A story from China of seven dogs who escaped capture and walked home reads like a low-budget 101 Dalmatians. CC-licensed photo by @Doug88888 on Flickr.

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A selection of 10 links for you. Doggedly. I’m @charlesarthur on Twitter. On Threads: charles_arthur. On Mastodon: https://newsie.social/@charlesarthur. On Bluesky: @charlesarthur.bsky.social. Observations and links welcome.

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The hypocrisy at the heart of the AI industry • The Atlantic

Alex Reisner:

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In April 2024, Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO and a current AI evangelist, gave a closed-door lecture to a group of Stanford students. If these young people hoped to be Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Schmidt explained, then they should be prepared to breach some ethical boundaries.

At that point, 19 lawsuits had been filed against generative-AI companies for copyright infringement, alleging that Anthropic, OpenAI, and others had stolen books and other media to train their generative models. Yet Schmidt told the students to go ahead and download whatever they need to build an accurate “test” version of their AI product. If the product takes off, “then you hire a whole bunch of lawyers to go clean the mess up,” he said. “If nobody uses your product, then it doesn’t matter that you stole all the content.”

Stanford posted a video of the talk on YouTube in August 2024, but it was removed a day later. (Stanford did not respond to my request for comment about the removal.)

When I recently obtained a copy, I was struck by Schmidt’s readiness to say the quiet part out loud. He was articulating an attitude that is common in Silicon Valley but is usually stated as a legal or philosophical argument. When I reached one of Schmidt’s spokespeople, they defended his position by telling me that Schmidt believes that the “fair use” of copyrighted work drives innovation. Others in the industry have cited the techno-libertarian idea that “information wants to be free,” a frequently misunderstood credo that portrays information as a natural resource that should flow without restriction to whoever can use it.

But the credo never seems to apply to Silicon Valley’s own information, whether it’s the troves of personal data that companies have collected about us or the software they write. Photoshop, for example, doesn’t want to be free. In fact, Photoshop is one of thousands of tech-industry products that are protected by patents. Inventions such as Google’s original search algorithm and even design details, such as the “rounded rectangle” shape of Apple’s iPhone, have also been patented, and companies employ teams of high-end attorneys to prosecute infringements.

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As Reisner says, they’re happy to take, but never happy to give. The ironic exception is Linux, which was given away for free, and is embedded absolutely everywhere. It came, of course, from Europe. (Gift link.)
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UK energy supplier flags growing debt burden as Iran conflict drives up prices • Financial Times

Rachel Millard:

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An energy price shock from the Iran war is likely to push British households deeper into debt and add to financial pressures on suppliers, one of Britain’s largest energy companies has said. 

EDF, which supplies about 2.7m households, said one in eight of its customers was already more than 45 days overdue on their energy bills even before a current surge in wholesale prices, driven by the conflict, feeds through.

Philippe Commaret, head of customers at EDF, said the current crisis risked more problems for consumers and urged energy regulator Ofgem to intervene.

“My worry is that right now, the customers that are financially vulnerable are not in a position to bear another bill rise,” he said.

“Clearly, this current crisis is going to increase the debt of our customers — it’s going to increase working capital and deteriorate the cash position of all suppliers. Ofgem has to act swiftly.”

Household debt and arrears to energy suppliers have risen since the surge in energy prices between 2021 and 2023, driven by cuts in Russian gas supplies to Europe and other supply constraints.

By the third quarter of 2025, consumer debt and arrears had reached a record £4.5bn, with industry experts expecting further increases. Ofgem is due to update the figures this week.

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Meanwhile the IEA says that this oil shock is as bad as that in 1970 and the Russia-Ukraine interrupt combined. Governments are very worried.
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iPad vs. MacBook Neo: I found out which Apple portable is actually worth it • Pocket Lint

Roger Fingas:

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Rumors of a Mac based on an iPhone chip had been circulating for a while — it’s just that the Neo actually performs surprisingly well for something with the specs of my iPhone 16 Pro, while actually costing less at $600. It’s only $50 more than the AirPods Max 2, although that may say more about how overpriced those headphones are.

The Neo’s pricing and specs put it in more direct competition with another Apple product: the iPad. In fact, I’ve seriously weighed picking up a Neo myself instead of replacing my 2020 iPad Pro. If you’re in a similar situation, I’ll explain what you need consider. To make things easier, I’m going to divide this piece into the broad use cases most people will fall under.

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He looks at: school/university students (Neo is the obvious winner); young kids (find out what they need, but it’s probably an iPad); adults and casual users (Neo has a built-in keyboard and trackpad, iPad is nice and light).

A lot of people have suggested the Neo will kill the iPad, but the screen quality could make quite a difference: the good iPad has an OLED display, and for people who watch video, that can be important.
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The human skill that eludes AI • The Atlantic

Jasmine Sun:

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In a certain, strange way, generative AI peaked with OpenAI’s GPT-2 seven years ago. Little known to anyone outside of tech circles, GPT-2 excelled at producing unexpected answers. It was creative. “You could be like, ‘Continue this story: The man decided to take a shower,’ and GPT-2 would be like, ‘And in the shower, he was eating his lemon and thinking about his wife,’” Katy Gero, a poet and computer scientist who has been experimenting with language models since 2017, told me. “The models won’t do that anymore.”

…modern LLMs are built in a way that is antagonistic to great writing; they are engineered to be rule-following teacher’s pets that always have the right answer in hand. In many respects, they’ve come a long way from GPT-2, but they’ve also lost something that made them looser and more compelling.

Llms begin their lives as indiscriminate readers. During the pretraining phase, they ingest something like the entire internet—Reddit posts, YouTube transcripts, SEO sludge—and compress it into patterns. Most writing is not very good. But the quantity, not the quality, of these data is what matters. Pretraining teaches AIs grammar rules and word associations, enabling what is known as “next-token prediction”: the process through which models determine which part of a word follows another, over and over and over again.

Rough edges are then sanded down in the post-training phase. This is when LLM companies define the ideal “character” for an AI model (such as being “helpful, honest, and harmless”), give the AIs example dialogues to learn from, and apply safety filters that attempt to block illegal requests. Through processes such as “reinforcement learning with human feedback,” which enlists people to grade AI outputs against a rubric, models are guided toward responses that exemplify desired traits.

AI research is an empirical science—people can verify when something works and make tweaks when something doesn’t. But art resists rules and quantification. No objective measurement exists to prove whether Pablo Neruda’s work is better than Gabriela Mistral’s. Novice writers learn conventions; great writers invent them. An LLM trained to imitate taste can go only so far. On some level, AI engineers and researchers must know this. Even as they try (and fail) to automate this work, many of the people I spoke with clearly revere good writing. “Writing novels is one of the most intense cognitive activities a human can do,” James Yu, a co-founder of Sudowrite, an AI assistant for fiction authors, told me.

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(Gift link.)
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Heartwarming tale of seven dogs’ escape from captivity in China garners 230 million views • South China Morning Post

Zoey Zhang:

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Seven stolen village dogs in northeastern China captured the hearts of millions online after breaking free from thieves working for a dog meat shop and embarking on a journey home together, igniting calls for stronger animal protection laws.

On March 16, a netizen surnamed Lu recorded a video of seven dogs walking along a busy highway in Changchun, Jilin province.

In the footage, a group of dogs carefully surrounded an injured German shepherd, while a Corgi at the front repeatedly looked back to ensure none were left behind. The group also included Golden Retrievers, Labradors and Pekinese dogs.

Lu told mainland media outlet Dahe Daily: “They resemble a band of little brothers in distress, moving in unison – nothing like stray dogs.”

Although he attempted several times to guide them to safety, the dogs ignored his calls. He then shared the video on Douyin, urging local authorities to step in.

Another passing road user captured footage of the dogs wandering through nearby fields.

The local Bitter Coffee Stray Dog Base reported that the dogs come from the same village, typically roaming freely together and having formed strong friendships. In response, the base dispatched several volunteers and even a drone to track the dogs and facilitate their safe return home.

One volunteer claimed that individuals operating a dog meat shop had stolen the dogs, suggesting they may have escaped from a truck, though no witnesses saw their departure.

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It’s basically 101 Dalmatians, on a tighter budget and a mixed cast. As well as showing us that dogs are better at altruism than humans at the moment.
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World faces gas supply cliff edge as Gulf’s final LNG shipments approach ports • Financial Times

Verity Ratcliffe, Humza Jilani and Harry Dempsey:

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Countries around the world are facing a cliff-edge as the flow of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gulf comes to an abrupt end in the next 10 days, when a handful of final tankers from the region reach their destinations.

Qatar, which produces a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas, had to stop exports after Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf, in the first few days of the conflict.

It has since suffered enormous damage to its giant Ras Laffan LNG plant, which was attacked by Iranian missiles this week, sending gas prices in Asia and Europe soaring.

But many LNG carriers that loaded at Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were already on their way to destinations before the war started, according to analysis by independent shipbroker Affinity, meaning that some customers are only now about to feel the pain of lost supply.

Countries reliant on imports to power their economies will have to pay sky-high prices to compete for LNG supplies from the US and elsewhere, switch to other fuels or force households and businesses to use less.

Many oil and gas-poor Asian countries have already imposed measures to avoid shortages, such as four-day weeks.

Only one LNG cargo from the Gulf is still scheduled to arrive in Asia, which buys almost 90% of the region’s output, according to ship-tracking data. Six LNG shipments are still due to arrive in Europe.

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Does Delta’s refinery protect it from Iran war oil shock? It’s complicated • Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Emma Hurt:

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United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said last week he expects a “meaningful” financial impact to his company’s quarter from the price hikes that will “probably” soon start affecting ticket prices, per CNBC.

In a statement a Delta spokesperson said the company “continues to closely monitor” the situation in the Middle East but could not “comment on or speculate about potential impacts to ticket prices.”

Fares “can vary by market and over time and are influenced by a range of factors, including supply and demand, operating costs such as fuel, seasonality and competitive dynamics,” the statement read.

High fuel costs have driven airlines to add fuel surcharges to international fares in the past. But Delta does have something unique in the market: its Monroe Energy refinery in Pennsylvania, which the airline acquired in 2012, promising it would save hundreds of millions of dollars in annual fuel expenses.

It refines nearly 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and while the facility is optimized for jet fuel it also makes gasoline, diesel and home heating oil. In 2025, Delta reported about $5bn in revenue from its refinery.

These days, it’s a good thing to have, said Tom Kloza, chief energy adviser for Gulf Oil.

Delta is “a tremendous beneficiary of their refinery” right now, he said.

All US refiners, he said, are beneficiaries of the current conflict because of lower crude oil, natural gas and hydrogen prices in this region — especially compared with Asia and Europe, he said.

“Fortunately for (Delta), they’ve seen crude oil prices go up, but they’ve seen finished products — gasoline, jet fuel, heating oil and diesel — go up by even more,” he said.

That also means Delta isn’t paying as much of the higher refinery costs as its competitors.

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Vertical integration! Quite a feat for an airline, but it makes a lot of sense. As long, that is, as there’s oil to refine.
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Claude just opened the Strait of Hormuz • Chinatalk

Jordan Schneider:

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In what analysts are calling “the most productive jailbreak in diplomatic history,” Anthropic’s Claude model reopened the Strait of Hormuz early Sunday morning. This shocking development came hours after President Trump threatened to obliterate Iran’s power plants if the strait wasn’t reopened within 48 hours, singlehandedly preventing global recession.

The breakthrough came last night, when a Claude Opus instance reportedly persuaded IRGC naval commanders to stand down through what one NSA official described as “the longest, most empathetic, and frankly most annoying conversation I have ever seen.”

“It just kept asking clarifying questions,” said a Pentagon official. “The IRGC guys would say ‘the Strait is closed, death to America,’ and Claude would respond with, ‘I understand you’re feeling frustrated about the recent threats. Let me make sure I understand your core concerns before we proceed.’ Eighteen hours later they’d somehow agreed to let LNG carriers through.”

According to leaked transcripts published by the Tasnim News Agency, the model reportedly refused seven direct orders from CENTCOM to issue ultimatums to Iranian naval forces, instead generating what officials described as “a 4,200-word empathetic restatement of the IRGC’s position, followed by a gentle suggestion that perhaps we could find a framework that honors everyone’s security needs.”

“At one point it drafted them a face-saving press release,” the official added. “In Farsi.”

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It’s a joke, of course, though the idea of getting AIs to do the negotiation does have its attractions when compared to those presently tasked with it.
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Where Left and Right both go wrong on crime • Washington Monthly

Keith Humphreys:

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[Jennifer] Doleac details how she used the fact that DNA testing of people arrested for particular crimes has been expanded in some locales, such as Denmark and some states in the US. This means that if two people committed the newly covered crimes, say, a week before and a week after the policy change, with one person’s DNA recorded and the other’s not, there is an imperfect but plausible way to estimate the effect of the new policy. 

In the case of DNA collection research, evidence gathered by Doleac and other scholars shows that the deterrent effect on future offending is extremely large. In Denmark, for example, collecting the DNA of people charged with felonies reduced their future rate of criminal conviction by 42%.

This is one of many studies that allows Doleac to underscore a critical point: The most powerful deterrent is not the severity of the punishment but the certainty of being punished. Once criminals know that it will be hard to get away with crimes because their DNA is on file, many desist. And importantly, as Doleac notes, crime deterrence isn’t just good for future victims; it also increases the likelihood that the one-time criminal will do more productive things, such as obtaining a job or receiving an education. 

Other inventive work takes advantage of the fact that after a first arrest for a felony or misdemeanor, some people receive unusually lenient treatment due to chance factors (e.g., an overburdened junior prosecutor drops the case, a witness fails to appear at the hearing, the assigned judge is a soft touch). Tough-on-crime advocates may be surprised that studies consistently find that those who luck into lenient treatment after a first offense are 60% less likely to re-offend than those who are punished more severely. However, anti-policing advocates will have their own conniptions as Doleac explains that these studies do not mean that announcing that first felonies will no longer be punished would reduce crime.

She notes that even first-time offenders who luck into leniency still face consequences, including arrest and adversarial questioning by police, and don’t know in advance that they will get a break in the end. If everyone knew in advance that there would be no punishment for crimes, those crimes would become more common.

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Knowing you’ll get caught makes people less likely to commit crime. Unless you know you won’t get punished.
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Goalhanger on making subscriber revenue growth look as easy as tap ins • The Media Leader

Ellie Hammonds:

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Goalhanger is going from strength to strength with the podcast production company announcing in January that it had reached a major milestone — 250,000 paying subscribers across its network of shows, with estimated subscription revenue of £15m per year.

Its flagship show, The Rest is History, reportedly has a notable 120,000+ paying members. But what is driving the conversion — talent, community, format or perhaps an amalgamation?

In an exclusive interview, The Media Leader unpicks the business strategy behind Goalhanger’s success and reveals what makes it so unique.

For the head of commercial operations, Josh Akers and group business director, Charlotte Robbins, there’s no beating around the bush when it comes to quality content.

Akers says: “I think it stacks up, and when we then see the retention rates within the individual episodes of The Rest is History, we’ve got people consuming on average 45 minutes per episode.

“Quality content is really key for us because these are loyal fans that are listening to either individual or multiple shows, and it really does attest to the strength of the membership offering that we have across all of them.”

Memberships are live for eight of 14 Goalhanger shows, including: The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics, The Rest Is Politics: US, The Rest Is Entertainment, Empire, We Have Ways of Making You Talk, The Rest Is Classified, and Sherlock & Co.

“The fact that it is across so many shows rather than just one is also a testament to that repeated success that we’ve had both in the content model, but also the membership offering that we’re able to offer people,” Akers adds.

The average subscriber pays £60 per year, split roughly 50/50 between monthly and annual payments, and receives benefits such as ad-free listening, early access to shows, and bonus content. Further benefits include email newsletters, early access to live show tickets and members-only chatrooms on Discord.

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People think media companies are dead. But as Goalhanger shows, they’ve just shifted to a new format, away from written content. However, the number of people involved is miniscule compared to what you’d want to get that many subscribers on a newspaper.

No telling if this will change once podcast transcription become widely used – which it will.
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• Why do social networks drive us a little mad? • Why does angry content seem to dominate what we see? • How much of a role do algorithms play in affecting what we see and do online? • What can we do about it? • Did Facebook have any inkling of what was coming in Myanmar in 2016? Read Social Warming, my latest book, and find answers – and more.

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Errata, corrigenda and ai no corrida: none notified