16 August 2024

Daily Newsletter

Amended California AI Regulation Bill Passes Committee

The Facts

  • SB 1047, a piece of California legislation seeking to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) models, passed the state's Appropriations Committee on Thursday following amendments proposed by AI start-up Anthropic and several others who have opposed the bill.

  • The legislation would require AI systems to be tested for safety before their release and come with built-in safety guardrails. It would also allow the state attorney general to sue AI makers if their products cause serious harm — a scale back from the original proposal that would have permitted legal action before such harm occurred.


The Spin

Narrative A

AI developers tout the need for safety regulations for good publicity before turning around and stifling any attempt to have it come to fruition. A well-funded group of developers and investors have spread misinformation and fear about the bill in order to shield themselves from the harms of their products and rake in cash without any oversight. This bill is full of common-sense provisions that are popular amongst researchers and the public and are necessary to mitigate the long-term harms of AI.

Narrative B

If SB 1047 passes, regulations will snuff out the AI industry in the US and allow countries like China to dominate the AI sphere. This bill is based almost entirely on hypothetical, worst-case scenario harms that will never materialize and rely more on fear than sound reasoning. The bill's liability clauses could penalize everyone who does any work with AI and end development entirely. We need rational regulation made on a national level in consultation with business leaders.

Nerd narrative

There is a 50% chance that concern about AI goes mainstream in the US by 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

See sources

UNESCO: Taliban Have Banned 1.4M Girls From Schools

The Facts

  • The Taliban government, which took power in Afghanistan in 2021, has since “deliberately deprived” education to at least 1.4M girls, a UN agency has reported.

  • UNESCO data shows that if those excluded from schools since before the ban are added, the figure swells up to 2.5M — representing 80% of school-age girls.


The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

The Taliban are silencing women and girls, confining them to homes, and robbing them of their futures. They have effectively turned women into ghosts within their own country. This systematic erasure threatens to leave a generation of women in darkness.

Establishment-critical narrative

The UN and other global actors have been complicit in erasing Afghan women from crucial discussions about their country's future. They are repeating past mistakes to appease the Taliban and legitimize policies that have virtually erased women from public life.

Nerd narrative

There's a 57% chance that Afghanistan will experience a successful coup d'etat before 2040, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

See sources

New Zealand to Extradite Kim Dotcom to US

The Facts

  • New Zealand's Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has signed an extradition order for Kim Dotcom, the founder of the now-defunct file-sharing website Megaupload, on charges of online piracy, a ministerial spokesperson announced Thursday.

  • In a statement, Goldsmith said he "decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial" after considering all available information, adding that he gave Dotcom "a short period of time" to seek advice on his decision.


The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

That New Zealand has finally approved the US extradition request for Dotcom is a victory for justice and underlines the independence of the country's legal system. The flamboyant internet fraudster was the architect of a vast criminal enterprise, as indicated by the previous guilty pleas of two of his associates. With the New Zealand Ministry of Justice's decision, the largest copyright trial in US history is now set for a happy ending, and the case proves that there is no hiding from the long arm of US jurisdiction.

Establishment-critical narrative

The witch hunt against Dotcom proves that he is right in calling New Zealand a US colony. Similarly to the Assange case, the US is trying to punish the internet mogul for standing up for freedom of expression and using his popularity to criticize the corrupt and hypocritical US empire openly. Now, the entrepreneur is facing extradition to a country he has never set foot in, and where he can't expect a fair trial. The case is politically motivated, marking the latest example of the US justice system's bankruptcy.

Nerd narrative

There's an 80% chance that Freedom House will report that internet freedom has declined every year until 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

See sources

US Election: Trump Shakes Up Campaign Team

The Facts

  • Former Pres. Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign Thursday announced it hired Corey Lewandowski, Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Bruesewitz, and Tim Murtaugh.

  • Lewandowski ran Trump's 2016 campaign and Murtaugh served as the Republican nominee's communications director in 2020, while Pfeiffer, Bruesewitz, and Budowich have all worked at the pro-Trump Super PAC MAGA Inc.


The Spin

Republican narrative

With the media refusing to hold Harris's socialist ideas and hollow policy agenda to account, Trump's campaign is bringing in savvy veterans with track records of defeating America's left-wing elite. With Trump once again up against the establishment machine, the GOP is wise to seek the support of those who know how to win.

Democratic narrative

This desperate decision to bring Lewandowski and other Trump lackeys back into the fold is a testament to Harris's continued momentum and the GOP's stuttering campaign. Hiring Lewandowski shows Trump remains set on ignoring internal advice to focus on policy and instead will double down on vulgar attacks against the Democratic ticket.

Nerd narrative

There's a 55% chance that Kamala Harris will be elected US president in 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

See sources

Study Links Dinosaur Extinction to Carbon-Rich Asteroid

The Facts

  • Researchers from Germany's University of Cologne have found evidence that the rock that hit Earth 66M years ago, causing the extinction of the dinosaurs, was a carbon-rich "C-type" asteroid that formed beyond Jupiter's orbit around the same time as the Solar System.

  • By analyzing the remains of the crater where the asteroid hit Earth in what is now Mexico, called the Chicxulub impact, the scientists discovered the isotope ruthenium, which is commonly found in asteroids but not in the Earth's crust.


The Spin

Narrative A

The comet theory was understandable given the prevalence of carbonaceous chondrites in long-period comets, but the discovery of ruthenium proves it was more likely to have been an outer Solar System asteroid. The rocks from the impact site were from C-type asteroids, while most of the others were S-type, which are from the inner Solar System.

Narrative B

While scientists appear to have finally found the cause of the dinosaur's abrupt extinction, the species was likely on its way out — albeit at a slower rate — without the help of a celestial attack. At the time, the Earth was cooling, thus turning widespread tropical climates into a less vegetative climate. Dinosaurs, like most species throughout Earth's history, were slowly losing their food source.

See sources

Mediators Present Israel, Hamas 'Bridging Proposal'

The Facts

  • The US, Qatar, and Egypt reportedly presented a "bridging proposal" to Israel and Hamas during cease-fire talks, which resumed on Thursday. Hamas, which did not directly attend the talks, said it had been briefed on the proposal.

  • US officials said that progress was being made, with US Pres. Joe Biden saying, “we’re closer than...ever” to securing a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. However, a senior Hamas official said the US was creating a “false positive atmosphere."


The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

The US and its allies are confident that after some tough negotiating, a deal between Israel and Hamas can be reached. A guaranteed end to the war will ensure increased humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave, release Israeli hostages, and create a better "day after" in Gaza without Hamas in power. The US will continue to work toward closing the gaps and ensuring that peace and stability can be restored to the region.

Pro-Israel narrative

Though Israel will do what it must to free those taken hostage in Gaza, it cannot rush into a deal that creates a lifeline for Hamas. Israel faces an entire network of Iranian-backed terror and must act wisely to gain as much as it can in negotiations with Hamas while avoiding full-scale regional escalation. Israel may have to make some tough, but necessary, concessions to ensure the release of the hostages and prevent further instability.

Pro-Palestine narrative

There is no indication that a cease-fire is on the horizon. Netanyahu has consistently sought to escalate the situation and prolong his political career. Israel's killing of Ismail Haniyeh was clearly a move to further complicate cease-fire negotiations and provoke an Iranian retaliation. The US has supported Israel every step of the way, including in its genocidal campaign in Gaza.

See sources

Kamala Harris Releases Economic Agenda

The Facts

  • During a speech in North Carolina on Friday, Democratic US presidential candidate Kamala Harris announced some of her campaign's economic proposals, including a ban on what she calls "price-gouging" and tax credits for homebuilders who build for first-time buyers.

  • The home-buying policy proposal, for which first-time buyers would receive $25K toward their down payment, would be part of Harris' pledge to build 3M new houses over the course of her first four years in office and beyond.


The Spin

Democratic narrative

Harris is not latching herself to either side of the traditional economic debate but rather offering a nuanced approach focused on the middle and working class. While she believes in using the government to fight corporate greed, she also understands the need to cut the red tape that holds average citizens back from starting a business. And while she understands the need for innovation, she won't let companies overprice their products to the detriment of the consumer.

Republican narrative

When Kamala says she'll fight against "price gouging," what she really means is using the government to fix prices — one of the most illogical economic ideas ever invented. Prices naturally go up and down, whether at a large or small business and often to ensure goods don't run out when they're in short supply. If Harris gets her way, her price-fixing policy will prove ineffective against corporations while sending small businesses into bankruptcy.

See sources

Paetongtarn Shinawatra Elected as Thai PM

The Facts

  • On Friday, Thailand's parliament elected Paetongtarn Shinawatra as its new prime minister after a court Wednesday ousted her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, who was found guilty of ethics violations.

  • The 37-year-old Shinawatra helms the Pheu Thai party and is the country's second female prime minister and the youngest to be elected. Shinawatra comes from a political lineage that includes two other prime ministers, her father, Thaksin, and her aunt, Yingluck.


The Spin

Left narrative

This is pure nepotism, and Pheu Thai is nothing but a mouthpiece for Thaksin. The royalist courts dissolved the country's popular progressive opposition before parliament appointed an inexperienced figurehead to helm the nation in an arrangement that was surely forged in a smoke-filled room. The establishment cannot ignore the voice of Thai voters forever.

Right narrative

In a country hungry for change, Pheu Thai has struck a middle path between the status quo and the radically progressive agenda of groups such as Move Forward. The fact that there was consensus around a member of the Shinawatra family, which has never had a good relationship with the establishment, points to the potential of prudent government and compromise, and will hopefully bring stability to Thailand.

See sources

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