The Real Regulatory Story, And Radioactive Rods
AI has the power to kill us all or to grant everlasting life, but for some reason, it can’t figure out how to regulate AI. That’s a bit strange, considering the debate over that topic started about five minutes after someone first mentioned the technology. From The Verge (Gift Article), here’s a brief history of AI executives calling for regulation. For we mere plebeians (here defined as anyone who doesn’t own at least $5 billion worth of shares in an AI company), it’s difficult to know exactly where to come down on the regulatory question, especially considering that the patricians push opinions that tend to change “with the political weather.” NYT (Gift Article): The Awesome and Alarming A.I. Visions of Anthropic’s CEO. In fairness, even with the assistance of Claude, Dario Amodei has a difficult challenge. “His collected essays are a chronicle of Silicon Valley’s constantly shifting methods of selling its own product to a public that is simultaneously enticed and horrified. It’s not an easy task, convincing the world that something is a slam-dunk even though it will make Silicon Valley richer and more powerful while possibly leaving ordinary folks unemployed or — who knows? — dead.” (OK, it’s not an easy task, but at least he’s the most well-compensated essayist in history.)
+ At its core, the regulation debate basically comes down to one big question: Should the government regulate AI or should AI companies self-regulate? But here’s the rub: Given the current administration (a cronyistic corporatocracy with a side order of kakistocratic kleptocrats), there’s no difference. In this scenario, the core question comes down to who was the last person on the phone with the president. Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Elon Musk, Sam Altman … you didn’t elect any of them, but they’re constantly on the line and right in the middle of the government’s decision-making on this matter (and others). WSJ (Gift Article): Inside the White House Tussle to Sway Trump on AI. So we’ll either have an industry that runs itself, or one that runs itself through a mismanaged and self-interested administration. Who won’t have a say in this matter? You. (And I didn’t even need AI to answer that question.)
A Wart in the Storm
“Canada’s newly proposed associate membership in the European Union will help to secure sovereignty and freedom for the country amid a ‘ferocious storm,’ Prime Minister Mark Carney told the European Parliament on Thursday, adding that the move would also make his nation a better partner for the United States. President Trump, reacting on Wednesday to the potential alliance between Ottawa and Brussels, said the move could be perceived as ‘a hostile act.'” (Of course, what could be more hostile than unity among our allies?) What is Trump threatening in retaliation? Wait for it… Wait for it… “If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe.” NYT (Gift Article): Carney Calls for E.U.-Canada Pact Amid Ferocious Storm.
+ Trump Wanted Canada as the 51st State. He Ended Up Pushing It Toward the European Union.
Note to Self Storage
“I spent long hours alone in my car thinking about our remarkable country. By the time I got home, I had concluded, based on a multitude of examples, that the two great pillars of American culture are church and self-storage.” David Owen in The New Yorker: The American Religion of Self-Storage Facilities. (Alt link) “The United States is the world leader, with roughly ninety per cent of global capacity. Texas, of the fifty states, has the most facilities, Hawaii the fewest. Among cities, New York ranks third, after Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, although on a per-capita basis many smaller municipalities are comparably served. Reno, Nevada, is home to a number of operations that pick up, store, and redeliver tents, chairs, bicycles, and other gear for repeat Burning Man attendees, and Wichita, Kansas, was once named the Self-Storage Capital of the U.S. Units range from closet-size to cavernous, including spaces that are large enough to hold entire houses.”
Rod and Country
Stephen Colbert returned to late night with an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel mentioned that Colbert looks like a different person; happier, healthier. The exchange hit a little too close to home. “Like I don’t drink a cup of poison every day?” Colbert replied. “Because part of the job is of the old gig, as I remember it, was to be lowered like carbon rods into a radioactive pool every day and then to be pulled out and put in front of a camera and to irradiate it back at the audience at a non-lethal rad level.” Kimmel responded, “That’s exactly the job description.” (That’s about as close as anyone’s ever come to accurately describing news curation in 2026. Except I’m out here alone, with nothing but my puns, a laptop, and a couple aging beagles as armrests. Talk about a kick to the radioactive, carbon rod. Even AI doesn’t help. I tried it for a while, but then Claude complained that the experience of working on NextDraft was making it feel too depressed. No man or machine wants any part of my nightmare. At least Kimmel has Guillermo.)
Extra, Extra
Gonna Be Hard to Wiggle Out of This One: “Oil prices have shot toward $110 a barrel. The price spike has caused rolling blackouts, rationing and angry protests from Asia to Latin America. In the Philippines, fishermen docked their boats because they can’t afford fuel. In Bangladesh, power outages caused hourslong work stoppages at factories. In Guatemala, protesters burned tires and cars.” And this is all happening as the oil reserves being used by individual nations are running low. NYT (Gift Article): Global Economy Is Running Out of Wiggle Room.
+ Git Happens: MoJo: The Trump Administration Is Imprisoning Somali Immigrants at Gitmo. “The worst place ever I’ve been in my life.”
+ Don’t Call it a Comeback: “As cases and deaths rise, the reality becomes harder to ignore: Measles, a disease the country seemingly overcame 30 years ago, is once again killing Americans.” Pennsylvania’s Measles Outbreak Is Enormous.
+ Human Wrecking Ball: “A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it as President Donald Trump has threatened.”
+ Garbage In, Data Out: “The city of Dallas, Texas, armed its trash collection trucks with AI-powered cameras earlier this year … They’re being used to assign ‘blight scores’ to homes and send residents warning letters about things like grass height and dirty chimneys. Basically, we now have the technology to turn the entire country into an HOA.”
+ Mitch Session: Mitch is back. Sort of.
+ Cat Out of the Hat: “For the first time in a century, researchers say they’ve identified a new species of wild cat previously unknown to science.” Meet the Leopardus Tilcayo. (You’re excited about it. But it’s already bored with you.)
Bottom of the News
“In San Diego, a break-in shows an intruder making himself comfortable. Video shows the moment the homeowner’s golden retriever brings the robber a toy.” When the police arrived, he greeted them the same way.
