ITK Daily | April 10
Putin + Xi, Meta, Robotaxis, Coachella, Women’s Basketball, plus 1,000 more actionable insights.
ITK Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for comms pros.
ITK Daily will be on hiatus starting Thursday, April 11, and will return Monday, April 15.
Always Be Communicating.
Happy Wednesday.
Here’s today’s ITK Daily:
*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***
+ World defense spending reached a record $2.2 trillion last year.
Hamas, Israel remain far apart on Gaza cease-fire deal: WSJ reports a plan proposed by the US would free Israeli hostages and pause the war in Gaza.
BBC: David Cameron says UK won't suspend arms exports to Israel
Turkey announced restrictions on exports to Israel of 54 military-related products.
Iran smuggles arms to West Bank, officials say, to foment unrest with Israel: NYT reports the covert operation, described by US, Iranian and Israeli officials, is heightening concerns that Iran is seeking to turn the West Bank into a flashpoint in its shadow war with Israel.
The black market that delivers Elon Musk’s Starlink to US foes: The satellite-internet devices are helping Russian fighters in Ukraine and paramilitary forces in Sudan; SpaceX hasn’t shut them off. WSJ
Bloomberg: SpaceX contract to supply Starlink in Ukraine is worth $23 million
+ Elon Musk had voiced unease about Starlink’s use in Ukraine
+ Defense Department had declined to disclose size of contract
Zelenskyy warns Russia has penetrated US politics, invites Trump to Ukraine: Politico reports in an exclusive interview, the president of Ukraine talks about his outreach to Trump, stalled Ukraine aid and Russia’s growing influence in the US.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power station in southern Ukraine was hit by a drone attack following other attacks in previous days, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
6 countries move to protect the North Sea from Russians: Potential foreign sabotage and attacks on critical infrastructure set off alarms. Politico
China and Russia pledge to work together to maintain ‘supply chain stability’: FT reports agreement to seek ‘more active’ convergence comes days after US warned Beijing not to help Moscow’s war effort.
China and Russia strengthen military ties in face of ‘bullying’ West: The Times reports Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi, the foreign ministers, met in Beijing in a strong affirmation of friendship between the two countries.
Putin and Xi’s unholy alliance: Why the West won’t be able to drive a wedge between Russia and China. Alexander Gabuev
China’s high-stakes struggle to defy demographic disaster: The Communist Party puts its faith in robots, gene-therapy and bathing services. Economist
Reuters: Taiwan war games to simulate repelling a Chinese drill that turns into attack
Taiwanese groups consider overseas headquarters to hedge against Chinese attack: FT reports global efforts to secure supply chains put pressure on contractors to establish ‘alternative command system abroad.’
CNA: Expect more joint South China Sea patrols, US says ahead of summits with allies
Kishida: Japan ready to step up as US 'global partner' at Biden summit: Deeper defense integration and economic ties top Japan's agenda, but Trump looms large. Nikkei
US, Japan to announce military cooperation, joint NASA lunar mission: WP reports President Biden is hosting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a state visit this week, deepening ties between close allies.
To keep the peace in Asia, Japan plans for war: Kishida Fumio meets Joe Biden in Washington, DC to shore up deterrence. Economist
Why America’s longtime ally in Asia is so anxious about Trump 2.0: The possible return of Donald Trump to the White House has bred a deep sense of insecurity among Japan’s business and political elite. Politico
Bloomberg: Kishida urges US executives to boost tech investments in Japan
+ Japan’s prime minister makes appeal during visit to Washington
+ Tokyo has sought to bolser domestic chip-making capacity
SK AI: Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea’s president, said his country would invest 9.4trn won ($6.94bn) in artificial intelligence by 2027.
Reuters: South Korea to invest $7 billion in AI in bid to retain edge in chips
Singapore loses shine as Southeast Asia base for multinationals: Nikkei reports Japanese and European companies weigh setting up elsewhere over costs.
Meloni’s radical plan: Rewriting Italy’s post-fascist constitution: The prime minister says the current system leads to unstable governments. Opponents say her plan would weaken parliament and the president. FT
Italy considers tougher penalties for AI-related crimes: Italy's government is mulling tougher penalties for crimes using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools including market rigging and money laundering, according to a draft law bill seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
Bloomberg: Saudis scale back ambition for $1.5 trillion desert project Neom
Women take center stage in Mexico's televised presidential debate: Le Monde reports the debate between former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum and right-wing senator Xochitl Galvez on Sunday did not change the balance of power, with Sheinbaum, seen as President Lopez Obrador's heir, likely to win the June 2 election.
Mexico obtains US court authorization to sue firearms companies: Le Monde reports Mexico has taken the US firearms industry to court to hold them responsible for the violence committed by cartels using their weapons on its soil.
Bloomberg: Baltimore port closure means 35% drop in April US coal exports
How the US could compete with China in Latin America: A draft bill before Congress offers a constructive alternative to finger-wagging and lecturing. FT - Editorial
The West is suffering from its own success: Smartphone addiction, culture wars and low birth rates are byproducts of wealth. Janan Ganesh
*** US Politics + Elections ***
Biden is building a behemoth of a campaign. Trump at this point seems to be playing catch-up. NBC News reports Biden is flush with cash and opening campaign offices across the country but has struggled to overcome Trump and his more meager campaign in the polls.
Biden is spending $1 trillion to fight climate change. Voters don’t care. WSJ reports the campaign is promoting the effort, but it is unclear whether the policies could reverse the deep skepticism many young people feel toward the president.
How the US Steel takeover became about Biden and swing states: Nippon Steel’s $14 billion bid to take over an American industrial icon faces political challenges from “every direction.” Bloomberg
How Donald Trump’s mug shot became a defiant and divisive 2024 symbol: WP reports the photo has become an iconic image for the former president’s supporters. To critics, the photo is an encapsulation of alleged behavior they find revolting.
How one California beach town became Gavin Newsom’s nemesis: Huntington Beach’s hard-right turn is typical of modern California Republicanism. Economist
Meet the 25-year-old who TikToked his way onto RFK’s campaign team: Influencer Link Lauren, who gained fame by interviewing long-shot presidential candidates, has a knack for making ‘complex individuals palatable on the internet.’ WP
Arizona high court revives 160-year-old abortion ban: WSJ reports the decision to restore an 1864 law will put abortion front and center in a state that could decide the 2024 presidential race.
CNBC: Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, inner circle give millions to shape schools, courts
Inside the House GOP’s surveillance law nightmare: Politico reports Republicans are plunging into a divisive debate that has pitted two warring factions against each other for months. There’s plenty of backbiting and mistrust to go around.
Norfolk Southern reaches $600 million settlement in East Palestine lawsuit: WP reports members of the community will be able to use the money to help their recovery from last year’s derailment and chemical spill.
'Uncomfortable' AI-generated voicemails from gun violence victims swarm Congress: The voice memos feature six victims of gun violence, including those killed in mass shootings, suicide, and accidents. Politico
Bloomberg: Meta downplays AI disinformation threat in big election year
Safety first: The Center for AI Policy, a new group lobbying for tight rules on artificial intelligence, released a draft bill this morning that would launch a new AI safety agency. It would also grant the White House sweeping emergency powers, establish a strict licensing regime, clamp down on open-source models, and impose civil and criminal liability on developers.
In an interview with Politico's Brendan Bordelon, CAIP Executive Director Jason Green-Lowe warned of “genius level” AIs that proliferate rapidly and cause chaos and destruction, either accidentally or on purpose. He said Washington needs “a safer set of guardrails, a better digital safety net than we have today, in order to cope with the AI that's going to be coming out in just a couple of years.”
“If there’s a genuine emergency — if AI is in the process of going rogue, it's holding servers ransom and shutting down hospitals, whatever it is — the administration is going to do something,” said Green-Lowe. “They’re not going to sit back and let the rogue AI destroy the country. So better they should do so within the rule of law, within established and specified procedures, rather than have to improvise something totally extralegal.”
Full newsletter post - click here.
Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced a bill requiring AI companies to disclose the copyrighted works used to train their models or face fines. The Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act would require the disclosure of both new and existing AI models.
*** Disruption + Innovation ***
Where Bitcoin and artificial intelligence meet: The quadrennial event known as “the halving” is arriving just as some miners look to branch out into that other popular technology. Bloomberg
Welcome to an artificial-intelligence Utopia: What will humans do if technology solves everything? Economist
AI’s advances will echo the internet, not the steam engine: The comparison oversimplifies the impact the technology could have on our lives. Point to the internet instead. Parmy Olson
OpenAI and Meta ready new AI models capable of ‘reasoning’: Upgrades are part of a wave of new large language models being released this year. FT
OpenAI prepares to fight for its life as legal troubles mount: The company has hired more than two dozen in-house lawyers and adopted a new Washington playbook. WP
How Google lost ground in the AI race: The Silicon Valley group has stumbled in the rollout of generative AI. Insiders say cultural and organizational issues are to blame. FT
Microsoft will invest $2.9 billion in Japan over the next two years to expand its hyperscale cloud computing and AI infrastructure.
Microsoft to invest $2.9bn in Japan data centers amid AI boom: Nikkei reports the move comes in response to push for 'data sovereignty' among governments.
Microsoft has put more than $13 billion into OpenAI.
Meta’s smart glasses are becoming artificially intelligent. We took them for a spin. What happens when a columnist and a reporter use AI glasses to scan groceries, monuments, and zoo animals? Hilarity, wonder, and lots of mistakes ensued. NYT
Bloomberg: Intel unveils new AI accelerator in bid to challenge Nvidia
Google expands in-house chip efforts in costly AI battle: WSJ reports the tech giant is developing new chips to cut reliance on outside vendors as the AI arms race for computing resources intensifies.
Bloomberg: NYSE executive says ‘handful’ of AI startups are exploring IPOs
+ “I’d say that the majority of the companies that are truly pure-play, AI-focused are still mostly financing themselves in the private markets,” Michael Harris, global head of capital markets at NYSE, said at the Information’s Private Capital Conference on Tuesday. “But we have seen a handful of companies that are at least exploring going through the process.”
AI’s ‘insatiable’ energy needs not sustainable, Arm CEO says: WSJ reports AI models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT ‘are just insatiable in terms of their thirst’ for electricity, Haas said.
GM says Cruise robotaxis back on the road with human drivers: AFP reports GM subsidiary Cruise on Tuesday said it plans to get its self-driving cars back on the road without human drivers after suspending robotaxi service late last year due to safety concerns.
India’s electric rickshaws are leaving EVs in the dust: Little-known e-rickshaw companies like YC Electric are at the forefront of the country’s EV revolution. ROW
Reuters: BlackBerry gains on partnership with AMD for robotics systems
Bloomberg: Apple targets new Miami office space following Amazon, Microsoft
Washington DC’s cash bounty to wither on empty offices, downtown Bloomberg
Blackstone is reportedly near a deal to buy L’Occitane and take the skincare company private.
Neutrogena is permanently closing its Los Angeles office as parent Kenvue consolidates operations to New Jersey.
Peter Higgs, Nobel-winning physicist who proposed existence of 'God particle', dies at 94: Le Monde reports the University of Edinburgh said he died on Monday "peacefully at home following a short illness." The physicist won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work that helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang.
*** Culture ***
The Times: Is this the end of Coachella? Sales dip as festival loses its shine
Can Singapore produce a music icon who commands Taylor Swift's levels of success and adulation? Taylor Swift and K-pop bands have proven that music artistes can transcend cultural and linguistic barriers. But are they the exception to the norm? How can Singapore’s music industry set artistes up for the same commercial success and longevity? CNA
Thursday: The official selection announced for Cannes film festival.
George Lucas to get special Cannes festival award: AFP reports the Cannes film festival will give Star Wars creator George Lucas a special award at its closing ceremony this year, organisers said Tuesday.
Bloomberg: Michelin picks 24 top hotels in France in first-ever ranking
*** Sport ***
Comcast has sold about $1.2 billion in advertising for the upcoming summer Olympics and Paralympic games in Paris, a record for the event.
Army sponsors upstart United Football League in new recruitment strategy: WSJ reports the Army is a ‘presenting partner’ for the recently formed alternative to the NFL.
WP: Women’s basketball final drew more viewers than men’s championship for first time
NBA hit by a tidal wave of sports betting: Le Monde reports between betting irregularities and verbal abuse at venues and on social media, the North American basketball league has felt the first repercussions of the liberalization of sports betting in several US states.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
ITK Daily | April 10
