The USAID Shutdown: Impacts and Questions

By Joen Martinsen and Pascaline Gaborit

In a sweeping effort to slash the U.S. budget deficit, the Trump administration, along with the unofficial Department of Government Expenditure (DOGE) led by Elon Musk, has moved to dismantle USAID—placing nearly all employees on leave and freezing foreign aid programs. In an unprecedented act of executive overreach, security personnel blocked agency staff from accessing their offices, plunging billions in foreign aid into uncertainty and bringing critical humanitarian efforts to an abrupt halt.

A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order, ruling that the dissolution of USAID contradicts the Constitution and falls within the Congress' authority. However, the dismantling remains in effect pending a final court decision. Having already relied on disinformation to justify the move, the administration’s actions pose a pressing question: what are the limits of Disinformation-Driven Governance?

DeepSeek AI Model : Opportunity or Risk?

By Joen Martinsen and Pascaline Gaborit

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI chatbot, has rapidly gained traction, becoming the most downloaded free app in the U.S. shortly after its launch. Its R1 model, now open-source, claims to rival OpenAI’s O1 model in performance.
What sets DeepSeek apart is its lean budget—the development team asserts they achieved this milestone with less than $6 million, a fraction of the billions invested in AI by U.S. tech giants like OpenAI. A key factor in this breakthrough is its reliance on Nvidia H800 chips, which operate with reduced capacity, avoiding dependency on high-end Nvidia A100 chips, restricted due to U.S. export bans.
For perspective, OpenAI was founded a decade ago, employs 4,500 people, and has secured $6.6 billion in funding. In contrast, DeepSeek, established less than two years ago, operates with just 200 employees and was developed with a budget of under $10 million .

Does DeepSeek signal a new era of AI innovation or raise concerns over competition, security, and regulation?.

This accomplishment reflects broader implications in the global AI race, especially as the U.S. has implemented strict export controls targeting China’s access to advanced semiconductor. Restrictions include export bans on chips and chipmaking equipment since October 2023, and a first-of-its-kind prohibition on U.S. persons aiding Chinese chip development without a license. These measures aim to limit China's advancements in both AI and military modernization, and for the U.S to maintain technological supremacy. However, DeepSeek’s breakthroughs demonstrate that resourceful methods can counter such constraints, potentially diminishing the effectiveness of U.S. policies. While this raises questions about America's long-term strategic position, it also emphasizes the potential for less resource-intensive, climate-friendly AI innovations. This could be an opportunity for other companies to imitate this success, and this could be especially true as the developed system is shaped with open access .
DeepSeek-R1 is indeed an open-source AI model. The company has released it under the MIT license, ensuring clear open access for the community to utilize and build upon its model weights and outputs. This open-source approach allows developers worldwide to modify and integrate the model into various applications, promoting innovation and collaboration in the AI community. Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, has commented on DeepSeek's significance. In a recent op-ed, he stated that DeepSeek's emergence marks "a turning point" in the global AI race.

Climate Denialism: Disinformation in an Era of Apathy

By: Joen Martinsen

Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and profit. It erodes a sense of unity and common purpose. It causes distrust and divisions. Participating in our democracy becomes exhausting and even disillusioning.

These sobering words, delivered by Joe Biden during his final message as the president of the United States, stand as a critique of the disinformation eroding trust in democracy and decision-making. As Donald Trump returns to power, this relentless onslaught of “alternative facts” creates a deeply unsettling backdrop for pressing global challenges—especially the climate crisis.

The Normalization of Climate Denialism

Climate denialism, the systematic rejection or distortion of established scientific evidence on climate change, has become a pervasive force undermining global efforts to address one of the most pressing challenges of our time. It is no longer confined to fringe ideologies; it has entered the political mainstream, influencing policies, public opinion, and international cooperation. This shift, fueled by disinformation and anti-scientific rhetoric, erodes trust in institutions, weakens collective resolve, and delays urgently needed action.

Under Trump's leadership, climate denialism has been normalized, becoming an entrenched feature of political discourse. Policies such as the rollback of the Paris Agreement and the promotion of fossil fuel expansion under the slogan "Drill, baby, drill!" reflect a stark regression in global climate cooperation.

The parallels with historical episodes of disinformation, such as the rejection of Philipp Semmelweis’ life-saving discovery of antiseptic handwashing, are striking. Like the resistance faced by Semmelweis, climate denialism thrives on a combination of misinformation, institutional inertia, and vested interests. In both cases, the consequences of rejecting evidence-based knowledge are profound, with lives lost and opportunities to prevent disaster squandered. The spread of disinformation, amplified by digital platforms, undermines public trust in science, confuses the public, and creates an environment where inaction becomes the default response.