Only Ten Days In, 47 Has A Second Tech Disaster On His Hands

Moment of collision displayed on ADSB Exchange

Awoke this morning to news that a military helicopter had flown into a commercial jet and caused a fiery explosion that landed all 67 on board both aircrafts in the icy Potomac River. All are now believed to have died.

Immediately, the partisan information mongers reminded us that 47 had only a week prior frozen hiring of air traffic controllers, fired the head of the FAA, and dissolved the federal Aviation Safety Committee. These are among the big ideas that the elongated muskrat brought to the West Wing.

One of the three pieces that the passenger jet broke into in the Potomac River,, with recovery operations visible pre-dawn. Source: NPR

But could events so recent really cause such a catastrophic failure of air safety? I'm skeptical.

Here's the thing, though. Before the ascent of the tech bros as a kitchen cabinet, 47 (45 at the time) oversaw another policy change that is far more likely to be implicated: the FAA gave the Pentagon permission to have its helicopter pilots turn off their ADSB safety warning systems when running them was deemed a security risk. 

From Defense Daily July 22, 2019:

U.S. federal, state and local government aircraft performing sensitive operations are now permitted to fly with their installed automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) position reporting electronics turned off, according to a new rule published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Thursday.

From Zero Hedge:

There are reports that the Black Hawk was "flying dark,"—meaning the helicopter's pilots did not activate the crucial ADS-B signal, which allows air traffic control and surrounding aircraft to track its location in the extremely tight and heavily regulated airspace.

Community notes on Twitter have already popped up counterclaiming:

ADSB Exchange did not use the term flying dark. They said it was not broadcasting ADSB, the newest transponder technology. It was broadcasting using an older Mode-C transponder.

Either way what we do know is that air traffic control asked the helicopter crew if they had the airplane in their sight. They asked, "PAT 2-5 do you have the CRJ in sight?” and advised the helicopter crew to pass behind the jet. A few moments later, a fireball exploded and fell into the river.

Showing true leadership in a crisis, 47 quickly put out a statement blaming diversity for the disaster. Air traffic control staffers -- some of whom could be heard gasping audibly as the collision occurred -- heard the president claim that prior to his inauguration the FAA was "actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions".

This false assertion of danger is a dogwhistle that feeds into the big lie that immigrants are a threat to public safety. This irresponsible rhetoric already has undocumented and even documented immigrants fearful that going about their lives will result in being swept up in ICE dragnets happening all over the country. 

The second of the two tech disasters is arguably the biggest. China unveiled DeepSeek, an open (i.e. free) platform AI system built for a fraction of the cost of the now monetized Open AI. Take that, U.S. tech bros. Young talent in China did it with small processing units because sanctions prevented them from using the bigger, more powerful, more expensive units. 

Remember how 47 announced a "Stargate" project that would use $500 billion in investments to build power sources for the insatiable energy gobbling of AI? Within a few days China punked him, and just today they released another application that goes even farther, generating images in addition to text.

Ironically, this article appeared today in Pravda:

Telegram founder Pavel Durov commented that China’s rise in AI, stems from its Soviet-style education system, which fosters fierce competition—unlike Western schools that hide grades to protect feelings. “Eliminate the losers, and you eliminate the winners.”

47 thinks he is a winner. I will guarantee you that a rich kid like him bought his way through prep school and college, receiving grades he did not earn. That's one of many reasons that I think he's a loser. What do you think?