Caracal Daily | June 17
Pope Francis, ‘Little Marco,’ Apple, “Hollywood’s Brat Pack,” Charles Barkley, plus 1,000 more actionable insights.
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Happy Monday.
Here’s today’s Caracal Daily:
*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***
Europe’s real tourist trap: The continent gets too much attention from the world to recognize its irrelevance. Janan Ganesh
Bloomberg: Latest polls say UK Conservatives head for election wipeout
+ Four surveys indicate depth of voters discontent with Sunak
+ ‘We have had a tough time,’ Sunak tells the Sunday Times
How the wrong chaps took charge of British politics: The next government needs to clean up the British parties. FT
Good Chaps by Simon Kuper review — Britain’s slide into corruption: This polemic laments how the traditional posh, Oxbridge-educated civil service, once a bulwark against patronage and partisanship, has disappeared. In its place the country has been taken over by City chancers. The Times
Left Behind by Paul Collier review — What Labour is reading: The ‘hard centre’ economist Paul Collier, who is admired by Angela Rayner, wants to help Brexit-voting ‘left-behind’ communities. The Times
This city just made it illegal to advertise SUVs. Here’s why. Edinburgh became the latest European capital city to ban ads for aviation, SUVs, and more. WP
France braces for frenetic campaign as Mbappé calls on 'younger generation' to vote: Le Monde reports the football star said France was 'at a crucial moment' in its history, ahead of the shock snap elections on June 30 and July 7.
Bloomberg: Marine Le Pen says she’ll work with Macron in appeal to French moderates
+ Far-right leader appeals to moderates in Le Figaro interview
+ Macron’s party heading for heavy defeat in parliamentary vote
Chinese premier Down Under: Li is on a four-day tour of Australia, following a visit to New Zealand. On Monday he is due in Canberra, where he will receive an official welcoming ceremony and hold talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House, before the two are expected to deliver a joint statement.
China has become a scientific superpower: From plant biology to superconductor physics the country is at the cutting edge. Economist
Japan defense startups draw interest from US venture capital: Nikkei reports the government push for stronger defenses seen accelerating industry's growth.
New Zealand prime minister in Japan: New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will visit Japan to meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Japan's royals to meet UK king: Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will visit the UK from Saturday and spend three days as guests of King Charles III from June 25 to 27.
Narendra Modi flashes his 'multi-alignment' diplomacy at G7 summit: In first overseas trip since electoral setback, Indian PM skips Ukraine meeting. Nikkei
Bloomberg: Meloni uses the G7 to put focus on the Global South — and herself
+ Italian leader looked comfortable with guests Milei and Modi
+ Affection for Biden, but at odds with weakened Europeans
Pope attends G7 summit in historic first, warns of dangers of AI: EuroNews reports speaking at a special roundtable, the Pope challenged them to keep human dignity foremost in developing and using artificial intelligence, warning that such powerful technology risks turning human relations themselves into algorithms.
Pope Francis tells G7 that humans must not lose control of AI: Reuters reports Pope Francis became the first pontiff to address a Group of Seven summit on Friday, warning world leaders that Artificial Intelligence must never be allowed to get the upper hand over humanity.
+ The pope said AI represented an "epochal transformation" for mankind, but stressed the need for close oversight of the ever-developing technology to preserve human life and dignity.
How Pope Francis became the AI ethicist for world leaders and tech titans: Francis on Friday became the first pope to address G7 leaders, joining a summit session dedicated to artificial intelligence. WP
*** US Politics + Elections ***
Joe Biden hits Democratic fundraising record with star-studded $28mn LA event: FT reports Hollywood stands by president even as Silicon Valley flirts with Donald Trump.
Biden, Obama warn of Trump dangers in star-studded LA fundraiser: WP reports the presidents were joined by George Clooney and Julia Roberts as they presented Trump as a threat to democracy.
Meet the 24-year-old trying to solve Biden’s problems with young voters: Eve Levenson, the Biden campaign’s national youth engagement director, may have one of the hardest jobs in American politics. WP
How Rubio went from ‘Little Marco’ to Trump’s VP shortlist: Presumptive GOP presidential nominee hasn’t made up his mind but sees appeal in having the senator on the ticket. WSJ
If Trump wins: Donald Trump and his closest allies are preparing a radical reshaping of American government if he regains the White House. Here are some of his plans for cracking down on immigration, directing the Justice Department to prosecute his adversaries, increasing presidential power, upending America’s economic policies, retreating militarily from Europe and unilaterally deploying troops to Democratic-run cities. NYT
Top CEOs are flocking to Trump again in bid to shape agenda: Seeing the chance of a Trump victory, business leaders want a seat at the table. WSJ
The resistance to a new Trump administration has already started: An emerging coalition that views Donald J. Trump’s agenda as a threat to democracy is laying the groundwork to push back if he wins in November, taking extraordinary pre-emptive actions. NYT
What we know about how the CNN presidential debate will work: CNN, the network hosting the first debate, released a set of rules for the event scheduled for June 27. WP
Capital Journal Op-ed: South Dakotans have a unique opportunity to call for safe AI legislation from Congress: South Dakota is uniquely positioned to shape the future of AI policy in America. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) serves on the Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence working group, while Senator John Thune (R-SD) holds a key Senate leadership position. This means that South Dakota's elected officials have an outsized influence on the direction of AI legislation in Congress. South Dakotans should embrace this role and seize their unique position to make their voices heard and demand that your senators champion safe and ethical AI policies." Jason Green-Lowe - Op-ed
+ This is an opinion editorial submitted to the Capital Journal by Jason Green-Lowe, executive director at the Center for AI Policy (CAIP).
Voice assistants and AI chatbots still can’t say who won the 2020 election: With months to go before the US presidential election, some popular AI chatbots and voice assistants offer potentially harmful misinformation. WP
*** Disruption + Innovation ***
Bloomberg: Apple’s slow rollout of intelligence features will stretch into 2025
Even Apple cannot explain why we need AI in our lives: A souped-up Siri and personalized emojis are coming, but the most important question remains unanswered. Richard Waters
No matter how you package it, Apple Intelligence is AI: Apple is eager to show us that its approach to artificial intelligence is safer, better, and more useful than the competition. Maybe that's just a hallucination, but it's working. Wired
How British tech star Stability AI imploded with debt and lawsuits: Unpaid bills, key talent leaving — the fall of Emad Mostaque’s billion-dollar company is a cautionary tale of AI mania. The Times
Microsoft will no longer ship Recall, an artificial intelligence tool that tracks user activity, when the company releases the Copilot+ PC next week. Industry experts have expressed concern over the potential for hackers to develop tools that can retrieve user information.
Meta pauses AI models launch in Europe due to Irish request: Reuters reports the move by Meta came after complaints and a call by advocacy group NOYB to data protection authorities in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Spain to act against the company.
Clearview AI used your face. Now you may get a stake in the company. NYT reports the facial recognition start-up doesn’t have the funds to settle a class-action lawsuit, so lawyers are proposing equity for those whose faces were scraped from the internet.
Reuters: OpenAI CEO says company could become for-profit corporation, The Information reports
Reuters: Shanghai allows Tesla to carry out Full Self-Driving pilot
Suzuki to develop self-driving minicars by teaming with startup: Nikkei reports the collaboration with Tier IV will help reduce development costs.
Yes, everyone really is sick a lot more often after COVID: It's not your imagination: At least 13 communicable diseases are surging past pre-pandemic levels. Bloomberg
*** Culture ***
Wreckage of Shackleton’s last ship is found off coast of Canada: Ernest Shackleton was sailing for Antarctica on the ship, called the Quest, when he died in 1922. Researchers exulted over the discovery of its wreckage, 62 years after it sank in the Labrador Sea. NYT
I called them brats, and I stand by it: Forty years and a doc later, I still don’t know why the words “Hollywood’s Brat Pack” caused so much agony. David Blum
*** Sport ***
AI to erase abusive posts to athletes at Paris Olympics-IOC: Reuters reports the International Olympic Committee will deploy AI in order to block any abuse on social media directed at 15,000 athletes and officials at the Paris Olympics next month, President Thomas Bach said on Friday.
The Olympic swimmer who spent six months sitting on the couch: When Simone Manuel was diagnosed with overtraining syndrome, she was forced to spend almost half a year doing next to nothing. Now she’s back in the pool and aiming to qualify for the Paris Games. WSJ
IOC gives 14 Russians, 11 Belarusians neutral status for Paris Olympics: Le Monde reports the International Olympic Committee unveiled a list of 14 Russian and 11 Belarusian athletes authorized to compete in the Paris 2024 Games, in four disciplines.
Charles Barkley to retire from ‘Inside the NBA’: WSJ reports the basketball hall of famer who built a second career as a sports commentator on TNT, announced his retirement after the Dallas Mavericks’ victory over the Boston Celtics.
Italian soccer launches its latest Renaissance: The Azzurri may be the reigning European champions, but it has taken an overhaul of the squad by new coach Luciano Spalletti to give them a chance to defend the title. WSJ
Le Monde: Ferrari win second successive Le Mans 24 Hours race
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal
Caracal Daily | June 17
