Extra, Extra
Right Here, Right Now: “The showdown between the Pentagon and Anthropic is a window into how unprepared we are for the questions we are already facing. In July, Anthropic signed a deal with the Pentagon to integrate Claude, its A.I. system, into the military’s operations. The contract included two red lines: Claude could not be used for mass surveillance or for lethal autonomous weapons. Over the ensuing months, the Pentagon decided these prohibitions were intolerable.” Ezra Klein in the NYT (Gift Article): The Future We Feared Is Already Here. Meanwhile, Anthropic sues Trump administration amid AI dispute with Pentagon.
+ Havana Syndrome: “Since at least 2016, U.S. diplomats, spies and military officers have suffered crippling brain injuries. They’ve told of being hit by an overwhelming force, damaging their vision, hearing, sense of balance and cognition. but the government has doubted their stories. They’ve been called delusional. Well now, 60 Minutes has learned that a weapon that can inflict these injuries was obtained overseas and secretly tested on animals on a U.S. military base.” U.S. military tested device that may be tied to Havana Syndrome on rats, sheep, confidential sources say.
+ The Pace of Corruption: “Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s sons, are backing a new drone company that is vying to meet fresh demand from the Pentagon and fill a hole left by the administration’s ban on new Chinese drones in the U.S.”
+ Plug Bug: The uncomfortable truth about hybrid vehicles. Apparently, no one plugs them in. (I’m among the outliers. I almost never have to fill mine up with gas.)
+ Plug and Play: “It is estimated that every year more than one million bald people fly to Istanbul.” Hair apparent: inside the transplant capital of the world.
+ Marathon and a Half: “Martin, 36, is a substitute teacher and a high school track and cross country coach at Jackson High School.” American Nathan Martin wins closest Los Angeles Marathon finish. You’ve got to see this finish. Meanwhile, Jacob Kiplimo just set a new record in the half marathon. “The man needed just 57 minutes and 20 seconds to run 13.1 miles, which is an average pace of 4:22 per mile.”
