ITK Daily | April 9
Japan, Canada, Space Economy, ABBA, Sports Stadium Boom, 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 ***
Today: President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House for an official visit, followed by a state dinner. This is the first such visit by a Japanese leader in nine years.
At Biden-Kishida summit, tech tie-ups are as important as defense deals: TJT reports the two leaders are also expected to announce boosted cooperation on supply chains and cutting-edge technologies, all with an eye on China.
US, UK, and Australia say Japan could join part of AUKUS pact: Statement from security group members comes amid mounting focus on Chinese threat in Asia. FT
Japan doubles down on the US alliance as China looms: Tokyo and Washington are both determined to prevent Beijing from dominating the Indo-Pacific. Gideon Rachman
With Trump and China looming, how much does the US trust Japan? Fumio Kishida sits down as prime minister with Joe Biden on Wednesday to redefine a complicated relationship — and there’s a big elephant in the room. The Times
China is giving geospatial intelligence to Russia, the US is warning allies.
China’s tin-eared approach to the world: It wanted countries to focus on interests, not values. Careful what you wish for. Economist
Bloomberg: Yellen implores China to rethink economic growth strategy
+ US side pushes Beijing to change economic strategy for growth
+ Top Chinese officials still give Treasury chief warm reception
US-China trade fight ramps up with EVs and green tech: FC reports China hasn’t committed to any steps to address American concerns, arguing that its cheap solar panels and other green products are helping the world wage the costly battle against climate change.
+ According to the International Federation of Robotics, in 2022 more than half of all industrial robot installations in the world took place in China.
Today: South Koreans will vote in legislative elections that will determine President Yoon Suk Yeol's scope to pass laws over his remaining three years in office.
Netanyahu says 'there is a date' for Rafah invasion: Le Monde reports Israel believes the city, in which 1.5 million Gazans are sheltering, is one of the last Hamas strongholds in the Gaza Strip.
US makes fresh cease-fire proposal for war in Gaza: WSJ reports Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns presented a new proposal to help advance a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the six-month war in Gaza and release remaining hostages.
Macron, Sissi, and King Abdullah II call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza: In a Le Monde op-ed, the French and Egyptian presidents, Emmanuel Macron and Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, and the king of Jordan, Abdullah II, demand that UN resolutions be respected.
Leaders of Jordan, France, and Egypt: Cease fire now in Gaza WP - Oped
Iran’s better, stealthier drones are remaking global warfare: Countries from Central Asia to South America are building their own killer tech based on Iranian designs — often with US components. Bloomberg
Political battle to succeed Modi brews quietly in India: Two candidates lead the pack -- a longtime confidant and a hardliner cleric. Nikkei
How Ukraine is using AI to fight Russia: From target hunting to catching sanctions-busters, its war is increasingly high-tech. Economist
David Cameron jets to Florida for talks with Donald Trump: FT reports meeting comes as British foreign secretary pushes to secure Republican backing for Ukraine aid.
Foreign Office: Former diplomats lead call to replace 'elitist' department BBC
Fragile alliance — is NATO still up for the fight? As the alliance prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary, three books consider its relevance, and argue that its most difficult years may lie ahead. FT
Le Monde: French foreign minister says dialogue with Russia no longer in France's 'interest'
Bloomberg: Germany to order ships, armored vehicles worth up to €7 billion
+ Government to exercise option for additional two navy frigates
+ Ruling coalition pushing ahead with overhaul of armed forces
First German soldiers deployed to Lithuania: DW reports Bundeswehr soldiers are now stationed in Lithuania, the first permanent deployment of German soldiers abroad since the end of World War II. It marks a major shift in defense policy.
+ "I won't dance. Promise." -- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announces the launch of his TikTok account as Europe’s politicians attempt to engage younger audiences.
Spain is predicted to lead in AI workplace adoption by 2028, with 92% of employers expecting to use AI tools, while the UK anticipates the biggest increase in AI use from 67% to 85%.
Zimbabwe is rolling out the ZiG, a new currency pegged to gold and foreign cash. The government hopes to curb the freefall of its erstwhile dollar, whose value has declined by over 70% since January. People have three weeks to exchange the old notes for the new currency.
Bloomberg: Trudeau unveils $1.8 billion package for Canada’s AI sector
+ The centerpiece is money for ‘technological infrastructure’
+ Canada has yet to pass law regulating artificial intelligence
Canada unveils billions for artificial intelligence: Canadian officials are expected to reveal plans to increase defense spending. WSJ
*** US Politics + Elections ***
Biden plans to cancel student loan debt for at least 23 million Americans: FC reports combined with the administration’s previous actions, they would benefit more than 30 million Americans.
The Biden campaign in Michigan has a tremendous ground-game advantage: But does the Democratic Party have a sufficiently unified message? Economist
Maryland passes 2 major privacy bills, despite tech industry pushback: One bill would require apps like Instagram and TikTok to prioritize young people’s safety, and the other would restrict the collection of consumer data. NYT
*** Disruption + Innovation ***
Instagram brought in almost a third of Meta revenue in 2022.
Meta is changing its policies to allow more AI-generated content to stay up on its sites, even if that content is misleading. The company will begin to label, not remove, misleading content that is AI-generated, but doesn’t violate any other policies.
Generative AI isn’t ubiquitous in the business world—at least not yet: ChatGPT and other tools have racked up users, but some companies are proceeding with caution, or not at all. WSJ
Will AI create more fake news than it exposes? As the technology spreads, it will force media consumers and producers to change the way they use the internet. Tyler Cowen
Y Combinator goes all in on AI: More than half of the 260 companies in Y Combinator's latest graduating group are building or using AI technology.
Reid Hoffman, 'mystical atheist' and artificial intelligence guru: The LinkedIn co-founder calls on Europe to take a stronger stance in the AI race pitting the United States against China, and denounces Elon Musk's libertarian drift. Le Monde
‘Godfather of AI’ says there isn’t a consensus on what ‘artificial general intelligence’ means: Getting to AGI requires technology that can perform just as well as humans in a wide variety of tasks, including reasoning, planning, and the ability to learn from experiences. FC
Spotify launches personalized AI playlists that you can build using prompts.
Microsoft to open AI hub in London.
Bloomberg: Dimon likens AI’s transformational potential to the steam engine
+ JPMorgan CEO says AI could ‘augment virtually every job’
+ Dimon discusses regulation, proxy advisers in annual letter
CNBC: Jamie Dimon says AI may be as impactful on humanity as printing press, electricity, and computers
+ JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon chose AI as the first topic in his update of issues facing the biggest US bank by assets.
+ In his annual letter to shareholders released Monday, Dimon said he was convinced that artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on society.
The AI industry is growing up. And the stakes are only getting higher: While 2023 was a big year for advances in the biggest component parts of the AI hardware and software stack—LLMs and GPUs—a whole ecosystem of supporting infrastructure is just beginning to define itself. FC
‘Social order could collapse’ in AI era, two top Japan companies say: Telecommunications company NTT and leading newspaper Yomiuri to issue manifesto calling for new laws to restrain generative AI. WSJ
Elon Musk predicts AI will overtake human intelligence next year: Tesla chief says infrastructure will need to keep up with technology’s demands as he seeks investment for own start-up. FT
+ He added that the total "sentient compute of AI" could surpass that of all humans within five years.
+ AI's advancement, however, remains limited by the availability of electricity, he noted.
AI could make the copper supply defecit worse: FC reports China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of copper.
Bloomberg: AI demand for data centers vastly underestimated, CoreWeave says
+ Co-founder of cloud-computing firm says demand is ‘absurd’
+ CoreWeave’s Brian Venturo warns of supply chain constraints
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will begin production of the world's most advanced semiconductors in Phoenix by the end of the decade.
TSMC boosts Joe Biden’s AI chip ambitions with $11.6bn US production deal: FT reports the world’s biggest chipmaker will build cutting-edge facilities in Arizona in exchange for billions in subsidies.
Synchron, a rival to Musk's Neuralink brain implant startup, is preparing to recruit patients for a large-scale clinical trial required to seek commercial approval for its device, its chief executive told Reuters.
MicroStrategy's 150% surge — driven by a big bet on Bitcoin — has the scope to climb even further as the cryptocurrency soars, according to analysts at BTIG.
The space economy could grow to $1.8T by 2035, according to a report released today by the World Economic Forum in partnership with McKinsey & Company.
How three high-tech countries became laggards in electric vehicles TJT
Think Tesla is in trouble? Pity even more its wannabe EV rivals: A fleet of electric-car startups is struggling to stay in business. Economist
Abrdn cries vowel over brand name mockery: Constant jokes about the company name are labeled ‘corporate bullying’ by Peter Branner, its chief investment officer. The Times
*** Culture ***
The loneliness cure: Ex-Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg thinks advanced AI can help. FT
ABBA's unexpected success story started 50 years ago: On March 6, 1974, Swedish pop band ABBA won the 19th Eurovision Song Contest, held in the English seaside town of Brighton. Nobody expected the five strangely dressed Swedes with a song about Napoleon to win. DW
*** Sport ***
Briton becomes first person to run length of Africa: Extreme marathon runner Russ Cook completed his run along the entire length of Africa after traveling through 16 countries, with the 352-day odyssey including being robbed at gunpoint and suffering food poisoning. "The first person ever to run the entire length of Africa. Mission complete," the 27-year-old said.
A sports stadium boom is coming to America. Is that a good thing? WP
WP: NAIA bans all transgender women from women’s sports
Everyone is rich, no one is happy. The pro golf drama is back: First the PGA Tour and the upstart LIV Golf were implacable enemies. Then they were going to work something out. Now, as the Masters is set to begin, the tension is mounting again. Bloomberg
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
ITK Daily | April 9
