Powered by:
Hey Dippers,
Here’s what’s making headlines today: dueling court orders scramble Missouri’s map, AI insiders sound the alarm on superintelligence, and more.
Today’s estimated reading time is 3 minutes and 49 seconds.
- The Daily Dip Editor
WATCH THE AD-FREE VERSION HERE
**On this day in 2008, scientists first switched on what record-breaking machine near Geneva? **(answer revealed below!)
(hint: particle accelerator)
In today’s issue:
Court rulings clashover Missouri map. 🏛️Researcher warnsAI could endanger humanity. 💻Secret unit minesfinancial data for police. 📜
Plus, take ** today’s poll** and check out the
Missouri’s congressional elections descended into chaos after Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a federal judge issued conflicting rulings on the state’s Republican-drawn map, on the very day ballots were due to be finalized.
The state could help decide control of the House, but officials now don’t know which map applies. Republicans redrew districts to gain a seat, and the group People Not Politicians collected more than 300,000 signatures for a referendum letting voters overturn it.
**The back-and-forth:**Kavanaugh rejected the GOP secretary of state’s emergency appeal, leaving a state court order that blocked the map in place. Minutes later, a Trump-appointed federal judge ordered officials to use the map anyway. Opponents appealed and sought contempt charges against Secretary Denny Hoskins.
#crashingout in Seattle was a BLAST. The best crowd, the best stay, and the best team. One of the secrets to a great show? Great sleep. We loved our stay at Hotel Max.
The location was incredible, putting us steps from everything, the staff were fantastic, and it gave us some of the best sleep to be rested for our show. A rare trifecta. If you're ever in Seattle, check them out!
A researcher who recently left Anthropic publicly resigned with a warning that advanced AI could kill everyone by the end of the decade, saying the danger is real and not a marketing stunt.
The concern isn’t today’s models but future superintelligent systems that could hack anything, transform fields overnight, and seize real power. He argued companies grasp the stakes but prioritize staying ahead in a tight competitive race.
**The echo:**Anthropic team lead, Evan Hubinberg, backed the warning, putting the odds that AI could kill all humans within the next decade above 10%. He said the company is trying its best but has no clear plan yet to align superintelligence, and warned such systems may arrive faster than expected.
:📈
Today’s Poll:Robot ReckoningDeparting AI researchers say future superintelligent systems could pose an existential risk within the decade, while others argue current models are nowhere close. Where you land often depends on how fast you think the technology is moving.
How worried are you that advanced AI could seriously endanger humanity within the next decade?
The Department of Homeland Security runs teams that analyze Americans’ financial activity and pass tips to local police, who then find a reason to pull those drivers over, according to a 404 Media investigation.
The units, called Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams, operate in at least two border sectors in Washington and Texas. Critics say flagging ordinary people based on spending patterns undermines the presumption of innocence and may be unconstitutional.
**The case:**One man driving home to Wisconsin from a licensed California cannabis job was stopped for a partially obstructed plate, then charged with DUI and intent to distribute. Documents showed an analyst had flagged his finances as resembling drug-activity patterns. DHS said its work follows applicable law and privacy protections.
🍞 Food: Before electric toasters, people toasted bread by holding it near a fire on a metal frame or long-handled fork. Breakfast used to require a little more bravery than just pressing a button.
🐋 Animals: Ambergris—one of history's most valuable perfume ingredients—comes from the digestive system of sperm whales. Luxury fragrance has had some very unexpected origins.
🐘 Etymology: The word “jumbo” came from the name of a circus elephant. One very famous elephant got so big that he permanently changed the English language.
🤯 WTF: A woodpecker's tongue wraps around the back of its skull before ending near its nostrils. Evolution looked at tongue storage and chose the most unexpected solution.
TODAY’S QUIZ ANSWER:
The Large Hadron Collider
On September 10, 2008, physicists at CERN sent the first beam of protons racing around the Large Hadron Collider, a 17-mile ring buried beneath the French-Swiss border. It is the largest and most powerful particle accelerator ever built, designed to smash particles together and probe the basic building blocks of the universe. An estimated one billion people followed the switch-on live, and four years later the LHC helped confirm the existence of the Higgs boson.
Did you take ** today’s poll**?
Looking for more specific details on each story? ** Click here** for the full show notes for yesterday’s PDS episode.
Thanks for checking us out Daily Dippers!
If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, be sure to share with a friend or two** **and tune in next time for more news, entertainment, and good vibes 😎
