NATO Funding, Disney Unionization, & AI Can’t Get Patents
February 15, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Thursday! Today, we’ll be talking about defense spending, Jared Kushner, Israeli strikes in Lebanon, an Iran pipeline explosion, the shooting in Kansas City, Disney employees unionizing, and whether AI can hold a patent.
Here’s some good news for you: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson confirmed this week that the city will stop using the gunshot detection system ShotSpotter. The technology has been widely criticized for being both ineffective and racially biased. Also, Jenny Cavnar will make history as the woman to be the primary play-by-play voice of an MLB team. She will call a majority of the Oakland Athletics’ games this season.
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” – Dalai Lama
NATO States Get Scared Straight
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Wednesday that 18 of 31 member states are set to donate at least 2% of their GDP to the alliance this year. This marks the first time that a majority of members have hit the 2% target since it was instituted a decade ago, and comes in response to increased Western concerns about the possibility of Russian military action and conflict in the Middle East. “That is another record number and a six-fold increase from 2014 when only three allies met their target,” Stoltenberg said during a NATO meeting in Brussels.
He also addressed recent comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member that doesn’t donate above the 2% goal. “Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” said the NATO chief, but he also acknowledged that criticizing members for not reaching a 10-year old goal was “a valid point.”
Kushner Just Wants His Cash
According to Jared Kushner, a U.S. official receiving $2 billion in funding from a sovereign wealth fund run by another government isn’t sketchy at all. Even if that government has been linked to the murder of an American journalist, and the money was handed over shortly after said official left public office.
Kushner was Donald Trump’s former White House adviser and current son-in-law – his private equity firm, which he began after leaving the White House, received $2 billion from the Saudi Arabian Sovereign Wealth Fund, which is controlled by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. U.S. intelligence reports have linked Mohammed to the gruesome murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Democrats have criticized Kushner for being too friendly with Mohammed, alluding that he cultivated a relationship with the Crown Prince using his position at the White House before parlaying that into a large investment in his fund. Kushner, on the other hand, has pointed out that the Saudi sovereign wealth fund is one of the biggest investors on the planet. “If you ask me about the work that that we did in the White House, for my critics, what I say is point to a single decision we made that wasn’t in the interest of America,” he said.
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Lobbing Strikes At Lebanon
- With the majority of Gaza’s population pinned in the enclave’s border town of Rafah, the IDF has turned its attention elsewhere. On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced that its fighter jets had carried out “a series of strikes in Lebanon,” raising concerns a wider conflict could break out in the region (again). While Israel didn’t announce its targets, Lebanese media has claimed that three villages were hit in the strikes.
- Israel’s strikes allegedly came in response to rocket fire from Lebanon, which Israeli medics say wounded seven people. The two sides have traded strikes almost every day since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on October 7 of last year. So far, Israeli strikes have killed at least 243 people in Lebanon (most of them have been linked to the Hezbollah terrorist group, but 30 are reportedly civilians), while strikes by Hezbollah have killed nine IDF soldiers and six Israeli civilians.
Iran-ning On Empty
- On Wednesday, Iran’s main north-south gas pipeline network was rocked by two explosions. Javad Owji, Iran’s oil minister told state media that the explosions were an act of sabotage, but did not name any main suspects in the attacks. Owji denied that the blasts had caused gas shutoffs in more urban areas and office buildings, but noted that villages near the pipelines had experienced gas outages.
- Iran is rarely targeted by infrastructure attacks, though an Arab separatist group did attack two pipelines in one of the country’s western regions. In December, the country’s government executed five people it claimed were linked to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency – an organization that Tehran claims has targeted its nuclear infrastructure for years.
Additional World News
- Amazon rainforest could reach ‘tipping point’ by 2050, scientists warn (Guardian)
- Putin signs law to confiscate assets of those convicted of discrediting the Russian army (AP)
- Ukrainian military says it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea (AP)
- Pakistan party nominates Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister, ending deadlock (NPR)
- UK inflation holds at 4.0% in relief for BoE and Sunak (Reuters)
- Nicolas Sarkozy’s jail term halved in illegal campaign funds case (Guardian)
- Former general linked to human rights abuses claims victory in Indonesian presidential election (AP)
Middle East News
- UN warns of ‘slaughter’ if Israel launches ground assault on Rafah (BBC)
- South Africa has launched an ‘urgent request’ with top UN court over Israel’s targeting of Rafah (AP)
- Israel orders evacuation of largest hospital in southern Gaza (BBC)
- Israeli Minister Blocks Flour From Reaching UNRWA in Gaza (NYT, $)
Can’t Even Have A Peaceful Parade Around Here
- Yesterday afternoon, Kansas City held a parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory. As the rally came to a close, shots were fired inside Union Station, causing chaos among the nearly 1 million attendees. As of writing, one person has died (Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a Kansas City-area radio DJ), and nearly 30 people were injured.
- Three people were taken into custody. Police Chief Stacey Graves said over 800 law enforcement officers were at the event to keep people safe. “I don’t want us to have to in our country — for every big event — think about a concern of being shot,” said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas at a news conference after the event.
A Collective Of Character Cosplayers
- Nearly 1,700 Disneyland employees who perform as the characters are seeking to join the Actor’s Equity Association. After just three days of collecting cards signed by employees, the union already has more than the 30% support needed to file for a representation vote with the National Labor Relations Board.
- Characters at Disney World have already been unionized for many years. According to data from the Council for Community and Economic Research, the cost of living is 50% greater in Orange County than it is in Orlando, yet the minimum hourly wage ranges from $21.30 to $23.00 at Disney World compared to the $24.15 at Disneyland.
Additional USA Reads
- Democrat Tom Suozzi wins N.Y. special election to replace George Santos (NBC)
- A Georgia judge is set to consider whether to remove Fani Willis from the election interference case (AP)
- House Intel chair warns of ‘serious national security threat’ ahead of planned White House briefing (NBC)
- California landslide appears to leave 3 multimillion-dollar homes teetering on edge of cliff (ABC)
- ICE draft plan would release thousands of immigrants in order to cover budget shortfall (CNN)
The Human Patent Experience
- You’ve probably heard of AI being used to discover new chemicals and compounds. But can that AI claim the patent for the hard work it’s put in? According to the big bad U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which apparently hates robots, the answer is no. This week, the agency published new guidelines clarifying that a flesh-and-blood human being must make a “significant contribution” to an idea in order for the invention to be considered for a patent.
- Of course, that wording is a bit fuzzy. “The challenge will be in implementing the guidance,” said an attorney at the law firm Dorsey & Whitney. “How sophisticated of a prompt will be required for a given invention? In connection with training an AI system, what level of planning will be required? Patent examiners will surely have some interesting challenges ahead.”
- The USPTO has put forth at least one example to help us understand the new guideline. “A natural person who only presents a problem to an AI system may not be a proper inventor” of a given idea, said the agency. “However, a significant contribution could be shown by the way the person constructs the prompt in view of a specific problem to elicit a particular solution from the AI system.” For example, an inventor would need to show their work in how they got an AI to produce a blueprint for, say, a remote-controlled car to receive a patent for the invention.
Additional Reads
- Less than 2% of console video games have LGBTQ representation, report finds (NBC)
- Judge rejects most ChatGPT copyright claims from book authors (Ars Technica)
- Humanity’s earliest recorded kiss adds new twist to the history of locking lips (CNN)
- Removal of scaffolding enshrouding the summit of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral gets underway (USA Today)
- Canadian teacher accused of selling students’ art on personal website (Guardian)
- Nearly 1 in 5 Americans believe Taylor Swift is part of a 2024 plot to help Joe Biden (USA Today)
- Graffiti towers are stretching resources, LAPD says after BASE jumping stunt (NBC)