28 h. ago If the best defence against AI is more AI, this could be tech’s Oppenheimer moment

An unsettling new book advocates a closer relationship between Silicon Valley and the US government to harness artificial intelligence in the name of national securityOscar Wilde’s quip, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life”, needs updating: replace “art” with “AI”. The Amazon page for Alexander C Karp and Nicholas W Zapiska’s new book, The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief and the Future of the West, also lists: a “workbook” containing “key takeaways” from the volume; a second volume on how the Karp/Zapiska tome “can help you navigate life”; and a third offering another “workbook” comprising a “Master Plan for Navigating Digital Age and the Future of Society”. It is conceivable that these parasitical works were written by humans, but I wouldn’t bet on it.Mr Karp, the lead author of the big book, is an interesting guy. He has a BA in philosophy from an American liberal arts college, a law degree from Stanford and a PhD in neoclassical social theory from G...

Politics

33 h. ago In this dangerous age, Britain needs to exert soft power as well as the hard stuff | Andrew Rawnsley

Defence spending has to go up, but siphoning money from international aid is a self-defeating follyShortly before he flew to Washington, Sir Keir Starmer turned up in the Commons, put on his sombre voice and declared: “Everything has changed.” One of the more startling transformations has been to Sir Keir himself. The Labour leader came to office thinking, as did most of those who voted for him, that he was going to be a domestically orientated prime minister with primary ambitions to improve living standards, build lots of homes and rejuvenate public services. That’s what “change”, his one-word election slogan, was supposed to be about. When he originally selected his overriding “five missions”, the defence of the realm didn’t make the cut.His central definition today is as a geopolitically focused prime minister who is promising to spend more on guns, missiles and warplanes and less on international aid. More British bullets will be purchased at the expense of succour to the impov...

Politics

3 d. ago Voices: Starmer had his best day as PM – that doesn’t mean he can trust Trump

Hand-delivering a red-sealed note from King Charles was an undeniable masterstroke of British soft power, says Jon Sopel – but in playing his royal Trump card, Keir Starmer must not believe he has done all he must do to win over the US president for good, says Jon Sopel

Politics

4 d. ago Cutting foreign aid will play into Putin’s hands, former minister warns Starmer

PM accused of abandoning ‘soft power’, four years after he spoke in its defence, by former deputy foreign secretary

Politics

5 d. ago Starmer’s cuts are a huge mistake – foreign aid is an investment, not an expense | Halima Begum

At the height of the cold war, the west advanced its soft power through aid and development spending. If we cut that now, who will fill the vacuum?Halima Begum is the chief executive of Oxfam GBThe savagely deep cuts that Keir Starmer has announced to the international aid budget make a mockery of the pledge his party made to the British people in its manifesto. Then, it promised to restore development spending at the level of 0.7% of gross national income “as soon as fiscal circumstances allow”. On Tuesday the prime minister stood in front of parliament and announced that he will cut it from 0.5% to 0.3% of GDP. In the same manifesto, Labour made a commitment to “rebuild Britain’s reputation on international development with a new approach based on genuine respect and partnership with the global south”. This week, the government turned its back on it.Of course, I understand the argument that defence spending has to be increased, but cutting our aid budget still further when governm...

Politics

8 d. ago What can Keir Starmer say at the White House that Donald Trump might listen to? | Andrew Rawnsley

The stakes couldn’t be higher and the risks couldn’t be greater when the prime minister visits Washington this weekFor British prime ministers, with their ideas about the world shaped by the histories of Churchill and Roosevelt, Maggie and Ronnie, and the rest of the folklore about the transatlantic alliance, the prospect of a visit to the White House usually causes tingles of excitement. One of our senior diplomats once offered me an explanation of the allure: “The red carpet is laid out, the national anthems are played, all that stuff is very seductive.” This will be customarily accompanied by ritualistic words about the importance and invincibility of the “special relationship”.Number 10 lobbied hard to get Sir Keir Starmer across the Atlantic early in the second term of Donald Trump and, until recently, Downing Street people were telling themselves that an encounter between the two men needn’t be a disaster and might even turn out to be a success. In the weeks since Trump’s re-e...

Politics

9 d. ago ‘There’s a bit of a damp spirit’: London fashion week opens to hard truths

Running for just four days, and with its influencer coverage dwarfed by New York and Paris, LFW needs British soft power and its prized creatives to bring some buzzBeneath the glitter and sequins and extra-long false eyelashes, the bald truth at London fashion week is of an industry overshadowed by the luxury might of Europe and the US. Many designers have closed their doors, or cannot afford to splash out on a show. At just four days long, London fashion week has shrunk to half the duration of the Paris shows.Cash is in short supply, but ambition and creativity are not. At SS Daley, the Harry Styles-backed brand whose trench coats are now sold at John Lewis, the show opened with the sound of Big Ben, included “Stay Faithfull to Marianne” sweaters in tribute to the late British style icon, and closed with a general clamour for selfies with front row guest of honour, the Amandaland actor Lucy Punch. Actor Debi Mazar took the stage for jewellery brand Completedworks, playing a televis...

Politics

1 week ago Canada’s ice hockey win over Trump’s America was her soft power laid bare | Colin Horgan

Trump can try to co-opt hockey. But Thursday showed that wherever where you’re from, when you step onto the ice, something about you will always be CanadianCanada beat US 3-2 on McDavid’s winner in overtimeCanadian anthem singer alters lyric in Trump protestIn pictures: Canada top US amid geopolitical tensionsIn a clip from ESPN sports talkshow Get Up that went viral last week, former National Hockey League player PK Subban weighed in on the differences between the culture in the NHL and NBA. Usually, comparing the two is a game of numbers: revenue, viewers, salaries, that kind of thing. But over the past 10 days, passion has emerged as a differentiator. “You can step on to an NBA floor and go through the motions,” Subban said on ESPN. “You can’t do that in hockey – you can’t. Like, the culture of our sport, you have to play it with passion. You have to be willing to fight. You have to be willing to leave it on the ice. That’s what fans are investing in.”That investment has paid off...

Politics