ITK Daily | February 23
G20, Instagram, Reddit, Odysseus, MLS, plus 1,000 more actionable insights.
ITK Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for comms pros.
Always Be Communicating.
Happy Friday.
Here’s today’s ITK Daily:
*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***
Regulate AI? How US, EU, and China are going about it Bloomberg
Bloomberg: How Japan pulled off an early victory in the race to make more chips
+ TSMC site called a ‘Nightless Castle’ with its 24-hour workday
+ Sony played critical role in helping TSMC plant construction
US export curbs on China won't extend to legacy chips: official: Nikkei reports US commerce official Thea D. Rozman Kendler says controls are 'as narrow as possible.'
Leaked files from Chinese firm show vast international hacking effort WP
Leaked files show the secret world of China’s hackers for hire: China has increasingly turned to private companies in campaigns to hack foreign governments and control its domestic population. NYT
The real roots of Xi Jinping thought: Chinese political philosophers’ long struggle with modernity. Rana Mitter
The flaws that China’s chief ideologue found in America: As a young visitor decades ago, Wang Huning saw “an unstoppable undercurrent of crisis.” Economist
+ @spectatorindex: BREAKING: China to send two pandas to the San Diego Zoo as an act of 'panda diplomacy' towards the United States
Politico: UK’s Cameron warns fighting in Gaza must stop ‘right now’
G20 voices broad support for two-state solution in Mideast: AFP reports G20 nations broadly back a two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East, host Brazil said Thursday after a meeting of top diplomats, adding to pressure on Israel to accept an independent Palestinian state.
US isolated at G20 as Gaza crisis worsens: WP reports at the gathering of top diplomats in Brazil, Washington fended off growing calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
White House struggles to increase pressure on Russia as options dwindle: Politico reports unable to punish Putin for Navalny’s death, Biden ratchets up the economic pain.
‘They are among us’: Russia’s terrifyingly effective poisoning operation: Any Russian critical of President Putin is now a potential enemy of the state. FT
US warns Russia not to deploy nuclear-armed space weapon: WSJ reports US lawmakers recently raised alarms about Russia’s development of new weapons program.
What the Pentagon has learned from two years of war in Ukraine: With hundreds of thousands dead or wounded and still no end in sight, the conflict has revealed that US battlefield calculations must evolve. WP
Reuters: Russia to bite off much more of Ukraine, Putin ally Medvedev says
Politico: Countries must send more ammo to Ukraine: EU’s top diplomat
Bloomberg: Poland’s Sikorski warns US to aid Ukraine or face ‘profound consequences’
+ Foreign minister objects to Trump remark about NATO countries
+ Assistance tied up in Congress as war in Ukraine continues
Politico: UK joins US in backing Rutte to lead NATO
Politico: Germany, France join US and UK in backing Mark Rutte for top NATO job
Bloomberg: Argentina economy shrank more than expected as Milei took office
+ Economic activity fell 3.1% in December; fell 4.5% vs year ago
+ Milei took office Dec. 10, implementing shock economic therapy
US examined allegations of cartel ties to allies of Mexico’s president: NYT reports the inquiry examined accusations of potential links between drug traffickers and close confidants of the president while he governed the country.
WP: Mexican president lashes out after reports of drug cartel investigations
*** US Politics + Elections ***
CNBC: Biden fundraising ‘dream team’ creates $140 million war chest to take on Donald Trump
+ President Joe Biden’s fundraising operation is helmed by a “dream team” that is helping to build a war chest to take on former President Donald Trump.
+ Movie mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg and longtime Democratic fundraiser Rufus Gifford are among the Biden advisers being given credit for the operation’s success.
+ Katzenberg has been speaking with donors to Republican Nikki Haley, and trying to recruit them to support Biden.
Biden stakes reputation on blue-collar workers. Turns out they're Trump donors: Bloomberg reports mechanics and truck drivers give to Trump, while professors and scientists support Biden.
Politico: Michigan may soon show just how badly Biden’s cease-fire stance is hurting him
Ol’ cranky and the State of the Union: Biden needs to address the immigration crisis, the economy, and America’s place in the world. Peggy Noonan
The political failure of Bidenomics David Brooks
Haley bashes Trump on Russia as she seeks to gain ground in GOP primary: Politico reports the former U.N. ambassador is seizing on Alexei Navalny’s death as a persistent line of attack on Donald Trump.
Pro-Trump internet trolls escalate ugly attacks on Nikki Haley: NYT reports for most of the campaign, Ms. Haley was spared the full force of former President Donald J. Trump’s devoted online following. No longer.
Inside the GOP’s state party problem: Financial woes and other issues in state parties in crucial swing states such as Arizona and Michigan have caused deepening concern among top Republican officials. NYT
Instagram’s uneasy rise as a news site: In this year’s presidential election, more people are turning to Instagram for news, even as the platform tries de-emphasizing “political content.” NYT
Florida lawmakers push to ban social media for children under 16: AFP reports Florida moved Thursday towards enacting what would be one of the strictest bans on children's use of social media in the United States after the state Senate passed a bill to keep those under 16 off such platforms.
*** Disruption + Innovation ***
AT&T outage turns start of US workday into the ‘apocalypse’: Bloomberg reports the disruption sent commuters into a tailspin, providing ammunition for return to office holdouts, who worked blissfully uninterrupted using at-home Wi-Fi.
Why making computer chips has become a new global arms race Bloomberg
TSMC's Japan chip venture spurs investment rush: In Kumamoto and beyond, companies cash in on the Taiwanese chipmaker's expansion. Nikkei
Bloomberg: Nvidia tops Meta record with $277 Billion surge in value
Nvidia declares AI a ‘whole new industry’—and investors agree: WSJ reports in a tech industry renowned for short-lived frenzies, some chip executives and analysts see the AI boom as increasingly sustainable.
Chipmaker Nvidia posts record growth, showing AI boom continues: WP reports some analysts and investors had expected the company to begin faltering, but it beat expectations.
It’s Nvidia’s world, we’re just living in a simulation of it: The chipmaker’s sales forecasts once again exceeded expectations, lifting moods and markets worldwide. Jessica Karl
How we can control AI: The technology’s rapid advance threatens to overwhelm all efforts at regulation. We need our best tech experts competing to rein in AI as fast as companies are competing to build it. Eric Schmidt
How fatalistic should we be on AI? The godfather of artificial intelligence has issued a stark warning about the technology. John Thornhill
+ Geoffrey Hinton, godfather of AI, says he is heartened that a younger generation of computer scientists is taking existential risk seriously.
The thousand and one ways to derail artificial intelligence: Researchers are acting as hackers to circumvent safeguards on generative AI. They target flaws in three areas: data, models, and learning. Using data poisoning, clever or even invisible prompts, they trick the software. Is AI vulnerable? Le Monde
CNBC: Google pauses Gemini AI image generator after it created inaccurate historical pictures
+ Google on Thursday said it is pausing its Gemini artificial intelligence image generation feature after saying it offers “inaccuracies” in historical pictures.
+ Users on social media had been complaining that the AI tool generates images of historical figures — like the US Founding Fathers — as people of color, calling this inaccurate.
+ Google posted an updated statement on Thursday, saying that it will pause Gemini’s feature to generate images of people and will re-release an “improved” version soon.
Google apologizes for ‘missing the mark’ after Gemini generated racially diverse Nazis: Generative AI has a history of amplifying racial and gender stereotypes — but Google’s apparent attempts to subvert that are causing problems, too. The Verge
Artificial investment: The frenzied hype around AI kept expectations high. The earnings calls disappointed. 2024 is going to be a year of reckoning. The Verge
Here’s how AI experts think ChatGPT might help the military: OpenAI, Amazon, and other companies touted their AI systems for military and intelligence use at a Pentagon-organized gathering this week. WP
If AI is the next big thing, why can’t it solve world hunger and stop wars? WSJ
Hydrogen power for AI: Honda expands fuel cell drive to U.S. data centers: Nikkei reports generators for tech giants could help its cars compete on cost.
AFP: Reddit files to go public as 'RDDT' on NYSE
Bloomberg: OpenAI’s Altman listed as major Reddit shareholder in IPO filing
+ Altman briefly served as Reddit’s interim CEO in 2014
+ Reddit is pushing into AI products and licensing deals
Reddit in AI content licensing deal with Google: Reuters reports Reddit has struck a deal with Google to make its content available for training the search engine giant's artificial intelligence models, three people familiar with the matter said.
Bloomberg: Reddit is moving ahead with IPO after two years on sidelines
+ Social media firm reported 2023 net loss of $90.8 million
+ Listing could be 2024’s first big test for VC-backed tech IPOs
Bloomberg: Baidu, NetEase to chart path ahead as China tightens grip on tech firms
+ Investor sentiment dented by increasing Chinese state control
+ Southeast Asia’s OCBC and Maybank may post strong earnings
Vice Media to stop publishing, plans to cut hundreds of jobs: WSJ reports cuts follow failed effort by owner Fortress to sell embattled digital publisher and its brands.
LVMH goes to Hollywood to get brands on screen: FT reports the luxury group launches venture for product placement and co-developing and co-financing own entertainment projects.
The Ozempic effect gives Sweetgreen a boost, survey finds Bloomberg
Odysseus spacecraft completes first US Moon landing since 1972: WSJ reports Intuitive Machines developed the vehicle, which successfully touched down on the lunar surface Thursday evening.
*** Culture ***
From Montreal to Berlin, cities aim to stay open 24 hours: Forget last call: In a push to bolster nightlife, cities are changing laws to keep bars, restaurants, and transit systems operating round-the-clock. Bloomberg
Podcasts got their name 20 years ago this month: A once-fringe medium has gone mainstream, but many wonder what the future holds. Economist
*** Sport ***
Argentina to tour US after China cancels friendlies in Messi spat: AFP reports the Argentina Football Association (AFA) said Thursday the national team will play two friendlies in the United States in March after China cancelled matches in a spat over a Lionel Messi no-show in Hong Kong.
Messi effect: Apple boss urges MLS clubs to sign more stars: AFP reports the head of Apple TV's collaboration with Major League Soccer has urged clubs in the league to follow the example of Inter Miami's deal with Lionel Messi and sign more top stars.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
ITK Daily | February 23
