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Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has diedFRONT ROYAL — After a nearly seven-hour public hearing Tuesday night, the Warren County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to create a new library board charged with governing library services in the county. Proposed by Supervisors Richard Jamieson and Vicky Cook in their 2023 Library Debrief and Research Report, the new Warren County Library Board will have full control over county funds designated for library services, a move the Jamieson/Cook report says will bring increased taxpayer representation and greater accountability to library services. Voting in favor of the new board were Jamieson, Cook, Jerome “Jay” Butler and John Stanmeyer. Chairwoman Cheryl Cullers was the lone dissenting vote. Samuels Public Library, the county’s only library, is now managed by a 15-member board of trustees that requests funding for operational costs from the county — $1.024 million this year. The Jamieson/Cook report recommended more taxpayer representation and oversight through the appointment of a new board by supervisors. The report says that the relationship between supervisors and Samuels, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that has provided library services through a public-private partnership with the county for decades, has become acrimonious since 2023. In 2023, a group sought to remove about 140 books with LGBTQ+ themes from the library. Dissatisfied with the library’s response, the group asked supervisors to defund Samuels and reorganize its structure. After the library made policy changes to address concerns around the books, Samuels and the county negotiated a new Memorandum of Agreement, which was finalized in October 2023. More than 100 speakers showed up for the public hearing that started at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night and ran until 2 a.m. Wednesday. About 18 speakers urged supervisors to support the creation of the new library board, citing the library debrief report and concerns about government oversight and taxpayer representation. More than 90 speakers asked supervisors to vote “no” on the agenda item, with more than a dozen people suggesting that the motion be tabled to allow for more clarification around the proposed board. Calling the library a gem, a jewel and a treasure, those speakers criticized the proposal as premature, rushed, and incomplete and wondered about the costs associated with the change. Cheryl Masella, a certified public accountant with 30 years of experience in the nonprofit field, credited the library’s board of trustees with stellar reporting to the IRS, noting that Samuels consistently receives the highest marks possible by an independent organization that rates transparency and finances of all nonprofits. She added that as a nonprofit, Samuels is accountable to the Internal Revenue Service. “All of this is done very hastily with no real plan. I saw where someone asked earlier, how much will it cost to run a library? What are your plans to buy all the supplies needed for the library? And there are no answers,” she said. Shelby Whetzel, a preschool teacher from the South River district, noted Samuels’ designation as Virginia Library of the Year for 2024 and said that creating a library board “is not the right choice.” “The amount of money that has already been spent trying to fix something that is not broken is, for lack of a better word, appalling,” she said, adding that she feels the move to implement the new library board is personal on the part of some supervisors. Butler filed requests to remove two books from the adult section of the library last year due to their LGBTQ+ themes. Before their election to the board in November, Jamieson and Supervisor John Stanmeyer were publicly critical of the library’s collection policy and content. “There is no solid plan in place for this board, no answers on cost or future resources for the library. It’s not a true thought out plan, if this was only about the money a solid plan would be in place,” she said, commenting that the move “feels like a tantrum I would see from one of my 4 year olds. I see people using emotion rather than logic in making decisions. That’s not in the best interest of the people who elected you to make those decisions.” Christina Chapman of the Fork District urged for the implementation of the new board, saying that the relationship between the county and the library is “broken and unworkable.” Kate Germano, a new county resident in the North River District, said that she and her husband chose to live in Warren County after retiring from 20-year military careers. “No matter who wins an election, regardless of their political affiliation or personal beliefs, the moral obligation of our politicians is to be fair, transparent and only enact those policies that improve the lives of the citizens they govern,” Germano said, asking supervisors how a new library board would help improve the local poverty rate, reading proficiency or overdose mortality rate. Several library employees spoke about their commitment to Samuels, expressing concern for their jobs amid uncertainty about the library’s future. Members of the Samuels board of trustees also addressed the board, citing their efforts at communication with supervisors and a willingness to continue to work in the public-private partnership. Cullers made a motion to table the item, echoing concerns from speakers that the process felt unnecessarily hurried. The vote in the early morning hours of Wednesday, came four weeks after the library debrief report was made public on Nov. 12. Cullers’ motion died for lack of a second before Cook moved to approve the creation of the new board. “There are more constituents in the county who support the establishment of the Warren County Library Board than those present in this room who are against it,” Butler told the packed meeting room, going on to say that the purpose of creating the WCLB is not to replace the Samuels board of trustees. “The purpose of establishing the Warren County Library Board is to provide governance and also to provide policy,” Butler said. Cook said that she supported the creation of the new board to provide more oversight of taxpayer funding. The county pays about 70% of Samuels’ operating budget. “I understand change is uncomfortable for some, but in my experience change has also been good,” Cook said, reading from prepared remarks. “I believe the ordinance is a good step toward providing transparency and efficient county library services for all of the Warren County citizens.... Just because we’ve done this for years does not mean there’s no room for new ideas or improvement opportunities.” Stanmeyer also read from prepared notes, saying that the creation of the new board “ought to be a rote administrative matter and not prime-time news. The Board of Supervisors already has the powers in question.” He said that procedural change will allow supervisors to delegate oversight of library services with the possibility of enhancing communications and accountability. He said that the county already works with boards and committees to oversee the operations at the Front Royal-Warren County Airport, fire and rescue services, social services and other agencies. “These are force multipliers that help the Board of Supervisors do our job. It’s a big budget. There are a lot of moving parts. There’s 5 of us. We need help,” he said. Stanmeyer said he was open to creating other boards to oversee other public-private partnerships “in the six-figure range.” “I hear loud and clear that citizens want the Board of Supervisors focusing on running the county,” Stanmeyer said, referring to comments from speakers to address issues like poverty, housing, addiction, fire and rescue, tourism, economic development and water supply. “This board could help accomplish that. The library board will be able to handle routine things — maintenance requests, MOA renewals, supplemental budget requests — to allow us to focus on the bigger fish to fry.” Stanmeyer added, “to dispel some fears, creating a library board doesn’t automatically immediately or necessarily ever change the status quo. Samuels will still exist as a private nonprofit. Their current MOA will remain active. The Samuels board of trustees is not being replaced nor disbanded. Nobody [is being] added or removed from that board. The Samuels endowment will not be touched. The First Amendment will continue to be upheld. No particular county supervisor will be ‘handpicking’ the library board. That is a joint responsibility that we will all vote, at least a quorum of us, will vote on each appointee. We are not creating a loophole, nor is there any plan to stack or expand the library board.” He said that if the library board does opt to “re-compete the existing contract ... Samuels, I believe, can compete with confidence. In my view, Samuels would be the odds-on favorite. But even if another vendor were to put forth a more compelling value proposition. And remember that value proposition is not just price, it’s price and services and the trade off between those two things. Nothing would be stopping Samuels as a nonprofit entity from continuing its venerable tradition of bringing exciting new experiences to the library. I hope that will always continue.” Using a Powerpoint presentation at the end of the public hearing, Jamieson addressed “those who do not already have their minds made up,” echoing the debrief report by saying the new library board will provide taxpayer oversight and governance accountability. County Administrator Edwin Daley said Wednesday that the county will provide notice so that interested applicants can apply for appointment to the new board, anticipating that process to begin in January. Appointees will then create bylaws, rules and regulations to govern county library services. “There are three options there. They can enter into an agreement with Samuels. They can find somebody else, good luck with that. Or they could decide to do it themselves, and good luck with that,” Daley said, adding that he believes “the logical thing is that this new board is going to be talking to Samuels” and will function as a middleman between supervisors and Samuels. Daley said that he believes the county can work with Samuels without jeopardizing the library’s nonprofit status. “I don’t specifically know of a policy that anybody particularly wants to change. I haven’t heard any of that,” he said, adding that the new board would work with a library service provider to negotiate an operational agreement. Melody Hotek, president of the Samuels Board of Trustees, said Wednesday that the library will meet with its lawyer on Friday. She plans to call a trustees meeting soon thereafter to discuss contingency plans.
(The Center Square) – Paula Scanlan is hopeful the narrative around gender ideology is shifting, especially as Republicans prepare for majorities in both chambers of the 119th Congress and a seat in the White House. “I am hopeful that with the majorities now that we will be able to get across the finish line,” Scanlan told The Center Square on Thursday, speaking of more legislation on the way to protect women's spaces. “Obviously, this goes beyond sports ... So ideally, I think that the biggest thing would be to federally pass something that says this is what a woman is.” Scanlan a day earlier was part of a panel where U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., announced that Republicans plan to soon introduce legislation to “protect children from transgender medical procedures.” A report from the advocacy group Do No Harm released four weeks before Election Day included documented evidence of such activity being performed on a 7-year-old . “We’ll be introducing the STOP Act soon,” said Marshall . “We are going to use the Commerce Act to punish people who perform any type of surgery, or who use any type of medications on minors.” STOP is an acronym for Safeguarding the Overall Protection of Minors. The panel said that the legislation is an important and necessary step to protect children. Scanlan and Marshall, a host with the American Principles Project, were on the panel alongside U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.; U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill.; Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project; and Sarah Parshall Perry, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation. “We all know by now that so-called gender affirming care is anything but caring,” Tuberville said. “It is pure insanity and has caused irreversible damage to countless children. This isn’t about politics, this is about good and evil.” Scanlan is an ambassador for Independent Women's Voice and a former collegiate swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania. Swimming for the Quakers, she and teammates endured being not only on the same team but in the same locker room as a swimmer who for the first three years swam on the men's team. “I was a swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania and the administration, the university and the NCAA said , ‘Here's a man who wants to swim on your team, please accept him,’” she explained during the panel. “This entire situation really made all female athletes feel isolated and alone, and like they know where to go.” Scanlan said that it wasn’t just competing that isolated the female athletes. “Eighteen times per week, my teammates and I were forced to undress next to a 6-foot-4, fully-intact male,” Scanlan said. “As a female athlete, this was just something I couldn't even imagine. It was something I never imagined would happen to me when I went off to college.” The STOP Act is one of a few beginnings. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has proposed legislation seeking to protect women’s spaces on all federal property nationwide. This would include bathrooms, locker rooms and prisons. Scanlan said this shows that public opinion is on the side of her and the panel. “This is really the first time we're seeing more of these people in power stepping up and actually doing the right thing and saying enough is enough” she said. “Now, we are looking at entire teams that are feeling empowered to be able to boycott ... or object to competing against males. It's widespread.” A notable case of that is San Jose State, where Blaire Fleming's participation has led to seven opponents forfeiting rather than playing a women's team that includes a man saying he is a woman. Tuberville and Marshall emphasized they believe the majority of Americans would agree with the proposed legislation. "The American people are sick of this nonsense," Tuberville said . "It’s time we restore some sanity and get common sense back in this country." Scanlan said that while she supports the national legislation Republicans are considering, it is important for states to also continue to pass legislation. “I always remind people who are really excited about having a presidency that we don't know what might happen in four years," she said. "So, of course, it's also important to codify this in states. We are going to continue our efforts. There's still a lot of work to be done, and I don't really see it as a win until we've finished this on the state level.”It didn't take Syracuse first-year coach Fran Brown long to figure out the key matchup for Saturday afternoon's Atlantic Coast Conference game visiting Miami. "Syracuse has a really good quarterback," Brown said of Kyle McCord, "and Miami has a really good quarterback (Cam Ward)." With a win on Saturday, the No. 6 Hurricanes (10-1, 6-1 ACC) can clinch a berth in the league championship game against SMU. Miami is a 10 1/2-point favorite for Saturday's game. Syracuse (8-3, 4-3) has reached eight wins for just the fourth time since 2002, going 8-5 in 2010 and 2012 and 10-3 in 2018. However, the Orange haven't defeated a Top-10 team since knocking off Clemson in 2017. Miami leads the nation in scoring (44.7), and the Hurricanes will count on perfect passing conditions in Syracuse's dome. That could be huge for Ward, who leads the nation with 34 touchdown passes, ranking second in passing yards (3,774) and fourth in passing efficiency. Ward's top target is wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, who needs just 21 yards to reach 1,000 for the second straight season. Restrepo also ranks tied for seventh in the nation with 10 TD receptions. Ward has some other top targets, including 6-foot-4, 245-pound tight end Elijah Arroyo, who is a walking mismatch because of his size and speed. He leads Miami with 18.5 yards per reception. Hurricanes wide receivers Isaiah Horton and Jacolby George have combined for 12 TD passes, and Sam Brown has added two more. Each of them has more than 500 receiving yards this season. Miami's running game features battering ram Damien Martinez (739 yards, 5.5 average, eight TDs); versatile Mark Fletcher Jr. (499 yards, 5.7 average, six TDs); and game-breaking freshman Jordan Lyle (361 yards, 8.6 average, four TDs). Defensively, Miami's big-play man is safety Mishael Powell, who ranks second in the ACC with five interceptions. "He's all about winning," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of Powell. "He's a smart, self-starting team player." On special teams, Miami kicker Andres Borregales ranks second in the ACC with 97 points. He is 52-for-52 on extra points and 15-for-16 on field goals. Meanwhile, McCord ranks No. 1 in the nation in passing yards (3,946) and tied for seventh in TD passes (26). McCord, a transfer from Ohio State, has also set Syracuse's single-season record for passing yards. In last week's 31-24 win over Connecticut, McCord passed for a career-high 470 yards. However, McCord is just 46th in the nation in passing efficiency, due in part to his high total of interceptions (12). Syracuse also has three of the top six pass-catchers in the ACC in terms of yards: tight end Oronde Gadsden II (810) and wide receivers Jackson Meeks (801) and Trebor Pena (743). Gadsden, who is from the greater Miami area, has had three straight 100-yard games. He is the son of former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Oronde Gadsden. Syracuse's run game is led by LeQuint Allen, who has rushed for 819 yards, a 4.3 average and 12 TDs. The issue for Syracuse could be its defense, which ranks 13th in the ACC in points allowed (27.8). Miami's defense is fourth (22.3). Even so, Syracuse coach Brown said he's excited about this matchup. "I heard Miami is going to come deep," Brown said of Miami fans. "It's going to be intense in the stands. It's going to be intense on the field. I think this is a game everyone wants to see." --Field Level Media
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Corporate leaders honoured at Business Today CXO Awards 2024LSU applies latest rout of Mississippi Valley State 110-45Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26. Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products. “We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir’s loved ones during this difficult time,” said a statement from OpenAI. Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said “appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation.” The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide. His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a “happy, smart and brave young man” who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends. Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT. “Suchir’s contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn’t have succeeded without him,” said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what made him such an exceptional engineer and scientist was his attention to detail and ability to notice subtle bugs or logical errors. “He had a knack for finding simple solutions and writing elegant code that worked,” Schulman wrote. “He’d think through the details of things carefully and rigorously.” Balaji later shifted to organizing the huge datasets of online writings and other media used to train GPT-4, the fourth generation of OpenAI's flagship large language model and a basis for the company's famous chatbot. It was that work that eventually caused Balaji to question the technology he helped build, especially after newspapers, novelists and others began suing OpenAI and other AI companies for copyright infringement. He first raised his concerns with The New York Times, which reported them in an October profile of Balaji . He later told The Associated Press he would “try to testify” in the strongest copyright infringement cases and considered a lawsuit brought by The New York Times last year to be the “most serious.” Times lawyers named him in a Nov. 18 court filing as someone who might have “unique and relevant documents” supporting allegations of OpenAI's willful copyright infringement. His records were also sought by lawyers in a separate case brought by book authors including the comedian Sarah Silverman, according to a court filing. “It doesn’t feel right to be training on people’s data and then competing with them in the marketplace,” Balaji told the AP in late October. “I don’t think you should be able to do that. I don’t think you are able to do that legally.” He told the AP that he gradually grew more disillusioned with OpenAI, especially after the internal turmoil that led its board of directors to fire and then rehire CEO Sam Altman last year. Balaji said he was broadly concerned about how its commercial products were rolling out, including their propensity for spouting false information known as hallucinations. But of the “bag of issues” he was concerned about, he said he was focusing on copyright as the one it was “actually possible to do something about.” He acknowledged that it was an unpopular opinion within the AI research community, which is accustomed to pulling data from the internet, but said “they will have to change and it’s a matter of time.” He had not been deposed and it’s unclear to what extent his revelations will be admitted as evidence in any legal cases after his death. He also published a personal blog post with his opinions about the topic. Schulman, who resigned from OpenAI in August, said he and Balaji coincidentally left on the same day and celebrated with fellow colleagues that night with dinner and drinks at a San Francisco bar. Another of Balaji’s mentors, co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, had left OpenAI several months earlier , which Balaji saw as another impetus to leave. Schulman said Balaji had told him earlier this year of his plans to leave OpenAI and that Balaji didn't think that better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence “was right around the corner, like the rest of the company seemed to believe.” The younger engineer expressed interest in getting a doctorate and exploring “some more off-the-beaten path ideas about how to build intelligence,” Schulman said. Balaji's family said a memorial is being planned for later this month at the India Community Center in Milpitas, California, not far from his hometown of Cupertino. —————- EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. —————-- The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP’s text archives.
