Q and A-holes

Clicks and Balances, The Meaning of Jan 6

I was worried about the AI machines taking over the world until I considered the alternative: Humans remaining in charge. We’ve already entered an era in which a lot of people, for better or worse, are making chatbots their first stop for getting information about major events. And it’s unclear that these chatbots can overcome the biases and beliefs of their owners. Do you trust a guy who heils in public to host an AI tool that tells the truth about the Holocaust? A couple weeks ago, Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropy cut ties with the pro-immigration advocacy groupthat he founded, because that bedrock of America (and of Zuck’s past beliefs) fell out of favor with the current administration. What happens when the same administration doesn’t like the way the Meta chatbot answers a question about one of its policies? Trust a guy who abandons his own values to value yours? Why does this matter? Because, as Gary Marcus and Damon Beres explain in The Atlantic (Gift Article), the information war will be fought through chatbots. “Journalists and other sources may be cited by the bots, but the people who control these AI products, such as Musk, now have a greater ability to manipulate how events are reported. This is a deeply troubling development—one that threatens to leave the public less informed, with fewer checks on those in power.” So yes, I worry about the technology. But I worry more about the owners of that technology, who have already shown a willingness to sacrifice the public good for personal gain.

+ Fabricated and misrepresented images shared widely online after US removal of Maduro. (Some of this isn’t AI. It’s just good old fashioned humans spreading good old fashioned garbage. In one case, a viral video purports to show Venezuelans celebrating the capture of Maduro. In actuality, it was students participating in UCLA’s quarterly tradition: The Undie Run. A fan of both fake news and young people in their undergarments, President Trump couldn’t resist being among those who shared the video, adding the caption, Venezuela celebrates, Democrats cry.)

2

Triumph of the Ill

“In the unraveling narrative of Jan. 6, 2021, so many people claim to know the truth: The rioters who say they were protesting a stolen election. Republican leaders who have recast members of the violent mob as patriots. The quarter of Americans who say it is ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ true that the FBI instigated the attack. The president who called it a ‘day of love.’ Here in his classroom, nearly 250 years after the birth of American democracy, Tate wondered if he had the power to persuade a room of teenagers to reject all that.” The battle over the truth of January 6th as it plays out in the classroom of a teacher who was one of the officers attacked that day. WaPo (Gift Article): He was attacked on Jan. 6. Can he make sense of it for the kids he teaches?

+ The NYT (Gift Article) editorial board succinctly sums up that history. “The Trump era seemed to have ended in one of the most disgracefully anti-American acts in the nation’s history. That day was indeed a turning point, but not the one it first seemed to be. It was a turning point toward a version of Mr. Trump who is even more lawless than the one who governed the country in his first term. It heralded a culture of political unaccountability, in which people who violently attacked Congress and beat police officers escaped without lasting consequence. The politicians and pundits who had egged on the attack with their lies escaped, as well. The aftermath of Jan. 6 made the Republican Party even more feckless, beholden to one man and willing to pervert reality to serve his interests.” 5 Years After Jan. 6, Lawlessness Has Triumphed.

+ Politico: Trump May Have Accidentally Pardoned the Jan. 6 Pipe Bomber. “Trump’s proclamation commuted the sentences of 14 individuals and also granted ‘a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.’”

3

Yanking Our Chain

“This chain of events, which some Danish officials and security experts proposed to us in recent months, may have seemed faintly ridiculous as of last Friday. By the weekend—after the toppling of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Trump’s ensuing insistence that the United States now “runs” Venezuela—it seemed far less so. For months, Danes have anxiously imagined an audacious move by the Trump administration to annex Greenland, whether by force, coercion, or an attempt to buy off the local population of about 56,000 people with the promise of cutting them in on future mining deals. Now those fears are spiking.” The Atlantic (Gift Article): Trump Seizing Greenland Could Set Off a Chain Reaction. (The chain reaction has already been set in motion. Our allies fear us and our enemies like Russia and China feel emboldened.)

+ Danish prime minister says a US takeover of Greenland would mark the end of NATO. (That probably tempts Trump even more...)

+ NYT: How the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ Reinforces Xi’s Vision of Power in Asia. “A globe carved into spheres of influence — with the United States dominating the Western Hemisphere and China asserting primacy across the Asia-Pacific — and where might makes right, regardless of shared rules, could benefit Beijing in a number of ways.”

+ On Fox News, the Nobel Prize-winning “Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado—offered to give her medal to Trump after he announced he would not back her to run the country she’s fought to reclaim.” This is how the world thinks the American government operates. And they’re right.

+ We know a lot more about the world’s reaction to America’s power grab than we do about the reasoning and goals of those who orchestrated it. From yesterday: FIFA Fo Fum.

4

Left, Right, and Data Center

“From Archibald, Pennsylvania, to Page, Arizona, tech firms are seeking to plunk down data centers in locations that sometimes are not zoned for such heavy industrial uses, within communities that had not planned for them. These supersized data centers can usurp more energy than entire cities and drain local water supplies. Anger over the perceived trampling of communities by Silicon Valley has entered the national political conversation and could affect voters of all political persuasions in this year’s midterm elections.” WaPo (Gift Article): The data center rebellion is here, and it’s reshaping the political landscape.

5

Extra, Extra

Calculating Risk: “The United States is itself unwinding its own global order. The world’s most powerful country is in the throes of a political revolution.” The Eurasia Group is out with its review of the top risks of 2026. And for America, most of them are coming from within.

+ Cache on Delivery: “A ‘whistleblower’ tried to corroborate his viral post with AI-generated evidence. This is how I caught him.” Casey Newton with an interesting look at a very viral post by a food delivery whistleblower that turned out to be an AI generated hoax. Debunking the AI food delivery hoax that fooled Reddit.

+ Broadcasting a Dark Shadow: “After the federal funding ended, executives at the corporation discussed putting the organization into hibernation, keeping it alive in case Congress eventually voted to restore its federal appropriation. But in a statement on Monday, the corporation said that allowing the organization to lie dormant could have resulted in ‘political manipulation or misuse,’ threatening the independence of public media.” NYT (Gift Article): Corporation for Public Broadcasting Votes to Shut Down.

+ Swiss Holiday Fire: “Authorities in Crans-Montana have said safety officers had not inspected the bar that caught fire in the Swiss ski resort on New Year’s Eve, killing 40 mainly young partygoers and injuring more than 100, for the past five years.”

+ Flu Into a Temper: “The percent of outpatient visits for respiratory illnesses are now at the highest rate on record.” Flu-like illness activity now at highest rate on record.

+ Another Brick in the Wall: “If the Smart Tag comes in a set for building a helicopter, for example, then the Smart Brick will light up and make propeller sounds that would help bring a helicopter to life. Its built-in accelerometer would make these lights and sounds more consistent with how you’re actually playing with the helicopter, since the Brick will be able to sense when the helicopter is zooming through the sky or turned upside down.” Lego Smart Bricks introduce a new way to build — and they don’t require screens.

6

Bottom of the News

A new Grammy category honors album covers, and the artists that make them. (Now they just have to tell young people what an album is and then what the cover was for...)

+ Japanese sushi chain drops $3.2 million on 535-pound bluefin tuna.

+ Humans May Be Able to Grow New Teeth Within Just 4 Years. (But how will the teeth know when to stop growing? Bababooey!)