“SUPPORTER: America needs to start talking to China to come up with a bilateral agreement to pause AI. The agreement would need to be transparent, mutually enforceable, and … OPPONENT: We can’t unilaterally pause AI! China would destroy us! SUPPORTER: As I said, we need to start negotiating a bilateral agreement so that both sides will … OPPONENT: You fool! Don’t you know that while we unilaterally pause AI, China will be racing ahead and using their lead to erode our fundamental rights and freedoms? How could you be so naive!” (03/25/26)
“On the one hand, it’s not difficult at all for me to imagine an algorithm that could beat the pants off the smartest human when it comes to making decisions. We are not, classically, as a species, all that great at making choices that lead to the outcomes we say we want. Or even the outcomes we clearly do want. We are predictably irrational. We have all kinds of cognitive biases. I wrote a little about this not long ago in Cathy reads books: Enlightenment 2.0 review. On the other hand, I guess I’m enough of an AI scaremonger to be wary of things potentially going awry in a world in which one or several bots make all major decisions for humanity.” (03/25/26)
“As the Arctic and adjacent ‘near-Arctic’ remilitarize and old Cold War fault lines between East and West re-remerge as salient boundaries defining new blocs of increasing mutually exclusive cooperation and strategic alignment, it’s not just NATO that’s rethinking the strategic foundations for a secure polar world in response to Russia’s military resurgence underway for over a decade now, culminating with its full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Across the Pacific from NATO’s North American member states … the states of Northeast Asia are also rethinking the foundations of Arctic security for their evolving Arctic policies, keeping pace with a fundamental geopolitical transformation of the region with roots that date as far back, ironically, as the Arctic Council’s 2013 cooperative expansion to include among its new non-Arctic observer states five Asian countries …” (03/25/26)
“The only surefire way to keep your devices from being searched and seized is to simply not bring them with you on your trip. If you can’t leave them at home, consider mailing them to and from your destination. Another option is to leave devices that contain sensitive information at home and instead bring throwaway travel devices you’re willing to have searched or confiscated. This doesn’t need to be an expensive proposition. You can reformat and repurpose an old phone or tablet, or purchase refurbished older models that are comparatively cheap. Then buy a temporary SIM card or eSIM so that you’re not using your usual number. Remember to let contacts know that for the duration of your trip you’ll be reachable at a different number. Create a travel account for these devices.” (03/25/26)
“China Eastern Airlines said on Wednesday it placed a multibillion-dollar order for 101 Airbus A320neo aircraft, marking another success for the French company after it raked in big orders from Chinese airlines in December and amid uncertainties related to a widely speculated potential deal between its rival Boeing and Beijing. … Last year, Airbus secured orders for 148 A320 aircraft from several Chinese airlines and a state-owned aircraft leasing group. China Eastern was not part of that deal. While Airbus keeps taking in orders, the speculated Boeing deal has yet to materialise, with the delayed visit to China by US President Donald Trump adding more uncertainty.” (03/25/26)
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Rep. Maxine Waters eyeing a leadership role if Democrats retake the House this year, despite being 87 years old.” (03/25/26)
“Republicans made a calculated bet that by indulging Donald Trump’s ill-conceived and cruel schemes (e.g., unleashing ICE on cities, tariffs, wars with Venezuela and Iran, slashing healthcare to pay for tax cuts for the rich), the country would somehow stumble through. They figured congressional Republicans would share in any successes but somehow avoid any blame when things (inevitably) went haywire. Politics rarely works out that way.” (03/25/26)
