Tootfinder

[OT] Net benefit of #AI and the trillions of dollars being invested in it? Woke?
ECB's Lagarde says AI could trigger financial crises and calls for Cold War-style non-proliferation governance https://thene…

In early June, Anthropic posted an article describing early signs of recursive self-improvement (RSI),
a process in which an AI system devises ways to increase its own intelligence, leading to a greater ability to improve itself, and so on.
Obviously, uncontrolled RSI could produce a runaway feedback loop that leads to an irreversible loss of human control.
Anthropic suggested the world should “slow or temporarily pause frontier AI development”.
Then on 12 June, the …

A look at issues with DMCA, which is weaponized to silence reporting, turbocharged by automated requests, and places the burden of proof on the attacked party (Rob Waugh/Press Gazette)
https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/us-copyright-la…

US copyright law has been weaponised to silence reporting around the world
Google is removing thousands of articles from search due to spurious DMCA requests.

This month's Papers Club reading is titled
Textiling World Politics: Towards an extended epistemology, methodology, and ontology
and we are inviting Toronto's makers, scholars, and thinkers of every stripe to come join the discussion. We are extending special invitations to fiber artists - that includes knitting, crochet, weaving, fashion design etc. So if you know a fiber artist friend, please forward them this message :)
Thank you, hope to see you on July 27th!

Trump has described a potential multibillion-dollar weapons sale to Taiwan as a “negotiating chip” with China,
raising new doubts about the pace and scale of American military support for the island democracy.
Taiwan’s government has been waiting for months for Mr. Trump to sign off on a $14 billion package of missiles, anti-drone equipment and air-defense systems intended to fortify the island against Beijing’s military threats.
Trump himself had pressured Taiwan to spend …

Trump Uses Taiwan Arms Sales as Bargaining Chip With China, in a Risky Move
The president said a potential arms deal for Taiwan was a “very good negotiating chip” in talks with Beijing. His words raise questions about the reliability of U.S. support.

Exterior of the Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota, 2026. The design is remade yearly, using corn cobs of different colors, cut in half and attached to the façade, along with native grasses. 1/2

Ukraine update from Giorgio Provinciali: As a weapons development context, Ukraine offers unrivaled opportunity.
As an engineer, Giorgio distills the marketing speech into reality, and he shares the math.
Share the friend link to bypass the paywall, and help give the world a glimpse of the reality on the ground in Ukraine:

FirePoint’s “Freya” Meets the Test of Physics: What the FP-7.X
Live from Ukraine 🇺🇦

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has argued for Ukraine to be allowed to join Nato at its annual summit
– saying it would be wrong to exclude a country that had built up strong defences in its long struggle against the Russian invasion.
The Ukrainian president said his country had developed almost all the weapons it needed,
and now only required European help in developing an alternative to the US Patriots to protect against ballistic missile attack.
“I have a question for you.

Nato should let Ukraine join to ‘make all of us stronger’, says Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s president argues defensive capabilities built up in war with Russia mean it shouldn’t be excluded

Turkey sees its status in NATO rise, thanks to its weapons factories and Trump
For years, many other NATO allies treated Turkey with suspicion for buying a Russian air defense system,
attacking Western-backed Kurdish forces in Syria
and stalling Sweden’s bid to join the alliance.

That was then.
Now, ahead of a NATO leaders summit in Ankara next week, the stars seem to have aligned for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Donald Trump, touting his frie…

Turkey sees its status in NATO rise, thanks to its weapons factories and Trump
A friendship between presidents Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and a need for weapons production, has changed how other NATO countries treat Turkey.