The challenge, then, is not to build machines that play the game for us, but to use them to better understand the players that are already at the table.
warontherocks.com/im-sorry-dav...
It should be greater cause for pause -- and alarm -- that, at a time when we increasingly associate manifestos with mass murderers, the Silicon Valley elites can't stop writing manifestos.
This one does not disappoint.
Opening text of a thread by Palantir from X Because we get asked a lot. The Technological Republic, in brief. 1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation. 2. We must rebel against the tyranny of the apps. Is the iPhone our greatest creative if not crowning achievement as a civilization? The object has changed our lives, but it may also now be limiting and constraining our sense of the possible. 3. Free email is not enough. The decadence of a culture or civilization, and indeed its ruling class, will be forgiven only if that culture is capable of delivering economic growth and security for the public. 4. The limits of soft power, of soaring rhetoric alone, have been exposed. The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software.
Palantir put out a 22-point summary of their CEO's book The Technological Republic. It's pitched as a defence of the West, but if you read it through the VDA framework, verification, deliberation, accountability, what it's actually doing looks rather different.
twitter-thread.com/t/2045574398...
I loved Quantum.
Yesterday, @timep.bsky.social published an incredible interview with Wadad Halwani, an absolute powerhouse who turned the horrific disappearance of her husband during Lebanon's civil war into impactful collective action.
You won't want to miss her reflections: timep.org/2026/04/16/f...
Manchester, 1976, photo by John Bulmer. The shoes!
The BBC could be putting THIS on the front page of their website, instead of blaming "migrants" for the assholes who exploit them.
In that sense, he was for the political right what Castro was for the left: a leader of a small, relatively unimportant nation who harboured global ambitions.
www.equator.org/articles/the...
The 21st century will be won by the states that, in a developed world where skilled young people are increasingly in short supply, are able to overcome their own xenophobia to welcome the future
Cartoon by @deadder.bsky.social.
Only AA is inevitable. 😬
Remember the @pewresearch.org data on the decline in Israel's standing in the US published last week? We asked them for the crosstabs which they graciously shared with us, and we're publishing for the 1st time.
Bottom line: total collapse of Israel's standing among young Americans across the board.
ISS: Estonian officials need a 'cooling-off period' after leaving office news.err.ee/1609994581/i...
Not only for the small countries this should apply.
#OtD 14 Apr 1919 in Limerick, Ireland, a general strike was declared in protest against the declaration by the British military of a ‘Special Militarised Zone' in the area. The general strike saw the creation of the short-lived Limerick Soviet stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8537...
Perhaps France and the UK could issue a call for papers?
From Roger Scruton cafes to paying Matt Goodwin $10k a month, Viktor Orban has built a network of populist right think tanks, journalists and activists
Today Democracy for Sale delves into Orban’s allies on the British right
Well worth a read
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/orbans-brits
On a day we're watching the Hungarian elections, a reminder that the practice of election monitoring is now well established as part of the ideological contestation: dailycaller.com/2026/04/10/e...
A fierce diplomatic spat between Israel and Turkey is playing out on X right now. Meanwhile, Istanbul prosecutors are charging 35 Israelis—including Netanyahu—with a range of offenses in connection with the interception of the 2025 Gaza flotilla.+
@warmatters.bsky.social you might be interested in this.
New interviews and closely guarded documents shed light on the persistent doubts about the head of OpenAI.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Since Oct 7 Israel has become the key destabilising element in the Middle East. In Syria, Lebanon, Iran, the Gulf and of course Gaza and the West Bank, Israel has used military force to weaken and destabilise not only its enemies but also those who try to stay neutral and even supposed allies.
Another informative and entertaining podcast episode from @jonnytickle.bsky.social, @jeremymorris.bsky.social, and James Pearce — at least for a sicko like me who tried his hand at and quit Russia-focused academia. www.podbean.com/media/share/...
In this episode of World of Intelligence,hosts Cristina Varriale and Sean Corbett, Chair of the Janes Advisory Board, are joined by Professor Dr Katarzyna Zysk of the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies to examine why the High North matters for global security
open.spotify.com/episode/7JxP...
"It took Israel only 10 minutes to carry out one of the worst mass-killings in Lebanon since the end of the country’s civil war in 1990."
“..what I’m most sad about is that my pretty Lebanon, our beautiful Lebanon, soon it will all be brought down to the ground.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
The costs of war are not only human. Across Ukraine, relatives of the dead have been promised compensation for their losses. It is a debt that will hang over Ukraine for an unforeseeable future.
medium.com/@studioliohn...
My brain is particularly fixating today on the specific group of enablers who said "this may be wildly illegal and wrong in principle, but I like that he's doing it to someone I hate, so let's give him a pass this time and see where it goes."
NEW EPISODE - An #MI6 Director Looks Back at His Time in #ColdWar #Berlin with @DavidBickfordCB
Listen here 🎧🎧 coldwarconversations.com/episode449/
#berlinwall #coldwar #EastBerlin #Westberlin
