ITK Daily | February 15
Nuclear, Suburbs, Astronauts, Johnny Depp, Rafael Nadal, plus 1,000 more actionable insights.
ITK Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for comms pros.
Always Be Communicating.
Happy Thursday.
Here’s today’s ITK Daily:
*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***
US has new intelligence about Russia’s nuclear capabilities: A congressman’s cryptic statement about the development set Washington abuzz about what the intelligence was and infuriated White House officials. NYT
What we know about the ‘disturbing’ Russia intel roiling the Hill: The intelligence is related to Moscow’s weaponization of its orbital systems, one of those informed about its content said. Politico
Russia’s dangerous new friends: How Moscow is partnering with the axis of resistance Hamidreza Azizi + Hanna Notte
On Ukraine’s front line, soldiers are forced to tune in to Washington politics: Troops ration ammunition and watch as US aid package struggles through Congress; ‘McConnell is not a bad dude.’ WSJ
The Netherlands joined a coalition of countries that’s providing Ukraine with advanced drones for its war against Russia. The partnership comes a week after Ukraine announced its new military branch dedicated to drones.
AFP: France and Ukraine to sign security agreement soon, says French FM Sejourne
Will Germany deliver on its grand military ambitions? Berlin is taking a more muscular approach to national security, but concern is growing over how it will maintain the necessary spending. FT
Germany hopes to boost military and deterrence: Donald Trump's recent remarks about NATO have amplified calls for Germany and the EU to massively strengthen its army and fortify its own deterrence — up to and including nuclear weapons. DW
US probes Israeli strikes that killed civilians in Gaza, possible use of white phosphorus in Lebanon: WSJ reports the investigation could result in new conditions being set on the delivery of US weapons to Israel.
Israel hits Lebanon with heaviest strike since Gaza war began: WP reports the attacks followed a strike on Israel from Lebanon that killed one woman and wounded at least eight other people, authorities said.
Bloomberg: Israel pulls out of peace talks over ‘delusional’ Hamas demands
UAE restricts US ability to launch retaliatory airstrikes against Iran proxies: Politico reports other Arab countries are restricting operations as well, according to people familiar with the matter.
+ Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, made his first visit to Egypt in over a decade.
Prabowo claims victory in Indonesian election based on unofficial counts: Nikkei reports 72-year-old far ahead of rivals, likely to gain majority in first round.
Prabowo says he's headed for victory in Indonesia's presidential election: NHK reports Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has claimed he is on track to win Wednesday's presidential election.
Indonesian elections: Prabowo Subianto claims 'victory for all Indonesians': Le Monde reports this former general has claimed victory in Indonesia's presidential election following a clear majority of preliminary results, with the support of the country's hugely popular outgoing president, Joko Widodo.
What is worrying about Indonesia’s new president: Prabowo Subianto is unlikely to strengthen the country’s democracy. Economist
NHK: S.Korea forms diplomatic ties with Cuba
Sarkozy sentenced to six months in prison for campaign overspending: Le Monde reports a lower court had sentenced the former French president to one year in prison for illegal campaign financing during his 2012 re-election bid.
Tech giants pledge to fight AI deepfakes ahead of elections: Companies will unveil plans at the Munich Security Conference to join forces to combat abuse of deepfakes in major votes. Politico
*** US Politics + Elections ***
The GOP’s pitch to the suburbs flops NR
The grip of America’s geriatrics: Joe Biden is no frail outlier but the gerontocratic norm. Edward Luce
Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic House member, is talking to Donald Trump about foreign policy and potential plans for the Pentagon.
US patent office confirms AI can’t hold patents: But ‘the use of an AI system by a natural person does not preclude a natural person from qualifying as an inventor.’ The Verge
The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy has a new taxonomy of “critical and emerging technologies” on which it wants federal agencies to focus. The list published late Tuesday night revamps and expands on a document last revised in 2022, by regrouping and reclassifying some of the cutting-edge technologies in question and adding a focus on data privacy and cybersecurity. Access the report - click here.
Gensler urges Wall Street firms to set up AI guardrails: Politico reports Wall Street firms need to make sure their artificial intelligence models are not compromising long-standing investor and market protections, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said Tuesday, warning that they otherwise could incite the regulator's wrath.
+ "You don’t want your broker or adviser recommending investments they hallucinated while on mushrooms,” Gensler said during a Yale Law School event, according to prepared remarks. “So, when the broker or adviser uses an AI model, they must ensure that any recommendations or advice provided by the model is not based on a hallucination or inaccurate information.”
Axios: AI bills flood state houses
+ Nearly all of the state legislatures currently in session are considering AI-related bills and nearly half of those bills address deepfakes, according to an analysis by software industry group BSA.
+ As of Feb. 7 there were 407 total AI-related bills across more than 40 states, up from 67 bills a year ago.
+ "Penalties for deepfakes is the hot topic," Craig Albright, BSA's senior vice president for US government relations, tells Axios.
*** Disruption + Innovation ***
Will astronauts eat fish raised on the Moon? The Lunar Hatch program aims to adapt an experimental form of aquaculture from Earth to the Moon's conditions, in order to produce some of the food astronauts need for their multi-month missions on-site. Le Monde
The six months that short-circuited the electric-vehicle revolution: Automakers went all in on battery power, but buyers have proven more hesitant. WSJ
Elon Musk invited Chinese auto parts suppliers to Mexico to build a new supply chain for a Tesla plant.
US Porsche, Bentley, and Audi imports held up over banned Chinese part: FT reports thousands of cars impounded after supplier discovers subcomponent from ‘western China.’
Uber will buy back as much as $7 billion in stock after a strong 2023.
Drivers for Uber + Lyft as well as delivery workers for DoorDash went on strike across several American cities on Wednesday
Reuters: Bitcoin market cap crosses $1 trillion as buyers flood in
Alibaba gives way to China ecommerce rivals on Jack Ma Boulevard: Rural communities say buying across online shopping sites is the new norm for Chinese consumers. FT
Nvidia overtook Alphabet to become the third-largest American company by market capitalization, as the two tech giants switched places in trading on Wednesday.
Meta’s AI chief Yann LeCun on AGI, open-source, and AI risk Time
Google to set up new artificial intelligence hub in France: Reuters reports Google is setting up a new hub in France dedicated to the artificial intelligence sector, which will be inaugurated on Thursday, said a statement from the French Finance Ministry.
Microsoft says it caught hackers from China, Russia, and Iran using its AI tools: Reuters reports state-backed hackers from Russia, China, and Iran have been using tools from Microsoft-backed OpenAI to hone their skills and trick their targets, according to a report published on Wednesday.
OpenAI researcher and co-founder Andrej Karpathy is leaving the company.
OpenAI gives ChatGPT a better ‘memory’: NYT reports the AI start-up is releasing a new version of ChatGPT that stores what users say and applies it to future chats.
FC: Now you can pay Slack AI to make sense of messy work chats
AI in finance: The promise and potential pitfalls: AI is drawing big investments with its promise of new efficiencies, but ethics and regulation remain concerns, according to a Wharton Future of Finance roundtable. K@W
AI hype has echoes of the telecoms boom and bust: Tech transformation may take years longer than suggested by record share prices and funding targets. June Yoon
FT: Meta adds Broadcom chief and former top Enron trader to board
*** Culture ***
The University of Pennsylvania has launched what it says is the first Ivy League undergraduate degree in artificial intelligence, Bachelor of Science in Engineering in AI.
Inside Johnny Depp’s epic bromance with Saudi Crown Prince MBS: The stranger-than-fiction story of how Mohammed bin Salman welcomed the 60-year-old movie star into his kingdom—and his circle of trust. VF
*** Sport ***
The Times: Horner to attend Red Bull launch despite investigation
AFP: Rafael Nadal puts return on ice, admits 'not ready to compete'
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
ITK Daily | February 15
