AI agents aren't being adopted because they're unreliable and can't be trusted. The tech just sucks. #AI www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/...

Of course tech CEOs are hyping AI's job-killing power but their claims were always more about marketing than reality. New research confirms the hype is, once again, way overblown. #AI #AIBubble www.ft.com/content/c9f9...

The adults aren't all right: Suicide has overtaken cancer as the leading cause of death for South Koreans in their 40s. A grim first. #SouthKorea www.scmp.com/week-asia/he...

A new report finds Apple's supply chain still relies on a “vast, disposable workforce” with poor conditions at a key Foxconn factory. The US-China trade war adds uncertainty as Apple shifts production to India, creating order volatility. #Apple #China www.ft.com/content/41f7...

As costs continue to fall, Chinese solar panels are powering Africa's future at a record pace, with imports surging over 60% to more than 15,000MW, a major boon for the continent's development. #RenewableEnergy #China #Africa www.scmp.com/news/china/d...

China not only uses more factory robots than the rest of the world combined, but it's also become the top maker, producing a third of the global supply. This dual strategy cements its manufacturing dominance. #Robotics #China www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/b...

I chatted with the @financialtimes.com about my writing, the podcast, tech criticism, and being myself. archive.is/2025.09.25-0...

Selling its massive ETF and REIT holdings, even slowly, will still dampen prices, revealing the lasting market distortion from the Bank of Japan's unnecessary corporate welfare. #BoJ #Japan billmitchell.org/blog/?p=62794

Le vibe shift 💅

Despite US tariffs, Beijing's trade surplus soars as it pivots to new buyers, proving its export engine remains unstoppable. #Trade #China www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

China’s launching its own ‘Stargate’ to beat the US at AI. Pro tip: just make sure yours actually exists. #AI #PR www.ft.com/content/31b8...

Let's see if the EU's backbone is as strong as its banking lobby when the U.S. tariff threats start rolling in. #DigitalSovereignty #EU www.ft.com/content/6596...

Mirroring similar laws already in place in France and China, South Korea’s new nationwide classroom smartphone ban aims to curb tech addiction and boost student focus. Good luck! #Education #SouthKorea www.scmp.com/week-asia/li...

A major step in the semiconductor independence race. Chinese regulators have banned the country’s biggest technology companies from buying Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips, claiming domestic alternatives are now competitive. #AI #China www.ft.com/content/12ad...

“Inference costs are going down!” they said. Replit bills, now a horror film plot twist, beg to differ. #AI www.theregister.com/2025/09/18/r...

Landmark paper reveals how they built the market-shaking R1 model for just $300,000. 🤯 The secret? Pure reinforcement learning. #AI www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Both in Central Asia and Africa, China is rapidly expanding its economic footprint by investing in infrastructure, technology, and energy sectors, and by becoming a key trade partner for developing regions, actively promoting the use of the renminbi in trade, especially in Africa. #China #IR

Yeah, this is nuts. Is it peak bubble? Not even close. We can do a lot worse. #AI #AIBubble www.wsj.com/business/ope...

LLMs can extract data and visualize trends but fail at financial forecasting and nuanced analysis. Productivity boosters maybe, not financial analyst replacements. #AI #Finance www.ft.com/content/893c...

Apple is the only tech giant being smart about AI (after some notable stumbles), and I will die on this hill.

Are we sleepwalking into a nuclear crisis? Global nuclear risks are increasing due to rising geopolitical tensions, arms races, and the breakdown of diplomatic channels. #Geopolitics #War https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/09/10/world/nuclear-picture-grows-darker/

“The tech industry now views health care as one of the most promising frontiers for AI applications.” What could go wrong? https://restofworld.org/2025/ai-chatbot-china-sick/ #AI

AI adoption has been declining among companies with more than 250 employees. Maybe the hype is starting to meet reality. (One can always hope.) #AI #AIBubble https://www.apolloacademy.com/ai-adoption-rate-trending-down-for-large-companies/

Until now, if you lost or broke your phone, your Signal message history was *gone,* a real challenge for everyone whose most important conversations happen in Signal. So, with careful design and development, we’re rolling out opt-in secure backups. signal.org/blog/introducing-secure-backups

A fascinating and well-researched piece on the vulnerabilities of global timekeeping systems—like GPS—and how nations are urgently developing quantum clocks and ground-based backups to prevent disruptions to finance, power, and communications. #GNSS www.ft.com/content/7e04...

Smart move by ASML—a cost-effective entry into AI which strengthens its regional supply chain and strategic independence. #AI #Europe #TechSovereignty www.ft.com/content/98e7...

As Richard Murphy says, stablecoins are essentially a rebranded version of shadow banking, combining cronyism with systemic risk. www.ft.com/content/445e...

With AI spending currently acting as a massive private sector stimulus program, an AI crash would be very painful and not just for investors and tech giants. #AIBubble #AI www.theatlantic.com/economy/arch...

‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ is easily the best manga I'm reading right now. Its blend of horror, mystery, grief and the fear of not belonging is unsettling and masterfully done. #manga #anime www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

Please keep buying. Acknowledge the risk but still push optimism—classic bubble-era rationalization. When the AI bubble bursts, these "balanced" takes will look absurd. #AIBubble fortune.com/2025/09/05/a...

OpenAI: “We're losing billions!” Investors: “So you're saying there's room for growth?” #AI #AIBubble www.theinformation.com/articles/ope...

Despite its somewhat hysterical tone, the article’s key points are largely accurate. Max is designed to boost state control over digital communication and infrastructure while reducing reliance on foreign services. It is also a tool for citizen surveillance and control. www.ft.com/content/b406...

Nous republions une tribune concernant les annonces du gouvernement visant à légaliser la reconnaissance faciale en temps réel. Une technologie de surveillance incompatible avec la défense de formes de vie démocratique. www.laquadrature.net/2025/09/04/l...

Why all the fuss about stablecoins? Cryptocurrencies are no currencies. They’re not even financial assets—there’s no identifiable issuer or legal liability. They’re purely speculative assets. #stablecoins www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2...

Russia’s self-portrayal as a bastion of conservative values is the saddest thing ever. #Russia www.ft.com/content/7ef6...

SCO is pushing to create its own financial system to break free from the dollar but faces hurdles like low trade among members and the threat of Western sanctions. Building real economic unity is the next big challenge. #SCO #Geopolitics vz.ru/economy/2025...

DeepSeek, BYD, Xiaomi, even Labubu—China's brands are on the rise but, as the article notes, “if brand is the promise, then execution is the proof.” www.scmp.com/opinion/chin...

The author's idea for a purely legal solution feels a bit like a pipe dream—geopolitics will always play a role—but he's right about the stakes. Finding ways to cooperate, even imperfect ones, means better outcomes for everyone involved. #SouthChinaSea www.scmp.com/opinion/chin...

Russia could win the drone war by year's end. Despite Ukraine's early tech lead, Russia's systemic approach—mass production and operator targeting—has erased Ukraine's advantage. #Ukraine vz.ru/society/2025...

South Korea’s falling birth rate is weakening its military. Tech investments help, but Ukraine’s dire situation shows manpower is crucial. Also, fully staffed frontline units are better than a large, hollow force. www.scmp.com/week-asia/he... #ROK #Ukraine

Collect, train, monetize—AI companies are building data collection tools disguised as browsers. proton.me/blog/ai-brow...

Expending carefully husbanded and scarce resources in the pursuit of operationally inconsequential objectives—the foolishness of Ukraine’s offensive into Kursk is now obvious to everyone. www.ft.com/content/a22f... #Ukraine #War #Russia

US geopolitical concerns over China's dominance in the solar and battery supply chain are hindering the clean energy transition for the country and its allies. www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/... #ClimateChange #EnergyTransition #Japan

1/3 China's commerce minister will travel to Europe in April for discussions about the European Commission's investigation into whether China's electric vehicle industry has benefited from unfair subsidies. www.reuters.com/business/aut...

Driven by increased consumer demand, import substitution, and the development of the defense industry, economic activity in Russia has surpassed the level achieved before the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

The Crimes They Are a-Changin' scheerpost.com/2024/03/28/t...

China has made a significant advancement in wind energy, reducing the cost of installed wind turbines to one-fifth of that in the US, solidifying China’s place as a global leader in renewable energy.

A quarter of electric vehicles sold in the EU this year will be made in China. Chinese-branded EVs alone are set to account for 11% of the EU's EV market in 2022, rising to 20% by 2027. “Tariffs won’t shield legacy carmakers for long,” she says. No, they won’t.

The Truss effect—the new argument used by elites to claim that governments must “appease financial markets” or face currency destruction and rising bond yields. Le tournant de la rigueur all over again and still far from convincing.

The DPRK's actions in the past three months—including escalating threats towards South Korea and the US, revisions to the constitution and ongoing military exercises with new weaponry—raise concerns about global stability.