DML News Morning Briefing, April 4th

Today is April 4. Below are some of the stories grabbing headlines this morning. I hope you share this briefing as doing so will make you the smartest person in the room.

1. How Trump’s date with history will play out: Former president will travel from Trump Tower penthouse to Manhattan courthouse for booking, fingerprints and historic hearing – then back to Mar-a-Lago for speech to decry case
Dailymail–A new chapter in American history will be written today when Donald Trump becomes the first former US president to appear in court facing criminal charges.

Trump’s unprecedented journey will begin when he departs his Trump Tower penthouse in Midtown Manhattan at around 10.30am – closely guarded by his Secret Service detail – for an 11am arrival at District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office downtown.

Ryan Lynch: Today is a dark day for the United States. An absolute witch hunt.

2. Trump arraignment: Judge denies motion to allow live cameras as former president faces criminal charges
Foxnews–A judge presiding over Donald Trump’s arraignment in a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday afternoon has denied a request from several media outlets to allow cameras to cover live courtroom proceedings, according to court documents.

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan said the court would allow a “limited number” of videographers, photographers and radio journalists to be present but denied the motion to allow photos or live video during the court session.

In his ruling, Judge Merchan said he considered “all relevant factors” — which included whether the camera coverage would “interfere with the fair administration of justice… with law enforcement activity, the objections of the Defendant; and limitations related to the physical structure of the courtroom” — but ultimately denied the motion.

Ryan Lynch: It’s good for Trump; there’s no need to allow CNN and CNBC to be filmed inside the court or for it to be broadcasted live for the entire world to see.

3. China warns US House Speaker not to meet Taiwan president
Reuters–China warned U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday not to “repeat disastrous past mistakes” by meeting Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, saying it would not help regional peace and stability, only unite the Chinese people against a common enemy.

The Republican McCarthy, the third-most-senior U.S. leader after the president and vice president, will host a meeting in California on Wednesday with Tsai, during a sensitive stopover in the United States that has prompted Chinese threats of retaliation.

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, staged war games around the island last August after then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, visited the capital, Taipei.

Ryan Lynch: Speaker McCarthy should meet with the Taiwan President. We shouldn’t cower to the Chinese. The U.S. needs to start showing it’s diplomatic strength before the rest of the world loses total faith in us.

4. AI could go ‘Terminator,’ gain upper hand over humans in Darwinian rules of evolution, report warns
FoxNews–Artificial intelligence could gain the upper hand over humanity and pose “catastrophic” risks under the Darwinian rules of evolution, a new report warns.

Evolution by natural selection could give rise to “selfish behavior” in AI as it strives to survive, author and AI researcher Dan Hendrycks argues in the new paper “Natural Selection Favors AIs over Humans.”

“We argue that natural selection creates incentives for AI agents to act against human interests. Our argument relies on two observations,” Hendrycks, the director of the Center for SAI Safety, said in the report. “Firstly, natural selection may be a dominant force in AI development… Secondly, evolution by natural selection tends to give rise to selfish behavior.”

“Competitive pressures among corporations and militaries will give rise to AI agents that automate human roles, deceive others, and gain power. If such agents have intelligence that exceeds that of humans, this could lead to humanity losing control of its future,” Hendrycks wrote.

Ryan Lynch: Artificial Intelligence Is going to be the greatest threat to human beings, I believe, in the next couple of decades. The applications it can be used for are endless; militarily, economically, personally, and emotionally. Once we open that Pandora box, which I believe we have already, there’s no going back.

5. Four More Philippines Military Bases Opened to U.S. Troops
Breitbart–Four additional military bases in the Philippines were opened up to U.S. troops on Monday, with one site near the increasingly contested South China Sea and another bordering Taiwan.

AFP reports the treaty allies agreed in February to expand cooperation in “strategic areas” of the Philippines as they seek to counter China’s growing assertiveness over independent Taiwan and the spread of Chinese bases in the South China Sea.

Three of the sites are in the northern Philippines, including a naval base and airport in Cagayan province and an army camp in the neighbouring province of Isabela, the Philippine statement said.

Ryan Lynch: The U.S. is beginning to prepare for war with China. We’ll start seeing money being granted to companies like Lockheed Martin. Increase in personnel present throughout the Pacific and the South China Sea. I hope we never end up going to war with China.