GoKawiil
Tech News
More than 100 demonstrators stormed a Microsoft data center site in Amsterdam, part of a wave of coordinated protests planned across Europe this weekend against the rapid buildout of data centers. The Amsterdam action targeted the facility directly, according to reports of the event.
On Friday, around 100 activists breached fencing at an unfinished Microsoft data center campus near Amsterdam, halting construction, while hundreds more protested outside. Some demonstrators climbed a construction crane, set off smoke bombs, and hung a banner reading 'fck AI.' The action was organized by Geef Tegengas, a Rotterdam-based climate justice direct-action group.
About 100 protesters, organized by the Geef Tegengas group, broke into the construction site of a planned Microsoft data center in Amsterdam, with some climbing a crane to hang a banner reading 'fuck AI' and another declaring 'Microsoft powers genocide.' Protesters chanted slogans against Microsoft and in support of Palestine at the site, which is being built by Pure Data Centres under a project approved before Amsterdam's 2030 ban on new data centers.
A real-world protest has emerged this week targeting Liberty Biberty, the car insurance mascot, intensifying an existing online hate campaign against the character. The event has prompted commentary questioning whether the backlash reflects genuine dislike of the mascot or a deeper craving for shared community experiences.
Boston Dynamics says it will proceed with supplying Spot robots to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite a petition signed by more than 300 employees opposing the deal. The roughly $2 million sale, intended for building searches, was approved by the government in late September and delivered through reseller Radeco with Cerberus software installed.
Liberty Mutual Insurance introduced a new mascot called Liberty Biberty, a golden orb-shaped figure with unusually humanlike teeth. The character has provoked widespread mockery and anger online, and on October 25 protesters gathered in Boston to demonstrate against it. Despite the backlash, the campaign has reportedly been good for the company's business.
Greenpeace activists disrupted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's keynote at GTC Berlin, standing on chairs with a banner reading 'Nvidia, clean up your dirty business!' and shouting questions about Nvidia chips allegedly found in Russian drones and missiles, plus broader environmental concerns. Security removed the protesters as Huang told them 'It's okay, go easy' and 'I'll talk to you later.' The confrontation follows reports that Nvidia Jetson Orin chips have turned up in Russia's S-71 'Monochrome' weapon and other autonomous drones.
Carolyn Marvin, a retired University of Pennsylvania communications professor, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after repeatedly standing in front of an Avride delivery robot operating for Uber Eats in Center City, Philadelphia. She ignored police requests to let the robot pass, and said she has confronted the machines on multiple occasions to protest what she sees as their replacement of human delivery workers.
Organizers of the 'No Kings' movement have scheduled roughly 2,500 rallies, marches and community gatherings nationwide for Saturday, October 17. The events include voter registration drives and local election defense workshops aimed at encouraging early voting ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
Apple TV unveiled the trailer for 'Being Heumann,' a film directed by 'CODA' filmmaker Siân Heder dramatizing the 1977 disability rights occupation of a San Francisco federal building. The film stars Ruth Madeley, Mark Ruffalo, Dylan O'Brien and Rob Delaney, and features what Apple describes as the largest cast of disabled actors ever assembled. It opens in limited theaters November 6 before streaming on Apple TV starting November 13.
Members of Berkeley's Odd Friend Studio placed a 5-foot papier mâché and cardboard installation called 'What Iceberg?' at the public entrance to an OpenAI developer event in San Francisco. The piece depicts OpenAI's leaders and investors escaping a sinking ship while others are left behind, and took five days to build from repurposed materials including an old table.