The Hound | Sept. 14

Hi there,

It’s Monday. The CEOs of Anthropic and OpenAI — two of the world's most powerful AI labs — are calling for a slowdown in AI development, citing risks of cyberattacks, bioterrorism, and loss of human control. Trump's response, delivered from his Irish golf resort: the warnings are exaggerated, driven by "negative forces," and America must keep winning. He did not explain what "negative forces" meant. He did not need to — the financial stakes explained it for him.

🖊️ Sign the petition to call on the media to cover Trump's dismissal of AI safety concerns not as a policy disagreement about China competitiveness, but as what it is: a president protecting his own financial interests and those of his largest donors by keeping regulation off the table. When the people building the technology say slow down — and the president says full speed ahead — journalists should be asking who benefits.

Trump and his family have invested heavily in AI and crypto ventures that depend on an unregulated, wide-open development environment. The same administration that gutted crypto enforcement, killed financial disclosure rules, and blessed monopolistic tech mergers is now dismissing the AI safety warnings of the industry's own leaders. The public deserves reporting that follows the money before the consequences arrive.

In addition, after USAID was shut down illegally, an unnamed donor contributed $50 million to Americares in an effort to keep lifesaving programs running. And Pennsylvania reported its third measles death in the recent outbreak.

Read about these, and more, in today’s stories:

Trump downplays calls for AI slowdown (NPR)

Pennsylvania officials report state's 3rd death involving measles (PBS)

An unnamed donor responds to global aid cuts with a record gift for the nonprofit Americares (AP News)

Political ads with made-up trans people are being used to bash Democrats (The 19th News)

Trump says he's lifting 10% tariff on Irish whiskey because 'everybody's been bugging me' (PBS)

America’s Big Political Problem Isn’t Polarization (The New Republic)

Gavin Newsom Could Reshape the U.S. Death Penalty, But It’s Politically Risky (The Marshall Project)

Until next time,

Harry from The Hound

P.S. Do you know someone who would appreciate The Hound? If you can, forward this email and encourage them to subscribe! Let’s stay informed, together.