Marc Sabbagh

Interested in how tech improves & ruins our lives | My own views on #DigitalDiplomacy, #GovTech, Middle East, Creativity, Faith

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

incredibly strong interview from lebanon's president- words for both hezbollah & israel. strikes the right balance from a presidential & personal tone. it's a message that historically puts a target on your back. hoping for aoun's ability to make a big, lasting change for lebanon

[Lebanese Presidency @LBpresidency]

مقابلة رئيس الجمهورية العماد جوزاف عون مع كريستيان امنبور في قناة CNN

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together. In Jesus Christ, this humanity in its grandeur becomes the Way, the Truth and the Life, opening the path for each of us to grow toward fullness. #MagnificaHumanitas
https://t.co/6i9MWs6LJl

[Lila @LilaShroff]

Ever since the Pentagon-Anthropic drama, talk of AI nationalization has been growing. But what would this actually look like in practice?

We spoke to a dozen former Pentagon and Trump administration officials, AI-policy experts, and legal scholars.

Here's what they told us:

[HH Sheikh Mohammed @HHShkMohd]

Under the directives of the President of the UAE, we launch a new government model. Within two years, 50% of government sectors, services, and operations will run on Agentic AI, making the UAE the first government globally to operate at this scale through autonomous systems.

AI is no longer a tool. It analyses, decides, executes, and improves in real time. It will become our executive partner to enhance services, accelerate decisions, and raise efficiency.

This transformation has a clear timeline. Two years. Performance across government will be measured by speed of adoption, quality of implementation, and mastery of AI in redesigning government work.

We are investing in our people. Every federal employee will be trained to master AI, building one of the world’s strongest capabilities in AI-driven government.

Implementation will be overseen by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, with a dedicated taskforce chaired by Mohammad Al Gergawi driving execution.

The world is changing. Technology is accelerating. Our principle remains constant. People come first. Our goal is a government that is faster, more responsive, and more impactful.

[Emma Green @emmaogreen]

These days, I'm thinking a lot about what makes us human. Local community over national politics. Making physical things. Relationships. Religion.

My latest , about a new Catholic trade school in Steubenville, Ohio, is about all of that. Give it a read.
https://t.co/UimYJBBP9r

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

Ugolino di Nerio, The Resurrection (from the Santa Croce Altarpiece), c. 1324–1325. The National Gallery, London.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

In the light of #Easter, let us allow ourselves to be amazed by Christ! Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us! Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

Eugene Burnand, The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection, 1898. Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

Rogier van der Weyden, The Descent from the Cross, c. 1435. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

Andrea Mantegna, The Agony in the Garden, c. 1459. National Gallery, London.

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

recent ways I've used generative AI:

- having Gemini read text out loud from uploaded pictures of a devotional while i had my hands full

- offering alternatives for my newborn's sleep schedule based on wake time and naps

- proposing movies/shows to watch aligned to holy week

[CSPAN @cspan]

"Figure 03" AI-powered robot accompanies first lady Melania Trump to a White House summit on empowering children with educational technology.

[Catholic News Agency @cnalive]

Pope Leo XIV warned that children must not come to see artificial intelligence chatbots as substitutes for real friendship, cautioning that such reliance could harm their intellectual and emotional development. https://t.co/MVuIQGvIc4

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

I don't agree with many of this article's conclusions, mainly because I think it's predicated on old power dynamics & the world is just too different now. plus countries have a way of moving on with every new admin. but does a good job presenting tactics of a "predatory hegemon".

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

"The on-again, off-again quality of his threats underscores his desire to extract as many concessions as possible. Trump believes unpredictability is a powerful bargaining tool..." https://t.co/guF1GjbJhA

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

"...his endlessly shifting set of threats &demands is intended to force others to keep searching for ways to accommodate him. Threatening to impose a tariff costs little if the target caves quickly, but if the target stands firm or if markets are spooked, Trump can defer action."

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

however, it's hard to break the pull of history. praying the US can avoid another "quagmire", that violence across the region can come to a quick end, and that the iranian people can navigate a transition to a better, stable government.

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

monumental day in the middle east. iranian protests happened through various admins with tepid US backing. whether one agrees with intervention or not, this was undeniably the best time for it - a weakened regime regionally, distracted and tired benefactors, and a brash US admin.

[Alec MacGillis @AlecMacGillis]

"You don’t have to commit to any single one of the attachments, even marriage, but if you want to flourish, you have to prioritize loving attachments over individual autonomy, and over the past few generations, our culture has forgotten that core truth."
https://t.co/ntR2ctxjLF

[Marc Sabbagh @leaveamarc]

Many signals for countries like Cuba, Iran, Taiwan, even Ukraine & Syria after US actions in Venezuela - & by extension Russia & China with their sponsorship. In both domestic & foreign policy as shown today, this admin is comfortable with tightly coordinated interagency offense.