Al Drago/ReutersUS President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at banning states from regulating AI.
Several state governments have tried to place guardrails on the technology, which the AI industry and the White House say creates a legal patchwork that hampers innovation.
But Congress has twice failed to pass a moratorium on state-level regulation. Trump’s order cannot override state laws, but directs federal agencies to circumvent them, The Verge reported.
It will almost certainly face legal challenges, NPR reported, and drew criticism from some Republicans trying to pass laws limiting children’s AI use.
The order will have the greatest impact on California, which passed a wide-ranging law in September and is home to many of the world’s largest AI firms.
More from Semafor Flagship
- IMF urges China to enact economic reforms
- Italian cuisine gets UNESCO ‘intangible heritage’ status
- Reddit sues Australia over social media ban for children
- Ivory Coast seeks US help to fight jihadists
- US, Japan conduct joint military drills in boost for Tokyo
- Ukraine could cede land for peace deal
The head of the International Monetary Fund this week urged Chinese authorities to address economic imbalances, adding to criticism that Beijing weakens its currency to benefit its exporters.
The EU Chamber of Commerce noted recently that the renminbi had fallen to its lowest in a decade against the euro, despite trade patterns that should have helped it appreciate, while Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients that the currency was around 25% undervalued and its strengthening was among the bank’s “highest conviction views.”
Even Chinese economists — typically loath to contradict Beijing — have argued that the renminbi needs to appreciate. “If this does not happen,” a Chatham House expert warned, “then protectionist sentiment in the West is likely to build.”
Italian cuisine gets UNESCO ‘intangible heritage’ status
A waiter in Rome. Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters.The UN declared Italian food an “intangible cultural heritage,” the first time a national cuisine has been awarded the status, which Rome hopes will help boost tourism and fight gastronomic “fakes.” UNESCO, the UN’s cultural arm, regularly names historic sites and artifacts as cultural property, physical examples of a society’s heritage: Examples include Stonehenge or the Pyramids of Giza. But it also endorses non-physical things such as traditional dances or religious rites. Specific foods — including Neapolitan pizza-making — have been included before, but never an entire national cuisine; Italy’s government campaigned for the move, in part to help it in an ongoing fight against “fake” Italian food. No doubt the nation will celebrate the decision with a can of Spaghettios.
Reddit sued Australia’s government over the country’s social media ban. Canberra enacted the world’s first social media age limit this week, blocking all under-16s’ accounts.
Reddit said that the law breached Australia’s constitution, which establishes freedom of political communication; a separate lawsuit from two Australian teens argues the same.
Other countries are watching Australia with great interest — partly to see if the lawsuits are successful, but also to see if the ban has the desired effect of safeguarding mental health.
Previous legal efforts, for example South Korean and Chinese laws banning video games at night, were found to be flops. Australia’s ban is a “natural experiment,” researchers wrote in Nature, and should be carefully observed.
Ivory Coast seeks US help to fight jihadists
Ivory Coast reportedly wants the US to station spy planes in the country to help it fight jihadists who have gained territory across much of West Africa in recent
Extremist groups, including some linked to al-Qaida, have turned the region into the world’s terrorism epicenter, forcing millions to flee and further destabilizing some of the world’s poorest regions.
Their territorial expansion has been aided by several regional countries breaking long-term security alliances with Western nations, replacing their assistance with help from Russia, which analysts say is a far weaker partner.
Some experts now fear that fighting between jihadi groups could turn West Africa into an “insurgency corridor” spanning 1,000 miles, Bloomberg reported.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty ImagesThe US and Japan conducted joint military drills, a symbolic boost for Tokyo, which is locked in a tense feud with Beijing.
Japan has accused China of stepping up naval activity in disputed waters, and has said it could get involved if Taiwan were threatened, remarks that triggered economic boycotts and efforts at defense intimidation by Beijing.
Japan has reportedly voiced frustration that the US has not offered its high-level support, and Washington may be changing its tune: The countries’ defense ministers agreed recently that China’s activities were “not conducive to regional peace,” while US jets — including two nuclear-capable bombers — took part in the drills and an American aircraft carrier docked at a Japanese port.
Ukraine could cede land for peace deal
Ukraine has reportedly agreed to make territorial concessions as part of a peace deal with Russia, a potential major step toward reviving a flagging US-backed proposal.
According to Le Monde, Kyiv and its European backers have accepted a US push for a demilitarized zone in its Donbas region: Washington had proposed that the territory be turned into a “special economic zone,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The Trump administration is pressuring Zelenskyy to accept a deal, while Moscow says that there are no longer any “misunderstandings” with Washington.
However, Zelenskyy remained skeptical that an agreement could be reached. “The final mile is the hardest. Everything could fall apart for many reasons,” he said.
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