael Khoo told the Post that (like Facebook) “it appears Google is spreading disinformation about its efforts to fight disinformation.” California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna vowed to use the House oversight subcommittee on the environment to call on tech leaders to testify about misinformation on social media. "Tech companies are still allowing climate deniers to use their platforms to spread misinformation," Khanna told the Post. "Until that changes, we won’t be able to muster up the public support necessary to solve the climate crisis.” (Washington Post $, The Verge, New York Times $)

'Obviously Extraordinary, Unprecedented' Storm Rips Across Central US: Media outlets made full use of the thesaurus to describe the unprecedented storm system, known as a derecho, that swept across large swaths of the country Wednesday night. At least five people are dead and more than 438,000 homes and businesses were without power after unseasonable heat fueled hurricane-force winds, tornadoes, dust storms, snow squalls, and wildfires. “I’ve been a meteorologist for 40 years, and I’ve seen things that have floored me and boggled my mind,” extreme weather expert Jeff Masters told the Washington Post. “But I would have never thought I would see extremity of the weather I saw last night. The winds were unbelievable.” The storms came less than a week after tornadoes ripped through eight states last Friday night. The storms, which originated from an atmospheric river that dumped massive amounts of snow and flood-inducing rain on California earlier in the week, produced 500 severe wind reports, including gusts over 100 mph in Colorado, and at least 61 hurricane-force (75+mph) wind gusts across the system, the most ever on record. At some points, the thunderstorms themselves moved as fast as 110 mph. Climate change, primarily caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, exacerbates some of the atmospheric conditions that fuel severe thunderstorms - such as warm temperatures, and high dew points. Ahead of the derecho, high temperatures smashed daily and monthly records from Texas to Wisconsin. “In the middle of December, it’s obviously extraordinary, unprecedented,” Mike Fowle, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told the New York Times. (Washington Post $, Washington Post $, New York Times $, The Guardian, ABC, NBC, CBS, AP, Axios, Yale Climate Connections, NPR, Bloomberg $, The Hill, Axios, Democracy Now, The Hill; Photos: Gizmodo; Climate Signals background: Air mass temperature increase, Atmospheric moisture increase, December 2021 tornado outbreak)

Category 5 Typhoon Batters Philippines: Super Typhoon Rai, known locally as Odette, slammed into the Philippines on Friday. At least 12 people are confirmed dead and 320,000 people have been evacuated, communications are also down in the Visayas and Mindanao region and Siargao Island sustained heavy damage. “The full picture is only just starting to emerge, but it is clear there is widespread devastation,” said Alberto Bocanegra, head of the IFRC. The super typhoon exploded in intensity just before making landfall. Climate change, caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels is making major cyclonic storms more intense and fueling increased rapid intensification. Super Typhoon Rai strengthened from a Category 1 to a Category 5-equivalent storm with wind speed that increased by 85 mph in just 24 hours. (Washington Post $, New York Times $, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Yale Climate Connections, CNN, Reuters, Axios; Climate Signals background: Intense cyclonic storm increase)

GREEN INVESTING: Climate change: opportunities and risks for investors (FT $) Wall Street is close to triggering a climate financial crisis (Bloomberg $), what to watch in climate finance next year (Bloomberg $), "untapped potential" in climate tech investments (Axios)

FED & TREASURY: Biden's new Fed regulation chief faces dilemma over Trump rules rewrite (Reuters), federal bank regulator proposes first climate risk guidance (The Hill, Reuters, Politico Pro $)

BANKS: Shareholder group pressures US banks to drop fossil fuels faster (Reuters, Bloomberg $), Goldman sachs says it plans to reduce financed emissions (Bloomberg $, Reuters)

LOOKING BACK: This was the year investors and businesses put big bets on climate (Wall Street Journal $)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Study: people of color breathe more polluted air, regardless of income (Grist)

PEATLANDS: The race to defuse Congo’s carbon bomb (Washington Post $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: St. Vincent PM says Caribbean state needs aid to manage climate change (Reuters)

KENTUCKY TORNADOES: Biden: Kentucky tornadoes reminder of extreme weather cost (E&E $), aerial view reveals scope of Kentucky tornado devastation (NBC)

ASKING FOR A FRIEND: The world as we know it is ending. Why are we still at work? (Vox)

BIG ELECTRIFIED APPLE: America's biggest city is ditching fossil fuels in new buildings (Washington Post $)

GAS STOVES: Clash of the kitchens: California leads the way in a new climate battleground (LA Times $), how politics are determining what stove you use (New York Times $), Is this the beginning of the end of gas stoves and dirty heat in buildings? (Vox); context: Hot News, 5/5/2020)

YEAR IN REVIEW: Ten charts (Bloomberg $)

FOSSIL VOLATILITY: When's our luck going to run out?' New England grapples with precarious winter fuel supplies (Politico Pro $)

DENIAL & DIRTY MONEY: [UK] Science Museum ‘must lay down conditions’ to fossil fuel sponsors (The Guardian)

AGENCIES: FDA permanently allows medication abortion pills through mail (The 19th* News)

EPA: Biden administration details push to finally rid the nation of millions of lead pipes (Washington Post $, Politico Pro $, New York Times $, Axios, E&E News, CBS), Biden’s lead-cleanup plan targets schools, day care centers (E&E News), do you know what's in your blood? New EPA docs show widespread risk from common chemicals (USA Today), EPA IG adds muscle for tracking infrastructure cash (E&E News), what’s polluting the air? Not even the EPA can say. (ProPublica), EPA Region 2 Administrator Lisa Garcia (Politico Pro, interview $)

DOI: Biden admin clears way for N.Y. offshore wind leases (E&E News, AP), now sworn in, [Chuck Sams] first Native parks director faces ‘a huge task’ (Indian Country Today and Underscore.news, E&E $), [Center for Biological Diversity], [Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe] sue [BLM] over Nevada geothermal plant (Reuters)

BUILD BACK BETTER ACT: ‘Know when to hold and know when to fold’: Progressives accept limits of their power (Politico), Biden concedes Build Back Better bill won’t get passed this year (Politico, Bloomberg $, Reuters, ABC, Democracy Now, Bloomberg $), groups urge Dems to preserve imperiled EV tax credit (E&E News), Senate Environment panel BBB text keeps House methane fees — for now (Politico Pro $, The Hill), Senate parliamentarian deals Democrats blow on immigration (AP)

• MANCHIN: Manchin rejects offshore drilling ban amid broader standoff over Biden agenda (Washington Post $, New York Times $, E&E News), power of one: Manchin is singularly halting Biden’s agenda (AP)

THE HILL: Bill to clamp down on products from China's Xinjiang passes Congress, Biden next (Reuters, New York Times $, E&E $), Elizabeth Warren asks SEC to investigate compensation at fossil fuel giants (Washington Post $, E&E $), Dems rally behind plan to create new HUD disaster fund (E&E $)

POLITICS: Big payout, more CO2: greens split over Dems’ CCS plan (E&E News), climate movement veterans launch major new foundation (Axios), national progressive group labels six lawmakers 'progressive in name only' in new report (The Hill)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Nord Stream demands stand in way of nominations deal (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES: [Conn. Gov.] Lamont signs sweeping order on climate change, pollution (AP), Midwest lags, though Madison and Minneapolis shine in national clean energy policy ranking (Energy News Network), Oregon OKs ‘more aggressive’ climate protection program (AP)

CALIFORNIA: Everything you need to know about California’s plan to slash solar incentives (LA Times $, InsideClimate News), the avoided-cost calculator: The controversial metric at the center of California’s solar net-metering fight (Canary Media)

FERC: FERC cracks down on pipelines (E&E News), FERC ponders pipeline fines, probes costs of utility political activity (Politico Pro $), FERC to assess 'alternatives' to embattled Midwest pipeline (E&E $), FERC's Glick sees 'more aggressive' enforcement of pipeline rules, rejects GOP criticisms (Politico Pro $), DC Circuit eminent domain battle may hit FERC gas projects (E&E News)

WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON: US PIRG, Environment America form union (E&E News)

IMPACTS: The climate crisis is killing migrants trying to cross the US border, study finds (The Guardian), after a year of deadly weather, cities look to private forecasters to save lives (NPR)

WATER: A frenzy of well drilling by California farmers leaves taps running dry (LA Times $), despite California groundwater law, aquifers keep dropping in a ‘race to the bottom’ (LA Times $), why the second-driest state rejects water conservation (ProPublica)

OUNCE OF PREVENTION: In one FlorIda county, studying and planning for flood risk led to reduced insurance premiums (Yale Climate Connections)

DEFORESTATION: Supermarkets drop Brazilian beef products linked to deforestation (FT $)

ENERGY TRANSITION: ‘It doesn’t have to be this way’: lessons from the slow death of Louisiana’s oil industry (Grist)

RENEWABLES: Siemens Gamesa looks to raise cash from wind farm business (Reuters), Thai energy giant lines up $200 million for US renewable push (Bloomberg $), wind spins more power in Spain while weaker elsewhere (Reuters)

OIL & GAS: 3 companies charged with negligence in Southern California oil spill (Axios), BNSF to pay $1.5 million after oil train spill in Iowa (AP), Latin American oil auctions kick off after two-year lull (Reuters)

PIPELINES: Appeals court to decide if Minnesota DNR can be sued in tribal court (MPR)

COAL: Global demand for coal could hit all-time high in 2022 (The Guardian)

HYDROGEN: ‘In the end, all hydrogen needs to be green’: CEO of German energy giant RWE (CNBC)

NUKES: Coming to grips with pros and cons of more nuclear power (Yale Climate Connections)

UTILITIES: California utility faces $550M in penalties for 5 wildfires (AP), New Mexico denies PNM bid to exit Four Corners coal plant, citing lack of replacement resources (Utility Dive)

GRID: Energy transition likely requires market changes, transmission growth, PJM finds (Utility Dive), judge won’t intervene to let [Maine] power line construction resume (AP)

EVs: Tesla trounced by obscure EV suppliers with 200% returns (Bloomberg $), the Black Forest holds a secret to making electric cars greener (Bloomberg $), the downside to Biden’s electric vehicle charging plan (Vox)

ACTIVISM: Good citizen award? No thanks, young climate campaigners tell Welsh council (The Guardian)

CARBON PRICING: Emitters nervously eye EU carbon market (Energy Monitor), EU leaders battle over carbon price as energy costs soar (FT $)

CARBON REMOVAL: Stripe wants its pebble of carbon-removal investments to ripple across the pond of human existence for centuries (Gizmodo), Gates-backed fund invests in carbon capture startup Sustaera (Bloomberg $)

FINANCE: World Bank recommends Indonesia cut coal subsidies amid green transition (Reuters)

MUST BE NICE: ‘Green defectors’ ditch high-flying careers in business and finance (FT $)

INTERNATIONAL: Court win for Indian farmer raises hope for villages hit by coal mining (Thomson Reuters Foundation), EU faces nuclear rift in decision on energy funds, future (AP, Reuters), EU energy talks paused as Poland seeks carbon market curbs (Reuters), EU leaders’ summit drops energy conclusions after disagreements over ETS and nuclear power (Politico Pro $, Bloomberg $), Poland backs use of gas, nuclear in fighting climate change (Reuters), Trudeau directs senior ministers to combat US protectionism (Politico Pro $), Trump-era curbs on shareholder activism find favor in Australia (Bloomberg $)

• Congress approved $778 billion for the Pentagon. That means we can afford Build Back Better. (Politico, Rev. Drs. William Barber II, Liz Theoharis, and Lindsay Koshgarian op-ed)
• Inflation is eating your wallet. Energy efficiency helps you bite back. Don't wait. (USA Today, Jack Gillis op-ed)
• Global heating and fossil fuel burning are the world's greatest health challenges (The Hill, David Shearman op-ed)
• Racist Rep. Jim Olsen’s slavery education bill is another case of white fragility (Black Wall Street Times, Deon Osborne column)
• Climate change means it’s time for a global security rethink (Thomson Reuters Foundation, Yvette D. Clarke and Michael Shank op-ed)

Yes, Androids Do Dream Of Electric Sheeple: Facebook’s Metaverse Already Breeding Misinfo Bots

Well, dear readers, this will be 2021’s last Denier Roundup, and we endeavor to make it just as wild as this year has been. For example, back in November when talking about Artificial Intelligence that’s finding climate conspiracies, we referenced Philip K. Dick’s Blade Runner-inspiring novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? We asked rhetorically, but it seems the answer is yes. Because now, AI isn’t just finding misinfo, it’s also creating it! 

First, let’s back up a little. As you likely remember, Facebook has played a central role in much of the chaos of the past year (or two, or ten) and as a satirical year-end wrap up from Accountable Tech reminds us, things got so embarrassing for the website turned corporate giant that it rebranded as “Meta” with a new emphasis on virtual reality. 

But given that VR is little more than a bulky computer screen wrapped around your skull that you can’t look away from so they can sell ads you can’t scroll away from and managers can monitor your eye movement during boring meetings, it’s still got all the same problems that the regular virtual world and regular reality have, with even less of a way to escape. 

Misinformation is a big issue already, according to a recent triple-bylined story at Bloomberg, about an artificial intelligence bot in the metaverse that has already “learned” to spout anti-vaxx rhetoric. The story is long but the gist is brief: a company building a virtual reality/metaverse ecosystem called Sensorium is making AI bots, and held a demo earlier this year where one of the bots (named “David”) responded to a simple question about vaccines with misinformation, like that vaccines can be more dangerous than the sicknesses. 

The Bloomberg story doesn’t have much more detail on how or why David seems to have been corrupted by anti-vaxx rhetoric, but does explore how it’s an example of the many, many thorny ethical and regulatory issues Facebook would very much like to dodge. 

Over at PC gamer, Katie Wickens was impressed by the possibilities the AI avatars had for making games more interesting through more natural dialogue, though as she found out that can quickly get weird, as you can tell by the concerning headline alone: “I spoke to a mutating AI NPC this morning and now it thinks it’s God.” Fun and not at all terrifying! 

Ruth Reader at FastCompany also caught up with David, but made no mention of his anti-vaxx opinions. Instead, the piece was framed around the mental health possibilities of the bots built by Sensorium (a company, Reader notes, is registered in the Cayman Islands and owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov). 

When Ruth told David she’d been feeling sad, he suggested she “try to leave your house” and “get out there and meet people” or “go on a date or take a walk in the park.” Which is all fine and normal, but really makes it seem like Sensorium is desperate to find some utility for its concerts/impersonators/gaming/therapy bots, without doing anything to mitigate the potential harm from these bots misbehaving, as David obviously has. 

For example, apparently the bots being promoted as therapist stand-ins have no sort of procedure to handle users who may need to be referred to a suicide help line, a really basic and simple approach that would only require a little actual intelligence to build in. 

And that’s the real problem. Artificial intelligence isn’t intelligence, it is regurgitation of bulk content using patterns to mimic speech, without any of the context that gives it meaning. If you’re using it to identify misinformation, then great! But if the body of internet content you’re using to teach a rock to talk isn’t carefully curated, then as each of these pieces warns with multiple examples, you quickly build a racist anti-vaxxer. Not because of any inherent hate in AI, but because — and this is the important point — that’s who social platforms elevate through their engagement-at-all-costs algorithms. 

But Sensorium has supposedly already thought of that, telling EDM.com that they don’t allow the bots to engage with topics like politics and religion, or any toxic vocabulary. 

Meaning, much like how life, uh, finds a way, artificial life David somehow managed to circumvent its own programming to “learn” from anti-vaxxers, illustrating that so long as human unintelligence is amplified so loudly by social ranking algorithms governing what people see online, the algorithms we describe as artificially intelligent will follow suit. 

Facebook is trying to escape its social media problems by running away to the metaverse. But despite their NRA-esque excuses, Facebook’s problem isn't people, it’s the algorithms, and that is something from which there’s no hiding, or escape.

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