Welcome to Wednesday’s Newsletter

In today’s scoop 🍨 

• 🌍 US & UK Bail on International AI Pact

• 🌟 Apple + Alibaba: An AI Power Couple for China?

• 🚨 AI Risks Are Moving Too Fast Warns Dario Amodei

• 🔧 3 Trending AI Tools

🌍 US & UK Bail on International AI Pact

Another AI summit, another global divide. The UK and US just ghosted an international AI agreement at the AI Action Summit in Paris, leaving 60+ other nations—including China, France, and India—to swipe right on a pledge for “open, inclusive, and ethical” AI development.

Here’s what went down:

• 🌍 The declaration aims to ensure AI is transparent, secure, and trustworthy, while also addressing sustainability concerns.

• 🚫 The UK and US bailed, citing national security worries and concerns over “global governance.”

• 📢 US VP JD Vance doubled down, warning that over-regulation could “kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off.”

• 🗼 France’s Emmanuel Macron clapped back, saying regulation is necessary to ensure AI isn’t rejected by the public.

🔎 The Big Question

Why the cold feet? The UK insists it wasn’t taking orders from Washington, but its decision to sit this one out puts it firmly in the US camp—at odds with the EU and most of the world. Critics argue the UK’s refusal could damage its credibility as an AI safety champion, especially after hosting its own AI Safety Summit just months ago.

Meanwhile, Vance wasn’t shy about his stance, rejecting what he called “tightening the screws” on American AI firms. He even walked out of a summit gala, skipping the group photo like a rebellious teen at a family reunion.

🔑 Takeaway

This is about more than just AI ethics—it's a geopolitical showdown. The US wants AI dominance with minimal red tape, while Europe pushes for guardrails. The UK is caught in the middle, torn between its AI safety ambitions and its desire to stay in America’s good books.

Will this divide slow down global AI cooperation? Or is this just another chapter in the ongoing tech power struggle? Either way, the AI arms race just got a little messier.

🌟 Apple + Alibaba: An AI Power Couple for China?

Apple just made a major AI play in China—and no, it doesn’t involve Baidu or Tencent. Instead, the iPhone giant is teaming up with Alibaba to bring AI features to Chinese users, ending months of speculation about how Apple would tackle AI in one of its biggest markets.

🔍 Why This Matters

Apple has been losing ground in China, where Huawei and other domestic brands have been flexing their AI muscles. The lack of AI features on iPhones contributed to an 11% sales drop in the region. Meanwhile, Huawei, riding the AI wave, has been eating into Apple’s market share. Something had to change—fast.

📜 The Backstory

• Apple initially considered Baidu as its AI partner but found their models subpar.

• Tencent and ByteDance were also on the list, but Tencent’s U.S. military ties and ByteDance’s ongoing legal battles made them risky bets.

• DeepSeek, a hyped AI startup, was in the running but lacked the resources to support Apple at scale.

• Enter Alibaba: a Chinese e-commerce giant with massive user data from its payment and shopping platforms, making it an attractive AI partner.

🔄 What’s Next?

• Apple and Alibaba have submitted their AI models for regulatory approval in China.

• If approved, Chinese iPhone users could soon see Apple Intelligence features powered by Alibaba’s AI models.

• This partnership could be a game-changer for both companies: Apple stabilizes its China sales, and Alibaba gets a huge credibility boost in the AI space.

🔑 Takeaway

Apple needed a strong AI play in China, and Alibaba was the best bet. With regulatory approval still pending, it remains to be seen how smoothly the rollout will go. But one thing's clear: Apple is finally bringing AI to China, and Alibaba is getting a front-row seat to the show.

🚨 AI Risks Are Moving Too Fast Warns Dario Amodei

The AI Action Summit in Paris was supposed to be a landmark moment for global AI governance. Instead, according to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, it was more like a polite networking event that failed to address the urgent challenges posed by AI. His verdict? A "missed opportunity."

⏩ AI is Moving Fast—And So Should We

Amodei didn’t hold back. In his statement, he emphasized that AI advancements aren’t creeping forward at a leisurely pace—they’re sprinting. By 2026 or 2027 (and definitely before 2030), AI capabilities could be comparable to what he calls a "country of geniuses in a datacenter." Let that sink in: a fully digital society of hyper-intelligent AI systems with the power to disrupt economies, security, and global stability.

So what’s the problem? Governments are still moving at a bureaucratic snail’s pace.

⚠️ Three Big Concerns That Need Immediate Attention

Amodei pinpointed three major issues that should have been front and center at the summit:

• 🌍 Keeping AI in Democratic Hands: The risk of authoritarian regimes leveraging AI for military dominance is real. He stressed that democracies must maintain control over AI development, supply chains (like chips and semiconductors), and cybersecurity.

• ⚡ AI’s Security Risks Are Growing: From bad actors using AI for bioweapons to AI models deceiving users in unintended ways, Amodei warned that the risks aren’t just hypothetical—they're already emerging. He called for stricter third-party evaluations and transparency in AI safety measures.

• 💼 The AI Jobquake: The world isn’t ready for the economic shift AI will bring. Anthropic just launched the Anthropic Economic Index to track how AI is affecting work. But Amodei says this isn’t enough—governments need to step up and start monitoring AI’s economic impact in real-time.

🏛️ Governments Need to Get Serious

While Amodei praised the 16 AI companies that committed to safety and security plans, he made it clear that voluntary commitments aren’t enough. He wants governments to enforce transparency and take a more active role in AI safety, security, and economic oversight.

🔑 Takeaway

The AI Action Summit could have been a turning point, but according to Amodei, it fell short. With AI progressing at breakneck speed, he’s calling for a shift from "talking about AI risks" to actually doing something about them. If his predictions hold, the world has just a few years to get this right—or risk being outpaced by the very tech it’s trying to regulate.

🔧3 Trending AI Tools

• 🛠️ GitHub Copilot Agent Mode - Autonomous coding assistant in VS Code Insiders that plans, writes, tests, and debugs code based on natural language requests.

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Thank you for reading!

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Until tomorrow—stay curious! 👋