Trump and Musk Use AI to Supercharge Lies - The Wednesday AM Quickie 9/4/24
This "decades-long landslide" in Rancho Palos Verdes is wild. -Jacob
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THE BIG NEWS
Trump and Musk Use AI to Supercharge Lies
Welcome to the weird garbage AI election. This presidential election has been forecast as the AI election, marked by mis- and disinformation of all kinds: AI-generated photos, deepfake videos, nation-state propaganda masquerading as fake news, and bots. So many bots. It's supposed to all be very confusing and disorienting, supercharging the routine lies of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. There's no end of generative AI garbage being churned out to show Trump and Harris kissing, or Trump and Musk dancing, or Harris committing some horrific fictional crime (aside from the real one of abetting a genocide).
Yesterday, Reuters reported on a Chinese social-media influence operation that apparently used "thousands" of fake accounts across 50 sites and platforms to stir up political "division." It's rarely evident how many people, if any, fall for these foreign influence schemes, but they're not a great sign. (Notably, these internet watchdog organizations don't seem to uncover clandestine US influence operations.)
MIT Tech Review calls for skepticism and caution around election AI hysteria, noting that "mass persuasion is notoriously challenging"; a lot of AI-generated material never reaches anyone, much less changes their mind; and people's motivations are often more complicated than "I read a tweet from a Russian GRU agent pretending to be a disaffected POC activist and it made me want to vote Trump."
Still, even more above-board uses of AI often fail at basic tests of competence. One study found that leading AI tools offer wrong information about Donald Trump and Kamala Harris about 30 percent of the time. Elon Musk has been sharing false AI-generated material about Harris as if it were real (or funny, by his juvenile standards). This week he post a fake photo of Kamala Harris wearing a red Communist uniform. "Kamala vows to be a communist dictator on day one," wrote Musk. "Can you believe she wears that outfit!?"
No, we don't. And let's hope others don't either.
MORE STORIES TO WATCH
Let's Check In On RFK Jr.'s Crazy Ballot Access Scheme
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s name will stay on the Michigan ballot, according to a judge's ruling. After qualifying for the Michigan ballot in April – not always easy for an independent candidate – RFK now wants his name scotched from the ballot in order to try to tilt the swing state to his new liege lord, Donald Trump. That is not allowed under Michigan election law, according to Judge Christopher Yates. “Elections are not just games, and the Secretary of State … is not obligated to honor the whims of candidates for public office,” wrote Judge Yates.
In North Carolina, billionaire Mark Cuban helped fund a lawsuit that got RFK and Cornel West on the ballot in the first place. But now that RFK is trying to tilt North Carolina for Trump, he wants off. Cuban doesn't seem keen on helping out this time. “I don’t feel bad that he can’t get off the ballot,” he wrote.
Biden Is Now Negotiating Without Bibi
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been undeterred – if not emboldened – by mass street protests in Israel against his refusal to sign a ceasefire agreement. Criticism of Netanyahu has been much sharper in the Israeli media than in the American press. Israeli politician Benny Gantz said that Netanyahu had "lost his way," creating a "dangerous" situation.
The Biden administration now appears to be negotiating with Hamas and with Qatari and Egyptian mediators – but without the good-faith participation of Israel. There are still American hostages in Gaza, and leading Democratic politicians have wrung their hands over the heinous Palestinian death toll. But the Biden administration refuses to limit weapon shipments or do anything substantial to change the Israeli government's behavior.
Meanwhile, in what amounts to a symbolic act, US federal prosecutors announced charges against Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and five other high-level officials in the militant group. While the accused are unlikely to see an American courtroom, the complaint includes some potentially new information about Hamas Oct. 7 attack, including the number of Americans killed: 43.
QUICKEST QUICKIES
- Former Kathy Hochul Aide Arrested For Being a Chinese Agent Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, was charged with acting as a foreign agent for the Chinese government, visa fraud, money laundering, and other crimes. Sun helped shape China policy for the governor, churned out fake gubernatorial certificates of appreciation for Chinese notables, and performed other political favors. In return, she and her husband received millions in clandestine payments and business deals, according to prosecutors. via CNN.
- Phoenix Marks 100 Straight Days With 100 Degree Temps The temperature has reached 100-plus degrees in Phoenix for the last 100 days. Some nights it doesn't get below 90 degrees. The heat crisis is already having profound effects on how people live, work, and sleep, and Phoenix is on the blistering frontlines. via AP News.
- Tucker Carlson Interviewed a Holocaust Revisionist Former Fox News goon Tucker Carlson interviewed Darryl Cooper, a historian and podcaster who has been described as a "Holocaust revisionist" and a "Nazi apologist." Cooper thinks that Churchill started World War 2, Hitler wanted peace, and the Holocaust was essentially a wartime oopsie. Elon Musk, of course, called the interview "very interesting" and "worth watching." via The Daily Beast. Haaretz, and Elon Musk/X.
- Louisiana Law Deprives New Mothers of An Essential Drug The state of Louisiana is rescheduling misoprostol, a drug widely used to treat postpartum hemorrhages, as a "controlled dangerous substance." Because of restrictions introduced by the new classification, some hospitals are removing the drug from medical carts. Doctors fear that a life-saving medication will become a casualty of Republicans' relentless war on reproductive rights. via Louisiana Illuminator.
SOME NUMBER
$278.9 billion
That's how much value chip giant Nvidia lost yesterday when its stocked dropped 9.5 percent in one day. In just a couple of years, Nvidia rode the crypto and AI bubbles to become one of the most important semiconductor companies in the world, with a market cap around $2.65 trillion. Only a handful of tech companies and oil firm Saudi Aramco are in the trillionaire class. Practically every company involved in AI buys Nvidia chips – or feels like they have to in order to compete. That's why Nvidia is now being investigated by the Department of Justice, which is looking into antitrust violations. Whenever this AI bubble pops, Nvidia and the tech companies that have spent billions on its products will have a long way to fall.
ON THE SHOW TODAY
9/4: It’s Hump Day!
DON'T MISS MR CLIPS
Ben Shapiro Clone Reaches Nuclear Levels of Cringe Over RFK/Trump
It really is remarkable how much she looks like her boss.
Uncovering Settler Terrorism In West Bank
Journalist Jasper Nathaniel joined the show to talk about his reporting on Israel's system of apartheid in the occupied Palestinian territory.
PARTING WORDS
"It was Hamas terrorists who pulled the trigger, but it was Netanyahu who sealed their fate. The prime minister likes to think of himself as Mr. Security, but he will go down in history as Mr. Death and Mr. Abandonment, written in the hostages' blood."
-- From a staff editorial in Ha'aretz, the liberal-left Israeli newspaper. Netanyahu's war policies and intransigence over a ceasefire have been widely criticized by Israelis for dooming the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
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