Alex Worker

scaling nutrition technologies

[Satya Nadella @satyanadella]

https://t.co/vLmiBKTtX3

[Sam Bowman @s8mb]

This is, perversely, good news for Britain, Australia, Japan, Europe, and other countries being cut off that would once have seen themselves as close allies of the United States.

It shows us what the future may hold if AI is the strategically and economically decisive technology of the 21st century and is controlled by the US and China. It is good news because *it may be happening early enough to give us time to act.*

I think this will be rescinded pretty soon, but it’s a sign of things to come. In a future where frontier models cannot be used outside the US, our industries and economies will fall behind and American businesses may not be able to operate overseas. We won’t be able to defend ourselves militarily with defence systems built on obsolete software. Europe 2031 is a good scenario of what a future like this could mean: https://t.co/AMc5LrFJeS

Some of the things we need to do are ‘no regrets’ measures we should do anyway. But some are genuinely costly and risky.

We need cheap electricity – powered by gas, coal (this is costly, coal is very bad), deregulated nuclear fission – whatever can provide *cheap, reliable, 24/7* power. This almost certainly excludes wind power, which is enormously expensive and unreliable. We need projects to be able to connect to the grid in days rather than years by paying for fast-track connections.

We need to make it incredibly easy to build data centres, with the property taxes retained locally and hypothecated for local tax cuts so there is some direct benefit for locals. This doesn’t need to be nationwide.

We need to create new regulatory regimes for innovative businesses that give them the right to hire and fire staff with ease. The difficulty and cost of firing staff is one of the main reasons Europe has fallen behind so badly. We need to create a parallel employment regime that companies and workers can opt in to: https://t.co/YaNOXK1Po2

Even though I think it will probably fail, I think we should probably try to create a good, non-American frontier AI lab. I am quite pessimistic about this – even extremely well-resourced, innovative software companies are struggling to do this. But the stakes are so high that not trying seems foolish.

One thing that might work in our favour is the number of brilliant AI engineers who are not US citizens, who under the current export controls do not have access to Mythos/Fable even if they live and work in the US. What happens to Demis Hassabis, Ilya Sutskever, Andrej Karpathy, and the many other Europeans, Canadians, etc who are working on AI models in Britain and America who are affected by this?

I do not think we should force our own companies to use model, because this would exacerbate their economic weakness – this lab should have to compete on an even playing field. I am deeply sceptical that this can work, but we cannot rule it out. If we do it, it has to be able to pay US salaries, operate without political constraints. https://t.co/Um05rUF4Vq

It is cope to tell yourself that Trump is an aberration or that these export controls are a one-off. To repeat, I think these specific controls will be lifted quickly and it will be easy to move on and forget it happened. But this is a look into a potential future. Every one of us that is not a US citizen is at risk. The standard political divides do not apply here; the question is whether you grasp the enormity of AI as a technology. We have to act!

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Iran’s World Cup squad has been notified they must enter and leave US soil on the same day of their matches played in America, says Tehran’s ambassador to Mexico.

🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/lBTjnhOsT3

[Bryce Edwards @bryce_edwards]

https://t.co/ecFAJBTlkh

[Jonathan Cheng @JChengWSJ]

The Economist: “China’s four richest cities (with a combined population of 84m) have a GDP per person that exceeds Japan’s. Its poorest four provinces (population 140m), meanwhile, are closer in income to Vietnam.”
https://t.co/bkcnpCzpMV

[Alex Worker @AlexWorker2]

NZ sleepwalking into “Pax Silica” status for US direction is concerning and our chances of remaining APAC “neutral” increasingly more difficult.

https://t.co/4isU6tcI3W

[Bryce Edwards @bryce_edwards]

https://t.co/1F104Fkhwd

[Carl Worker @carlworker]

Delighted that my personal anecdote and photos about Wang Yi proved of interest to many and attracted a number of new followers. During three diplomatic postings in Beijing totalling more than 10 years between 1984 and 2015, and two in Hong Kong including during the Handover, I had contact with many leaders and ordinary folk who helped build modern China during the reform era. I feel encouraged to start sharing some of the personal snapshots and human stories collected along the way. With the passage of the years, daily life becomes history! I start with some photos that I took in March 1986 of one of the most consequential figures of the twentieth century, Deng Xiaoping, meeting with the visiting Prime Minister of New Zealand, David Lange, and his delegation, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Victor Gao is interpreting.

[Prime Minister of Canada @CanadianPM]

Statement by the leaders of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom on the situation in the West Bank. https://t.co/72icmeiQW9

[Henrick Johansson @compliantvc]

Euro founders leaving the office at 3pm after filling out 17 compliance documents and setting up their autoresponder for a 3 month vacation to Italy

[Stephen Jacobi @StephenJacobi]

In a fragmented world resilience will depend on stronger trade partnerships, innovation, sustainability and smarter use of technology. In the face of global disruption, adaptability is becoming our greatest economic asset. https://t.co/aIpAYW5tSM

[60 Minutes @60Minutes]

“We spotted nine Polymarket accounts, all connected, who made, collectively,$2.4 million betting almost exclusively on U.S. military operations,” says Nicolas Vaiman, co-founder of the small data analytics firm Bubblemaps.

“And now here's the crazy part: 98% win rate.” https://t.co/T79aYM48ZI

[Bloomberg @business]

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s family is putting huge chunks of the empire on sale, quickly building up a vast stockpile of cash. Here’s why. https://t.co/HQT91OLiYt

[Bryan Johnson @bryan_johnson]

This is it.
Everything learned spending millions on longevity.

From: Your Immortal Unc and Auntie.
To: Our Immortal nieces and nephews.

0. Sleep is the world's most powerful drug.
1. Be in your bed for 8 hours
2. Same bedtime every night, any time before midnight
3. Don’t eat right before bed
4. Calm foods for dinner
5. No screens 1 hour before bed
6. Avoid added sugar (be aware it’s in everything)
7. Avoid all things in an American convenience store
8. Avoid fried foods
9. Shoes off at the door
10. Eat whole foods, particularly veggies fruits nuts legumes berries
11. Walk a little after meals or air squats
12. Get your heart rate high routinely
13. Lift heavy things
14. Stretch daily
15. Water pik, floss, brush, tongue scrape, morning and night
16. Make an effort to drink water
17. Get sunlight when you wake up (UV is low)
18. Protect skin in midday sun
19. Stand up straight
20. See at least one friend once a week
21. Avoid plastic where you can (in all things)
22. Circulate air in rooms
23. When stressed, breathe, learn to calm your body
24. Go to the dentist
25. Avoid sitting for long times
26. Protect your hearing, the world is too loud
27. Alcohol is bad for you
28. Finish coffee before noon
29. Avoid bright lights after sunset
30. If obese, look into a GLP
31. Sleep in a cold room
32. Texting while driving is dangerous
33. Turn off all notifications
34. Limit social media use
35. Don’t smoke anything
36. If you struggle to sleep, read a physical book before bed
37. 1 hour before bed have a calm wind down routine: bath, read, light walk, listen to music
38. The body is a clock and loves routine. Have a daily morning and evening schedule.
39. Avoid long distance travel where you can
40. Baby steps first: incorporate new things slowly
41. Do less… most things don’t work.

Bonus points if you get your blood checked.

Start here, it will change your life.

[Reuters @Reuters]

Lamine Yamal waved a Palestinian flag during Barcelona's open-top victory parade to celebrate winning LaLiga.

[Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof]

This is a hard article to read, but I hope you'll do so. I've spent some time reporting on widespread rape and other sexual violence of Palestinian male and female prisoners by Israeli authorities, and the article is now published. The assault victims were warned not to give speak of what they endured -- they were sometimes told they would be killed or raped if they gave interviews -- but they found the courage to do so. One man described being raped three times in a single day in Israeli prison, the third time after he tried to protest. A young woman said the guards would come in at the beginning of each shift and strip her naked and abuse her. Another reported that she was shown photos of herself being raped and warned they would be released unless she cooperated with Israeli intelligence. Even three children who had been detained told me they had been sexually abused. Look, whatever our position on the Middle East, we should be able to agree on being anti-rape. Sexual assaults were horrific when Israeli women were targeted on Oct. 7, and they're equally horrific when Israeli authorities use them against Palestinians day after day after day. We should be able to find common ground in opposing rape. Here's a gift link to the article: https://t.co/aMMHId49OO

[Helen Clark @HelenClarkNZ]

Sobering: “#NZ has always performed best when it’s seen as balanced & trustworthy; we are drifting away from that position, from independent toward aligned. For a small trading nation in the #Pacific, that isn’t a philosophical shift. It’s an economic one” https://t.co/ZVjEOl9AE9

[Alex Worker @AlexWorker2]

Slingshots at the ready

[NZ Defence Force @NZDefenceForce]

STORY📰 The New Zealand Defence Force has concluded a series of maritime patrols over international waters in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, monitoring North Korean evasion of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions. https://t.co/u3R6qp4W0R

[Alex Worker @AlexWorker2]

NZ cashing cheques its doesn’t have, again

[Narendra Modi @narendramodi]

Today marks a landmark moment in the India-New Zealand partnership!

I am delighted that the India-New Zealand FTA signed today will add unprecedented momentum to our developmental partnership. It reflects the deep trust, shared values and ambition that bind our two nations.

This agreement will greatly benefit our farmers, youth, women, MSMEs, artisans, startups, students and innovators. It will open new avenues for growth, create opportunities and deepen our synergy across sectors.

The investment commitment of $20 billion by New Zealand will further strengthen our cooperation in agriculture, manufacturing, innovation and technology, paving the way for a more prosperous and dynamic future for both countries.

@chrisluxonmp