List of All Articles with Tag 'epc'

Collectibles broker Sotheby’s expects Wilt Chamberlain’s 1972 NBA Finals jersey to sell for more than $4 million in an upcoming auction

Artificial intelligence (AI) could reshape jobs or be used to create conspiracy theories that could cause political instability, according to a document outlining the possible threats facing Ireland. The National Risk Assessment report, which began in 2014, aims to outline economic, security or political risks to Ireland in the coming years, with the aim of informing decisions and to prepare for those possibilities. It also aims to guard against “group think”, and states that it highlighted the risk of Brexit in its 2014 report, and the housing challenge in its 2015 report. In the introduction to the report, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the list of 25 risks range from climate change to newer risks such as the security of Ireland’s energy supply and the proliferation of disruptive technology like AI. The report stated that as disruptive technology trends develop, “these advances create a range of opportunities” but also pose a possibility for malign use. Coastal erosion, which can impact upon infrastructure and human settlement, will accelerate in the coming years National Risk Assessment report It said that disruptive technologies such as AI could cause automation that could “displace or reshape” jobs and sectors, or be used for “malign” purposes. “Generative AI systems, which make the rapid production of content based on a variety of source material (text, moving or still images, computer code) easily available to the public, will bring extraordinary change, but will also pose a challenge for societal resilience, in particular how we counter the harms that could flow from their malicious use. “This could include the use of AI to generate disinformation and misinformation, deepfakes, or conspiracy theories, with the potential to distort markets, undermine cohesion or cause political instability.” It added: “The spread of mis/disinformation, including via social media and other digital platforms, has the potential to undermine the State, the integrity of elections, social cohesion, and the functioning of the economy.” In relation to Northern Ireland, the report said that certain groups with “very limited levels of support” are “intent on disrupting the significant progress” to bring about peace on the island of Ireland. “The risks to Ireland posed by armed conflict, terrorism and hybrid security threats are potentially compounded by our having one of the lowest levels of investment in military and defence capabilities within Europe,” it said. The assessment also stated that Ireland’s housing shortage and pricing issues “are unlikely to rectify themselves over the short term”, with inflation and skilled labour shortages impacting supply. It said that high rent costs create a risk of a “locked-out generation”, and is impacting on homelessness, which is at record high monthly rates. “The housing challenge risks increasing social exclusion and impairing labour mobility,” it said, adding that the growing number of asylum seekers highlighted the “undersupply of appropriate housing and the inflexibility of the sector”. It highlights that climate change is happening at “an accelerating and alarming rate”, and that Ireland needs to urgently “step up” efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors of the economy. “…Failure to meet obligations and targets on emissions, energy usage, and renewable energy, set both by the EU and in national legislation, is a risk. “Inertia and resistance to change risks Ireland’s efforts at adaptation and mitigation.” It also highlighted extreme weather events in Ireland such as flooding and extreme temperatures, which have “major” impacts on the environment, people and economy. “Coastal erosion, which can impact upon infrastructure and human settlement, will accelerate in the coming years,” it said. “In this regard, it is notable that much critical infrastructure, such as power stations, wastewater treatment plants, and rail infrastructure can be found along our coastline. “Very significant investment, with associated delivery risks, will be necessary to build climate resilience into flood defences and water management systems, in order to secure communities and the infrastructure they depend on.” The assessment added: “Trade-offs and public expenditure choices will be required.” It also warned that vulnerabilities in global financial markets “have grown more pressing” and highlighted “a wide range of financial vulnerabilities and elevated uncertainty”. It said that Ireland’s post-Brexit relationship with Great Britain “will continue to present challenges”, particularly on trade as the UK moves to introduce checks and controls on imports. It warned that while Ireland is “a strong supporter” of EU enlargement it also poses a risk to cohesion across the bloc and may lead to changes in how the EU operates. The report said that the most extreme risks to Ireland “are outside exclusive national control”, and as a result, international relations, such as Ireland’s EU membership, are important. The development of the National Risk Assessment is overseen by a group of departmental officials and members of relevant agencies, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach. A proposed list of strategic risks is drafted which is then published for public consultation, which took place from December 7 2022 to February 17 2023. The proposed risks are then reviewed and further considered by Government departments and agencies, and the final draft was considered by government on July 25. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Harry and Meghan ring young online innovators after funding awards James Bulger’s mother condemns ‘disgusting’ AI clips on TikTok of murdered son Police use AI camera van to spot drivers using mobile phones

A jury has ruled that Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooter Robert Bowers will face the death penalty. Bowers, whose defense hoped to avoid a death penalty, learned of his fate around noon on Wednesday when jurors read their decision. The mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue on 27 October, 2018, left 11 people dead and became the most deadly antisemitic attack in US history. The jurors spent two days deliberating before reaching their conclusions. All 12 jurors had to agree in order to impose a death penalty. Bowers' legal team initially offered a plea deal to the prosecution, promising a guilty plea from the mass shooter if they agreed not to seek the death penalty. The prosecution refused the deal. Defense attorney Judy Clarke offered a plea to the jury to spare Bowers’ life. “We can’t rewind the clock and make it such that this senseless crime never happened,” she argued. “All we can really do is make the right decision going forward. And we are asking you to make the right decision, and that is life.” She asked the jurors to consider the traumas of Bowers’ childhood and his mental illness when issuing their sentence, noting that “he succumbed to his mental illness, to his delusional beliefs, and brought us where we are today.” Forensic psychiatrist Dr Park Dietz — who testified as an expert witness for the prosecution in the trials of John Hinkley Jr, who attempted to assassinate Ronald Regan, and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer — also testified for the prosecution regarding Bowers. He said Bowers suffered no delusions that would have called into question his intent to kil the worshippers at the synagogue. Intent is one of three critera that must be met before a jury can pass down a death sentence. A defendant must also be over the age of 18 and have at least one aggravating factor — in Bowers’ case hate crimes — to qualify for a death sentence. A jury found him guilty of all 63 charges against him during a trial in June.

By Lisandra Paraguassu BRASILIA Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his country is working for peace

Imagine yourself in Times Square, New York. You're on a trip with your sister. Flashing

Steve Harvey has responded to a viral burger that looks like him, and he's taking it all in good humour. The burger, which did the rounds on social media, had big slices of onion under a patty and people joked the slices looked like the American TV host's smile. The user who posted it, Sagittarius Groove, wrote: “Why they give me these big onion slices, my burger look like Steve Harvey." She then begged her followers not to harass Harvey with her post, writing, “Pls don’t tag Steve, I don’t want to offend anyone. I was eating dinner and thought 3 of my mutuals would see this.” But it quickly made its way to the Family Feud host, as is often the case on social media, but at least he seemed to see the funny side. "Stop sending me this $!&#," he said accompanied with a laughing crying face. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter After he tweeted the picture, the post went viral and people on Twitter praised him for his ability to take a joke and who can blame them? After all, there are worse things to look like than a burger, in our opinion at least. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

When I was 16 years old I was lucky enough to see Taylor Swift live for the first time. My sister and I pooled all our resources — birthday card cash, babysitting tips, pocket money — to splurge on Speak Now tour tickets at my closest venue, London’s O2 Arena in the UK. Along with our mom (our chaperone) and a friend, we took our places in the back row and clung onto the near vertical seats to sing, scream, jump, and cry, all at the same time. We wore the very best from our existing wardrobes and took barely any pictures. The only evidence from the then Best Night Of My Life is a grainy, disposable photo that my mom made us take outside the arena “for posterity’s sake.” I’m clutching my simple but lovingly made poster and smiling awkwardly — I was far too teenage and far too uncomfortable in my own skin to want to pose. Neither I nor my family can remember how much we paid but the internet tells me tickets started at $37 and there’s no way, despite our combined piggy banks, that we would have been able to break $60 two times over. Not to mention the cost of our train tickets to and from London, which we would also have been expected to cover.

The world's biggest heavy metal music festival starting in northern Germany on Wednesday was forced to cap attendance after heavy rains turned its outdoor...

Taylor Swift has reportedly expressed her gratitude to the truck drivers working on her Eras Tour by giving each of them a $100,000 bonus. The 33-year-old singer is currently on her record-breaking tour which has earned an estimated $300 million in gross revenue, as per Pollstar. Last year, Billboard estimated that Swift's tour would gross $590 million over the course of 52 tour dates. With this huge financial success, Swift has used the fortune to reward her truckers who are responsible for transporting her equipment and staging around the country. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Each of the 50 truck drivers were given $100,000 each ahead of Swift's show in Santa Clara on Saturday, which adds up to $5 million in total for the "end-of-the-tour" bonuses, both TMZ and Entertainment Tonight reported. Plus, bonuses were also handed out to other people on her tour crew such as her band members, dancers, lighting and sound technicians, caterers and others. Though the amount paid to the other members remains unclear, TMZ reported that it was a "very generous amount." Altogether it is thought that The Eras tour could be the highest-grossing tour of all time, earning a massive $1 billion in sales. It's been a record-breaking year for Swift who also became the first woman to have four albums in the top 10 of the Billboard charts. She also became the first female artist in history to surpass 93 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Elsewhere, tickets for Swift's Eras Tour LA shows are on sale for $11,000, while the singer also sparked a meme frenzy with an August post. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Tristan Tate asserted that he did not believe anything until he heard from Jake Paul

Trizah Morris allegedly contacted Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears' lawyers to ask them to issue a statement to clarify that she did not extort them

'I’ve heard from people who knew her – she used to do these kinds of things all the time,' Newstalk host Sean Moncrieff said