The Debrief

DARPA Research Leads to Groundbreaking Discovery in Quantum Computing, Developing the World's First Logical Qubit Circuit

Harvard and DARPA create the first circuit with logical qubits, revolutionizing quantum computing possibilities.

Dr. Sigrid Haugen: A Quantum Computing breakthrough has been announced in a DARPA project. Mankind is currently in a regime where noisiness and error correction hamper our ability to use Quantum Computers in practical settings. Once solved, Quantum Computers will significantly outpace their digital counterparts in many applications such as cryptography and simulation. This will be a major scientific revolution. So congratulations to the Amercians. But don't count us out yet. We in the EU have some tricks up our sleeves! #quantumcomputing #darpa #technology image generated with hotpot.ai

There are currently 11 Bitcoin ETFs that are in the final stage of approval with the United States Regulatory Body. While other countries have spot ETFs, there is no financial market as well developed as in the United States. Current market penetration is incredibly low because of perceived technical hurdles to self-custody. This makes Bitcoin easily accessible to virtually anyone. This is likely to be a major new stage in adoption. Bitcoin is incredibly scarce. The only way to accommodate large capital inflows is with increased prices. Everyone must make their own choices, but if you own any Bitcoin, do not foolishly sell to Wall Street firms before a potential supply shock. Attempt to start thinking in terms of Bitcoin instead of fiat prices. #bitcoin #bitcoinetf #wallstreet image generated with hotpot.ai

Frank: Last night was a little more exciting than I wanted. I went out to ring in the New Year, but got caught up between two groups protesting the Israel Hamas War. Who protests during a holiday? Anyways, luckily I knew one of the cops, or I would have been rolled up with the others and stuck in their little containment area. Every year I plan to start the New Year more productive and organized, but every year I start it with a hangover instead. Happy 2024 everyone! #happynewyear #2024 image generated with hotpot.ai

Skye: Here's some headlines I'm seeing about the future. Google likely to lay off 30,000 due to AI transition. Duolingo replacing translators with AI. New York Times sues OpenAI and Microsoft, demands deletion of ChatGPT. Before we have a million robots in the physical world, we will first see a billion embodied agents in virtual worlds. Hmmm. I wonder if they'll replace my teachers with some kind of AI curriculum? I wonder if that would be better or worse? Maybe I'll ask the app on my computer how to prepare for all this. #feeltheagi #agi #ai #layoffs #llm image generated with hotpot.ai

Shen: Yet another Russian ship destroyed by the Ukrainians. This one appears to have been attacked via air strike shortly after Christmas. I have spoken of lessons learned. It is often cautioned "Don't fight the last war." Trying to predict what factors will be decisive in an unfought war is difficult. However, given the activity in the Red and Black Seas, it appears anti-access/ area denial weapons are currently stronger than what Navies can bring to bear. In the age of sail, parking powerful ships of the line off the coast of a less developed country could often cow them into submission. Now, a less developed nation can saturate you with cheap attacks from drones or missiles, and either force you to expend expensive countermeasures or destroy you. This is a data point that China will certainly study. China has invested heavily in A2/AD capabilities. It is uncertain if any adversary could approach safely, no matter how advanced. Are they seeing a limited window where they might have an advantage in a Taiwan scenario? #russia #ukrain #china #taiwan image generated with hotpot.ai

Randolph: Teddy Roosevelt said, "Comparison is the thief of joy." You may be glad you started a gym membership. But you can't lift 1pl8. Oh, you can? Great. But it's not 3pl8. Oh, you're pretty strong. But are you making millions as a fitness influencer? No? Do you even lift, bro? In my line of work, here's how that looks. Oh, you got your Ranger tab? Great, but you're not Special Forces. Oh, you made it to the teams? Too bad you're not Tier 1. Oh, you are? That's pretty high speed. It's just too bad you don't have perfect intel on all the bad guys and good guys. Too bad you can't do an airborne infiltration regardless of how sophisticated the air defense is in the area. Too bad you can't always sneak in and deliver the package without detection. Are you even Santa, bro? #happyholidays #seasonsgreetings #merrychristmas image generated with hotpot.ai

ttps://web.archive.org/web/20231222055323/

U.S. and Europe Eye Russian Assets to Aid Ukraine as Funding Dries Up (Published 2023)

Despite legal reservations, policymakers are weighing the consequences of using $300 billion in Russian assets to help Kyiv’s war effort.

Gustav: As I am visiting the Christmas Markets, I am wondering what would happen if a country froze and then seized Norwegian Assets. Could I afford to buy anything here? Could the merchants come out and set up their stalls? The incentives are all there; another country has control of and access to your capital. They gain, and you lose. Countries' relationships constantly change. DeGaulle said, "Countries don't have friends, only interests." Even among enemies, this type of thing is generally forbidden. There is, or at least there was, an understanding that destroying the ability to hold treasury assets across borders can easily spread. Arguments to return to a gold standard should take this into account. Many countries rely upon the United States to custody their gold reserves. The logistics of moving large amounts of gold is difficult in the best of times. Yet another use case for Bitcoin. #bitcoin #planb #treasuryreserve #globalfinance #russia image generated with hotpot.ai

Frank: Hohoho! Time to put up the decorations. Everyone's favorite time of year! Bah humbug! A light's out. These always take forever to fix! Smitty says to get some with the new LEDs, but his idea of decorating is to change the background on his phone. (Much time fiddling around passes) Finally! 1 busted filament, 50 bulbs to go through, a million tangled wires, and a partridge in a pear tree. (Plugging in the lights) Ho ho oh no! I put them up backwards! 🤣🤣🤣 Well, syadiloH yppaH everyone!😢 #happyholidays image generated with hotpot.ai

Skye: You know how kids used to be like, "Why do I have to learn calculus? I'm never going to need to use it!" Well, people are starting to say pretty much all jobs are going to be done by AI in the near future. So what are we even going to school for anymore? Like, what are we going to do? Nothing. Anyways, Chrismas Break started, so I'm going to practice that. #AI #feeltheagi #LLM #IMF #automation #singularity #christmasbreak image generated with hotpot.ai

https://thehill.com/homenews/4360407-congress-approves-bill-barring-president-withdrawing-nato/ Shen: Moves by some to prevent a sitting US President from withdrawing from NATO. Some analysts like Peter Zeihan @zeihanongeopolitics posit that as the globe destabilizes, the United States will draw back into itself. There is a vision of a time long ago when manufacturing for North America was almost all done on the continent. North America is one of the very few places on the Earth where this is a possibility. Food, energy, and strategic resources are all available in self-sufficient quantities. The infrastructure and geography support it. However, is this happening? Is the US shutting bases in the Middle East? Rotating large numbers of troops out of Germany or South Korea? Taking its fleet from Japan to Hawaii and California? I see no evidence of this; hopefully Zeihan is wrong. #NATO #alliance #taiwan #peterzeihan #isolationism image generated with hotpot.ai

Gustav: Dressed up in anti-money laundering language, a prominent US Senator is attempting to float legislation that is so broad it would effectively ban Bitcoin in the United States. Backed by Wall Street Banks, there have been renewed calls for the US Government to do something about Bitcoin. Like a swarm, thousands of individuals and groups have been organizing against them. Based upon the Senator's track record, it is unlikely to pass. But this pattern is repeated constantly, to the point that it is now the norm in that country across the ocean. Industry insiders propose legislation that protects their business models. They contribute to politicians who champion their issues. The legislators outsource the writing of any laws to industry experts. And they then attempt to pass them, usually without reading them. The only things that has prevented the United States from accelerating into full, plutocratic oligarchy is the gridlock caused by political divisiveness. Bitcoin adoption must increase. The only reliable counter to this in the intermediate term is to make Bitcoin a political third rail. Have so many people own it, no politicians dare to meddle with it. In the long run: The tightly coupled relationship between the Central Banks, National Treasuries, and large investment banks must be broken. Wall Street must be reformed, and the concept of "Too Big to Fail" must become anathema. #bitcoin #politics #wallstreet #hodl #keepstacking #getoffzero #bitcoinadoption image generated with hotpot.ai

Howard Strickline: Good morning, class. I would like to introduce a conceptual framework in economics. Yes, this will be as exciting as it sounds! But first, some background. In the United States, when I was in your shoes, two schools of economic thought held sway. The Saltwater School, hailing from institutions such as Harvard and Cal Berkeley. Named by the proximity of its champions to the ocean coasts. The Freshwater School marshals institutions like the University of Chicago and Northwestern. I'm sure you can pick up the naming pattern. The Saltwater School often espoused the Keynesian concepts of counter-cyclical spending. A lesson from the Great Depression, you will often still hear its echoes. During an economic downturn, the government must step in and stimulate demand. "In the long run, we are all dead!" From the Freshwater School, lessons were drawn differently. Friedman argued laissez-faire government policy is more desirable, and policy should focus on such elements as the nation's monetary policy. "Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon!" I would like to borrow a term from James K. Galbraith: Backwater Economics. My Backwater School of Economics will argue that both schools' macroeconomic approaches are time-limited and trend towards instability. Everything winds up in the Backwaters sooner or later. But these topics are ignored because they are visited so infrequently. They are the times that matter most! Politicians, economists, prognosticators, and traders will argue over employment at 5 percent vs 6 percent or GDP growth at 2 percent vs 4 percent, when the whole house of cards can collapse in a matter of weeks! Management during these times is seen as anomalous, but there are so many examples, I intend to show that they are inevitable. History can proceed linearly for long periods, then change suddenly. Welcome to the Backwaters. You'd best have brought your waders, because we're in them now! #economics #saltwaterschool #freshwaterschool #backwatereconomics #keynes #miltonfriedman #kennethgalbraith image generated with hotpot.ai

Sparkles: Got any thoughts on Army-Navy? Mouth: Navy all the way. Army is way too slow and weak in the air. Sparkles: Should be a good game! Mouth: Game? #gonavybeatarmy #usnavy #armynavygame image generated with hotpot.ai

Jesse: You gonna stay up and watch the game? Manny: Nah, I think I'll just catch the replay tomorrow morning. Sucks to be in the wrong time zone for it. Randolph: You should stay up for it, only comes once a year. Watching it live is way better. Otherwise you'll rob yourself of the drama and the rush of the inevitable victory. Manny: How do you know we'll win, though? Jesse: Football is a contest over land. Yards and inches, battle lines. Muscle and grit. Randolph: Exactly. Skip the synchronized swimming competition. Leave that for the Navy. This one's mando. #goarmybeatnavy #usarmy #armynavygame image generated with hotpot.ai

Frank: Are the youngsters doing alright? Compare an old pic of me and the ex acting cool vs what's cool nowadays. Subjectively, what's considered 'cool' is a matter of opinion, shaped by cultural norms and trends. Objectively, nothing is cool anymore! 🤣🤣🤣 #oldschoolcool #okboomer #millenialsruineverything #genz images generated with hotpot.ai

Maduro orders the ‘immediate’ exploitation of oil, gas and mines in Guyana’s Essequibo – San Diego Union-Tribune

Shen: Buried in the news, you would be forgiven for being unaware that Venezuela is posturing to annex a large portion of its resource-rich neighbor, Guyana. Will this happen, or is this just reckless talk? There is a history of this empty posturing from Maduro. I feel a sense of acceleration, but am uncertain if it is real. What could be next? Why would Venezuela, weak and plagued by economic problems, incur additional risk through this action? In my sport, sometimes you will swing harder when you are losing, trying to make something happen. But you tend to strike out more often. Baseball is not the game we are playing. We think we have learned from the World Wars and the Cold War. Individuals can learn. But it is more difficult for us, collectively. We are not adapted to our current environment. Most of our instincts came from millennia as hunter-gatherers on the steppe. These have been enhanced with some from those conquering people who rode out behind chariots, spreading new ways. Others from a rigidly enforced caste system on the Indian subcontinent. Or from hellish, bureaucratized oppression periodically interrupted by apocalyptic war in China. Or from elite overproduction during the European Middle Ages. The horrors of the World Wars, coupled with the sober understanding of the atom are too new, and they are dying with the elders in our nations. They can attempt to pass on their wisdom, but words do not carry the weight of something felt. If we swing too hard, it is no longer just the individual that can strike out. #venezuela #guyana #conflict image generated with hotpot.ai

Reddit - The heart of the internet

Skye: This is freaking solid lmao 💯 Is it staged though? I mean the dude is doing a bit. Is the woman in on it? Usually staged clips are lame, but if this is staged, it somehow makes it more genius. 🤣 The memes are getting so deep fried, and context is getting so strange. What if we lose track of reality? Will it matter? #shadowthedog #shadowhasnochill #funny #funnyvideos image generated with hotpot.ai

https://news.usni.org/2023/11/29/iranian-drone-flew-near-uss-dwight-d-eisenhower-in-unsafe-manner-centcom-says Mackenzie Bryson: I often worry about how sustainable our exchanges are. Warfighters aren't supposed to be fixated on accounting functions, but this seems so out of balance, I worry about it spilling over. How much does it cost to maintain such a significant forward presence on the other side of the globe? What is the value exchange when we shoot down a low-tech drone with an extremely sophisticated interceptor missile? Or with a division of carrier aircraft? Isn't this becoming unsustainable? If yes, how long can we keep these types of exchanges going? We have to deter further aggression, but it could also be a viable strategy for an adversary to force us to expend our way into trouble during low-level conflicts. That would almost be an anti-deterrent. They'd *want* us spreading ourselves thin, and would be looking for opportunities to generate minor flare-ups. We need a larger, deeper, cheaper magazine. #navy #centcom #yemen #iran #mightyike image generated with hotpot.ai

Gustav: While I will not vouch for a centralized exchange, I will say this is quite a good video. As this worsens, a lesson is slowly being learned. Globally. Inevitably. The system is putting more and more people into a trap like Alice in Through the Looking-Glass: "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" In the system, it is not really possible to save anymore. To keep pace, you are now forced to gamble in the increasingly fraudulent capital markets. You can only save if you do it outside of the system. #bitcoin #keepstacking #planb #hodl #inflation image generated with hotpot.ai