Elon's AI Warning, RESTRICT Act, Trump's Arrest, Meme Crimes
Elon's AI Warning, RESTRICT Act, Trump's Arrest, Meme Crimes
Twitter News Digest for the week of 3/30-4/4
Hey everyone!
This week’s news digest covers Elon’s big warning about AI, the RESTRICT Act, Trump’s Arrest, and other crimes and misdememers. Don’t miss Dogey Treats and Memes of the Week at the end!
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Elon’s AI Warning
Last week, Elon sounded the alarm on AI.
In an open letter, he and thousands of other signatories called for a pause on training of AI systems more powerful than OpenAI’s GPT-4.
The letter described “an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one – not even their creators – can understand, predict, or reliably control.”
The letter did not say that AI development should be paused in general, but rather that AI labs should step back “from the dangerous race to ever-larger unpredictable black-box models with emergent capabilities.” Future R&D, it said, should refocus to ensure that future AI is “accurate, safe, interpretable, transparent, robust, aligned, trustworthy, and loyal.”
It also called for a robust set of AI regulatory authorities capable of holding AI systems accountable.
One of the risks cited in the letter was AI-powered propaganda. In another exchange, Elon put up a million dollar bounty for anyone that can prove who’s behind AI botnets on Twitter.
After the letter was released, he lamented that his warning would probably be ignored.
On Tuesday, Joe Biden met with advisers about the risks of AI, saying it “remains to be seen” if AI is dangerous.
AI is quickly becoming ubiquitous online. The past month was perhaps the biggest month for the technology ever, with dozens of groundbreaking software releases.
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The RESTRICT Act
The Senate’s Tik Tok ban ran into trouble last week.
The RESTRICT Act was initially reported as legislation to ban TikTok for siphoning Americans’ data to the CCP.
However, when independent journalists dug into the bill’s language, it became clear it was something far more sinister, akin to the Patriot Act on steroids
The bill gives government blanket authority to ban any app, and to put American citizens in jail for 20 years and fine them a million dollars for using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access prohibited software.
Elon said the bill is “Very concerning” and “deserves close scrutiny.”
Opposition to the RESTRICT act has garnered rare bipartistan support in recent days. With any luck, it has become too politically toxic to move foward.
While RESTRICT’s future is up in the air, the fact that it was talked about at all hints at a real problem: citizens’ rights do not meaningfully extend onto the Internet, allowing both foreign and domestic companies to set the rules.
Any real Internet reform should start with an Internet Bill of Rights (IBOR) that guarantees citizens ownership of their data and protections against censorship.
Trump Indicated
The circus around Donald Trump’s arrest continues.
Trump indictment talk seemed to quiet early last week, but roared back to life on Thursday when he posted that he was being “INDICATED” by a New York grand jury.
Trump is the clear frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, and, arguably, for the election itself. He is the first former US President ever to be arrested.
Monday night, details of the indictment leaked to the media, revealing that Trump would be charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump supporters were quick to point out that leaking an indictment is itself a felony.
If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 136 years in prison.
By all appearances, the arrest has increased Trump’s support among voters and widened his lead in the GOP primary.
In a strange twist, some Trump supporters celebrated his arrest on the theory that it sets the stage for future arrests of Democratic politicians should Trump return to office.
Others bemoaned the evident politicization of justice, observing that numerous Trump officials have faced greater-than-normal scrutiny from the supposedly apolitical Department of Justice.
Skepticism toward the indictment also extended to non-Trump supporters.
Twitter Files journalist Matt Taibbi warned that setting the precedent of prosecuting ex-Presidents will incentivize them to “try even harder to never leave office.” He also said of the indictment, “this a joke. And you don’t have to be a Trump supporter to see it.”
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele shared a similar sentiment, tweeting, “just imagine if this happened in any other country, where a government arrested the main opposition candidate. The United States ability to use ‘democracy; as foreign policy is gone.”
Even the New York Times acknowledged that the indictment is based on a never-before-tried legal theory.
Democratic politicians took a measured tack when talking about Trump’s arrest, perhaps sensing the indictment was a political hot potato.
When asked by reporters about the arrest, Joe Biden said “I have no comment on Trump.” Nancy Pelosi tweeted, “everyone has a right to a trial to prove innocence,” drawing a fact check from Community Notes that Americans are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Yesterday, Trump arrived in New York to be arraigned. Protestors lined the streets to watch him be escorted into a New York courtroom.
Trump pled “not guilty” to all 34 counts. The next court date is in December.
In a parallel development, during Trump’s arraignment a California court ruled that stripper Stormy Daniels owed Trump $120k in attorney fees, in addition to the $500k he has already been awarded.
Another report emerged claiming that the daughter of the judge presiding over the trial worked on the campaign of California Congressman Adam Schiff, who led Trump’s first impeachment effort.
While court proceedings were underway, Elon argued that prosecuting Trump could jeopardize the American people’s trust in the justice system.
Whatever the result of Trump’s arrest, it’s safe to assume that his name will dominate both legacy headlines and social media for the foreseeable future.
AI-generated photos of Trump in jail have been ubiquitous on Twitter, while sales of his NFT rose 250% in the days leading up to his arrest.
Whether he’s guilty or the victim of a witch hunt, the indictment looks bullish for the Trump brand.
Crimes and Misdememers
Two other well-known Trump supporters had encounters with the justice system last week, with opposing results.
Douglass Mackey, who ran a popular pro-Trump Twitter account, was found guilty of election interference for posting a meme about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
The meme in question called on Hillary supporters to vote by text message.
When sentenced, Mackey could receive up to 10 years in prison.
Hillary Clinton spoke favorably of Mackey’s guilty verdict, saying that he convinced thousands of people to attempt to vote by text message.
Meanwhile, Jacob Chansley, also known as “America’s Shaman”, was released from prison into a halfway house in Arizona.
Chansley was made the face of the January 6th election protests by the media.
In recent weeks, previously hidden footage showed him being politely escorted around the Capitol building by police officers, belying the narrative that he particiapted in a violent insurrection to overthrow the government.
When Chansley’s release was first reported, some journalists credited Carlson’s segment. However, his lawyer claimed on Twitter that Chansley was expected to be moved to a halfway house all along.
Elon Memes
Elon continues to tweet up a meme storm. Here are memes posted to his account over the last week.
Dogey Treats: News Bites
Global Financial System
South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Argentina, Mexico, Nigeria, and other nations want to join BRICS.
Saudi Arabian crown prince MBS said his country is no longer interested in “pleasing” the US and expects “something in return” for anything he gives Washington. Saudi Arabia officially partnered with China to build an oil refinery expected to cost $12.2B.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister said there is no reason for the country to continue to depend on the US dollar. China announced a $39B investment in Malaysia, and the two countries are considering creating an “Asian Monetary Fund” to reduce dependence on the dollar. Ron Paul said of de-dollarization, “There are signs that something big is happening, and it has to do with China, Brazil, and Russia. They are ganging up on us.”
CEO of the Swiss Bank UBS resigned on Wednesday, less than two weeks after it acquired Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse reportedly helped conceal $700M from the US government
Housing prices in the US have fallen for eight straight months, but home builders are doing ok.
The Federal Reserve released a video about its coming FedNow payment service.
America’s 25 largest banks saw $90B in deposit outflows last week. Overall, the banking system saw the biggest monthly loss in deposits in history.
Goldman Sachs was fined $3 million for “mistakenly” marking short sales as longs.
McDonald’s temporarily shut down corporate offices as the company prepared for layoffs.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler changed his Twitter profile picture to meme “deal with it” shades on April Fool’s.
Could BRICS challenge the dollar with a gold-backed currency?
Russia-Ukraine
The US government urged any citizens still in Russia to depart immediately.
The US will give another $2.6B to Ukraine.
Finland officially became a NATO nation, doubling the military alliance’s border with Russia.
Crypto
Elizabeth Warren launched her re-election campaign with an advertisement saying she is “building an anti-crypto army.” Warren, who was roasted on Twitter for the ad, has previously criticized Dogecoin.
The crypto exchange Bittrex shut down its US operations due to regulatory uncertainty.
Saudi Arabia disclosed investments in crypto-focused VCs.
Misc
Matt Taibbi argued people can win against censors. Taibbi’s house was visited by the IRS the same day he testified in front of Congress about the Twitter Files. Twitter Files journalist Michael Shellenberger talked with Joe Rogan about the Fauci Files and RFK Jr’s The Real Anthony Fauci.
Andrew and Tristan Tate were released from prison after three months behind bars. Neither has been formally charged with any crime.
The WHO said Covid vaccines are not needed for healthy kids. Elon called the WHO “Captain Obvious.”
Community Notes’ repeatedly fact-checked a Washington Post reporter about the relationship between George Soros and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
WWE and UFC are attempting a $21B merger.
Memes of the Week
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