Reject non-understanding. Slop grenades are not just code and PRs. We run a real risk that *reading* gets entirely discounted, because of the exhaustion of getting low-quality and unverified AI prose being thrown at you all the time. There's a thread going viral about a 'perf improvement' attributed to a compiler change. The PR *description* itself has the AI telling this person it's *not* due to the compiler change, it's how the algorithms and data structures have changed. And the implication is that a similar win could have been attained otherwise. I want AI in the service of understanding the universe and enhancing human cognition and creativity.

WOLF Financial is running a 2-week stock-picking competition on WSE partner @GameStockHQ with a $1,000 prize pool. Top 10 finishers win $100 each. You’ll need to enter before the market opens Monday. If you’re interested, you can sign up here:

A pandemic declaration can stall. The infrastructure behind it can endure. Yesterday, the United States opposed a UN pandemic preparedness declaration as the meeting ended without consensus. A month earlier, I published Endless Pandemics as a Failed Global Governance Model, examining a deeper question: Who holds the institutions of pandemic governance accountable—and what ensures emergency powers actually end? The paper traces the overlapping roles of international agencies, private funding, surveillance networks, and emergency law—and explains why withdrawing from one institution does not automatically unwind the wider system. This week’s diplomatic rupture makes those questions more urgent. Preparedness needs accountability. Emergency powers need enforceable limits. Public health needs room for public scrutiny. Read the paper: The latest development:

$AAPL HIT WITH RECORD $5.7B PATENT VERDICT A federal jury found Apple’s Taptic Engine, used for haptic feedback in iPhones and Apple Watches, infringed two Taction patents. Taction first sued Apple in 2021. Reuters says it’s the largest U.S. patent verdict to date. Apple denies using Taction’s technology and could ultimately have to pay more than $5.7B, though it says it will appeal.

Trump said Saturday he rejected Iran's latest proposal, passed to US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at indirect talks in New York this week: " "They have made a proposal and I rejected it." Source: Axios