My main newsletter, Complex Machinery, includes a section called "In Other News..." It's where I list one-liners about interesting articles that didn't fit into any segments.

You can think of this list as a version of In Other News, but with a wider remit than Complex Machinery's "risk, AI, and related topics."

Above the fold

1. John Paulson (well, his hedge fund) was one of a handful of parties to successfully short the subprime mortgage market. A while back I asked who would be the John Paulson of the genAI era. Thanks to the growing number of short bets against that sector, we may soon find out. (Complex Machinery and Futurism, respectively)
2. As drug cartels surface new transit routes and methods, Europe faces a growing wave of cocaine shipments. (Financial Times)
3. We have no shortage of quick-hit economic indicators. One that is new to me, and which exhibits surprising depth, is the cost of a pint of ice cream. Some of which sell for $15. (CNN)
4. What is a "uni-context"? And why does it make sense of so much of today's hyperconnected world? (Derek Thompson)
5. There's a growing audience for offline, work-with-your-hands kinds of hobbies. They're not just practical; they can also help you push away the distractions of our 24/7 phones-and-notifications culture. (New York Times)
6. A recent Bloomberg piece shows how much the Cybertruck has in common with the auto industry's most famous flop, the Ford Edsel. (I bet someone will frame those charts.) (Bloomberg)
7. Some publishers consider flat-out removing their content from Google search to avoid getting mulched into the "AI Answers" overviews. (Gizmodo)

The rest of the best

Datacenters

• Meta has carved out a very sweet deal for its Hyperion datacenter in Louisiana … much to the surprise of locals. (New York Times)
• Datacenters may be required to partially power themselves, due to legislation that would cut their power to prevent blackouts elsewhere. (TechCrunch)
• This story is about a datacenter heist from more than a decade ago. It long predates genAI but the lessons still apply to today's facilities. (New York Times)

… and everything else

• Europe whacks Google with a record fine for alleged breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). (Les Echos 🇫🇷, New York Times)
• British Gas leadership cuts customer service jobs, claiming that customers prefer interacting with chatbots. (The Guardian)
• Art museums turn to data analysis techniques to shape exhibits and visitor flow. (Ars Technica)
• Britain is getting AI-enabled lampposts that may embed facial recognition and other controversial technologies. (The Guardian)
• A man served 18 months in prison because prosecutors missed an underscore in his username. (Ars Technica)
• Having recovered from that OpenAI model attack, model-hosting service Hugging Face rethinks its technology infrastructure. (The Register)

Did I miss anything?

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