Damus

Recent Notes

Imbolc profile picture
The recent "Odd Lots" episode, "How a Trade War With China Could Become a Hot War," is a critical listen

It moves beyond typical economic analysis to model the escalatory pathways from trade disputes to kinetic warfare

The historical parallels drawn, not just to the American Revolution but more pointedly to 1930s Japan, provide a sobering framework for analyzing current US-China tensions

This is the kind of second-order thinking that's desperately needed in policy discussions right now.
Imbolc profile picture
"A skeletal 18-month-old Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq is the lead picture for the Guardian, which reports on Israeli attacks on aid hubs and worsening starvation in Gaza. Palestinian Faiza Abdul Rahman, who is "constantly dizzy" from lack of food says: "We have faced hunger before, but never like this", a quote the paper uses as its main headline"

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20rxyjp28mo

Imbolc profile picture
Hey, if anyone will be looking for someone with a technical background to work on privacy or AI safety later this year, I might be available for a new gig starting around October

I’m a computer scientist by background, with a history of managing engineering teams in compliance, privacy, trust, and AI safety

I’d be particularly keen to help in the non-profit or benefit-corp space
Imbolc profile picture
This is insane

A judge allowed a post-mortem, AI-generated video to influence a sentencing decision

"It was the first time in Arizona judicial history — and possibly nationwide — that AI has been used to create a deceased victim’s own impact statement."

There is no way to know whether this represents the views of the dead person

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/chandler/family-uses-ai-to-create-video-for-deadly-chandler-road-rage-victims-own-impact-statement