☕ Vance's AI future vision

It’s Wednesday.

There’s a few major plot lines in the news to keep an eye on today - the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas is in a precarious state, as mediators scramble to ensure the calm remains in place beyond this weekend. Meanwhile, Elon Musk was in the Oval Office to watch the signing of a new Executive Order that gives his ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ even more power.

I’ve got 30 seconds

Some headlines from this morning:

🇺🇦 Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy has said he’s prepared to negotiate a land swap with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nearly three years since Russia invaded Ukraine, Zelenskyy said he didn’t know which land would be included in the swap, but told the Guardian “all our territories are important, there is no priority”. Ukrainian forces took control of Russia’s Kursk region last year. Under the deal, both sides would agree to withdraw troops from an occupied territory. U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly called for an end to the conflict. Zelenskyy said he is open to negotiations, if Trump can coordinate them. Zelenskyy is expected to meet with U.S. Vice President JD Vance at a security conference in Germany this week.

🇯🇴 King Abdullah II of Jordan and Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah have met with President Donald Trump at the White House, where they mainly discussed recently-announced plans for a US takeover of Gaza, and potential redistribution of civilians to Jordan and Egypt. Jordan and Egypt’s protests were met with a threat of the withdrawal of over $1.5 billion in aid to Jordan, with Jordan’s King saying “I think the point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody”. It comes as the Israel/Gaza ceasefire nears collapse.

📖 Author Salman Rushdie has appeared in court, recalling his brutal stabbing in August 2022 during the second day of a two-week trial to determine if 27-year-old Hadi Matar is guilty of his attempted murder. Prior to his stabbing, Rushdie had been in hiding since 1989 when Iran’s then-leader called for his death for authoring the allegedly blasphemous Satanic Verses. Rushdie was on stage at a writing conference when Matar stabbed him 15 times. Rushdie lost an eye, and said on Tuesday that his ‘predominant’ thought during the attack was that ‘he was dying’.

🛑 E-commerce giant Shopify have disabled Ye’s (aka Kanye West) website for violating its terms, after he began selling Swastika t-shirts over the weekend. Ye promoted his website selling the shirts which prominently displayed the symbol linked to the Nazi regime and anti-Semitism via Super Bowl ad on Sunday. The shutdown follows his recent return to anti-Semitic rhetoric on X, after he backed down from a 2022 controversy that led Adidas to drop him as a business partner. Ye’s X account has also been deactivated, but a spokesperson confirmed it was of Ye’s own volition.

I’ve got 1 minute

The world’s best video gamers will have a chance to compete for Olympic gold at the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in 2027.

In an announcement on Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed the event will be hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The IOC said Olympic qualification events will begin as soon as this year.

Wait, let’s get some context

Electronic sports, aka Esports, is the term used to describe competitive video gaming.

In July 2024, the IOC announced it would facilitate the creation of the Esports Games.

It’s partnered with the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee to organise the inaugural 2027 Games.

The IOC also named the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) as the founding partner of the Esports Games.

EWCF is a non-profit organisation committed to fostering the growth and development of esports and gaming worldwide.

Why?

The IOC’s decision to invest in Esports is part of the governing body’s push to engage younger audiences.

It follows previous efforts to bring more contemporary events to the Olympics such as breaking, surfing, and speed climbing.

The growing popularity of Esports makes it an attractive investment area for the IOC, with the market expected to reach 869 million users by 2029.

IOC President Thomas Bach said this week’s announcement provides a “clear roadmap to the historic first-ever Olympic Esports Games.”

“The Games are becoming a reality,” he added.

Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Government has invested in securing several upcoming international sporting events. For example, hosting the ESports Games and the 2034 men’s soccer World Cup.

However, critics have accused Saudi authorities of ‘sportswashing’ to redirect attention from its poor human rights record.

According to the Australian Human Rights Institute, this includes “limited recognition of migrant, LGBTQ+ and women’s rights,” and limits on freedom of expression and protest.

I’ve got 2 minutes

Vice President JD Vance announced the US would prioritize developing AI over regulating it at the AI Action summit held in Paris this week. The comments contrast to the attitudes taken by European countries, with the head of the European Union emphasising guidelines and guardrails are necessary for AI’s development.

So, what does this mean for the future of AI?

What’s the AI Action Summit?

The AI Action Summit, launched in 2023, brings together global leaders to shape the development of AI. This year’s summit was co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and revolved around five key themes: public service AI, future of work, innovation and culture, trust in AI, and global governance of AI.

What did Vance say?

In the VP's debut on the global stage, he stressed to the world that the US will dominate in AI developments and urged global leaders to not “hand-[wring] about safety,” stressing that Europe in particular, if they wanted to join the US’s efforts had to relax its famously stringent regulations on tech companies.

Vance also warned against investment in ‘cheap’ technology from authoritarian regimes and that these regimes are ‘[weaponizing] AI software to rewrite history, surveillance users and censor speech” , believe to be thinly veiled reference to China and its recent generative AI, Deepseek which was developed at the fraction of the cost of US models.

The VP’s speech was trying to give the US a leg up in the ongoing, global AI arms race between the US, China and Europe. His appeals to Europe to lessen regulation belies the US’s ‘hands-off’ approach to innovation, trusting in their private sector.

In part, European leaders agreed. They emphasised that regulation was still an essential part of AI’s development but emphasised it needed to be simplified.

No agreement reached

On the back of these comments the US, along with the UK, refused to endorse a statement which pledges its signatories - which this year included dozens of countries France, India and China among them - to ensuring AI is accessible and safe.

Vance’s trip

The VP is on a week-long Europe tour, aiming to discuss a peace deal for the Russia/Ukraine War with European leaders at every opportunity. The key event is the Munich Security Conference, starting Wednesday, where VP Vance will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegeseth, and global leaders.