Welcome back to this week’s edition of Lately, The Globe’s technology newsletter. Should you wish to provide feedback or engage with a real person, feel free to drop me an email.
In this week’s dispatch:
The Anthropic and Pentagon discourse
An exploration of Gen Z’s preference for anonymity
Live Nation faces legal scrutiny
Apple unveils its most economical laptop to date
The Anticipated Anthropic vs. Pentagon Debate
As artificial intelligence (AI) assumes an increasingly pivotal role in defense operations, startups in Silicon Valley are in a frantic bid to delineate the ethical usage of their formidable technologies in wartime scenarios.
Originally, many AI enterprises were launched under the ethos of achieving superintelligence while minimizing potential harm. Yet, the implications of utilizing such technologies for mass surveillance and autonomous warfare present profound ethical dilemmas.
This ethical quagmire resurfaced prominently during contentious negotiations concerning a revamped contract between Anthropic and the former Trump administration.
Founded by ex-OpenAI executives who departed over safety concerns, Anthropic staunchly opposes employing its innovations for mass surveillance and militarized applications.
In response to Anthropic’s steadfastness regarding its safety protocols, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth labeled the company as a “supply-chain risk to national security”—a characterization typically reserved for foreign adversaries—effectively prohibiting government entities from leveraging Anthropic’s offerings.
This situation presents a conundrum for the Pentagon, which has begun to rely heavily on Anthropic’s technologies.
Notably, mere days following Hegseth’s public remarks, the U.S. military employed an advanced targeting system, developed by Palantir and driven by Anthropic’s AI tool Claude, to execute a strike in Iran, as reported by The Washington Post.
Subsequently, negotiations between Anthropic and the Pentagon have recommenced, although the contours of a prospective agreement remain murky.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has been adamant regarding the firm’s stance; however, the loss of government contracts could have significantly detrimental financial repercussions for the startup.
Concurrently, the Pentagon finds itself in need of Claude, which has been integral to military operations, including notable missions like the apprehension of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
In a parallel development, OpenAI has formalized a new agreement with the Pentagon, wherein CEO Sam Altman asserts that specific provisions safeguard its AI against utilization for domestic surveillance and autonomous weaponry.
In an internal memo, Amodei asserted that his organization has refrained from offering “dictatorial commendations” to Trump—as per his critique of Altman, who has characterized former colleagues as adversaries.
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Pro-Iran ‘Hacktivists’ Pose New Threat
Cybersecurity analysts have issued a warning to Canadian entities and operators of essential infrastructure to be vigilant against incursions from pro-Iranian “hacktivists.”
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security has indicated that state-sponsored Iranian threat actors are expected to engage in cyber espionage targeting political activists, journalists, and human rights defenders within Canada.
Meanwhile, global cybersecurity organizations are raising alarms over a surge in cyberattacks linked to the ongoing conflict.
These assaults encompass an array of malicious activities, including phishing schemes, website defacements, and disinformation campaigns dubbed “hack-and-leak” operations.
The Enigma of Gen Z’s Pseudonymous Presence
For the initial generation nurtured in the era of social media, omnipresence has not fostered enhanced transparency; rather, it has engendered wariness.
The use of pseudonyms, temporary email accounts, finstas, and meticulously curated online personas has emerged as an essential survival strategy. In an insightful essay, writer and political researcher Radmila Yarovaya articulates that her peers navigate the digital realm with trepidation.
Gen Z is acutely conscious that their actions are everlasting, subject to scrutiny from employers and strangers alike; any misstep could be weaponized in the court of public opinion.
“Among the digitally savvy, a profound inclination towards semi-anonymity prevails—a preference for lurking over performance,” Yarovaya observes. Access the full essay here.
Adult Finances
MacBook Neo, starting at $799View this image in the gallery:
Apple has recently unveiled its most affordable laptop to date. The MacBook Neo is marketed as an entry-level laptop, priced significantly lower than the current MacBook Air—a return to the vibrant colors reminiscent of the iBook G3.
Weighing similarly to the Air, this device features a slightly thicker profile and boasts a 13-inch screen with a higher resolution than rival laptops within its price bracket.
However, there are caveats: The Neo operates on Apple’s A18 Pro chip—also utilized in the iPhone 16 Pro—comes equipped with merely 8 GB of RAM, and exhibits a shorter battery life than both the Air and MacBook Pro.
With the Neo, Apple aims to secure a foothold in the budget laptop market, which is currently dominated by Google Chromebooks and low-cost Microsoft alternatives.
Cultural Insights
The U.S. Justice Department initiates proceedings against Live Nation
This week, the antitrust trial against Live Nation commenced in a Manhattan federal courtroom. The U.S. Department of Justice argues that the concert promoter, which also owns Ticketmaster and numerous venues across North America, exercises undue influence over various segments of the live music landscape.
The DOJ contends that Live Nation has stifled competition throughout the industry, resulting in escalated fees for fans, diminished performance opportunities for artists, and the marginalization of smaller concert promoters.
In response, the company has dismissed these allegations, claiming that the government presented “merely a molehill” of evidence to substantiate claims of anti-competitive behavior.
As The Globe’s arts correspondent Brad Wheeler articulated, “this lawsuit represents one of the most significant legal clashes involving the music industry since the Recording Industry Association of America took on the original file-sharing platform Napster for copyright infringement in 1999.” Read his comprehensive analysis here.
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