ITK Daily | March 26
UN Security Council, Pandemic Malaise, Jensen Huang, The Matrix, Shohei Ohtani, plus 1,000 more actionable insights.
ITK Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for comms pros.
Always Be Communicating.
Happy Tuesday.
Here’s today’s ITK Daily:
*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***
UN Security Council calls for immediate cease-fire in Gaza: NYT reports the resolution passed with 14 votes in favor and the US abstaining, which officials said they did in part because the resolution did not condemn Hamas.
Reuters: Netanyahu cancels Israeli delegation to US over UN Gaza vote
Trump urges Israel to ‘finish up your war’: WP reports the former president told an Israeli news outlet that images of destruction in Gaza were harming the country: “You’re losing a lot of the world.”
Ukraine’s battered army grapples with growing troop shortage: Efforts to draft young men are hampered by politics, demographics, and Ukrainians’ increasing reluctance to join the military. WSJ
France and Germany to co-produce military equipment in Ukraine: Le Monde reports the KNDS conglomerate, which brings together Germany's KMW and France's Nexter Systems, will produce spare parts, ammunition, and, eventually, complete weapons systems.
Baltic leaders urge NATO members to bring back conscription: FT reports Presidents of Latvia and Estonia say European states in alliance should do more to prepare for Russian threat.
EU takes aim at Alphabet, Apple, and Meta in wide-ranging investigations: NYT reports the inquiries signal the bloc’s intention to tightly enforce sweeping new competition rules that took effect this month.
EU probes Apple, Meta, and Alphabet under landmark new law: FT reports Big Tech groups are the first to face full investigations under bloc’s new Digital Markets Act.
Bloomberg: Apple, Google, Meta probed by EU in test of new digital law
+ EU targets firms in first probes under digital dominance rules
+ Probes come with risk of fines of up to 10% of global revenue
Heavy lies the crown Tina Brown
UK to blame China for hacking details of millions of voters: WSJ reports the British government is the latest in the West to warn about China’s increasingly aggressive cyber campaign.
British MPs fear we can’t stop election deepfakes. They’re right. Politicians would love to have a silver bullet to tackle synthetic media. There isn’t one. Politico
CNN: Biden administration indicts and sanctions Chinese hackers accused of sweeping espionage campaign against US targets
Is Rahm Emanuel the 'Japan hand' Democrats have been searching for? Tokyo has long been more comfortable with Republicans, especially on China. Nikkei
China and Russia challenge US claim to mineral-rich stretches of seabed: FT reports critics say Biden administration risks losing race to mine resources in international waters.
China rolls out welcome mat for US CEOs as it nods to its economic problems: WSJ reports Premier Li Qiang acknowledges foreign executives’ concerns as Beijing staged the annual business forum attended by Apple, Qualcomm, and Micron CEOs.
Beijing is ruining TikTok: Unfortunately for ByteDance, there’s nothing it can do about the rule of law in China. Michael Schuman
Sirens sound, anxieties rise on tiny island near North Korean shores: Residents on Yeonpyeong fear the Kim Jong Un regime could launch another attack. WSJ
Why the Pentagon wants to build thousands of easily replaceable, AI-enabled drones: Ukraine’s drone innovations have changed how the US is planning for a war with China. Vox
In Australia, 'granny flats' gain traction as rents skyrocket: Nikkei reports the housing shortage gives homeowners a way to monetize extra space.
Senegal on brink of political earthquake as opposition candidate Faye leads in presidential election: Le Monde reports several candidates have recognized the victory of Bassirou Diomaye Faye, from the main opposition party. Amadou Ba, the ruling party's candidate, said he is certain 'in the worst case scenario' to be in the second round. Official results are expected by Friday.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva steps up interventions in Brazil’s largest companies: Government involvement in Petrobras and Vale alarms investors as president calls market ‘voracious dinosaur.’ FT
Video: Bolsonaro, facing investigations, hid at Hungarian embassy: Security-camera footage obtained by the NYT shows that Brazil’s former president spent two nights at the Hungarian Embassy in an apparent bid for asylum.
France promises evacuation flights for its 'most vulnerable' citizens from Haiti: Le Monde reports violent street battles started erupting in Haiti at the end of February. The French Foreign Ministry on Sunday said it would provide special flights to evacuate some of the 1,100 French citizens.
The state of Haiti no longer exists Tim Marshall
CNN: Another plane carrying US citizens fleeing Haiti lands in Florida
The weakest links in the global economy are on the mend: Some of the most prominent beleaguered nations are now carrying out radical reforms. Ruchir Sharma
*** US Politics + Elections ***
Nearly everything in American politics is topsy-turvy Gail Collins + Bret Stephens
NBC News faces rebellion over hiring of former RNC chair: NYT reports in extraordinary on-air remarks, Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough, and Chuck Todd questioned their own network’s decision to hire Ronna McDaniel.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. flirts with the Libertarian nomination: Politico reports the independent candidate has been in talks with the national party chair about pursuing the nomination.
April 15 will now be a historic date as jury selection kicks off and Trump becomes “the first American president to stand trial.”
Big Republican donor Jeff Yass owned shares in Trump media merger partner: Politico reports the billionaire Wall Street financier is also a major investor in ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, which faces a possible ban in the United States.
The TikTok fight comes to your television screen: Punchbowl reports the American Parents Coalition and State Armor Action are running ads about the perceived danger of the popular social media app.
Biden’s trustbuster draws unlikely fans: ‘Khanservative’ Republicans: Growing skepticism toward big business on the right has won the FTC’s Lina Khan new allies. WSJ
Biden wants to put AI on a leash: Bill Clinton’s regulators, by contrast, produced prosperity by encouraging freedom on the internet. Ted Cruz + Phil Gramm
Harris steps up her role as ambassador to voters shaky on Biden: WP reports polls suggest some young voters and people of color are souring on the president. They do not always embrace Harris’s outreach.
Young Americans are shunning the Biden-Trump rematch: On the campuses of Philadelphia's Community College and Temple Public University, most students are showing little enthusiasm for reliving the presumed duel between the incumbent Democratic president and his Republican predecessor. Le Monde
It’s not the economy. It’s the pandemic. Joe Biden is paying the price for America’s unprocessed COVID grief. George Makari + Richard A. Friedman
How a pandemic malaise is shaping American politics: Four years later, the shadow of the pandemic continues to play a profound role in voters’ pessimism and distrust amid a presidential rematch. NYT
California’s nationwide EV coercion: You may not live there, but you’ll soon be living under its auto rules. Why Stellantis buckled to Sacramento. WSJ - Editorial
Tennessee becomes the first state to protect musicians and other artists against AI: NPR reports Tennessee made history on Thursday, becoming the first U.S. state to sign off on legislation to protect musicians from unauthorized artificial intelligence impersonation.
+ The Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act, or ELVIS Act, is an updated version of the state's old right of publicity law. While the old law protected an artist's name, photograph or likeness, the new legislation includes AI-specific protections.
*** Disruption + Innovation ***
‘Apple is going to war’: US lawsuit adds to iPhone maker’s antitrust woes: Regulators in Washington and the EU have tech giant in their crosshairs at a particularly challenging time. FT
Apple held talks with China’s Baidu over AI for its devices: WSJ reports the iPhone maker may need a partner in the country to navigate regulatory hurdles.
Bloomberg: Reddit’s move to license data for AI finds favor with investors
FundGuard, a startup that provides a cloud-based, artificial intelligence-powered accounting platform for asset managers, has raised $100 million in new funding, including from major global investment firms.
Fujitsu taps generative AI to help speed drug development: Technology predicts the state of target protein 10 times as fast. Nikkei
Bloomberg: FTX to sell majority of stake in Anthropic for $884 million
In 40 years as a founder-CEO, Michael Dell turned his dorm-room PC company into a tech giant. Can he cash in on the AI boom? Fortune
Microsoft’s brazen AI inflection Om Malik
As generative AI takes off, researchers warn of data poisoning: By tampering with the data used to train AI models, hackers could spread misinformation and steal data. WSJ
Can anything stop Nvidia’s Jensen Huang? He has become the generative-AI showman of our time. Economist
Behind the plot to break Nvidia’s grip on AI by targeting software: Reuters reports a coalition of tech companies that includes Qualcomm, Google, and Intel plans to loosen Nvidia’s chokehold by going after the chip giant’s secret weapon: the software that keeps developers tied to Nvidia chips. They are part of an expanding group of financiers and companies hacking away at Nvidia's dominance in AI.
A key Amazon AI executive predicts that advanced AI will not arrive as a single, monolithic intelligence but as a whole swarm of personalized systems tuned to individual needs. According to Axios, Vishal Sharma, Amazon's VP for artificial general intelligence, wants to use its Alexa voice bot as one building block toward that goal.
+ 40% of smart home interactions where Alexa is in use are now initiated by Alexa, without a customer saying anything, per Amazon.
Large language models’ emergent abilities are a mirage: A new study suggests that sudden jumps in LLMs’ abilities are neither surprising nor unpredictable, but are actually the consequence of how we measure ability in AI. Wired
Beware AI euphoria: Like all great bubble stories, the latest tech narrative conveys a sense of inevitability. Rana Forohar
Bloomberg: Bitcoin ‘halving’ spurs exodus of old US mining computers abroad
+ Outdated machines may be profitable in low-cost energy areas
+ Ethiopia, Paraguay among countries becoming mining ‘players’
Today: VinFast will hold a press conference at the Bangkok International Motor Show to announce its electric vehicle brand's entry into Thailand.
Thursday: Xiaomi, the world's third largest smartphone maker, is due to officially launch its first electric vehicle, the Xiaomi SU7, and unveil the price. Xiaomi has set an internal goal to become one of the industry's top three pure electric luxury car brands
Bloomberg: EV maker Lucid surges on $1 billion lifeline from Saudi investor
Nissan is targeting an additional 1 million vehicle sales within three years as the Japanese carmaker seeks to regain market momentum and boost profitability.
Ferrari doubles Taiwan sales as chip entrepreneurs fuel demand: FT reports customers ‘making a lot of money’ as appetite for luxury cars outpaces China and Hong Kong, says chief.
WSJ: Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to step down in wake of 737 Max struggles
Carbone wants to conquer the world with a red sauce empire: Major Food Group is shaping a global dining empire, merging the exclusivity of luxury brands with the buzz of celebrity culture. Bloomberg
How LVMH helped turn an abandoned Miami warehouse district into a luxury hot spot: Once-shabby neighborhood is booming while some other High Streets across the country still struggle. WSJ
Elon Musk’s X needs creators, but they don’t need X: WSJ reports despite platform’s push, many creators say X is still a long way away from becoming a major source of revenue for them.
Bloomberg: Asia’s top music market, Japan eyes selling pop to the world
+ Streaming has allowed groups like XG to become big exports
+ The all-girl band takes a page from the K-pop playbook
Cocoa is now more expensive than copper.
CERN: Scientists search for mysterious ghost particles: BBC reports some physicists have long suspected that mysterious 'ghost' particles in the world around us could greatly advance our understanding of the true nature of the Universe.
*** Culture ***
25 years later, we’re all trapped in ‘The Matrix’: The 1999 sci-fi classic predicted a world like the one we now live in, where human beings are cut off from one another by technology. But it also reminded us that resistance is possible. WSJ
The terrible costs of a phone-based childhood The Atlantic
Kevin Hart gets choked up as he accepts the Twain Prize for humor: WP reports Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and others toasted an emotional Hart at the Kennedy Center on Sunday.
*** Sport ***
Yahoo: Shohei Ohtani breaks silence on interpreter scandal: 'I never bet on baseball or any other sports'
+ Shohei Ohtani broke his silence on the gambling scandal surrounding his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, on Monday
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
ITK Daily | March 26
