AIDS Activists and Environmental Groups protest Mt. Sinai use of Artificial Intelligence

Tonight we’ll be talking about the intersection of AI, Palantir, health activism and the environment with guests from the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power and Extinction Rebellion, both direct action groups and the recent nonviolent civil disobedience action at a Newsweek Health Summit last Wednesday, Sept 23rd.

On Wednesday, 19 activists from ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power), Extinction Rebellion, Climate Defiance, POP (Protect Our Planet) and other groups were arrested for blocking the street next to One World Trade Center, which was hosting the Newsweek Artificial Intelligence (AI) Health Summit.

The groups were protesting keynote speaker and Mount Sinai CEO Brendan Carr over his hospital’s contract with AI company Palantir. Palantir specializes in warfare, policing, surveillance, and immigration enforcement and since 2022, has implemented AI at Mount Sinai, including algorithm-based decision-making about care and “Hospital At Home” models that push people out of hospital beds faster.

Resources: actupny.com

Expose on Alex Karp and Palantir: If You're Listening | ABC NEWS In-depth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YWFDhOps6I

Sir Edmund Backhouse & British Imperialism in China

Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse (1873-1944) was a gay Englishman who played a small but significant role in British imperial incursion in late 19th & early 20th century China; Out-FM's John Riley engages Pauline Park about this obscure yet fascinating and significant figure in LGBTQ history; born into a wealthy aristocratic family, Backhouse eventually moved to China, where he assisted the Times of London's chief China correspondent and arch imperialist George Morrison with document translation; Backhouse wrote a series of books making sensational claims about the empress dowager Cixi as part of a British attempt to discredit her in a period in which European, Japanese & US imperial powers were carving up China and working to overthrow the Qing imperial regime.

Music:

Backlash Blues by Nina Simone

Gao Hong performing "Flying Dragon" on a pipa (music begins at 2:47):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCdHGFfqSmA&list=RDhCdHGFfqSmA&start_radio=1

Aaron Li performing "Mo Li Hua" (Jasmine Flower), an 18th century piece on a 19th century erhu at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thqUc1bf8IU&list=RDthqUc1bf8IU&start_radio=1