ITK Daily | April 29

ITK Daily | April 29

Conservative Party, January 6, Generative AI Winter, Louis XIV, Sports Bra, plus 1,000 more actionable insights.

ITK Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for comms pros.

Always Be Communicating.

Happy Monday.

Here’s today’s ITK Daily:

*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***

AP: Biden and Netanyahu speak as pressure’s on Israel over planned Rafah invasion and cease-fire talks

WP: Blinken to travel to Saudi Arabia amid renewed push for a hostage deal

Egypt pitches new proposal for Hamas-Israel cease-fire: WSJ reports the offer seeks the release of 20 hostages over an initial three-week truce.

WP: World Central Kitchen will resume aid work in Gaza on Monday

The interview - Yair Lapid says the world misunderstands Israel. NYT

Why Ramzan Kadyrov’s demise could plunge Putin into a new war: The Chechen leader is said to be terminally ill, raising the prospect that the ‘balance of terror’ in the Caucasus will be upset and the Kremlin will have to intervene militarily. Mark Galeotti

Facing hard wartime choices, Ukraine puts spotlight on men abroad who are absent from fight: CBC reports Kyiv to withhold consular services, passport renewals for military-age men outside country.

A Ukraine-born congresswoman voted no on aid. Her hometown feels betrayed. WP

Russian GPS jamming threatens air disaster, warn Baltic ministers: FT reports interference with navigation signals blamed on Moscow has forced two Finnish flights to turn around mid-journey.

Europe and the UK need to be on a full war footing: Relying on the US for the defense of NATO is short-sighted. Martin Ivens

Emmanuel Macron ponders role of France’s nuclear arsenal in defending Europe: Opposition lawmakers warn against any attempt to extend France’s nuclear deterrence to European allies. WSJ

Marcos deepfake fanning China tensions linked to ‘foreign actor’: Bloomberg reports a “foreign actor” is likely behind deepfake content that made Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sound like he’s urging military action against China, according to his communications office.

US Pacific commander says China is pursuing ‘boiling frog’ strategy: Retiring Admiral John Aquilino accuses Beijing of gradually raising pressure in South China Sea. FT

Biden adviser backs bill to counter China in Latin America: Chris Dodd sees chance Congress could pass legislation this year with bipartisan support. FT

Elon Musk flies in to meet China’s premier as Tesla fights local rivals: FT reports the billionaire arrives in world’s largest car market as he makes push on ‘robotaxis’ in bid to revive fortunes.

Bloomberg: Musk makes surprise China visit in search of Tesla revenue boost

+ CEO is seeking the regulatory nod for driver-assistance system

+ Revenue fell to lowest since early 2022 in the first quarter

There are more than a billion reasons to invest in India: The country is bidding to become the world’s third biggest economy and I think it’s a great time to join the gravy train
Ian Cowie

AP: Dubai plans to move its busy international airport to a $35 billion new facility within 10 years

Singapore's economy boosted by Taylor Swift, Coldplay shows; over half of concertgoers 'likely' from overseas: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) noted estimates by private-sector analysts indicating the concerts could have generated tourism receipts of up to S$450 million. CNA

Tory rebels aim to oust Sunak if party suffers big losses in local elections: Plotters could try to topple prime minister after polls in England and Wales on Thursday. FT

Britain’s Conservative Party, like the US Republican Party, is in turmoil: Five years after a landslide victory, Britain’s Conservative Party is deeply divided and appears headed towards one of its worst defeats in a generation. Dan Balz

French government makes offer for part of Atos, Le Maire says: Bloomberg reports France’s government has sent an offer letter to Atos SE proposing to take over parts of the company that the state considers to be strategic, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday. Le Maire didn’t provide an offer price for the proposed deal, which includes the company’s supercomputer, quantum computing, and cyber products operations.

Canada’s military mission training foreign troops bound for Haiti: CBC News gets exclusive access to the Canadian military’s training program in Jamaica, where foreign troops are being prepped for deployment to Haiti, which is reeling from political chaos and gang violence.

Is the sun slowly setting on US power? That depends on us. David Ignatius

***  US Politics + Elections ***

CBS News polled three key swing states:

+ Michigan: Biden 51%, Trump 49%

+ Pennsylvania: Trump 50%, Biden 49%

+ Wisconsin: Trump 50%, Biden 49%

Aaron Sorkin to write film about January 6 and Facebook disinformation: The Social Network screenwriter is returning to digital chaos for a new film about how ‘divisive material’ led to the 2021 insurrection. Guardian

WP: DeSantis meets privately with Trump, agrees to help with fundraising, people familiar say

ND Gov. Doug Burgum (R) is quickly moving up former President Trump’s list of possible vice presidential picks because Trump’s team believes he would be a safe choice who could attract moderate voters.

How Trump plans to wield power in 2025: What we know: Donald J. Trump and his allies are already laying the groundwork for a possible second Trump presidency, forging plans for an even more extreme agenda than his first term. NYT

AP: Biden officials indefinitely postpone ban on menthol cigarettes amid election-year pushback

This electrician and union leader could be Biden’s secret weapon in Michigan: United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain has the authority to reach many voters who might otherwise stay home, labor and political organizers say. WP

5,000 miles away, a Michigan mayor at the center of the Gaza storm: Navigating between residents’ rage over Gaza and Democrats’ fears of Trump, Abdullah Hammoud must decide whether to back Biden in the fall. WP

AP: Arrests roil campuses nationwide ahead of graduation as protesters demand Israel ties be cut

College protests over Gaza deepen Democratic rifts: NYT reports scenes of chaos unfolding on campuses across the country are stoking internal divisions and carry political risk as a major election year unfolds.

The week that shook Columbia: Protests over Gaza at the New York university have led to divisions and arrests. History professor Mark Mazower gives a first-hand account. FT

The Chips Act has been surprisingly successful so far: More than halfway through its incentives spending, the US will have far greater scope to manage shocks. Chris Miller

AP: Most drivers will pay $15 to enter busiest part of Manhattan starting June 30

How TikTok lost the war in Washington: Combination of coordinated efforts by its critics and missteps by the company led to the law forcing a sale or ban of the popular app. WSJ

ChatGPT maker enlists humans to win over fans in DC and beyond: OpenAI’s global influence operation doesn’t run on robots. Bloomberg

+ AI player boosted its federal lobbying tab by 30% this year

+ Ex Gore campaign aide Chris Lehane has joined OpenAI

Sam Altman and Satya Nadella tapped for US government AI security board: Bloomberg reports Delta Air Lines Inc. CEO Ed Bastian and Microsoft Corp.‘s Satya Nadella are among the corporate executives tapped Friday to help shield critical US services from artificial intelligence-powered attacks, as part of the Biden administration’s broader effort to minimize risks the technology poses to national security.

+ The board, slated to meet for the first time in May, also includes OpenAI‘s CEO Sam Altman, and leaders from Amazon.com Inc, International Business Machines Corp., and Nvidia Corp.

+ The group will recommend steps to protect US pipelines, power grids, and transportation services from adversaries using AI to disrupt them, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Friday in announcing the board.

*** Disruption + Innovation ***

Meet the AI expert advising the White House, JPMorgan, Google, and the rest of corporate America: Ethan Mollick at the University of Pennsylvania has become the go-to authority on the new technology. Christopher Mims

Why we may be headed for a generative AI winter: As the generative AI buzz fades, its positive effects seem spotty and anecdotal. Meanwhile, some execs may wonder if all these tools and products are really making things better. FC

Zuckerberg’s fake beard shows power of AI to shape perceptions: Bloomberg reports last week, Mark Zuckerberg posted a video of himself discussing Meta’s latest AI model. Mike Rundle, an app designer based in North Carolina, was watching the video and was struck by Zuckerberg’s new look: slightly longer hair and a chain necklace. And he thought the Meta chief executive officer would look “cooler with a beard,” he said.So, on a whim, Rundle pulled a still from the video and passed it through a “beard” filter on photo tool app FaceApp, then tossed the image on X. Bearded Zuck went quasi-viral.

Bloomberg: Apple intensifies talks with OpenAI for iPhone generative AI features

Apple renews talks with OpenAI for iPhone generative AI features, Bloomberg News reports CNA

In race to build AI, tech plans a big plumbing upgrade: The spending that the industry’s giants expect artificial intelligence to require is starting to come into focus — and it is jarringly large. NYT

The Algorithm by Hilke Schellmann — why AI really is coming for your job: Tools used by recruiters and managers to hire and fire may be doing more harm than good. FT

Technology can detect wildfires. Do humans still have to? New technology and human solutions both have pros and cons. CBC

How AI will step off the screen and into the real world Daniela Rus @ TED

Data center operator Data4 plans to create a new campus in Milan called “Mil02” in an effort to expand its Italian reach. The company purchased a 77,000-square-meter (829,000 square feet) parcel of land where it will build eight data centers, according to a press release on Saturday. The facility will be its second investment in Italy, after setting up another center that’s also close to Milan.

Who might buy TikTok? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯: Plus other burning questions about the new law that could kick TikTok out of the United States. Maybe. WP

Inside BHP’s Anglo American bid: The £31bn tug of war over copper: The Australian miner wants its rival’s copper mines at a time when the red metal is in demand for electric cars, wind turbines, and power networks. The Times

*** Culture ***

Louis XIV would envy your life Rory Sutherland

‘Can you steal back something that’s already stolen?’: How radical art duo Looty repatriated the Rosetta Stone: Tired of colonial artefacts being hoarded, Chidi Nwaubani and Ahmed Abokor use tech to redistribute them from museums in audacious digital heists. Guardian

*** Sport ***

AP: Oregon’s Sports Bra, a pub for women’s sports fans, plans national expansion as interest booms

WP: Candace Parker retires after 16 seasons and three WNBA championships

AP: NFL draft attendance record set with more than 775,000 fans attending the event in Detroit


Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc