ITK Daily | April 16
Japan, Gavin Newsom, 10,000, Notre Dame, Denver, 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 ***
What Iran’s failed attack tells us about Israel: Israel has emerged looking stronger, both militarily and diplomatically. Fraser Nelson
The Biden dilemma on Israel: Protection cannot mean giving the Netanyahu government a blank cheque, cashable in Washington. Gideon Rachman
Iranians fear their brittle regime will drag them into war: Ultra-religious hardliners are gaining power and yearn for confrontation. Economist
China supports Moscow's arms production: On Friday, the US and UK banned imports of Russian metals. Meanwhile, Moscow has circumvented European sanctions by securing support from Beijing for its Ukraine war effort, highlighting strong Russia-China ties. Jean-Michel Bezat
Japan's aid for Ukraine signals new distance from Russia: DW reports Japan has become one of Ukraine's most important allies, providing billions in aid. But what does this mean for relations with Russia?
Japan's alliance with the US has just gone global: Two nations now committed to jointly building 'free and open international order.' Jeffrey W. Hornung
Biden-Kishida summit drives home US-Japan economic union: TJT reports the leaders used their meeting to bake economic cooperation into the allies' relationship in hopes of making it harder to pull out of in the future.
Japan’s native population fell by 837,000 in 2023, almost 100 people an hour. Some of the decline was offset by immigration for a net change of 595,000. Japan’s foreign population reached a record high of 3.2mm in June 2023.
China's Gen Z turns frugal as economic gloom spreads: Youth doubts and disillusionment raise alarm over 'degradation of consumption.' Nikkei
US lawmakers angry after Huawei unveils laptop with new Intel AI chip: Reuters reports GOP lawmakers on Friday criticized the Biden administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel AI chip.
+ “One of the greatest mysteries in Washington, DC is why the Department of Commerce continues to allow US technology to be shipped to Huawei" Republican Congressman Michael Gallagher, who chairs the House of Representatives select committee on China, said in a statement to Reuters.
AI Seoul Summit is May 21-22.
Bloomberg: Sunak resists call to set election date amid leadership threat
+ Allies say doing so would help fend off a leadership challenge
+ But UK premier’s team wants to maintain element of surprise
Explore our prediction model for Britain’s looming election: The scale of the task facing Rishi Sunak is clear. Economist
Sudan: International observers say more than 8 million people have fled their homes, and more than 14,000 people have been killed.
The rise of AI meets the golden age of geography: Organizations worldwide are harnessing the power of spatial analysis – a time-tested technology – with AI to elevate their analytical and predictive capabilities and accelerate actionable insights. Forbes
*** US Politics + Elections ***
As hush money trial begins, Trump’s sex life emerges as key theme: WP reports before jurors are questioned, judge spends hours hashing out what a jury should know about allegations involving women other than Stormy Daniels.
+ “Of the 96 possible jurors brought into the room, more than 50 raised their hands to say they couldn’t be fair. They were immediately excused.”
The Hill: RFK Jr. says Trump allies asked him to be VP
Gavin Newsom can’t help himself: The California governor has made clear that he’s not running for president in 2024. But he’s getting antsy. Mark Leibovich
NYT: Mike Johnson says house will vote on stalled aid to Israel and Ukraine
+ House Republicans plan to try to pass four bills this week to send aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, Punchbowl News reports.
70% of American mortgage holders have a rate more than 3pp below the current market rate; the Federal Housing Finance Agency estimates this lock-in effect is responsible for about 1.3mm fewer home sales from the spring of 2022 through 2023.
‘The 401(k) industry owns Congress’: How lawmakers quietly passed a $300 billion windfall to the wealthy: Greased by lobbying and campaign cash, tax breaks for retirement savings are one thing Congress agrees on. But they also blow out the deficit and add to income inequality. Politico
Powerful senator crafts TikTok crackdown: Washington Democrat Maria Cantwell has deep experience with tech legislation, while frustrating some colleagues. WSJ
How I built an AI-powered, self-running propaganda machine for $105: I paid a website developer to create a fully automated, AI-generated ‘pink-slime’ news site, programmed to create false political stories. The results were impressive—and, in an election year, alarming. WSJ
AI is threatening Americans’ jobs. Could guaranteed income provide a safety net? Catherine Thorbecke
How to protect Americans from the many growing threats of AI: Chuck Schumer has promised major action on what could be the most important issue of our lives. He needs to go big. Here’s how. Gary Marcus
SAG-AFTRA has reached a deal with major record labels that requires "consent and compensation before a song is released that uses a digital replica of an artist's voice."
Microsoft pitched OpenAI’s DALL-E as battlefield tool for US military The Intercept
Justice Department to file antitrust suit against Live Nation: WSJ reports the agency has probed concert giant’s heft and negotiating power in ticketing, venues.
CNN ends ‘King Charles,’ Charles Barkley and Gayle King’s show: WSJ reports the prime-time show is latest creation of former CEO Chris Licht to be scrapped.
*** Disruption + Innovation ***
Waymo expanded its paid-fare service to Los Angeles this past Wednesday.
Tesla will cut global headcount by more than 10% as it grapples with a demand slowdown.
The EV battery of your dreams is coming: Quiet developments signal that over the next five years we will see technological leaps. Christopher Mims
Apple’s Tim Cook is in Hanoi and may announce further investments in Vietnam this week.
AI can perform better than humans in some areas like image recognition, visual reasoning, and English understanding, but still falls short in advanced math and planning, according to the Stanford Human-Centered AI Institute's (HAI) latest AI Index.
AI has a measurement problem: Which AI system writes the best computer code or generates the most realistic image? Right now, there’s no easy way to answer those questions. Kevin Roose
Steve Schwarzman says there needs to be global regulation on AI: Bloomberg reports Blackstone Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman said the artificial intelligence revolution will transform the nature of work and that almost everyone he knows is concerned about what might go wrong with the technology.
+ Schwarzman told the Asia Pacific Financial and Innovation Symposium in Melbourne on Tuesday that it’s the first time he’s seen business people rooting for regulation.
TC: Meta trials its AI chatbot across WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger in India and Africa
If Meta has its way, students will tour faraway museums, walk among dinosaurs and view human intestines up close — all from the comfort of their classroom, using virtual reality, according to Axios.
Medium is banning AI-generated content from its paid partner program, notifying users that the new policy goes into effect on May 1, 2024.
Reuters: Adobe explores OpenAI partnership as it adds AI video tools
This startup is trying to test how well AI models actually work: Vals dot ai is working to build a third-party review system for vetting the performance of AI in areas like accounting, law, and finance. Bloomberg
It’s not just Jamie Dimon and Wall Street. Local bank branches have big AI ambitions CNBC
+ Financial technology has already helped level the playing field for smaller banks competing against giants like Wells Fargo and Chase, and AI is being viewed as the next tech arms race for Main Street in keeping up with Wall Street.
+ “The teller line, as we see it today, will eventually die,” says one community bank CEO, who tells CNBC that the future branch will look more like “a wall of screens.”
+ Mentions of AI and related terms on earnings calls hit a record high among the 10 largest US banks in Q1’24.
SpaceX reflew one of its boosters for a record 20th time.
SpaceX could finally face competition. It may be too late. Companies such as Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, and the United Launch Alliance are developing new rockets. But SpaceX already has its next generation Starship coming. WP
There are almost 10,000 satellites orbiting Earth — and that’s creating a booming space economy: A constellation of companies designed to launch and service the massive amount of new satellites in space are at the core of a booming space sector. FC
Bitcoin’s once-every-four-years “halving” event - due around April 20 - is set to trigger multibillion-dollar declines in revenue for the very companies that ensure the digital currency’s smooth functioning, right on the heels of a surge in their biggest costs.
+ Over the next 20 years, $90T in wealth will be transferred from Americans born before 1964 to their heirs according to financial research firm Cerulli Associates.
A new proposal to bring the ocean back to life: Pumping a clean-energy by-product into “dead zones” could restore local ecosystems. Brian Owens
GE sells Crotonville, a training ground for generations of managers: WSJ reports the site where Jack Welch once held lectures in a sunken auditorium known as ‘The Pit’ will become a conference center; 3M and Boeing are still looking to unload campuses.
*** Culture ***
Ukrainian soldiers navigate the pitfalls of dating apps: Many servicemen use these platforms to chat with women and ease their loneliness, at the risk of being targeted by the Russians but also by financial scams. Le Monde
7,000: The rough number of languages in the world.
Five years after fire, Notre Dame Cathedral's restoration is nearly complete: Le Monde reports the cathedral should reopen to the public in December 2024 as planned, but the surrounding area will be under construction until 2028.
AI made these movies sharper. Critics say it ruined them. Machine-learning technologies are being used in film restoration for new home video releases. But some viewers strongly dislike the results. NYT
*** Sport ***
AFP: Arsenal and Liverpool lose to hand Man City Premier League lead
The Arizona Coyotes will move to Salt Lake City next season.
Denver won its 10th men's hockey national championship, moving past Michigan for most all-time.
WNBA: The Indiana Fever selected Caitlin Clark with the first pick in the WNBA draft.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
ITK Daily | April 16
