The skyline of Tel Aviv, which has long been a hub for technological innovation.
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Israel has fallen out of the top 10 nations attracting migrating millionaires amid the war in Gaza.
Henley & Partners said it shows how conflict can affect a country's appeal to wealthy investors.
Despite this, the firm's Israel expert said he suspects the country will bounce back.
Israel is no longer among the top 10 countries attracting migrating millionaires, marking the first time in decades that it has fallen from the ranking, according to a new private wealth report.
The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024, released Tuesday by investment migration advisory firm Henley & Partners, tracks the annual net inflows and outflows of millionaires.
It measures the difference between the number of high-net-worth individuals with investable wealth of $1 million or more who relocate to a country and those who emigrate from it.
Between 2013 and 2022, Israel attracted a net inflow of over 10,500 high-net-worth individuals, according to Henley & Partners.
However, the firm said events in 2023 reversed this trend — Israel flipped from a net inflow of 1,100 millionaires in 2022 to a net outflow of about 200 millionaires last year.
Dan Marconi, Senior Client Advisor at Henley & Partners Israel, said in a press release: "This seismic shift underscores how swiftly conflict can unravel a country's appeal to the world's wealthy and globally mobile."
"The ongoing war has not only shattered Israel's image as a safe haven but also threatened to overshadow its economic achievement," he added.
In an email to Business Insider, Marconi said it was not just the conflict that led to the outflow, but also controversial judicial reforms that raised the specter of civil unrest and created "a great deal of uncertainty."
He said this led many wealthy individuals to obtain additional citizenship.
According to Henley & Partners data, in 2023, inquiries about immigration programs in exchange for investments from Israelis increased by 232%.
Marconi said: "In light of this trend, many of them were forced to make alternative plans for emergencies, rather than necessarily leaving Israel."
Marconi told BI in a conversation that he thinks the trend reversal is temporary, and he suspects Israel may return to the top 10 in the coming years.
He said: "The fact you have a Plan B doesn't mean the image of Israel will be permanently damaged by this; it's just to have the optionality of having a second residence or second citizenship."
Despite the recent net outflow of millionaires, Marconi told Business Insider there remains a draw for wealthy individuals.
Economically, Israel offers enticing tax incentives, like a 10-year tax holiday on foreign earnings for new immigrants. Additionally, as the world's only Jewish state, he said it would always attract wealthy individuals seeking religious refuge.
Ilya Sutskever, an OpenAI cofounder, has founded a new company.
Sutskever was involved in a chaotic coup against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in November.
On Wednesday, Sutskever said he's starting a new company, Safe Superintelligence Inc.
OpenAI cofounder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever has started a new company.
The former OpenAI exec announced on Wednesday that his new venture was a research lab committed to developing "safe superintelligence."
Sutskever left OpenAI in May after months of uncertainty surrounding his role within the AI lab. His departure was swiftly followed by Jan Leike, who led OpenAI's superalignment group, a team that focuses on aligning its AI systems with human interests, with Sutskever.
Following his departure, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on X: "Ilya and OpenAI are going to part ways. This is very sad to me; Ilya is easily one of the greatest minds of our generation, a guiding light of our field, and a dear friend. His brilliance and vision are well known; his warmth and compassion are less well known but no less important."
OpenAI president and cofounder Greg Brockman also thanked Sutskever for "being my co-founder, my friend, and the officiant at my civil ceremony" in a separate post.
Speculation about Sutskever's role in ousting CEO Altman has been bubbling for months. The former chief scientist appeared to play a key role in the attempted coup which he later came to regret.
The move initially shocked the tech community and OpenAI investors, including Microsoft. Reports quickly started circulating that the board was wavering on its controversial decision and actively trying to get Altman back.
After staffers staged a revolt in the form of an open letter demanding the board's resignation and the reinstatement of their former chief, negotiations between OpenAI and Altman appeared to resolve, and the company announced he was set to return as CEO.
Altman's return also came with a new board that included lead investor Microsoft.
Here's a timeline of OpenAI leadership chaos that led us to this point.
Altman was ousted from OpenAI in a shock board decision
Altman was immediately ousted from OpenAI in a dramatic board decision on November 17. The company's nonprofit board announced it no longer had "confidence in his ability to continue leading."
A timeline provided by fellow OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman showed that Altman received a text from board member Sutskever asking to talk at midday Friday.
When Altman joined the meeting, the whole board, excluding Brockman, was on the call, and he was told by Sutskever he was being fired, per Brockman's post.
OpenAI staffers resigned
Brockman, the president and cofounder of OpenAI, quit his role at the company shortly after the news broke. He said he was told he was being removed from the board and that Altman had been fired at about the same time OpenAI published a blog post about the incident.
Brockman said he was originally told he was "vital to the company and would retain his role," but decided to part ways with the company shortly after.
The tech community was shocked by the decision, and at least three other OpenAI researchers followed the former president in giving up their roles.
OpenAI board was optimistic about getting Altman back
Several investors began pushing the board members to reverse their sudden leadership decision, Bloomberg reported.
In an internal memo cited by The Information, OpenAI's chief strategy officer, Jason Kwon, wrote to staff, saying the company remained optimistic that it could bring back Altman and other senior employees who had left.
Microsoft chief Nadella reportedly led the talks on Altman's return over that weekend.
New CEO announced
The Information later reported that Sutskever told OpenAI staffers that Altman would not return, prompting several more employees to quit.
Discussions to bring Altman back had reportedly fallen apart, per The Verge. The board then named former Twitch CEO and cofounder Emmett Shear as interim CEO. Shear took over the role from OpenAI's CTO, Mira Murati, who had publicly supported Altman.
Altman and Brockman joined Microsoft
In a strange twist, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella scooped up Altman and Brockman to lead "a new advanced AI research team" at Microsoft.
In a post on X, Brockman said the new Microsoft team would comprise him, Altman, Aleksander Madry, Szymon Sidor, and Jakub Pachocki. He said the team planned to "build something new" and "incredible."
Nadella announced on Monday the company remained "committed to our partnership with OpenAI" and had "confidence in our product roadmap."
Key board member said he regretted ousting Altman
OpenAI cofounder and chief scientist Sutskever said he deeply regretted his involvement in firing Altman.
Many had theorized that Sutskever had a major role in the decision, with reports highlighting the differing priorities between Altman and the nonprofit board.
"I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI," Sutskever said in an X post following a weekend of chaos. "I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company."
The chief scientist also signed an open letter calling for the board, which he sits on, to resign.
Employee revolt
Most employees returning to work on Monday were unhappy with the chaos the OpenAI board had kickstarted.
Former CTO Mira Murati was installed as interim CEO, following Altman's departure. CEO Emmett Shear, who cofounded Twitch, then took over from her. This meant the company had three CEOs in as many days.
The majority of OpenAI staffers just wanted Altman back.
By the end of the day, nearly the entire OpenAI staff had threatened to quit and join Altman at Microsoft. They signed a letter calling the board to resign, accusing members of undermining the company.
Altman's return was rumored to still be on the cards
The Verge reported that Altman and Brockman were considering going back to OpenAI if the board members who ousted Altman stepped down.
Multiple sources told the outlet that Altman, along with Brockman and OpenAI's investors, were trying to find a plan for board members to exit the company.
The ChatGPT-maker said in a post on X they "reached an agreement in principle" for Altman's return.
Shortly after OpenAI broke the news, Altman reflected on his decision to join Microsoft, saying he thought "it was clear that was the best path for me and the team."
He continued: "With the new board and w satya's support, i'm looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft."
Nadella also commented on the move, adding Microsoft was "encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board."
OpenAI also announced a "new initial board" consisting of Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo. Taylor, a former Salesforce executive, will serve as board chair.
Microsoft snags a board seat
The next day, Microsoft announced that the company was getting a non-voting board seat.
There had been speculation that Satya Nadella would seek more control over OpenAI following the board's failed coup.
The CEO was reportedly frustrated by the board's lack of communication during Altman's firing and rehiring. Later, he told journalist Kara Swisher he did not plan to be surprised by the company again.
In a message to employees posted on the company's website, re-instated CEO Altman said: "We clearly made the right choice to partner with Microsoft and I'm excited that our new board will include them as a non-voting observer."
A board member speaks out
Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner announced her resignation from the company following Altman's return.
She said: "To be clear: our decision was about the board's ability to effectively supervise the company, which was our role and responsibility. Though there has been speculation, we were not motivated by a desire to slow down OpenAI's work."
Several reports had pointed to a mysterious new OpenAI model known as Q* as a potential trigger for the chaos. The model is said to have sparked concern at the startup.
Top execs quit months later
In May, two top executives said they had resigned from OpenAI.
Sutskever, one of the company's cofounders, announced he was leaving the company six months after Altman's failed ouster.
The former chief scientist played a key role in the failed coup of OpenAI's CEO. He later appeared to regret his involvement and publicly apologized on social media.
Sutskever said he was confident OpenAI would build "safe" technology. He added that he was excited about his next steps and planned to share more details "in due time."
Jan Leike, the co-lead of OpenAI's superalignment group, also announced his resignation.
Sutskever's new startup
Just over a month after leaving OpenAI, Sutskever announced his new venture: Safe Superintelligence Inc, or SSI.
The announcement was made in an X post, which said the company had "one goal and one product: a safe superintelligence."
It planned to achieve this by advancing its "capabilities as fast as possible while making sure safety always remains ahead."
"This way, we can scale in peace," the post added.
Besides Sutskever, the company also lists former Apple AI lead Daniel Gross and ex-OpenAI technical staff member Daniel Levy among its cofounders.
Three hundred and forty-six people died in two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.
In 2021, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion as part of a settlement called a deferred prosecution agreement after it was charged with fraud conspiracy in the wake of the crashes.
Last month, the Justice Department said Boeing had failed to fulfill the conditions of the agreement and that, as a result, "Boeing is subject to prosecution by the United States."
On Wednesday, an attorney representing 15 families of the 737 Max crash victims, Paul Cassell, wrote a letter to the Justice Department saying that Boeing had committed "the deadliest corporate crime in US history."
Cassell said that the nearly $25 billion sought by the families was "legally justified and clearly appropriate" but suggested that $14 billion to $22 billion of the total amount could be suspended if Boeing committed to spending those funds on safety improvements and an independent corporate monitor, per Bloomberg.
The families also called on the DoJ to prosecute Boeing executives from the time of the two crashes, the report said.
Cassell's letter came a day after Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testified before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee.
At the hearing, he told victims' families that Boeing was "deeply sorry" for their losses.
"I want to personally apologize, on behalf of everyone at Boeing," said Calhoun, who previously announced that he would be stepping down at the end of the year.
"We are deeply sorry for your losses. Nothing is more important than the safety of the people who step on board," he added.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Elon Musk wants to woo advertisers back to Twitter/X.
Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
Elon Musk has torched his advertising business since he bought Twitter in 2022.
Now he would like some if it back, he tells advertisers.
But the biggest problem advertisers have with Twitter is the guy who owns it. Hard to solve that one.
Ever since Elon Musk bought Twitter in the fall of 2022, he appeared to go out of his way to scare away advertisers from his platform, which used to generate nearly $5 billion a year from ad sales.
His anti-revenue campaign reached its peak/nadir last fall, when he literally told advertisers to "go fuck yourself."
And that's where Musk explained that when he told advertisers to go fuck themselves last year, he didn't mean all advertisers. Just the ones that weren't advertising on his platform.
"It was with respect to freedom of speech," he told Read. He said that while advertisers were certainly in their rights not to run their messages next to content they found objectionable, he wasn't going to take that content down.
"What is not cool is insisting that there can be no content that they disagree with on the platform," he said.
But that message, which Musk and his lieutenants have been making for some time, misunderstands — maybe intentionally? — the problem advertisers have with Twitter, which he has renamed X.
Yes, some advertisers are quite concerned about the kind of people and content that have shown up on Twitter since Musk bought it. But advertisers spend money on all kinds of platforms that have content some people find objectionable. See YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok, for starters.
In just the last month, Musk has blasted the Associated Press as a supposed "far left propaganda machine," claimed "the left has become an extinctionist movement," advanced a version of the Great Replacement Theory by arguing that President Joe Biden's administration is engaged in "voter importation" from Mexico, assailed The Washington Post as a "far left propaganda publication," promoted the notion that the Democratic Party is engaged in "lawfare" against Republicans, contended that the conviction of Donald Trump was "abuse of the law for political purposes," and endorsed the notion that diversity and equity programs are making science dangerous, among other things.
Musk is perfectly free to express those positions, of course. And some of those arguments might find a lot of support in different corners of the country.
But, again, advertisers don't necessarily care about the specifics of Musk's content — they want clean, well-lit places. They don't want to deal with a mess — the kind Musk creates with his posts, and with his actions, like telling his clients to go fuck themselves.
And, most importantly, they don't have to. Twitter/X remains a subscale advertising platform, with reach and revenue that's a fraction of competitors like Google, Facebook and TikTok. That's why under Twitter's previous ownership, Twitter sales reps pitched the idea that advertisers could use it to reach an elite group of influential users.
Musk is now making that argument himself, and there's still some truth to it. While lots of high-profile users bailed on Twitter after he bought it, plenty are still there. Barack Obama, for instance, is using the platform to promote Joe Biden's immigration policies and call for social media regulations. Media chatterers, including me, still chatter there.
Meanwhile, the exodus of big brand advertisers has pushed Twitter ad rates way, way down. Which means they're now a worthwhile investment for some performance marketers — people who want you to click on a link and make a purchase. This explains why I constantly see ads for both Cheech and Chong's weed gummies and Puck, the newsletter pitched at Very Important People and People Who Like Them, whenever I open the app.
But for lots of advertisers, there's really no upside to gambling on Twitter. There just aren't enough people to make a difference, and there's a good chance that on any given day, the guy who owns the place is going to say something that some of your customers find odious. Why bother?
Twitter "has been destroyed," an ad executive told me this week, following Musk's presentation.
Maybe that's too strong. Maybe big advertisers would come back, if they didn't have to worry about the uncertainty that the proprietor creates.
But in order for that to happen, Musk himself would have to shut up, or at least restrain himself. And he made it clear that that's not happening.
"I mean, not every post I make is a banger. And I do shoot myself in the foot from time to time," he told Read. "But you know, at least you know, it's genuine. It's not some sort of PR department deciding things."
And that's one upside of being the world's richest man. You can say whatever you want, and you can drop $44 billion on a platform that lets you broadcast what you say to people all over the world.
But you can't force people to spend their money there.
The author shares how summer goes too quickly as a divorced parent
skynesher/Getty Images
I'm a mom of two kids, ages 9 and 11.
I divorced their dad and we share custody, so I only see them half the time.
I feel the pressure to make our time together memorable.
One thing I didn't expect as a divorced parent is how different summer would be. The everlasting days of summer feel rushed and hurried now and then feel too long when my kids aren't with me. It's crushing.
My kids are 11 and 9 years old, and they alternate between homes week to week during the school year. It's the same back-and-forth schedule during the summer.
I count the weeks of summer vacation and mark on my calendar "yes" for my week and "no" when it is other parents' time. This summer I will see my kids the second and third week of June, and then two weeks in July and one week in August before school starts again. It will zip by.
Summer break is now a new type of pressure when it's split to make each week memorable in some way. I'm up against the clock, my summer budget, and the scorching heat.
I have to plan everything out
Since my kids are a little older, I tell them to pick two things they would love to do each week. Our big summer trip is visiting my family in Virginia during one of the weeks. My kids may want to have a sleepover with friends or go to mini golf, an arcade, or a waterpark. We might go to an Astros baseball game or plan a weekend camping trip.
Everything has to be quickly researched, booked, or planned because time is so limited. Coparenting means respecting each other's time with the kids and limiting arguments and drama. This means that sometimes opportunities are missed or plans are changed. If there isn't a cabin available the week we want to go camping, we will do something different when we are together.
During the school year, I could visit my kids for lunch or visit them while cheering for soccer or basketball games on weekends. On Wednesdays, I'd get extra time with them after school, but in the summer, those things are gone.
Because of divorce, I much prefer the school year when there's a schedule and there aren't questions about where my kids are going to be or how they are feeling, and I worry more.
I keep myself busy so as not to miss them too much
When my kids are with the other parent during the summer, there is no guarantee I'll see them in person for a week. I've learned that staying busy and making plans for myself, along with long walks in nature, lowers the ache and is essential for my mental health.
I can't afford an elaborate vacation like the other parent. I smile at my kids when they tell me about it and combat my jealousy by remembering extravagance isn't everything, and my kids have made lasting summer memories while staying right in our ZIP code.
When they arrive at my home on Sunday evening, there's nothing like pizza night poolside to start off summer break. I time them when they race each other from one end of the pool to the other and throw dive rings. We lounge and watch the sunset, and I already want time to slow down because my heart is filled with laughter and happiness.
Before we know it, I'll ask my kids what they want to wear on the first day of school. As a divorced parent with limited time, back-to-school shopping happens much earlier. By the start of July I'm walking the store aisles for school supplies or ordering online must-have items. By then, there are just two more weeks together, and then my kiddos are back in the classroom.
In Sweden, parents are entitled to 480 days of leave per child. By default, these are split evenly between two parents; they can transfer up to 150 days to each other, and take up to 30 of the same days off. A single parent gets the full 480 days.
Lindgren started parental leave two weeks before their daughter was born, after which her husband took 10 days of paid leave, which is standard practice in Sweden.
"It was such a shock to the system. You hear other people say how hard it is to be a parent and how tired you'll be," Lindgren told BI. "But the reality of waking up every hour or two to breastfeed made me so grateful to have my husband at home."
In total, Lindgren took 10 months of parental leave for her first child and said she was paid 80% of her salary during most of this period.
Lindgren and her husband were both off work with their baby for three months. Her husband took a combination of parental leave and annual leave to make it happen.
"I loved it," she said. "When I needed a nap or a rest, my husband could cuddle our child."
Taking time off together helped them relate to each other
Lindgren said it "felt like a massive change in my identity having my whole life revolve around a child."
"Having my husband take a good chunk of parental leave made me feel like we got to walk a mile in each other's shoes," she said.
When she went back to work, her husband could experience what she had at home all day with the baby. He took 10 months off, three of which overlapped with Lindgren. Swapping roles helped them manage their expectations of each other, she said.
"When I started working again, I started to relate more to him and realized how he felt," she said. "I didn't fully get that until it was my turn to go back to work."
When their second child was born in December 2021, Lindgren took another eight months of parental leave. Her husband overlapped by one month and then a further five months, during which she was back at work.
Workplaces in Sweden are flexible around childcare
Between children, Lindgren returned to work full-time as a platform manager for a large retailer.
Lindgren said there was no stigma around her parental leave among her colleagues.
"Senior managers will say they need to finish work early because preschool finishes or that they're going to start work a bit later because of something to do with their kids," she said.
Centenarians say there are six key things that could help you live to 100 and beyond.
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Today's centenarians grew up in a different world but their longevity advice is still relevant.
Seven centenarians shared their tips for living a long, happy life.
Their tips for living past 100 include keeping busy, doing things in moderation, and having hobbies.
Today's centenarians grew up in the 1910s and 1920s, when the world was a very different place.
The Jim Crow laws were still in place, World War II hadn't happened yet, and indoor toilets were a luxury.
But they have plenty of wisdom about making the most of life that's still relevant, particularly as younger people have a much higher chance of living to 100 than previous generations.
A healthy 30-year-old woman today has up to a 22% chance of living to 100, according to the Stanford Center on Longevity. In contrast, a woman born in 1920 had around a 2% chance of living to 100, according to actuary Mary Pat Campbell.
Business Insider has spoken to multiple 100+ year-olds, and while their longevity can likely be partly explained by genetics and luck, lifestyle factors can also play a huge role in healthy aging.
These centenarians all have different backgrounds but tend to give similar advice for living longer.
Uncle Jack eats dark chocolate every day.
Ask Uncle Jack
Eat well
Many centenarians believe that eating a diet rich in healthy, non-processed foods is key to a long life.
For instance, since they grew up before the popularization of ultra-processed foods and ready meals, both Jack Van Nordheim, a 100-year-old social media influencer who lives in Southern California, and 114-year-old Texan Elizabeth Francis, who is the oldest living American, eat mostly home-cooked meals made from whole foods.
Elizabeth Francis receiving her 'Oldest living Texan' plaque.
Emmanuel Rodriguez, LongeviQuest
Van Nordheim ate plenty of fresh chicken because his family had a ranch, and Francis used to cook with collard greens, mustard greens, carrots, and okra she grew in her own backyard.
Centenarians in the world's Blue Zones, where people live to over 100 more often than in other populations, also tend to eat plenty of vegetables and whole foods.
One 2022 study suggested that switching from the "typical" Western diet to an optimal one — which consisted of whole grains, legumes, fish, fruits, vegetables, and nuts, and limited red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, and refined grains — could add up to 10 years to people's life expectancies in the US.
Have a hobby
Not only did Van Nordheim grow up around animals, he also made them his life's passion, owning a monkey at one point and continuing to birdwatch today.
British 106-year-old Katie MacRae, meanwhile started gardening when she was 12 or 13, and has kept up the hobby for almost a century.
Katie MacRae celebrating her 106th birthday.
Bolton Clarke
A 2023 meta-analysis on 93,263 adults aged over 65 found links between engaging in hobbies, higher life expectancy, and an increase in self-reported health, happiness, and life satisfaction.
Stay active
A hobby with physical elements can be particularly beneficial. MacRae and 102-year-old Janet Gibbs, who lives in Australia, both play bowls at their care homes. Gibbs played golf until she was 86. And every morning, 100-year-old Joyce Preston, who's based in the UK, does gentle exercises such as yoga, and loves going for walks.
Janet Gibbs enjoying herself at a Centenarian Club tea party.
Bolton Clarke
Staying active into older age is great for longevity, and research shows that even short bursts of vigorous activity could extend your lifespan.
Spend time with friends and family
Von Nordheim is really close with his nephew, who takes care of him; Francis lives with her daughter; Gibbs has a friend who is a sprightly 92 who she thinks keeps her young; and Preston is kept busy by lots of friends.
John Tinniswood, from the UK — who is currently the oldest living man at 111 years old— and Japanese Kane Taneka — who was the second oldest person in recorded history when he died at 119 in 2022 — both do everything in moderation.
Yumi Yamamoto, the Japan research president for LongeviQuest, an organization that validates the ages of the world's oldest people, previously told BI that Tanaka's habit of never doing anything to excess is common among Japanese supercentenarians.
Yamamoto with Kikue Taira, the younger sister of the world's oldest ever pair of siblings.
Francis does housework, MacRae is on committees at her care homes, Gibbs listens to audiobooks, and Van Nordheim is a social media star, writes books, and birdwatches.
Keeping your brain working and maintaining a sense of purpose is thought to be important for longevity. A 2019 study found a link between a higher sense of purpose and a lower risk of death, while a 2022 review of studies suggested that busier adults have better cognition and delayed onset of dementia.
The technology could further entice AI companies to use nuclear energy to power their data centers.
"Only nuclear power will be able to supply this massive energy demand," Transmutex's CEO told BI.
Ancient alchemists once tried transmuting elements, toying with metals like lead to create gold. That pursuit of quick riches has since been abandoned, but scientists are now using a similar idea to level up one of the world's most promising energy sources.
Transmutex, a Swiss startup, is pioneering a new method for "nuclear transmutation" that not only destroys nuclear waste but can also turn it back into energy — solving a key problem in nuclear energy production.
Scientists have long considered nuclear energy one of the cleanest and most reliable forms of energy production. However, the waste it creates must be stored in deep geological repositories for thousands of years to prevent the environment from being exposed to harmful radiation. Transmutex says its technology can "transmute" 99% of the world's high-level radioactive waste into new fuel.
Nagra, the Swiss agency that manages nuclear waste, validated the claim as a "theoretical possibility" in a letter to the company last month.
Switzerland, however, has pivoted away from nuclear energy, in part because of the safety concerns made apparent by Japan's Fukushima disaster in 2011. But such disasters are rare and many other countries — like the United States and Saudi Arabia, for example — are betting on nuclear energy as the most efficient and sustainable option.
"To reach our goal of net zero by 2050, we have to at least triple our current nuclear capacity," US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in May.
Tech companies at the forefront of the AI revolution are also turning to nuclear energy to power their vast AI data centers.
Transmutex CEO Franklin Servan-Schreiber believes the company can help these businesses go nuclear by destroying that long-term waste.
"If we know how to deal with the waste, even if it takes a long time, we still know that in the future there is a limit to that waste, which is not gonna be a million years. That's the key," he told Business Insider in an interview.
A new fuel cycle for nuclear power
Transmutex's technology destroys nuclear waste and produces new nuclear fuel.
Transmutex
Transmutex's technology uses high-energy subatomic particles known as neutrons to destroy highly radioactive nuclear waste. While it can take hundreds of thousands of years for nuclear waste to decay to safe radiation levels, Transmutex says its technology can shorten that timeframe to just decades.
Servan-Schreiber says that over time, this system can also turn that waste into fuel that can be used again in nuclear power plants — a sort of nuclear recycling program.
"Because you're able to burn waste and release energy, overall the process is very profitable," Cameron Porter, a venture capitalist who manages Steel Atlas and is an investor in Transmutex, told Business Insider.
Nuclear physicists say the company's technology avoids one of the biggest concerns with nuclear energy: that the same fuel used to power nuclear plants can also be used to manufacture atomic weapons.
"We don't want that to happen," Andrei Afanasev, a professor of physics at George Washington University's Institute for Nuclear Studies, told Business Insider.
Transmutex avoids this risk because it doesn't produce plutonium, a key element for making nuclear bombs.
The technology is also more efficient, Afanasev said. According to the Department of Energy, spent nuclear fuel can still have about 90% of its potential energy even after five years of operation in a reactor.
With nuclear reactors, "you just throw away a big chunk of energy that you could use for everybody," he said. "So this technology addresses this issue. They can extract more energy from the existing fuel."
AI firms on the lookout for energy solutions
The AI industry is looking for new, more reliable power sources as the race to develop artificial intelligence ramps up.
"Energy, not compute, will be the No. 1 bottleneck to AI progress," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on the Dwarkesh Podcast in April, referring to the computational resources needed for training and running AI models.
Oklo, a startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is betting on generating nuclear power through small nuclear reactors. Its Aurora reactor can run on spent nuclear waste.
Franklin Servan-Schreiber, CEO of Transmutex, believes the company has a new solution to long-term waste.
nicolas lieber / photographie
Servan-Schreiber said nuclear power might be the only way to support the industry's massive energy demands.
"AI requires massive, industrial-scale amounts of energy," Servan-Schreiber said. "Only nuclear power will be able to supply this massive energy demand in a reliable manner. With a technology like Transmutex (only one currently being proposed), the US can build classic uranium-based nuclear plants, such as the Vogtle plant in Georgia, without being burdened with high-level nuclear waste for hundreds of thousands of years."
Miles Astray's image won a prize in the "AI-generated" category of the 1839 Awards.
Miles Astray
Miles Astray won a prize in an AI contest with a photograph that was not generated by AI.
He later revealed it was a stunt to highlight the ethical issues of AI-generated images in contests.
Astray was disqualified but said a cofounder of the award praised his actions.
A photographer won a prize in a competition for AI-generated photographs — except the picture he submitted was real.
Miles Astray's image of a flamingo won third place in the AI-generated category of the 1839 Awards' Color Photography Contest last week.
However, the photographer told CNN that he was later disqualified after revealing he'd fooled the judges to make a point.
In an article for Fortune, Astray also wrote that he "felt bad about leading the jury astray" with his stunt but wanted to highlight the ethical implications of AI-produced imagery.
The 38-year-old told The Guardian: "Of course, I deliberately chose a picture that is so surreal, to the point of unbelievable, that it could easily be attributed to AI being at play."
In a way, Astray's attempt to dupe the judges could be viewed as a form of performance art. In his Fortune article, Astray said AI-generated images have been in the news because they'd won photo contests they "were not supposed to compete in", which he feels shows have fast AI has proliferated in recent years.
But Astray chose to come clean after the winners were announced and informed the Creative Resource Collective, the organization behind the awards.
In an Instagram post caption last week, he wrote: "I entered this actual photo into the AI category of the 1839 Awards to prove that human-made content has not lost its relevance, that Mother Nature and her human interpreters can still beat the machine, and that creativity and emotion are more than just a string of digits."
Astray added he was surprised by the reaction from Lily Fierman, cofounder and director of the awards, whom he says "remarked that she appreciates the powerful message and that it was an important and timely statement."
Amazon is trying to eliminate all plastic packaging from its fulfillment centers in North America.
Robert Michael/Getty Images
Amazon said nearly all deliveries in North America no longer have plastic air pillows inside.
This change avoids 15 billion air pillows a year, Amazon's biggest plastic reduction effort yet.
Companies are under pressure to reduce single-use plastics that pollute the environment.
Nearly all Amazon deliveries in North America no longer include plastic air pillows, the e-commerce giant said on TK [date]Thursday.
Amazon said the change will avoid some 15 billion air pillows — the company's largest reduction in plastic packaging to date. Instead, Amazon is using a paper filler made from 100% recycled material that customers can recycle at home as part of a broader effort to eventually eliminate all plastic packaging from North American fulfillment centers. Amazon already met that goal in Europe this year.
The switch to recycled paper comes as companies and governments are under pressure to phase out single-use plastics that are piling up in landfills and contributing to the climate crisis. The vast majority of plastics are made from oil and gas, can't be recycled, and degrade into tiny particles that leach into the air and environment. Scientists have found those microplastics in human blood along with organs, including the liver, heart, lungs, and most recently, testicles, but the effects on our health are still being studied.
For years, Oceana, a nonprofit that advocates for protecting oceans, has criticized Amazon's ballooning plastic footprint as the company shipped billions of packages around the world. Matt Littlejohn, Oceana's senior vice president, told Business Insider that eliminating air pillows indicates Amazon is serious about its plastic reduction efforts in North America and welcome news for oceans. Plastic air pillows are made with a film that's commonly found littering marine areas.
Oceana recently estimated that Amazon generated more than 94,000 metric tons of plastic packaging waste in the US alone in 2022, a 9.6% increase over the previous year. It's enough to circle the Earth more than 200 times in the form of air pillows, Oceana said.
Oceana said its estimates are higher than Amazon's because the company doesn't account for orders sent by third-party sellers. Those independent sellers account for more than 60% of Amazon's sales. Amazon's plastic packaging data reflects orders shipped through its own fulfillment centers — which some independent sellers opt for — and through its grocery business. The data isn't broken down by country.
"The first thing for us is to really test and learn and then scale what we can control within our own facilities," Pat Linder, vice president of mechatronics and sustainable packaging at Amazon, told Business Insider. "That's been our focus."
Linder pointed to an Amazon fulfillment center in Cleveland that last year became the first to eliminate plastic delivery packaging and replace it with paper that's curbside recyclable. The effort involved rebuilding existing machines that package products. Additionally, the recyclable paper is better at protecting orders, Linder said.
He added that Amazon will disclose the impact of these changes on the company's plastic use in its next sustainability report.
That report will also detail Amazon's broader climate strategy. The company aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 while boosting sales and building more data centers that demand vast amounts of electricity.
Between 2021 and 2022, Amazon's carbon footprint dropped by 0.4%, although it was still higher than in 2019, the first year Amazon reported its emissions.