Caracal Daily | June 7
D-Day, Old-school, Apple, Francis Ford Coppola, Athlete, plus 1,000 more actionable insights.
Caracal Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for comms pros.
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Happy Friday.
Here’s today’s Caracal Daily:
*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***
A D-Day commemoration that was not just about beating Hitler: Economist reports Biden, Macron, and Zelensky vowed to defend Ukraine and democracy.
France will announce on Friday that it will transfer Mirage 2000-5 warplanes to Ukraine.
Politico: Biden in Normandy says he prays Americans don’t become isolationists
40 years on, Biden seeks to echo Reagan’s legacy of American leadership: At Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, President Biden plans to follow one of former President Reagan’s most iconic speeches with his own testimonial to democracy. WP
Reagan at Pointe du Hoc, 40 years later: June 1984 was a tense and dangerous time in the Cold War, but domestic politics were sweeter than today. Peggy Noonan
Frenchman arrested in Moscow for ‘spying on Russia’: The Times reports a criminal case for gathering military information has been opened against the man, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.
Putin’s existential problem: Not enough Russians: WSJ reports Russia’s population has been in decline for years, and the war in Ukraine has made matters worse.
+ The Russo-Ukraine War has amplified the Russian population decline, with at least 150,000 Russian battlefield deaths and almost 1mm young people fleeing the country since the start of the war. In response, Putin has declared 2024 “the year of the family.”
Reuters: Meta faces call in EU not to use personal data for AI models
+ "Most international efforts to mitigate AI risk are currently directed toward concerns around security, privacy, ethics, and disinformation. But we also need a serious international effort to AI-proof the economy." -- Gita Gopinath - Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
The European Central Bank lowered its benchmark deposit rate by a quarter of a percentage point, from 4% to 3.75%.
The new CEO trapped in the US-China chip battle: An opera lover wary of politics, Christophe Fouquet must balance Western demands to curb China’s access to ASML’s most sophisticated machines while still supplying a key market. WSJ
‘Short of war,’ China’s gray zone strategy on Taiwan is gathering in intensity: The West must strongly deter — without foreclosing a future reconciliation between Taipei and Beijing. Kevin Rudd
Narendra Modi said that he was looking forward to “closer ties” with Taiwan.
South Africa’s president announces plan to form national unity government: NYT reports President Cyril Ramaphosa’s party, the African National Congress, is seeking a broad alliance after it failed to win enough seats in last week’s election to form a government on its own.
America consumes: The US trade deficit widened in April to the largest since October 2022 on a surge in imports of goods including motor vehicles, computers and industrial supplies.
*** US Politics + Elections ***
Biden tries to win with old-school campaign offices: Boston Globe reports Biden campaign officials have sought to leverage their early cash advantage over Trump… to build the physical infrastructure they believe will pay dividends in a tight race. They now boast more than 175 Democratic campaign offices spread across Wisconsin and seven other battleground states.
+ President Biden told ABC News that he would not pardon his son Hunter amid an ongoing felony gun trial.
What swing state Michigan’s boom says about the Biden economy: Not everyone is benefiting equally from the revival under way in a crucial 2024 election battleground. FT
Trump search for a VP candidate narrows, with senators dominating list: At least eight people have been asked to provide documents to the campaign. WP
+ According to people familiar with the search, the potential candidates who have received requests for paperwork include Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), JD Vance (R-OH), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Tim Scott (R-SC); North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum; Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Byron Donalds (R-FL); and former secretary of housing and urban development Ben Carson.
Bloomberg: Microsoft, Nvidia to face US antitrust probes over AI moves
+ Inquiries take aim at two of world’s most valuable companies
+ Microsoft’s OpenAI partnership already facing probes in UK, EU
Big Tech’s AI dealmaking needs ‘urgent’ scrutiny, says US antitrust enforcer: Jonathan Kanter pushes for ‘meaningful intervention’ over concentration of power in artificial intelligence sector. FT
Regulators set the stage for AI antitrust battles: The FTC and DOJ reached a deal that could increase antitrust scrutiny of Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI. WP
Reuters: US Treasury seeks public comments on AI use in financial services sector
The AI election is here. Regulators can’t decide whose problem it is. A federal turf war and congressional inaction could leave voters largely unprotected ahead of the 2024 election. WP
AI state legislation: State lawmakers across the US have introduced 745 AI-related bills—10 times as many as were proposed in all of 2023.
Silicon Valley is on alert over a proposed AI bill in California: Critics worry the bill could place an impossible burden on developers to guarantee their services aren’t misused by bad actors. Bloomberg
It looked like a reliable news site. It was an AI chop shop. BNN Breaking had millions of readers, an international team of journalists and a publishing deal with Microsoft. But it was full of error-ridden content. NYT
*** Disruption + Innovation ***
Salesforce will open its first flagship AI center in London’s Blue Fin Building on June 18 as part of a $4 billion, five-year investment in the UK.
Google announced AI academy: American Infrastructure, a program for startups using AI to improve infrastructure, such as agriculture and broadband.
Cisco created a $1 billion fund to invest in AI.
‘Most exciting moment’ since birth of WiFi: Chipmakers hail arrival of AI PCs: FT reports Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Nvidia battle to get their processors into next wave of artificial intelligence-enabled computers.
Meta is bringing chatbots to WhatsApp in test of AI strategy: Facebook parent plans to use new artificial intelligence features to amplify its efforts to generate revenue in messaging services. WSJ
‘This is going to be painful’: How a bold AI device flopped: Humane’s Ai Pin was supposed to free people from smartphones, but sales have been slow. Now Humane is talking to HP and others about a potential sale. NYT
+ Humane told customers to stop using Ai Pin case over fire risk.
How Apple fell behind in the AI arms race: After years of playing it safe with generative artificial intelligence, Apple is set to unveil new features next week. WSJ
Artists are fleeing Instagram to keep their work out of Meta’s AI: Meta is training its AI on artists’ creations. They’re flocking to AI-skeptical app Cara to protect themselves. WP
Big Tech launches campaign to defend AI use: Chamber of Progress, in a campaign called "Generate and Create," says it will showcase "how AI lowers barriers for producing art." THR
Three reasons why it’s good news that robots are getting smarter: They are becoming more capable, easier to program, and better at explaining themselves. Economist
How calls for AI safety could wind up helping heavyweights like OpenAI: Abstract notions of super-dangerous AI may only feed the hype that current models are more impactful than they really are. FC
Sam Altman was bending the world to his will long before OpenAI: From founding a startup at 19 to running Y Combinator at 29, the CEO behind ChatGPT is the most Silicon Valley man alive. Bloomberg
The aging US power grid is about to get a jolt: Bracing for an expected surge in demand for electricity, utilities adopt new tech to boost transmission capacity. WSJ
LinkedIn has toppled Twitter as the most useful social media platform for public relations professionals, according to Muck Rack's latest State of PR report.
In April, the main YouTube app accounted for 9.6% of all TV watch time in the US, according to measurement firm Nielsen.
The next phase of the streaming wars: Rising subscription prices are likely to lead to a rebundling of services. Richard Waters
*** Culture ***
The workers who do everything on their phones—except answer calls: Bosses and employees are wrestling over whether voice calls have a place in the hybrid era. WSJ
Francis Ford Coppola: ‘You can’t be an artist and be safe’: The filmmaker talks about the inspirations for the characters in “Megalopolis” and “The Godfather,” and responds to recent allegations. NYT
*** Sport ***
USA v Pakistan: A huge upset at the T20 Cricket World Cup as captain Monank Patel leads the USA to victory over Pakistan in a super over thriller in Dallas.
CFP v NFL: This year, College Football Playoff games for the first time will go head-to-head with the NFL.
49: Number of days until the Paris Olympics start.
Premier League clubs vote 19-1 to keep VAR: The Times reports top-flight clubs vote overwhelmingly against motion put forward by Wolves, with league promising improvements including automated offsides and ‘high-quality broadcast graphics.’
Performance-enhancing vices: Selfishness channels ambition, envy drives competition, pride aids the win. Does it take a bad person to be a good athlete? Aeon
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal
Caracal Daily | June 7
