Mission Everywhere

Jessica Brice / Bloomberg : A deep dive into a global money-laundering ecosystem powered by crypto and messaging apps like WeChat and Telegram, used by drug cartels and criminal groups   —  A vast ecosystem supported by the gig economy has sprung up to clean all that cash.  —  The pitch was simple: Crypto for “cold hard cash.” from Techmeme https://ift.tt/F0NoGnO

The author says embracing the chaos of having two kids is the only way to survive. Courtesy of the author Becoming a mom of two has been one of the hardest transitions of my life. Parenting one more child feels like you are parenting about six more. Embracing the chaos has been the only way to survive. When I was a mom of one , I nailed motherhood. I was calm and patient; my child was well-dressed; the car was pristine; the chores were completed; and there was very little shouting. But as a mom of two, I just can't parent to the same standards. Everything is messier, louder, more rushed, less organized, and good enough, just has to be enough. Going from one child to two has, without a doubt, been one of, if not the hardest, adjustments of my entire life . One plus one does not equal two in this scenario. As a mom to a 1.5-year-old, a 3.5-year-old, a 16-year-old stepson, and two needy cats, it sometimes feels like I care for a dozen creatures. I thought I was prepared Wh...

Alexandr Wang cofounded Scale AI. But he's about to become a very expensive hire at Meta. Drew Angerer/Getty Images Scale AI is suing the Department of Defense, filing its complaint on January 30. The nature of the dispute is unclear, and case documents are expected to include classified information. Scale AI is best known for its data labeling work with Big Tech companies like Meta and Google. Meta-backed artificial intelligence training company Scale AI is suing the Department of Defense. The nature of the dispute, including what Scale is seeking, is unclear. Most of the documents, including the complaint, were filed on January 30 and are sealed. The lawsuit has not previously been reported. Case documents are expected to include classified information at the "secret/no foreign" level, according to one of the few unsealed documents. The US is the only named defendant. Another AI company, Enabled Intelligence, joined as an intervenor defendant — a third part...

Dwarkesh Patel / Dwarkesh Podcast : Q&A with Dario Amodei on getting close to “a country of geniuses in a data center”, how AI will diffuse through the economy, frontier lab profits, China, more   —  “That's why I'm sending this message of urgency”  —  Dario Amodei thinks we are just a few years away from “a country of geniuses in a data center”. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/ifaUxZ3

Dan Primack / Axios : PitchBook estimates that 25%+ of VC-backed unicorns have become “undercorns,” startups once valued at $1B or more by VCs but now valued below that threshold   —  New valuation data from PitchBook suggests that more than one-quarter of VC-backed “unicorns” have lost their horns … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/w5OFHq8

Demetri Sevastopulo / Financial Times : The US DoD published and then deleted a document adding Alibaba, Baidu, and BYD to a list of companies with alleged connections to the Chinese military   —  The companies are among a number the Pentagon believes could pose a threat to American national security from Techmeme https://ift.tt/5NtylQv