Gabriela Sá Pessoa is a journalist passionate concerning the intersection of human rights and local weather change. She got here to MIT from The Washington Put up, the place she labored from her residence nation of Brazil as a information researcher reporting on the Amazon, human rights violations, and environmental crimes. Earlier than that, she held roles at two of probably the most influential media shops in Brazil: Folha de S.Paulo, masking native and nationwide politics, and UOL, the place she was assigned to coronavirus protection and later joined the investigative desk.
Sá Pessoa was awarded the 2023 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship by the Worldwide Girls’s Media Basis, which helps its recipient with analysis alternatives at MIT and additional coaching at The Boston Globe and The New York Occasions. She is at the moment based mostly on the MIT Middle for Worldwide Research. Lately, she sat down to speak about her work on the Amazon, current modifications in Brazilian politics, and her expertise at MIT.
Q: One focus of your reporting is human rights and environmental points within the Amazon. As a part of your fellowship, you contributed to a current editorial in The Boston Globe on combating deforestation within the area. Why is reporting on this subject essential?
A: For a lot of Brazilians, the Amazon is a distant and distant territory, and other people residing in different elements of the nation aren’t totally conscious of all of its issues and all of its potential. That is much like the US — like many individuals right here, they do not see how they may very well be associated to the human rights violations and the destruction of the rainforest which are taking place.
However, we’re all complicit within the destruction in some methods as a result of the financial forces driving the deforestation of the rainforest all have a market, and these markets are in all places, in Brazil and right here within the U.S. I feel it’s a part of journalism to indicate individuals within the U.S., Brazil, and elsewhere that we’re a part of the issue, and as a part of the issue, we ought to be a part of the answer by being conscious of it, caring about it, and taking actions which are inside our energy.
Within the U.S., for instance, voters can affect coverage like the present negotiations for monetary help for combating deforestation within the Amazon. And as shoppers, we might be extra conscious — is the meat we’re consuming associated to deforestation? Is the timber on our building websites coming from the Amazon?
Reality is, in Brazil, we’ve got turned our backs to the Amazon for therefore lengthy. It’s our obligation to guard it for the sake of local weather change. If we do not deal with it, there shall be critical penalties to our native local weather, our native communities, and for the entire world. It is an enormous matter of human rights as a result of our residing is determined by that, each regionally and globally.
Q: Earlier than coming to MIT, you had been at The Washington Put up in São Paulo, the place you contributed to reporting on the current presidential election. What modifications do you anticipate to see with the brand new Lula administration?
A: To local weather and atmosphere, the primary indicators had been optimistic. However the optimism didn’t final a semester, as politics is imposing itself. Lula is going through rising issue constructing a majority in a conservative Congress, over which agribusiness holds super energy and affect. As we converse, environmental coverage is below Congress’s assault. A committee within the Home has simply handed a ruling drowning energy from the environmental minister, Marina Silva, and from the not too long ago created Nationwide Indigenous Folks Ministry, led by Sonia Guajajara. Each Marina and Sonia are world ecological and human rights champions, and I’m wondering what the influence can be if Congress ratifies these modifications. It’s nonetheless unclear how it could influence the efforts to struggle deforestation.
As well as, there’s an inner dispute within the authorities between environmentalists and people in favor of mining and massive infrastructure initiatives. Petrobras, the state-run oil firm, is attempting to get authorization to analysis and drill offshore oil reserves within the mouth of the Amazon River. The federal environmental safety company did a conclusive report suspending the operation, saying it’s crucial and threatens the area’s delicate atmosphere and indigenous communities. And, after all, it could be one other supply of greenhouse fuel emissions.
That mentioned, it isn’t a denialist authorities. I ought to point out the fast response from the administration to the Yanomami genocide earlier this 12 months. In January, an impartial media group named Sumaúma reported on the deaths of over 5 hundred indigenous youngsters from the Yanomami group within the Amazon over the previous 4 years. This was an enormous shock in Brazil, and the administration responded instantly. They despatched process forces to the area and are actually expelling the unlawful miners that had been bringing ailments and had been finally liable for these humanitarian tragedies. To be clear: It’s nonetheless an issue. It isn’t solved. However that is already instance of optimistic motion.
Preventing deforestation within the Amazon and the Cerrado, one other biome crucial to local weather regulation in Brazil, won’t be simple. Rebuilding the environmental coverage will take time, and the companies liable for enforcement are understaffed. As well as, environmental crime has turn into extra subtle, connecting with different main prison organizations within the nation. In April, for the primary time, there was a discount in deforestation within the Amazon after two consecutive months of upper numbers. These are nonetheless preliminary information, and it’s nonetheless too early to verify whether or not they sign a turning level and will point out an inclination for deforestation to lower. However, the Cerrado registered file deforestation in April.
There are issues in all places within the financial system and politics that Lula must face. Within the first week of the brand new time period, on Jan. 8, we noticed an riot in Brasília, the nation’s capital, from Bolsonaro voters who wouldn’t settle for the election outcomes. The occasions resembled what People noticed within the Capitol assaults in 2021. We additionally appear to have imported issues from the US, like mass killings in colleges. We by no means used to have them in Brazil, however we’re seeing them now. I am curious to see how the nation will handle these issues and if the U.S. can even encourage options to that. That’s one thing I’m eager about, being right here: Are there options right here? What are they?
Q: What have you ever discovered so removed from MIT and your fellowship?
A: It is arduous to place every thing into phrases! I am principally taking programs and attending lectures on urgent points to humanity, like existential threats comparable to local weather change, synthetic intelligence, biosecurity, and extra.
I’m studying about all these points, but in addition, as a journalist, I feel that I’m studying extra about how I can incorporate the scientific strategy into my work; for instance, being extra pro-positive. I’m already a rigorous journalist, however I’m eager about how I might be extra rigorous and extra clear about my strategies. Being within the educational and scientific atmosphere is inspiring that manner.
I’m additionally studying loads about the way to cowl scientific subjects and eager about how expertise can provide us options (and issues). I’m studying a lot that I feel I’ll want a while to digest and totally perceive what this era means for me!
Q: You talked about synthetic intelligence. Would you prefer to weigh in on this topic and what you might have been studying?
A: It has been a very good semester to be at MIT. Generative synthetic intelligence, which grew to become extra fashionable after ChatGPT, has been a subject of intense dialogue this semester, and I used to be in a position to attend many courses, seminars, and occasions about AI right here, particularly from a coverage perspective.
Algorithms have influenced the financial system, society, and public well being for a few years. It has had nice outcomes, but in addition injustice. Well-liked methods like ChatGPT have made this expertise extremely fashionable and accessible, even for these with no laptop data. That is scary and, on the similar time, very thrilling. Right here, I discovered that we want guardrails for synthetic intelligence, similar to different applied sciences. Consider the pharmaceutical or vehicle industries, which have to fulfill security standards earlier than placing a brand new product available on the market. However with synthetic intelligence, it should be completely different; provide chains are very advanced and typically not very clear, and the velocity at which new assets develop is so quick that it challenges the policymaker’s means to reply.
Synthetic intelligence is altering the world radically. It is thrilling to have the privilege of being right here and seeing these discussions happen. In any case, I’ve a future to report on. Not less than, I hope so!
Q: What are you engaged on going ahead?
A: After MIT, I’m going to New York, the place I will be working with The New York Occasions of their internship program. I am actually enthusiastic about that as a result of will probably be a unique tempo from MIT. I’m additionally doing analysis on carbon credit score markets and hope to proceed that undertaking, both in a reporting or educational atmosphere.
Actually, I really feel impressed to maintain finding out. I might like to spend extra time right here at MIT. I might like to do a grasp’s or be part of any program right here. I’m going to work on coming again to academia as a result of I feel that I have to study extra from the educational atmosphere. I hope that it is at MIT as a result of actually, it is probably the most thrilling atmosphere that I’ve ever been in, with all of the individuals right here from completely different fields and completely different backgrounds. I am not a scientist, nevertheless it’s inspiring to be with them, and if there is a manner that I might contribute to their work in a manner that they are contributing to my work, I will be thrilled to spend extra time right here.