Microsoft Confirms ‘Multibillion-Dollar’ Investment in OpenAI
On Monday, Microsoft announced a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.
While Microsoft did not disclose the terms, media reports claim the software giant has infused as much as $10B into OpenAI. The intention is to "responsibly advance cutting-edge AI research and democratize AI as a new technology platform" per Satya Nadella, Microsoft chair and CEO.
Microsoft, which invested $1B into OpenAI in 2019, is expected to get 75% of OpenAI's profits until it recoups its investment.
Establishment-critical narrative
Tech giants seeking to cash in on the AI gold rush is a worrying trend. Microsoft's multibillion-dollar investment signals that users are at a disadvantage if they're not using AI. While ChatGPT certainly acts as a powerful demonstration of what AI can do today, if artificial intelligence begins doing the creative jobs of human beings, it could render millions of jobs useless.
Pro-establishment narrative
AI tools will boost human productivity, increasing economic growth and the wages for minimum-wage jobs. Many software developers and companies leverage AI-based technologies to boost employee productivity, unlock efficiencies, and increase job satisfaction. Instead of betting against AI technology in fear that it will steal their jobs, businesses and employees must embrace the technology to ensure they remain effective and competitive in their respective fields.
Burkina Faso: Junta Ends Military Pact With France
Burkina Faso's government has decided to end a military pact that allowed French troops to fight armed groups in the West African country, its spokesperson Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo stated on Monday.
He stated that the military junta and the nation want to be the main actors to take back territory occupied by Islamist militants, and that termination of military cooperation — which was part of the original terms of the collaboration with the French — does not damage diplomatic relations.
This comes after France's Pres. Emmanuel Macron on Sunday demanded clarifications from the Burkinabe transitional Pres. Ibrahim Traoré in the wake of initial reports over a potential request for a French withdrawal.
Establishment-critical narrative
The deteriorating security crisis in West Africa is primarily the result of the West's decade-long political and military interference under the guise of fighting terrorism. There is hope for the region only when it's no longer possible for the West to pursue its geopolitical interests unchallenged by pretending to "help" in the Sahel.
Pro-establishment narrative
Though Western powers can be criticized for their colonial record in West Africa, local authorities must stop blaming the West for today's crises. National leaders must focus on tackling the jihadist insurgency rather than simply use it to justify their undemocratic rule. As Russian actors step up in the region to partner with military juntas, their counterterrorism efforts have proven just as unsuccessful.
Turkey's Erdoğan Threatens to Block Sweden's NATO Bid After Quran Burning
Speaking in televised remarks after a cabinet meeting on Monday, Turkey's Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Sweden that it cannot expect his backing to join NATO after a Quran was burnt in Stockholm over the weekend.
This comes after protests gathering pro-Kurdish groups and anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan took place outside the Turkish Embassy in the Swedish capital, with the latter setting fire to a copy of the Islamic holy book and the former waving flags of Kurdish groups that Ankara considers terrorist organizations.
Turkey immediately denounced the act, as well as Swedish authorities for allowing the demonstration. The nation has also canceled a visit from Sweden's defense minister that would have facilitated discussion of its NATO membership, as Turks rallied in front of the Swedish Embassy in Ankara.
Establishment-critical narrative
It would be unacceptable for Ankara to give Sweden the thumbs up to its NATO membership while Stockholm allows terrorist sympathizers to spout anti-Islam hate speech and blatantly carry out provocations against Turkey and Muslims. Turkey has already made its terms for supporting Swedish entry into the alliance clear, so the nation must decide whether joining the bloc in opposition to Russian aggression is more important than supporting terrorists and Islamophobes.
Pro-establishment narrative
While the burning of a copy of the Quran is obviously a grossly disrespectful act against Islam, it is not illegal under Swedish law which values freedom of expression as a fundamental part of democracy. If Turkey bases its decision over Sweden's NATO bid on this disgusting but unrepresentative incident, it will be doing exactly what the minority responsible wanted and giving in to Islamophobic hate.
Nerd narrative
There's a 75% chance that Sweden will join NATO before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
South Africa Hosts Russian Foreign Minister
On his second Africa trip within six months, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday visited South Africa for bilateral talks with his counterpart, Naledi Pandor.
While Lavrov welcomed South Africa's neutral stance since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Pandor reiterated that Pretoria favors a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Pandor asserted that South Africa will not let the West determine which countries it maintains bilateral relations with.
Pandor stated that given recent developments, including "the massive transfer of arms" to Ukraine, it would be "simplistic and infantile" to renew Pretoria's original demand that Moscow unilaterally withdraws its forces from Ukraine.
Establishment-critical narrative
The fact that South Africa maintains and expands its relations with international pariahs such as Russia for nostalgic and ideological reasons could cost the country dearly since it cannot be assumed that the West will continue to stand idly by. The stakes are high — much of South Africa's investment and trade are with the West and its military equipment is sourced from there. If South Africa does not change its course and continues to try to play both sides, it risks ending up as a pariah itself.
Pro-establishment narrative
In criticizing South Africa for its ties with Moscow, the West is once again applying double standards. This is also true of the naval drills with Russia and China, which in no way mean that Pretoria is abandoning its neutral stance amid the Ukraine war. Moreover, it is hypocritical to criticize the drills but remain silent when Washington demonstrates military power at will. As a sovereign country, South Africa is no longer willing to bow to Western definitions of right and wrong.
Day 335: String of Sackings and Resignations Amid Ukraine Corruption Allegations
With Tuesday marking 11 months since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Ukrainian government has been shaken by a series of corruption allegations that have led to the firings and resignations of a number of officials.
As reported earlier in the week, the first to go was Ukraine's deputy minister for community development Vasyl Lozynskyi, who was detained and dismissed from his post over the weekend for allegedly stealing $400K in funds intended for purchasing aid, including generators.
On Monday, Ukraine's deputy prosecutor general, Oleksiy Symonenko, resigned after the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda revealed he had taken a vacation to Spain in a luxury car owned by Grigory Kozlovsky — a businessman accused of tax evasion and mass production of cigarettes for the black market. Under Ukraine's martial law, men aged 18–60 were not permitted to leave the country.
Narrative A
Ukraine has a history of corruption, evident in the fact that it came 122 out of 180 countries in Transparency International's 2021 rankings of corrupt states. However, the European Union has emphasized that cleaning up corruption is a key stipulation if Ukraine wants to join the bloc. Zelenskyy is taking effective action to meet that demand, with a view to fostering closer ties with the rest of Europe and protecting Ukraine's political and military security.
Narrative B
Kyiv has been keen to show the European Union that it's been rooting out corruption in the country. However, today's developments will strike severe blows to Ukraine's reputation among EU officials. The perception of Kyiv's commitment to the application process, along with those of Ukraine's overall EU aspirations in general, have been damaged by these reports.
Nerd narrative
There is a 1% chance that Ukraine will join the European Union before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
US Charges Ex-FBI Agent With Violating Russian Sanctions
On Monday, former FBI agent Charles McGonigal pleaded not guilty to charges related to allegedly working with a sanctioned Russian businessman and hiding money he received from a former Albanian intelligence employee while he was at the Bureau.
Prosecutors allege McGonigal unsuccessfully worked with a law firm to lift sanctions on Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska. They further add that he and Sergey Shestakov, a former Russian diplomat, then negotiated with Deripaska's agent to proceed without the firm.
McGonigal and Shestakov, who became a US citizen and worked as an interpreter for US courts, allegedly worked for Deripaska to investigate an unnamed rival Russian businessman in 2021, in violation of US sanctions.
Republican narrative
The irony here is incredible. McGonigal — one of the men in charge of designing the "Russia Collusion" theory against former Pres. Trump — has now been accused of having done the exact thing he falsely claimed Trump did. This illustrates how far the rot has spread among the FBI.
Democratic narrative
One rogue agent shouldn’t tarnish all the hard work the rest of the Bureau does on a daily basis. The American people can rest assured the FBI is committed to sticking to its processes and dispersing justice equally. The charges against McGonigal are proof that no one is above the law.
Narrative C
While these are serious allegations, the trial is in its infancy, and the media needs to be careful not to jump to conclusions. The justice system should be left to render a verdict without interference, and until then, McGonigal should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
France Repatriates 47 Nationals From Syrian Camps
France has repatriated 47 women and children from prison camps in northeast Syria where families with suspected ties to the Islamic State group (IS) are held.
Fifteen women and 32 children were repatriated. The French Foreign Minister says that the repatriated adults were handed over to the "competent judicial authorities" and that the children were delivered to child assistance services and will undergo appropriate medical and social monitoring.
This is France's third large-scale repatriation, with the previous ones taking place in October when France repatriated 15 women and 40 children, and in July, when 16 women and 35 children were returned.
Establishment-critical narrative
France is not doing enough to repatriate its citizens languishing in refugee camps in Syria. France is violating the UN Convention Against Torture by refusing to help these women and children suffering from violence and poverty. By being deliberately slow in repatriating its citizens, Paris is condemning thousands of children to a life of trauma and violence, which will only deepen their extremist beliefs.
Pro-establishment narrative
The repatriated families of IS fighters pose both a physical and ideological threat to the nations they are returned to. While children can be rehabilitated, the women who intentionally brought or raised families in the Islamic State should be held accountable for their actions by their nations of origin and charged with terrorism or other related offenses. While repatriation should happen, this shouldn't be done hastily.
DOJ Sues Google Over Ad Dominance
The US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Alphabet subsidiary Google, alleging the company abuses its dominance in the digital advertising sphere and asking the court to force it to sell its ad manager suite.
In its second anti-trust lawsuit against Google - the first filed during the Trump admin. regarding alleged monopolistic search engine practices - the DOJ has been joined by eight states, including Google's home state of California. Texas has filed a separate ad business suit against the company.
The complaint argues Google has "corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry" by inserting "itself into all aspects of the digital [ad] marketplace." It continues, saying it uses its dominance to "funnel more transactions to its own ad tech products where it extracts inflated fees."
Establishment-critical narrative
Though Google will point to recent economic slumps and downsizing as proof of innocence, the company's monopolistic practices began over a decade ago. Google eliminates competition through acquisitions and subsequently forces advertisers to pay more creators to make less, all while boosting its profits year over year. The government has ignored this growing monopoly for years and should finally break its stranglehold on the digital ad market.
Pro-establishment narrative
While prosecutors may be able to point to certain questionable business practices used by Google, trying to break the company up through anti-trust legislation is a dead end. It will be almost impossible to prove a monopoly, similar to what happened to Microsoft years ago when the DOJ sued them for anti-trust violations. The government should demand changes to particular business practices rather than trying to take down the world's most popular search engine.
COVID Unemployment Fraud May Exceed $60B
A new report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that pandemic unemployment benefits fraud exceeded $60B, with $8.5B of that amount coming from defrauding the regular unemployment insurance program.
The GAO extrapolated a lower-bound estimate to assume that 7.6% of all unemployment claims are fraudulent, making the $60B estimate a conservative one.
An earlier report from the GAO said that the improper payment rate may have been 18.9% during the pandemic, meaning the actual amount of fraud could be substantially higher.
Democratic narrative
COVID caused a historic upheaval of the US economy, and something needed to be done to support Americans who lost work. The states and Congress did what they could to prevent fraud, but obviously it was a momentous task. The government has learned how to deal with a situation that will hopefully not come up again.
Republican narrative
Paying people to stay home was always bad policy, but the Democrats couldn’t see past the opportunity they had to buy Americans' votes. Now the US will be bearing the costs of all the fraud for decades to come.
Pence Turns in Classified Documents Found in His Home
Documents marked as classified were discovered at former US Vice President Pence’s home in Indiana last week, which he has turned over to the FBI. Possession of classified documents has been a major story as both Donald Trump and Joe Biden are steeped in a controversy surrounding their handling of documents.
Pence’s attorney informed the National Archives that the former vice president had a small number of potentially classified documents on Jan. 18. The Archives then informed the FBI who collected the documents on Jan. 19.
Amid ongoing investigations into Trump and Biden’s handling of classified documents, Pence asked his lawyer to conduct a search of his home for documents with classified markings. Pence had previously and repeatedly claimed he did not possess any classified documents.
Republican narrative
Unlike President Biden who is under investigation for mishandling classified documents from his tenure as vice president, Mike Pence has been transparent in how he has dealt with returning classified material. Joe Biden is intent on hiding information from the American people while Pence looks to quickly remedy any potential error in his handling of materials from his vice presidency.
Democratic narrative
Despite emphatically declaring that he did not possess any classified materials, Mike Pence is now backtracking and handing in materials that he claimed not to possess. Pence sees the severe consequences of mishandling classified documents, but now there must be an investigation into the reason he possessed them in the first place. This appears to be a large issue dating to the Trump administration.