Daily Archives: November 26, 2023

Is the hype train warranted? Hype Bubble

As boosters say AI is primed to conquer entire sectors, from military to medicine, a significant portion of the tech world is surprisingly unconvinced by its utility, according to a new survey from software development business Retool.

In the survey of 1,500 people working in tech, Retool found that a startling 51.6 percent of people think AI is overrated, while 25.1 percent think it's underrated, and another 23.4 percent think it's fairly rated. The people surveyed include executives, software engineers, designers, and other positions in different industries.

Particularly striking was that workers in executive roles had a more favorable view of AI while people in the technical side "skewed a little more toward overrated" perhaps not a surprise, since many business leaders have been crowing about the potential cost savings of AI and how it could generate more revenue.

It's easy to conclude from news reports and press releases that AI is poised to change the world, but it's telling that the tech crowd, with a closer view of the technology, are more skeptical.

The survey doesn't spell out in detail exactly what their misgivings are, but they're likely more conscious than the general public of the inconvenient seams of the technology. AI has a tendency to hallucinate and spit out inaccurate information,and that's not even getting into ethical concerns around the tech.

It also remains to be seen whether AI can overcome being computationally and financially cost prohibitive, while also being fragile to jailbreaking and data poisoning that render its commercial applications dicey.

Interestingly, many of the tech workers have found themselves using AI at work. Software engineers in the survey said they've increasingly turned to ChatGPT and the Microsoft-backed GitHub Copilot instead of Stack Overflow, with 57.6 percent using the website less and 10.2 percent having dropped it altogether.

And there's no debating that's one tangible sign of AI disruption.

More on AI: AI and Military Leaders Gathered for Mysterious Event in Utah

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Survey Finds Half of Tech Workers Think AI Is a Bunch of Hype - Futurism

Watching YouTube is becoming miserable. Blocker Blocker

YouTube has had it with you blocking the ads on its platform and it's willing to make the experience as miserable as possible until you give up.

As Business Insider reports, the company is encouraging viewers to turn off their ad blockers in their browsers or subscribe to YouTube Premium, which costs a whopping $13.99 a month, by degrading the experience of using the site.

"Ads are a vital lifeline for our creators that helps them run and grow their businesses," a spokesperson told Insider. "That's why the use of ad blockers violates YouTube's Terms of Service."

As a result, users with ad blockers have been getting increasingly frustrated with nagging messages and irritating multi-second delays.

"In the past week, users using ad blockers may have experienced suboptimal viewing, which included delays in loading, regardless of the browser they are using," the spokesperson added.

Earlier this week, Reddit users accused YouTube of slowing down their Firefox browsers. But as it turns out, the company wasn't just targeting a single browser it's simply trying to annoy anybody making use of an ad blocker, regardless of what browser they're using.

YouTube's crackdown on ad blocking has been going on for months now, with users growing increasingly frustrated, as evidenced by recent spikes in Google searches for terms like "YouTube ad blocker."

"I am never buying YouTube Premium, piss off YouTube," one Reddit user wrote in a post that was upvoted well over 1,000 times last month.

Others balked at the considerable price the company charges to access the ad-free YouTube Premium.

"If [YouTube] Premium was five bucks I'd pay for it in a heartbeat, and would've done years ago," another user commented.

But whether ad blockers will prevail remains to be seen. Google is still planning to change how extensions work in its Chrome browser which could eventually render many, if not all, ad blockers obsolete on its dominant browser.

More on YouTube: YouTube Creators Will Be Forced To Disclose AI Content

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YouTube Threatens to Become Even More Horrendous If You Have ... - Futurism

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The reports that have come out on Neuralink's treatment of monkeys have been grim. Accounts of ruptured brains and drawn out deaths have haunted all that have read them, bringing immense scrutiny to the biotech company.

Now, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is being pressured by lawmakers to investigate Neuralink founder and owner Elon Musk, who may have misled investors by not revealing the grisly effects of its brain implants in primates.

Wired reports that four members of the House of Representatives accused Musk today of issuing false statements in September regarding the deaths of a dozen macaque monkeys during Neuralink trials conducted between 2018 and 2020.

For Musk and company, the timing of the move couldn't be worse. In September, Neuralink announced that it was seeking volunteers for human trials. But with all the behind-the-scenes details that have emerged, and possibly this latest pressure on federal regulators, whether the human trials will proceed unhindered becomes less certain.

The representatives, Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Tony Cardenas (D-CA), argue that Musk committed securities fraud by obfuscating the legality of the Neuralink trials to investors.

They point to a post on X-formerly-Twitter that Musk made in September, in which he claimed that all the monkeys that perished were "terminal" cases that were "close to death already," asserting that none of them "died as a result of a Neuralink implant."

"Mr. Musk knows this statement is false," the representatives told SEC head Gary Gensler, as quoted by Wired.

Their claims are backed up by the details of the Wired investigations, released in September and October. An ex-Neuralink employee told the magazine that Musk's claim that the monkeys were terminal was "ridiculous" and a "straight up fabrication."

"We had these monkeys for a year or so before any surgery was performed," the ex-employee said.

An anonymous scientist who worked at the primate center where Neuralink conducted its trials said that all the monkeys were young and likely healthy.

"It's hard to imagine these monkeys, who were not adults, were terminal for some reason," they told the magazine.

If there's any truth to what we've learned about Neuralink's treatment of animals, the representatives argue that these details directly bear on "the safety and marketability of Neuralink's brain-computer interface," as quoted by Wired.

By withholding this information to investors, Musk may have even violated an SEC rule regarding public information on the company's activities.

Musk does have a history of misleading investors, and indeed run-ins with the SEC,Wirednotes. In 2018, the federal regulator charged him with securities fraud for declaring on Twitter, no less, that he might be taking Tesla private. The case was ended in a settlement totaling $40 million in fines for Musk.

We'll have to see if the SEC will decide to take action once again. For now, Neuralink is proceeding as if nothing's happened, readying up its robots that will be tasked with performing brain implant surgery into humans and God knows what will come of that.

More on Neuralink: Neuralink Ready to Start Letting Robots Implant Chips into Human Brains

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Lawmakers Demand Investigation Into Carnage at Neuralink - Futurism

Looking forward into the future, there are many things that people like to speculate about; how far technology will go, how the social and political landscape will change, and when are we getting our flying cars!?. However, one thing that is less discussed is fashion. Trends in the industry can change from year to year, so how can we predict the couture hundreds of years into the future?

This challenge is posed to any filmmaker depicting life in both the far and not-so-distant future. Sometimes, their visions evoke excitement about what we may be wearing. Other examples make us hope for the world to end before being forced into an ugly get-up. From crotch-highlighting outfits to gray uniforms, to punk-inspired wear and decked-out go-go boots, we will hit the movie runway and look at future fashion from the worst to the best.

A group of barbarians, known as the Brutals, scavenge for resources in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by a mysterious figure named Zardoz. When one of the barbarians, played by Sean Connery, sneaks aboard the gigantic floating head, he is transported to a world of elite philosophers, artists, and researchers, where he learns the true secret of his origins and purpose.

Living in the world of Zardoz, you will have limited clothing options. Either you are a hunted percent having to get by with whatever dirty rags you can stick to your filth-encrusted body, or you are a hunter wearing a (likely) chaffing speedo held up by bullet holder suspenders. If you are lucky and find yourself among the elite, you at least get a mix of Roman, Egyptian, and 'bath towel realness,' a far cry from the sleek fashion one would want in the future. Bonus points are deserved for the brave souls who went all in on Halloween with the iconic red, crotch-highlighting look by Sean Connery.

Rent on Apple TV+

Sent to investigate a silent planet in their solar system, a crew of space travelers stumbles upon a planet that hosted a once proud civilization with only two remaining survivors. The technologically-advanced culture, once known as the Krells, is survived by one man who still holds onto the secrets of the past. With the help of the last surviving daughter of the ancient civilizations, the crew learns of the evil plans of the last surviving Krell man.

We are not going to knock uniforms. With the right design, they can exude a certain authoritarian cool that is hard to beat. Alternatively, they can become iconic, such as in the case of the Starfleet apparel seen throughout Star Trek and its various interations. Do you know what is not exciting, though? Forbidden Planet's grey with shoulder pads and a utility belt. Some color differences are allowed; villains get to wear black, and women can switch between a few colors with a couple of adornments. Still, the theme here is to be as dull as possible, down to the matching generic male haircuts.

Rent on Apple TV+

Solarbabies follows a group of orphaned teens trying to survive the unforgiving landscape in a post-apocalyptic future ruled over by a military regime. When it is revealed that one of them has the power to restore the desert by calling forth rain, they become the target of military force. They must escape to save the dying planet from the authoritarian and corrupt tyrants.

Not everyone will remember the 'rollerblade mania' that swept through cinema; even those alive when it was relevant are not likely to recall it. Yet dozens of 80s films depict wastelands dominated by rollerblading gangs. It is tragic, considering the end of infrastructure that ensured all roads and paths remained forever bumpy. Solarbabies had two looks: dirt-covered jeans and rollerblades, or gaudy battle uniforms (prominently jean-adjacent colors) and rollerblades. There is not a lot of excitement to be had in the fashion here, but if you get a good stretch of untouched tarmac, at least you can zoom around and forget the deplorable clothes the future has forced upon you.

Stream on Tubi

In a dystopian future where law enforcement officers, known as 'Judges,' have the ultimate authority as judge, jury, and executioner, Judge Dredd focuses on one agent, Dredd (Sylvester Stalone). After he gets framed for the murder of his half-brother Rico, who is aiming to take over Mega-City One with an army of clones, Dredd must clear his name and stop the plot to destroy the city.

A step-up in uniform design from the previously mentioned Forbidden Planet, Judge Dredd features flashy outfits decorated with gold and an intimidating codpiece. It screams, "I am here, and I am not f***ing around" in an undeniably fun way, despite seeming slightly inconvenient as a police uniform. Outside your work gear, though, as casual as you would like to be (bonus!). Alternatively, those on the outskirts of society can augment their bodies with tech. This results in some horrifically disfigured monsters with metal bits stitched into them, but we have to admire the commitment.

Rent on Apple TV+

To control the over-population of the earth, the government mandates that once someone hits the age of 30, they must be executed. The story follows one of the enforcers of this law, Logan, who, approaching his execution date, decides to flee, becoming a 'runner' along with his partner Jessica.

One thing that comes to mind when looking at fashion in Logan's Run, despite its rather middling aesthetic, is comfiness. The outfits look perfect for a spring or autumn stroll for men and nice flowing fabrics for women in the summer though this would make dates somewhat awkward to plan. The other promising aspect of the future couture is that it allows some greater expression for women's fashion with color. Accessories are also allowed but are light and complimentary instead of defining the style. It may not be the sharpest or the coolest, but it is hard to see many complaining if Logan's Run's simple and comfy wear becomes the standard style in the future.

Rent on Apple TV+

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After learning he has been living in a simulation, Neo (Keanu Reeves) is given the option to wake up in the real world and help fight against the forces using people as human batteries to power their existence. Neo soon finds himself as the savior of humanity and becomes one of the few able to fight against the deadly agents sent into the digital world to ensure order.

It is a fact that everyone looks good in black. Yes, flares of color are a better definition of exuding one's personality, but you can't go wrong with black for a sharp and sleek look. Combine this with a slight cyberpunk chic, and you have enough options not to wear identical get-ups as those around you. Of course, we are looking solely at Neo and his crew instead of NPC's and agents, but we hope you find yourself on the red-pilled side of The Matrix (the outfits do flow perfectly when flexing your newly found kung-fu skills). Regardless, the look is one of the more preferable options for future fashion, just not ideal given its lack of color. Fashion Design by Kym Barrett.

Rent on Max

The Fifth Element follows a New York Cab Driver, Korben Dallas (Brue Willis), who becomes involved in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon after running into a mysterious woman named Leeloo, played by Milla Jovovich. Taking her under his care puts him in the path of the evil Mr. Zorg, who is looking for the titular 'Fifth Element' for personal gain.

The fashion within The Fifth Element is defined by its freedom of expression; you can be flamboyant, practical, reserved, or... an evil tyrant. Moreover, the fashion still looks great in a modern-day context, with Milla Jovovich's sharp style and bright hair fit for a bold premier on the runway. Comparatively, Gary Oldman may look like several villains rolled into one, but it is a striking aesthetic that exudes evil in the best way. Of course, this is all helped by the sharp visual direction of Luc Besson, but bringing on Jean Paul Gaultier to do the fashion for the movie made the looks as iconic as they are.

Stream on AMC+

New blade runner "K" (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to destabilize society. This discovery leads him to track down a former agent, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who has been missing for the past 30 years. The movie is set 30 years after the events of the iconic original Blade Runner.

So far in the list, we have had looks inspired by different styles/movements, but one of the most underrated aesthetics has to be film noir, which inspired both iterations of Blade Runner. Blade Runner 2049 balances practical wear with style, ensuring you can trudge through cruddy weather and still look sharp. Of course, it helps that actor Ryan Gosling has become the definition of cool after his performance in Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive. Designer Rene April certainly captured that balance of clothes for a harsh environment and fashionable wear using materials like laminated cotton and fake fur.

Stream on Max

Tank Girl, along with her friend Jet Girl and kangaroo crush Booga, fight against the evil corporation Water and Power. Developing a new technology that turns people into bottled water, the charismatic and cool Tank Girl uses her witty tongue and battle know-how to save her friends.

Lori Petty's Tank Girl predates Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn by decades, yet the similarities between the two are unmissable. Flashy, DIY-punk fashion delivered with an expressive personality with make-up made to match the loudness of every outfit. This has always been an essential draw to the Tank Girl series, with the ongoing comic by creators Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett defined by its expressive, crass, and brash style. Oscar-nominated Arianne Phillips killed it with the adaptation and design of Tank Girl. Who would not want to embrace such a chaotic yet fashionable aesthetic in the future?

Stream on Paramount+

Based on the French comic series of the same, Barbarella follows the titular space explorer/agent as she navigates through a series of events across the cosmos to find Duran Duran, an inventor developing a world-ending weapon. Along the way Barbarella meets various characters, including a blind angel named Pygar.

From the opening scene that sees a picturesque Jane Fonda rotating in the air and casually getting dressed, the fashion of Barbarella is instantly iconic. The Roger Vadim film looks utterly gorgeous throughout. Still, fashion constantly pops in a way that almost every frame featuring Fonda could grace the pages of a fashion magazine, either cover or editorial. Thigh-high boots, lush colors, campy space wear, and abundant shine and sparkle are all to die for! In addition, the men tend to rock more rugged looks, increasing Fonda's beauty and various outfits. Designer Jacques Fonteray's designs in the 60s film are still homaged to this day.

Stream on Paramount+

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Futuristic Fashion in Movies, Ranked from Worst to Best - MovieWeb

In early 2022, a piece of Chinese space junk hit the Moon and left a mysterious double pockmark on its surface and, as it turns out, there's more to this story than meets the eye.

In a new paper published in thePlanetary Science Journal, researchers from the University of Arizona explained that per their findings, there's little doubt that the object that hit the moon in March 2022 was debris from a Chinese Long March 3C rocket booster, and that the strange double crater it left suggests that it carried an undisclosed payload along with it.

This specific lunar collision, to be fair, has been mired in speculation since before it even happened.

As Space.com recounts in its own write-up of the research, the debacle began in 2015 when scientists noticed that some manner of space junk was on a collision course with the Moon.Astronomersinitially believed it was a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster, but eventually, scientists figured out that it was the launcher for China's Chang'e lunar rover mission, which had been launched a year prior.

Though China denied that the craft was part of a Chinese mission, the US Space Command pushed back on that assertion, saying that the probe's spent upper stage never re-entered our atmosphere, which would mean it was out there floating somewhere near-ish to our planet (or, as it turns out, our Moon).

Not only did the latest study find with a high degree of confidence that the debris that hit the Moon in March 2022 was almost certainly from the Long March 3C rocket, but the researchers also concluded that the strange double crater it left behind indicates that it was carrying something else.

However, what that second object could be is still a matter of guesswork, it seems.

Specifically, the researchers' observations of the Chinese rocket suggested that there was something heavy attached to it that made it tumble in space before its crash landing which isn't how these kinds of objects would normally act in these situations.

"Something that's been in space as long as this is subjected to forces from the Earth's and the Moon's gravity and the light from the Sun," UA aerospace doctoral student Tanner Campbell said in a school press release about the research. "So you would expect it to wobble a little bit, particularly when you consider that the rocket body is a big empty shell with a heavy engine on one side. But this was just tumbling end-over-end, in a very stable way."

Whatever was attached to the obliterated rocket, it seems to have been big enough to counterbalance its two 1,200-pound engines and make it tumble like a kid in gymnastics class. But after looking at the booster's known payloads, the AU team determined an object of a suitable mass was mysteriously missing from the list.

"Obviously, we have no idea what it might have been perhaps some extra support structure, or additional instrumentation, or something else," Campbell said. "We probably won't ever know."

More on China: China's Doubling the Size of Its Space Station

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Rocket That Smashed Into Moon Was Carrying Something Mysterious - Futurism

What role should text-generating large language models (LLMs) have in the scientific research process? According to a team of Oxford scientists, the answer at least for now is: pretty much none.

In a new essay, researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute argue that scientists should abstain from using LLM-powered tools like chatbots to assist in scientific research on the grounds that AI's penchant for hallucinating and fabricating facts, combined with the human tendency to anthropomorphize the human-mimicking word engines, could lead to larger information breakdowns a fate that could ultimately threaten the fabric of science itself.

"Our tendency to anthropomorphize machines and trust models as human-like truth-tellers, consuming and spreading the bad information that they produce in the process," the researchers write in the essay, which was published this week in the journal Nature Human Behavior, "is uniquely worrying for the future of science."

The scientists' argument hinges on the reality that LLMs and the many bots that the technology powers aren't primarily designed to be truthful. As they write in the essay, sounding truthful is but "one element by which the usefulness of these systems is measured." Characteristics including "helpfulness, harmlessness, technical efficiency, profitability, [and] customer adoption" matter, too.

"LLMs are designed to produce helpful and convincing responses," they continue, "without any overriding guarantees regarding their accuracy or alignment with fact."

Put simply, if a large language model which, above all else, is taught to beconvincing comes up with an answer that's persuasive but not necessarily factual, the fact that the output is persuasive will override its inaccuracy. In an AI's proverbial brain, simply saying "I don't know" is less helpful than providing an incorrect response.

But as the Oxford researchers lay out, AI's hallucination problem is only half the problem. The Eliza Effect, or the human tendency to read way too far into human-sounding AI outputs due to our deeply mortal proclivity to anthropomorphize everything around us, is a well-documented phenomenon. Because of this effect, we're already primed to put a little too much trust in AI; couple that with the confident tone these chatbots so often take, and you have a perfect recipe for misinformation. After all, when a human gives us a perfectly bottled, expert-sounding paraphrasing in response to a query, we're probably less inclined to use the same critical thinking in our fact-checking as we might when we're doing our own research.

Importantly, the scientists do note "zero-shot translation" as a scenario in which AI outputs might be a bit more reliable. This, as Oxford professor and AI ethicist Brent Mittelstadt told EuroNews, refers to when a model is given "a set of inputs that contain some reliable information or data, plus some request to do something with that data."

"It's called zero-shot translation because the model has not been trained specifically to deal with that type of prompt," Mittelstadt added. So, in other words, a model is more or less rearranging and parsing through a very limited, trustworthy dataset, andnotbeing used as a vast, internet-like knowledge center. But that would certainly limit its use cases, and would demand a more specialized understanding of AI tech much different from just loading up ChatGPT and firing off some research questions.

And elsewhere, the researchers argue, there's an ideological battle at the core of this automation debate. After all, science is a deeply human pursuit. To outsource too much of the scientific process to automated AI labor, the Oxforders say, could undermine that deep-rooted humanity. And is that something we can really afford to lose?

"Do we actually want to reduce opportunities for writing, thinking critically, creating new ideas and hypotheses, grappling with the intricacies of theory and combining knowledge in creative and unprecedented ways?" the researchers write. "These are the inherently valuable hallmarks of curiosity-driven science."

"They are not something that should be cheaply delegated to incredibly impressive machines," they continue, "that remain incapable of distinguishing fact from fiction."

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Scientists Warn That AI Threatens Science Itself - Futurism

Are you ready to embark on an electrifying off-road adventure like never before? Former Jaguar designer Ian Callum is here to revolutionize your outdoor escapades with the stunning Callum Skye electric multi-terrain vehicle. In this article, we delve into the future of off-roading with the Skye, a vehicle that effortlessly combines form and function.

Picture this: a robust, electrified beast that breaks away from the conventional boxy SUV design. Ian Callums Skye is not your average off-road vehicle. Its a vision of innovation and sophistication, where aesthetics meet functionality in perfect harmony.

At just over 13 feet in length, the Skye is thoughtfully sized to navigate the most challenging trails with ease. Its minimal front and rear overhangs, paired with highly arched fenders, provide ample wheel travel for conquering rugged terrains. The Skye isnt just a vehicle; its a trailblazer that sets a new standard in off-road design.

Inside the Skye, youll find a 2+2 layout that can comfortably accommodate up to four passengers. Seated under a sleek fastback canopy, you and your companions can enjoy both the thrill of off-roading and the comfort of a premium interior. Its a combination of luxury and adventure thats bound to leave you in awe.

While the Skye is still under development, one thing is clearit will be a battery-electric vehicle. Although specific powertrain details have not been released yet, you can expect an eco-friendly, high-performance machine thats as powerful as it is sustainable.

As we eagerly await the official unveiling of the Callum Skye, one thing is certain: this electric off-road marvel is set to redefine the way we explore the great outdoors. So, if youre ready to embark on a journey of innovation, luxury, and adventure, keep a close eye on Callum Designs for updates and insights into the future of off-roading.

For all the latest updates and exclusive information about the Callum Skye, visit Callum Designs. Ian Callums vision is just a click away, and the future of off-road exploration has never looked this exciting. Get ready to be electrified by the Callum Skye!

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Introducing the Callum Skye: A Futuristic Electric Off-Road Marvel - stupidDOPE.com

Beautiful and mysterious. Picture Perfect

NASA has unveiled a spectacular new image of the Milky Way taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, showing ever greater detail of a region close to the nucleus of our home galaxy replete withwhat the space agency is calling needle-like "unexplained structures" that have scientists intrigued and puzzled.

The James Webb Space Telescope, a powerful infrared instrument, was able to take a detailed snapshot of Sagittarius C, a central region of the Milky Way where stars are born and which is about 300 light years away from the gargantuan black hole that makes up the central hub of our galaxy.

The image contains an estimated 500,000 twinkly stars plus a cluster of protostars emerging from dense dark clouds of dust and gas (protostars are baby stars gaining mass before they become full-fledged stars.)

In addition to the stars, the telescope revealed feathery wisps, believed to be emissions from ionized hydrogen and colored as cyan in the image. Usually, these wisps are the product of massive stars belching out excited photons which ionize surrounding hydrogen gas.

Within these wisps, scientists are puzzled by the existence of streaky needle-shaped structures that are randomly assorted throughout the ionized hydrogen. Scientists don't know what they are and are determined to plumb for more data in order to find out.

"Theres never been any infrared data on this region with the level of resolution and sensitivity we get with Webb, so we are seeing lots of features here for the first time," said University of Virginia undergraduate student and principal investigator Samuel Crowe. "Webb reveals an incredible amount of detail, allowing us to study star formation in this sort of environment in a way that wasnt possible previously."

The Webb was launched back in late 2021, with its first images being released in 2022. The telescope was launched with the goal of peering back at the earliest periods of the universe, searching for exoplanets, examining early galaxies, and also charting how stars are formed, such as the ones captured in this latest image.

Scientists are excited about this new shot because not only is it beautiful, but it just might help researchers understand how stars flare into existence in the first place.

"The galactic center is a crowded, tumultuous place," said Instituto Astrofsica de Andaluca researcher and co-investigator Rubn Fedriani. "There are turbulent, magnetized gas clouds that are forming stars, which then impact the surrounding gas with their outflowing winds, jets, and radiation. Webb has provided us with a ton of data on this extreme environment, and we are just starting to dig into it."

More on the Milky Way: Trillions of "Rogue Planets" Are Wandering Through Our Galaxy, Scientists Say

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James Webb Detects Unexplained Structures in Heart of Our Galaxy - Futurism

"The 2023 ozone hole has already surpassed the size of the three years prior." Holed Up

A large hole in the Antarctic ozone layer once thought to be steadily closing could actually be widening, according to new research, casting doubt on whether global efforts to heal the ozone have been successful after all.

Most scientists would disagree. The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, contradict the broader consensus that the ozone has been steadily recovering over the past four decades.

By analyzing both monthly and daily changes in the ozone from 2004 to 2022, the researchers found that the ozone hole has significantly less ozone than it did 19 years ago, with levels declining by a shocking 26 percent.

"Our analysis ended with data from 2022, but as of today the 2023 ozone hole has already surpassed the size of the three years prior late last month it was over 26 million square kilometers, nearly twice the area of Antarctica," said study lead author Hannah Kessenich at the University of Otago said in a statement about the work.

Located miles above the surface in the stratosphere, the ozone layer is essential to life on Earth, shielding our planet from the Sun's harsh ultraviolet radiation. To protect it, world leaders at the United Nation passed the landmark Montreal Protocol in 1987, internationally banning a chemical used in aerosols called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that scientists discovered just years earlier was depleting the ozone.

The treaty has been widely hailed as a huge environmental victory. This year, a UN report projected that the ozone will return to 1980s levels by 2040.

But Kessenich and her team argue that it's too soon to pat ourselves on the back.

"Most major communications about the ozone layer over the last few years have given the public the impression that the 'ozone issue' has been solved," Kessenich said. "While the Montreal Protocol has vastly improved our situation with CFCs destroying ozone, the hole has been among the largest on record over the past three years, and in two of the five years prior to that."

So the ban on CFCs did work but they may not be the sole culprit if we're to explain this recent widening. Instead, the researchers suggest that ozone depletion could also be driven by the Antarctic polar vortex, a low pressure swirl of cold, westerly winds. So far, they've noted a link between changes in the vortex and declines in the ozone, but can't explain why this would happen.

The researchers' peers aren't quite convinced, though. Martin Jucker at the Climate Change ResearchCentre at the University of New South Wales notes that existing literature has already found that these holes were caused by climate events such as the 2019 bushfires and a massive volcanic eruption.

"It is important to note that the ozone hole is extremely variable from year to year, meaning that it can be large one year and small the other year," Jucker wrote in response to the paper on SciMex. "It is only over longer terms that a trend can be identified," he explained, criticizing the study for "using only 22 years" of data.

Still, right or wrong, the researchers say their work highlights "the importance of continued monitoring of the state of the ozone layer."

More on Earth: A Supernova Blew Out Part of Earth's Atmosphere, Scientists Say

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The Hole in the Ozone Layer Is Getting Bigger Again, Scientists Say - Futurism

Fat cats, living high on the hog. Big Carbon

As some climatologists fret over the morality of flying on an airplane, the richest among us haven't curbed their lifestyle due to any climate change concerns and are actually spending far more on luxuries than usual lately.

Putting this in particularly stark climate terms, a new study from Oxfam confirms that the richest 1 percent of the world had the same carbon footprint in 2019 as the poorest 66 percent, or the equivalent of 5 billion people.

For perspective, 59.4 million people in the world have a net worth of over $1 million, but the top 1 percent are worth over $11 million a minuscule proportion of the ultra-elite thats responsible for an obscene amount of the planets impending global warming doom.

"This report from Oxfam makes it glaringly clear: these are not separate issues," said climate activist Greta Thunberg in the foreword of the Oxfam study. "Climate breakdown and inequality are linked together and fuel each other. If we are to overcome one, we must overcome both."

The study, jointly conducted with the Stockholm Environment Institute, also found that the 1 percent are responsible for so many emissions that any carbon savings from off-shore wind turbines is moot, among other sobering facts.

Whats glaring in the data and testimony in the report is that while the rich are responsible for an outsize share of carbon emissions, its the poorest who will suffer most from the detrimental impact of climate change. For example, global warming will impact the availability of food and potable water whose scarcity will hurt the poor, while the rich can just pay extra for those necessities.

To change this dynamic, the Oxfam report calls for a tax on wealthy individuals and corporations, with proceeds going towards the Global South that would fund an energy transition and help ameliorate adverse effects of climate change on the poor.

The study says that a 60 percent income tax on the 1 percent would able to reduce emissions at more than the total carbon emissions of the United Kingdom and generate an annual figure of $6.4 trillion for a robust energy transition away from fossil fuels.

Would a climate tax on the wealthy have a snowballs chance in hell of happening? With stories of rich people trying to hide their wealth in off-shore accounts, most likely not. But perhaps this sobering report would make them think twice about flying off to Majorca in a private jet.

More on climate change: Exxon is Trying to Find the Guy Who Did Climate Change

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Scientists Say These Villains Are Causing Way More Than Their ... - Futurism