iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg

Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Global Times in combative form: "If EU hopes to impose some kind of unequal trade agreement that would force China to "cut its own flesh"... that is simply impossible... EU doesn't have capacity to wage a trade war against China. If it's truly determined to do so, let it try"

263

Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg

Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 4h

China on Saturday launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of p-nitrotoluene, a chemical compound used in dyes and pharmaceuticals, from the European Union, as trade tensions between the two sides grow.

abcnews.com

China launches anti-dumping probe into chemical compound p-nitrotoluene from the EU

China has launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of p-nitrotoluene, a chemical compound used in dyes and pharmaceuticals, from the European Union, as trade tensions between the two sides grow

063

Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg

Ben Casselman @bencasselman.bsky.social · 21h

First, the part that is true: It's a bad time to be looking for a job. Durations of unemployment and long-term are rising, which is uncommon outside of a recession.

16616

Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg

Nathan Lambert @natolambert.bsky.social · 18h

Today we're unveiling Trillium Labs, a new non-profit to foster the open science of frontier AI. We're building open post-training recipes and will expand into open infra to study RSI, reward-hacking, multi-agent systems, and whatever comes next. blog.trilliumlabs.org/p/introducin...

blog.trilliumlabs.org

Introducing Trillium Labs

Fostering the open science of frontier AI.

815120

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 22h

The information sector lost 10,000 jobs in September and 120,000 over the year; computing infrastructure, data processing and web hosting lost 1,600 in the month and 22,500 over the year.

010

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 22h

Unemployment rose to 4.2% from 4.1%. The same release revised the two months before it down by 60,000 between them: July from a gain of 21,000 to a loss of 10,000, and August from 162,000 to 133,000.

101

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 22h

US adds just 29,000 jobs this month. But 9,000 are in the manufacturing sector. www.bloomberg.com/news/live-bl...

bloomberg.com

US Jobs Report for September Live Coverage

000

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The trend matters as well as the level. Italy's debt ratio is high but fairly stable. France and the US are the ones rising quickly.

010

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

He is reminded of "The Big Short 2". His thesis: AI will not destroy humanity, but it will destroy a great deal of money. heise.de/meinung/Kommentar-Mit-KI-P…

010

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Which brings me to the sharpest framing I have read. Axel Kannenberg, in a commentary for heise online, argues that we need not fear AI itself, but the financial conduct of its providers.

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

KKR added that the true figure may be much higher, because off-balance-sheet financing is growing. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/acti…

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Tech firms are projected to spend nearly $8tn on AI infrastructure by 2030 according to KKR. A fifth of the investment-grade index, historically home to some of the safest securities, could end up exposed to AI risk.

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The private market is saying something similar, in its own vocabulary. KKR has warned of growing credit market risks from the AI borrowing spree. Its words are 'overexposure' and 'concentration', and it expects broader volatility if the booming sector turns down.

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Bank is loosening one rule, the leverage ratio, to help banks. It knows part of that freedom will flow into risky hedge-fund betting on gilts. Rather than undo the planned change, it wants to put limits on that betting directly. A targeted fix over a blunt one, but the fix does not exist yet.

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The governor's position is that regulators 'cannot stand aside' and simply assume the AI industry will resolve the risks it creates for financial stability.

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Bank of England has warned that the surge in AI debt raises the risk of a sharp market correction. The bank added that global AI-related debt sales will this year exceed everything the UK government sells in gilts.

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The most important sentence in the AI bubble debate this week did not come from a technologist. It came from a central banker. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/acti…

heise.de

Kommentar: KI wird nicht die Menschheit vernichten, aber jede Menge Geld

heise.de

100

Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg

George Pearkes @peark.es · 01/10/2026

Today in data points that are not even remotely surprising *DISNEY'S WALDEN SAYS 'BLUEY' IS MOST STREAMED SHOW IN THE US *WALDEN: 'I WOULD OFFER A LOT OF MONEY' TO 'BLUEY' CREATOR

111739

Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg

Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

New from me: EU retools Trump trade war tripwire into China shipments surge alarm An obscure import surveillance tool developed to monitor Trump's trade war vs China has been repurposed, as the EU stands on the cusp of its own trade war with Beijing

scmp.com

EU retools Trump trade war tripwire into China shipments surge alarm

Bloc’s trade enforcement chief says the system is already picking up what may be worrying trends in a range of product categories.

1127

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Put together: small UK advised to roll their own, big EU advised to become even more dependent. The Hague has simply started building. Only one of the three is already running in municipal offices.

000

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Sovereignty here is not a communiqué; it is a desktop that a civil servant logs into. heise.de/news/Niederlande-bauen-sou…

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The most concrete move is the least glamorous. The Netherlands is building an open-source working environment for public authorities, with a desktop operating system based on NixOS, and eight municipalities are already testing it.

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

He warns against reliance on foreign providers (huh?) and says much of the value created must stay in Europe. A package of measures is due by the end of the year. I would note that deployment on someone else's models is still a tenancy, not ownership.

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

That is not a policy preference but a dependency problem: if you build nothing, you pick a landlord. Jim Hagemann Snabe, AI adviser to the European Commission, wants Europe to stop chasing the US and China on leading models and instead deploy AI quickly in health, agriculture, transport and industry

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

David Lamy argues in the FT argues the UK must back its own AI firms, because a US ban on Chinese models would divide the world and the prime minister needs a plan to avoid being forced to choose sides between American and Chinese technology.

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Germany's emergency services radio network — police, fire, rescue — is going 5G. BDBOS chief Christoph Hübner is explicit: digital sovereignty first, suppliers from risky states like China excluded from active network elements, open standards throughout.

heise.de

Digitalfunk: Bund schließt kritische Anbieter beim Umstieg auf Breitband aus

Deutschland stellt den Behördenfunk auf 5G um. Um die digitale Souveränität zu wahren, setzt der Bund auf offene Standards und schließt Risiko-Anbieter aus.

010

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Big Tech chiefs signed a voluntary, non-binding AI safety agreement at the White House, which Donald Trump called "morally binding" while declaring that firms will police each other.

ft.com

Big Tech signs voluntary AI safety deal with Trump

000

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Their stated rationale is that the state does not want to regulate. California disagrees: it favours rules and plans its own regulator, so SAFA's remit may collide with state claims. It is also unclear whether SAFA would test models itself.

000

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Google, Anthropic and OpenAI are building their own oversight body for frontier AI, reportedly called SAFA. It would set when developers must report safety incidents and define what qualifies an auditor.

heise.de

KI-Aufsichtsbehörde: Die Planung von Google, OpenAI und Anthropic wird konkreter

Die Planungen der KI-Unternehmen Google, Anthropic und OpenAI für eine selbstorganisierte Aufsichtsbehörde werden immer konkreter.

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The FTC has opened an official, expanded investigation into Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies because large language models too often cause harm. Over the coming weeks the firms are to disclose internal documents, and their top executives are being summoned to give testimony about the dangers

ft.com

FTC widens investigation into Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI firms

000

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Florida wants a court to stop ChatGPT talking as if it had feelings or character, and to stop it prodding users with follow-up questions. Behavioural design, not content, is the target. Also, no advertising ChatGPT as safe, no model releases without external safety review.

heise.de

Antrag auf einstweilige Verfügung: ChatGPT soll nicht menschlich wirken

Der US-Bundesstaat Florida hat eine einstweilige Verfügung gegen OpenAI beantragt. ChatGPT soll nicht menschlich wirken oder sich als sicher bewerben dürfen.

010

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I followed you over on the other place after a fantastic interview with Tech Policy Press. You had just left Google. My personal views however you won’t like. Some of it is about the way US companies do business, but most is simply like the US needs manufacturing, Europe needs some digital.

210

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

On the digital omnibus alone — the package that waters down AI rules and gives companies more latitude to train on personal data — Google held 22 meetings. Twenty-two. For one package. Engagement with the process or ownership of it? 3/4

121

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The spending gap mirrors the access gap: US companies outspend European ones in Brussels by a significant margin. Apple spends €9mn a year; Meta more than €10mn. Total, Volkswagen, and Airbus together spend up to €8.7mn — less than either American company alone. 2/4

121

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Google held 302 meetings with senior Commission officials and MEPs since the June 2024 EU elections. Apple: 257. Amazon: 239. Only TotalEnergies, Volkswagen, and Airbus appear among the top 20 — the rest is American. The FT doing some basic but important reporting. Chapeau! 1/4

234

Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg

Max Bergmann @maxbergmann.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The end of When Harry met Sally is the UK-EU relationship. Frank Sinatra playing "it had to be (EU)." Meg Ryan: "I know you're feeling lonely. But you can't just show up here, tell me you love me, and expect that to make everything alright. It doesn't work this way!" www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4OD...

youtube.com

When Harry Met Sally Ending Scene

YouTube video by Anthony Rocco Amaru

1324

Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Fantastic narrative changing conversation with Logan Wright (Rhodium Group) on ChinaTalk, about his book Broken China: China's growth story no longer holds. Also featuring the great Brad Setser. Thread. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/china… 1/18

podcasts.apple.com

China's Economy is Broken | Logan Wright

podcasts.apple.com

101

Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg

Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Ford CEO says it is "too late" for Europe to do anything about Chinese auto influx “I watch what’s happening in Europe right now, where that was not the case, and it’s really something that they have to deal with now, and it’s too late.”

cnbc.com

Ford CEO says it's 'too late' for Europe to fend off Chinese automakers, but not for U.S.

CEO Jim Farley's warning comes on the heels of a high-profile visit last week by Chinese President Xi Jinping with President Donald Trump

494

Reposted by Wessel van Rensburg

Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Macron spoke on China today: “China has completely flooded European market. For decades, we told ourselves: ‘Wonderful, China is a huge market for us Europeans. We need China.’ That's true. We transferred a great deal of tech, we sold a great deal, we still do to some extent...”

1207

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

None the less, the convincing lesson: there's no longer a systemic economic rivalry. China won't outgrow the West. What remains are military and industrial threats, and they can be deterred? China needs Western markets more each year, so the West has leverage it isn't using. 18/18

000

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

In the 1960s Brezhnev chose decay, betting technology would let planners beat markets (per Yakov Feygin's research). The claim is China is making a similar bet on AI (I have doubts - see Rudd comments above). China changes course only when failure is visible, as with zero-COVID. 17/18

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Xi, the Soviet parallel. Nothing stops Xi announcing a new fiscal model tomorrow that helps: tax the wealthy, break up state firms, fund migrant workers' pensions. He doesn't, because he doesn't think it's needed, "the East is rising" ideology, rivalry with the US makes admitting weakness hard 16/18

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

A footnote on AI: Wright cites Kevin Rudd's claim that Beijing sees AI as the state's "visible hand", able to outdo the market. I looked up Rudd's Chinese sources. None says so; all keep a role for markets. Motivated reasoning by Rudd? I will post a fuller analysis of Rudd's view later. 15/18

100

Wessel van Rensburg @wildebees.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

So what is Chinese AI for? Probably geopolitical leverage: Chinese tech built into the world's electronics. Not profit, jobs or AGI. A party journal recently explained why people feel worse off than official growth suggests: they haven't adopted enough AI yet. 14/18

100