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Geopolitics In The News Society

“Workable” Israeli-Hamas Ceasefire Proposal, EU-China Summit, Fake Ambassador

👋 Yokwe!* Welcome to Thursday, where Israel receives a new “workable” ceasefire proposal from Hamas, the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia escalates following deadly military clashes and our daily quiz question is about a fake ambassador. Meanwhile, Rina Nikolaeva for independent Russian media Vazhnyye Istorii looks at why the Kremlin has been systematically shutting off […]

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Economy Eyes on the U.S. special series Trump And The World

Trump’s Tariffs: 5 Questions To Know About An Auto Industry Thrown Into Upheaval

The car industry is in shock, with the announcement from Washington of 25% tariffs on auto imports to the United States. Here’s what every car owner and business needs to know about how this crucial industry will be affected around the world.

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Future Society

Why The CAPTCHA May Be The Ultimate Battleground Between AI And Humans

Artificial intelligence can solve tasks that previously only humans could solve. So what distinguishes us from machines?

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Economy Green

Tesla Sales Sink In Europe — And It’s Not Just A Backlash Against Elon Musk

Demand for the U.S. automaker’s vehicles is waning, with sales of new Tesla cars almost halving in Europe in January 2025. While this is partly due to its CEO Elon Musk’s cahooting with President Donald Trump, there are also other factors at play.

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Economy Green

Why We’re Falling Out Of Love With Tesla — And It’s Not Just About Elon Musk

The U.S. automaker is struggling with a severe drop in sales. This is, of course, partly due to its CEO Elon Musk’s cahooting with President Donald Trump. But there is something else going on.

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Society

Germany Is A World Leader In Taking Sick Days — Is It Time To Start Docking Pay?

Germans have plenty of names for those who choose not to work: “Drückeberger”, “Bummelantinnen”, “Faulpelze”. But what are the risks of cutting sick pay to reduce absenteeism?

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Future

U.S. vs. China, Who Will Win The Race For Humanoid Robot Domination?

Driven by advances in artificial intelligence, the development of human-shaped robots is accelerating on both sides of the Pacific. China see it as a way of accelerating modernization of its industrial base, while American venture capitalists are betting on their mass adoption in warehouses and factories.

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Economy Future

iSchadenfreude: The Apple Car Flop Reminds Us Why German Carmakers Are Built To Last

Apple’s announcement that it has discontinued its car project is bigger than it may seem. It is a serious admission that a car revolution is not as close as we thought — and really good news for German automakers.

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Future Geopolitics Ideas

Is There Any Way To Rein In The Power Of Big Tech?

A new biography of the Tesla, X (formerly Twitter) and Space X boss reveals that Elon Musk prevented the Ukrainian army from attacking the Russian fleet in Crimea last year, by limiting the beam of his Starlink satellites. Unchecked power is a problem.

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Future Ideas

Pausing AI Research: Are Humans Intelligent Enough To Do The Right Thing?

Everyone from Elon Musk to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to top Artificial Intelligence researchers have signed a public petition calling on a six-month moratorium on AI research. The ultimate decision will be left in the hands of humans, who are smart, but also vain and greedy.

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Future Ideas

Absolute Free Speech Is A Recipe For Violence: Notes From Paris For Monsieur Musk

Elon Musk bought Twitter in the name of absolute freedom. But numerous research shows that social media hate speech leads to actual violence. Musk and others running social networks need to strike a balance.

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Future Geopolitics Ideas

A Musk Read: On The Gray Areas Of The Green Revolution

Two projects with billionaire Elon Musk’s name on it help highlight that the cause of saving the planet is a messy affair.

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Future

Boyan Slat, A (Nicer) Elon Musk To Save Our Oceans

The project ‘The Ocean Cleanup’ wants to use its system to rid the oceans from plastic waste. The founder thinks big about the planet and beyond. And he’s not a jerk.

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In The News

Robot Brains Need Human Rules

Artificial intelligence is too useful and advanced and to ignore. But it also comes with huge risks, and should be limited accordingly.

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Future Ideas

Channeling Jules Verne, A Measure Of Elon Musk’s Ambitions

-Analysis- PARIS — He is “a man of about forty-two years of age, of large build, but slightly round-shouldered. His massive head momentarily shook a shock of reddish hair, which resembled a lion’s mane.” This isn’t a description of Elon Musk, but of Michel Ardan, one of the characters in Jules Verne’s 1865 novel From […]

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Green Or Gone Ideas

Bitcoin To Tesla, False Promises For Saving The Planet

-Analysis- Bitcoin’s blistering price rise has broken a new milestone, passing the $10,000 threshold for the first time. It’s a considerable achievement given that the most famous of cryptocurrencies was worth under $1,000 at the beginning of this year, and first reached $2,000 just a few months ago. But it’s also a frightening feat. The […]

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Economy Future

Mixed Feelings From The Masses Awaiting Tesla’s New Model 3

PALO ALTO — While his high-school classmates were blowing their money on Chipotle burritos and concert tickets, Truman Hale was saving up for a Tesla. In March of last year, after years of penny pinching, he plunked down a $1,000 deposit on a Model 3. Now a 21-year-old student at Arizona State University, he’s eager for more information about what will be his first car, which he hopes will be delivered before graduating in December 2018. “I want to only own electric cars,” he said. “I’m riding a bike because I’m saving for this car.” “The lack of information received […]

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In The News

Mosul, Mother Of All Battles?

It has finally begun. More than two years since ISIS conquered Iraq’s third-biggest city, a coalition of local ground forces, supported by U.S. air power, has launched a coordinated attack to recapture Mosul. “The time of victory has come and operations to liberate Mosul have started,” Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a televised […]

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blog

Assad’s Future, Contraband Food, Tesla’s Model 3

ASSAD CALLS FOR UNITY GOVERNMENT Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reiterated calls yesterday for opposition members to join him in forming a national unity government, a prospect opposition leaders have rejected. In an interview with Russian news agency Ria Novosti that comes days after the government’s recapture of Palmyra, Assad said that the main goal of […]

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Future

Can I Protect My Car From Hacking? Start By Updating The Software

— You hate them on your phone and dread them on your computer — now, those pesky software updates are coming to your car. Carmakers led by Tesla are pushing over-the-air Wi-Fi and 3G or 4G wireless downloads to add functions such as self-parking and to upgrade performances of their vehicles. It’s prompting suppliers like NXP Semiconductors, Ericsson and Gemalto to celebrate as car builders fight to keep hackers out. “As soon as you connect anything to the Internet, there’s a hacking risk,” said Jonathan Olsson, a security expert at Ericsson, which sells wireless networks to clients from mobile carriers […]

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Future Ideas

The Era Of Constant And Open Innovation Is Upon Us

-OpEd- 

How important is intellectual property in the digital age? Not very, if the business strategies of industry luminaries like PayPal’s Elon Musk and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg are any indication. Musk, the multi-talented entrepreneur behind PayPal, and more recently Tesla cars and SpaceX, has made it clear he considers Tesla’s impressive lead in battery and […]

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Future Ideas

What Climate Change Will Look Like 35 Years From Now

-Essay- SAO PAULO — It’s the future here, writing with a warning to brace yourself. How I would love to tell you that in 35 years you’ll be able to go back in time, fix your mistakes and change history. Sadly, you won’t be able to do that. The United Nations Climate Change Conference in […]

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Future

Double-Edged Sword Of The “Open Hardware” Revolution

PARIS — Opendesk.cc is an original website in more ways than one. First of all, its domain name in .cc is that of the Coco Islands, but also means Creative Commons, a license system used by those who believe in sharing “open source” material. Indeed, this concept of “free material” is also part of what […]

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blog Future

A Straight Blue Line From Ballpoint Pen To Sportscar Of The Future

The French great-nephew of the Hungarian-born inventor of the ballpoint pen is writing his own chapter in innovation with a design of a super-light electric car that is turning heads.

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Economy

A Cold Chinese Takedown Of Elon Musk

The announcement of major layoffs for Tesla China, the entrepreneur’s electric car company, prompts a deeper analysis of Musk as manager.

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Future Ideas

Artificial Intelligence Will Kill Capitalism

And it will happen sooner than you think…

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Geopolitics

Ukraine On NATO’s Mind, Tesla “Gigafactory,” No Visa For Dalai Lama

Thursday, September 4, 2014 UKRAINE TOPS NATO SUMMIT AGENDA Western and NATO leaders are meeting in Newport, Wales, for what the military alliance’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen described as “one of the most important summits in the history of our alliance” because of Russia’s incursion in Ukraine. Calling on Moscow to “stop the flow […]

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