6: Ukraine

ChatGPT AI lists jobs it can do better than humans as millions could be put out of work ChatGPT was unveiled in November and went on to break records as the fastest-growing user base ...... OpenAI’s wildly popular chatbot, ChatGPT, is expected to replace 4.8 million U.S. jobs ....... The bot told the outplacement firm that it would most likely replace positions that are repetitive and predictable, and ones that are also seeped in language requirements. Those fields, according to the bot, include: customer service representatives; translators and interpreters; technical writers; copywriters; and data entry clerks. ......... The AI chatbot added that it could see itself entering other fields such as data science; machine learning; mathematics and statistics; computer science; robotics and automation; and business. ....... the AI system can sometimes "hallucinate" and "make up information that's incorrect, but sounds plausible." The spokesperson added that OpenAI's mission is to "enhance jobs" with AI, not eliminate them. .......... The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, has even compared the technology to the Manhattan Project, when the first ​nuclear weapons were developed during World War II. ....... The letter says the labs should use such a pause to hash out "and implement a set of shared safety protocols for advanced AI design and development that are rigorously audited and overseen by independent outside experts." .

Macron and Xi’s Guangzhou rendezvous a sign of China’s enthusiasm for French leader, analysts say In a rare meeting outside Beijing, French president to reunite with Chinese counterpart in southern metropolis on Friday after talks in capital city ... Macron will also meet investors and answer questions from university students while in the export powerhouse of Guangdong ........ and his attempt to carve his own “third way” of handling China without being confrontational...... Speaking upon his arrival in Beijing on Wednesday, the French president indicated France would seek engagement with China, especially in commercial areas. .

In Beijing trip, European leaders’ unity on China will be put to the test French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will arrive in Beijing on Wednesday ....They will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but Macron, hoping to firm economic ties, is less hawkish than von der Leyen ....... In the run-up to the visit, however, the commission president took her place among the continent’s toughest talkers on China. Her speech in Brussels last week was seen as an attempt to bolster the European Union’s approach both politically and economically. ........ The Frenchman bristles at the idea of taking a hardline approach akin to the United States’ policy. The strongest proponent of a sovereign European Union, Macron sees a three-day state visit as a chance to reestablish France and Europe as a “third way” somewhere between the US and China. ........ Macron will press Chinese leaders to help end Russia’s 13-month invasion of Ukraine – but not too hard. ........ “China is one of the few countries in the world – if not the only one – to have a game-changing effect on the conflict, in either direction,” the official added........ “China has now turned the page on the era of ‘reform and opening’ and is moving into a new era of security and control,” she said. Von der Leyen will hold private meetings with Xi as well as with Premier Li Qiang in Beijing. ...... She also played down hopes that China would help broker peace in Ukraine, saying that Beijing was trying to redraw the global order with itself at the centre. ........ some have also speculated that it puts von der Leyen on a collision course with both France and Germany, which are less interested in shaking ties with the world’s second-largest economy. ........ described the commission’s new outlook as “more China-last than Europe-first”. .......... Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agree that “economic decoupling with China is a dangerous and self-harming proposition for the EU, [that] Europeans should not emulate the United States’ hawkish approach”. .

Ukraine ‘ready’ to talk to Russia on Crimea if counteroffensive succeeds Senior official says Kyiv does not exclude liberation of occupied peninsula by military means ......... “If we will succeed in achieving our strategic goals on the battlefield and when we will be on the administrative border with Crimea, we are ready to open [a] diplomatic page to discuss this issue,” Sybiha said, referring to Kyiv’s long-planned counteroffensive....... He added: “It doesn’t mean that we exclude the way of liberation [of Crimea] by our army.” ........ Sybiha’s remarks may relieve western officials who are sceptical about Ukraine’s ability to reclaim the peninsula and worry that any attempt to do so militarily could lead President Vladimir Putin to escalate his war, possibly with nuclear weapons......... Crimea would need “a political solution because of just the concentration of force that is there and what it would mean for the Ukrainians to go in there”. ........ In the early days of the war, Ukraine was willing to negotiate with Moscow over the future of Crimea rather than insisting on regaining it militarily at all costs. .......... in May last year he indicated Ukraine could consider a peace deal if Russian forces returned to positions in eastern Ukraine predating last year’s invasion and suggested the issue of Crimea would be resolved later through diplomacy......... Ukrainian forces would be on Crimea’s doorstep in “five to seven months”. ........ the Ukrainian leadership felt “that after a successful counteroffensive [in the rest of the country] Putin might be eager to talk”......... 87 per cent of Ukrainians considered any territorial concessions to achieve peace unacceptable. Only 9 per cent said they would accept concessions if it meant lasting peace. ........ 64 per cent of Ukrainians want Ukraine to try to retake all of its territory, including Crimea, “even if there is a risk of a decrease in western support and a risk of a protracted war”. .

Poorer world and no real winners in China-US decoupling, IMF warns Effects of strategy will fall hardest on China-aligned Southeast Asian economies, but Washington and its allies also face costs, report finds ...... Continued fragmentation of foreign direct investment between geopolitical blocs could see global output fall by 2 per cent ...... China and closely associated Southeast Asian economies are likely to suffer the most as a more divided global investment landscape driven by geopolitical tensions takes shape ........ while the US and its allies may appear to be “relative winners”, they are also likely to face considerable economic costs as they pursue stronger national security or technological leadership ......... .