It’s Monday, September 14.
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It → ’ → ?
Arthur Brooks on when tragedy brings us together—and when it doesn’t.
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it → bring → us
Last year, I saw a chart that has been stuck in my head ever since.
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that → see → head
It was published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and it looked like this:
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it → publish → this
What it shows, in graphic form, is the bewilderingly wide range of ways AI could transform our lives: It could lead to never-before-seen prosperity (that’s the red line), it could give us something like the normal rate of economic growth (the orange and green lines), or it could end the human race (the purple line).
The chart stayed with me because it tells, in stark terms, not just an economic story, but the story of our time: the creation, by us, of something smarter than us, and the profound and unpredictable ways in which that could change what it means to be human.
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it → show → what
For a week now, the headlines have been fixated on the single most alarming question in this conversation: Could AI kill us all?
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AI → fixate → us
Last week, a researcher resigned from Anthropic, warning that the top AI companies were advancing the technology at a dangerous speed.
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companies → resign → speed
Over the weekend, something remarkable happened: The heads of those companies more or less conceded the point.
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heads → happen → point
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei announced his company’s plans to slow its development of cutting-edge AI.
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Amodei → announce → AI
Then his rivals Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of xAI said they agreed.
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they → say → xAI
In a matter of hours, a new consensus among some of the most important people on the planet had revealed itself.
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consensus → reveal → itself
It is worth taking seriously, and interrogating thoroughly.
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It → take → ?
That is what Niall Ferguson and Tyler Cowen do in our lead stories today.
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Ferguson → do → stories
First, Niall Ferguson takes us through the latest unnerving AI developments, the forces driving the chances of catastrophe higher, and what, if anything, we can do about it.
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we → take → it
Tyler Cowen is not one to follow the herd.
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Cowen → follow → herd
He has long been skeptical of the doomsaying around the new technology and, as he explains in his column today, the last few days have not changed that.
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days → explain → that
Tyler argues that the slowdown announced by the AI titans is not what it seems.
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it → argue → titans
An Iranian vessel was struck on the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
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vessel → strike → Sunday
State-run news agency INRA blamed a “terrorist attack,” which came just before Iran’s diplomatic meeting with several Gulf countries about reopening the strait.
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which → run → strait
The meeting was postponed.
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meeting → postpone → ?
A Russian drone struck a Ukrainian train shortly after former British prime minister Boris Johnson and retired U.S. general David Petraeus passed through on a different train.
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Johnson → strike → train
No casualties were reported, but Ukrainian Railways said that the earlier train could have been the drone’s target.
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train → report → ?
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that the “Trump dividend” announced by the president last week would require congressional approval.
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dividend → say → approval
Trump promised “every adult American citizen” $5,000 if the Republicans win control of the House and Senate in November.
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Republicans → promise → November
Dude 44 Bravo, the U.S. Air Force officer shot down by Iran in April, told 60 Minutes that his survival was a “modern-day miracle.”
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survival → shoot → Minutes
The officer, who was identified only by his mission call sign, hid for two days despite a broken arm, back, and shoulder after free-falling to the ground.
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who → identify → ground
Preliminary results from Sweden’s elections showed the center-left party with a tiny advantage over the ascendant populist right.
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results → show → right
If those results hold, it would be a rare boon for the European left, as right-wing parties like Germany’s AfD win record numbers across the continent.
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parties → hold → continent
American tennis player Ben Shelton lost to German Alexander Zverev in the U.S. Open men’s final on Sunday.
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Shelton → lose → Sunday
No American man has won the tournament since Andy Roddick in 2003.
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man → win → 2003
On Saturday, Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan won the women’s title over Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
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Rybakina → win → Belarus
Canadian pop star Céline Dion performed her comeback show in Paris on Saturday.
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Dion → perform → Saturday
A rare neurological condition sidelined her for six years.
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condition → sideline → years
The Aporia
