Paul Mozur

“Oil-producing countries have had an oversized influence on international affairs; in an A.I.-powered near future, compute producers could have something similar since they control access to a critical resource,” Prof Vili Lehdonvirta told @paulmozur.bsky.social, @nytimes.com.

A.I. Computing Power Is Splitting the World Into Haves and Have-Nots As countries race to power artificial intelligence, a yawning gap is opening around the world.

A new A.I. divide is forming. As the biggest companies and richest countries scramble for GPUs, much of the world is being left behind. It's a new type of inequality that will go a long way to determining development in the coming years. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

‘Why would he take such a risk?’ My censor and me The long read: Online dissent is a serious crime in China. So why did a Weibo censor help me publish posts critical of the Communist party?

“Hardly any of the censors use Weibo, and Liu never tells his colleagues that he does. It would not occur to them that Liu posts so much ‘unhealthy’ & ‘inappropriate’, let alone ‘illegal’, content. Liu never gets into trouble. He knows all the sensitive words that are flagged and how to avoid them.”

How China Uses High-Tech Surveillance to Subdue Minorities (Published 2019) China has turned the Xinjiang region in its far west into an incubator for automated authoritarianism that could spread across the country and beyond.

What was striking in reporting this story was how much Geo's surveillance app reminded me of apps I've seen used in China and other authoritarian countries. The context is different in a democracy, but it raises big questions about the humane use of surveillance. www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/w...

It also gives Geo Group a surprisingly complete hold over immigration in the U.S. One subject we followed was added to Geo's surveillance when he entered, was arrested at a Geo office by ICE when summoned, and now sits at a Geo facility awaiting deportation. The company makes money on each step.

For Geo Group, the surveillance is a major profit center. Its margins on the service are about 50%. For an immigrant to send a checkin selfie, it charges the US government $1.00. Sources said managers pressure Geo employees to rush thru immigrant oversight procedures. It was all about numbers.

How Geo Group’s Surveillance Tech Is Aiding Trump’s Immigration Agenda Geo Group, a private prison firm that makes digital tools to track immigrants, becomes one of the Trump administration’s big business winners as its tech is increasingly used in deportations.

The US' largest private prison operator, Geo Group, also runs one of its largest immigrant surveillance programs. Now, ICE is using the privately run system to track and deport growing numbers of people. 200k are currently in the system. Geo expects it to grow. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/t...

Good piece in China Talk @jordanschneider.bsky.social I’ve been trying to hit these points in our recent DeepSeek stories. Its approach is very against the grain for China tech. Completely opposed to the grueling hours/top-down ethic that typify big tech in China www.chinatalk.media/p/deepseeks-...

If confirmed as a commercial airliner in the Potomac, this mid-air collision at DCA would be the worst U.S. air disaster since the Colgan Air Q400 crash near Buffalo in 2009.

Who Is Liang Wenfeng, the Founder of the A.I. Start-Up DeepSeek? The Chinese company DeepSeek seemed to have come out of nowhere this week when it upturned markets. Here’s what to know about Liang Wenfeng, the engineer who started it.

A short explainer on Liang Wenfeng. It is amazing how much he does NOT sound like a Chinese tech boss. In the context of China's grueling tech work environment he sounds downright hippyish: "Everyone has their own unique journey and brings their own ideas with them, so there’s no need to push them."

TRUMP'S DANGEROUS FREEZE OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL HIRING Washington, D.C. — Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation Steve Cohen (D-TN) released the following statements after President Trump froze the hiring of Air Traffic Controllers, among other safety-critical positions. "The bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 directs the Administration to hire the maximum number of air traffic controllers. That's what the law says, so the Administration must rescind this ridiculous executive order," Ranking Member Larsen said. "Hiring air traffic controllers is the number one safety issue according to the entire aviation industry. Instead of working to improve aviation safety and lower costs for hardworking American families, the Administration is choosing to spread bogus DEl claims to justify this decision. I'm not surprised by the President's dangerous and divisive actions, but the Administration must reverse course. Let's get back to aviation safety and allow the FAA to do its job protecting the flying public." "Our top priority must be the safety of the flying public so an order freezing the hiring of air traffic controllers is a misguided decision and goes against the directives of our FAA Reauthorization bill," Ranking Member Cohen said. "The aviation community will speak with one voice in condemning this short-sighted policy and reaffirm our

the first fatal commercial plane crash in 16 years happened just days after Trump froze hiring of air traffic controllers that were already stretched thin

But another constraint dodged: "Its unconventional approach allowed DeepSeek to sidestep stringent regulations placed on public AI use. Because its focus was research and selling to business—and, until the release of its chatbot, not consumer applications—its early work did not trigger restrictions"

Liang Wenfeng has said the U.S. chip restrictions are nonetheless a problem, so I don't really buy that this undermines the use of the chip blocks. Nor does it justify China's private sector crackdowns. It does show Liang is very good at being creative when faced with obstacles.

How DeepSeek Went From Stock Trader to A.I. Star The little-known artificial intelligence firm has emphasized research, even as it emerged as the brainchild of a hedge fund.

One of the interesting things about DeepSeek is that two creative constrictions created its advances. One is obviously U.S. chip restrictions. But the second was China's crackdown on speculative trading, which drove the company to put money into pure A.I. research. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/b...

Nice profile showing how DeepSeek is an exception in China’s AI ecosystem. Yesterday, I wrote a similar piece on my substack, also highlighting how the company is an outlier in rather than a representation of the “China model” - you can read it here:

highvalueadded.substack.com/p/deepseek-p...

How DeepSeek Went From Stock Trader to A.I. Star The little-known artificial intelligence firm has emphasized research, even as it emerged as the brainchild of a hedge fund.

A big question is what happens now that they have so much Chinese government attention. DeepSeek is part of a long tradition of outsiders shaking up plans for innovation. Sometimes it can be harder to manage the government support and interference that comes after. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/b...

Founder Liang Wenfeng upended pricing in Chinese A.I. earlier this year. Yet in interviews he dismisses the commercial benefits, pointing to artificial general intelligence as the primary goal, and anything short of that a distraction.

When Chinese technologists discussed why the country missed generative AI, part of the logic was a cutthroat market overly focused on returns. Few were set up to aid companies focused on big cuts at hard problems. Funded by its hedge fund, DeepSeek is very much focused on pure research.

How DeepSeek Went From Stock Trader to A.I. Star The little-known artificial intelligence firm has emphasized research, even as it emerged as the brainchild of a hedge fund.

Our profile of DeepSeek. There have been tons of hot takes, but it's valuable to understand the company's story. In many ways it's the exception to the AI ecosystem in China at the moment. While others chased quick returns, DeepSeek set its sites on real disruption. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/b...

‘I heard it pop’: Eagles fan details the moment a Center City bus shelter gave out beneath her and others A bus shelter collapsing under the weight of several fans was captured on video and shared across social media. Three people were taken to the hospital, and one of them shared her story.

greatest city in the world

For anyone wanting to know more about Xinjiang/the Uyghur region I have made a starter pack of campaigners, academics and journalists who research and write about the region. It's still very incomplete - I'd be grateful for more suggestions!
go.bsky.app/PWzGYxx

Nvidia’s Global Chips Sales Could Collide With US-China Tensions The chipmaker expects more than $10 billion in foreign sales this year, but the Biden administration is advancing rules that could curb that growth.

For years the U.S. has struggled to convince countries to shun Huawei and other China tech. Now it believes it has a way to do it, offer Nvidia chips in exchange. That's the basis of a new A.I. diplomacy emerging as a last gasp policy from the Biden Admin. Nvidia, caught in the middle, is not happy.

Chinese AI chip firms blacklisted over weapons concerns gained access to UK technology Imagination Technologies had licences with two Chinese firms – but said it had not ‘implemented transactions’ that would enable the use of technology for military purposes

Probably not many remember Chinese chip investor Canyon Bridge, but it made waves with a bid for Lattice Semiconductor 7 years ago. The US blocked the deal. So Canyon Bridge bought UK based Imagination. US seems to have been justified. Knowledge transfer programs sent key IP to China AI chip firms.

The Chip Titan Whose Life’s Work Is at the Center of a Tech Cold War (Published 2023) At 92, Morris Chang, the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, can no longer stay in the shadows.

This is no secret. In our interview with Morris Chang last year, he said "We control all the chokepoints...China can’t really do anything if we want to choke them.” That 'we' referred collectively to the United States, Taiwan, and other chip making allies. Wonder how China could target TSMC...

Def some signaling happening with China's Taiwan Affairs Office suddenly warning about TSMC becoming the "American Semiconductor Manufacturing Company." TSMC's founder, Morris Chang, after all, is American. Since TSMC cut out Huawei, its loyalties have been clear. www.globaltimes.cn/page/202412/...

China Is Cutting Off Drone Supplies Critical to Ukraine War Effort China’s escalating conflict with the US over trade is now extending to the drones that have become a vital part of Ukraine’s defense.

Manufacturers in China recently began limiting sales to the US and Europe of key components used to build unmanned aerial vehicles, according to multiple people with knowledge of the developments

THREAD: How China is influencing local elections in New York City, mobilizing organizations via a local power broker known as "The King of Brooklyn" (布鲁克林之王）to ensure that candidates who voice sympathy for Taiwan, or for Hong Kong democracy, are either defeated or never get elected. (1/x)

From Russia's Rybar TG channel - the importance of Syria is a key hub for Russian operations in Africa. Loss of Syria as a refueling and logistics point undermines all of Russian efforts on the continent.

Footage shows a chaotic scene after rebels capture a notorious prison.

New footage from inside Sednaya Prison, filmed by IDA and sent to @nytimes.com, shows the grim conditions within: numbered cells with debris, crumbling walls and ceilings, family members looking for loved ones sifting through paper records. nytimes.com/live/2024/12...