Happy Friday! Holliday Woodard back again with what you might have missed this week.
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This week’s Decision Points broke down several ways our present suddenly reflects movie plots from the supposed future: Artificial intelligence is getting too powerful, there are weapons in space and war has evolved far beyond traditional battlefields. But at least you’ll know where to find the Best Children’s Hospitals.
Monday
To start the week, Olivier looked at recent AI warnings and political reactions. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei pleaded in an essay, “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models.” He’s one of many experts sounding the alarm – but the federal government is in no rush to act.
Part of the tepid response, Olivier notes, is the worry that regulations will slow America’s ability to compete with China in the AI race – one of President Donald Trump’s main concerns. Trump dismissed the warnings as a “SICK conspiracy” and said, “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT.”
Tuesday
Next, Olivier interviewed Senior Health Data Scientist Jennifer Winston about the U.S. News’ annual Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. Here’s what she said:
Wednesday
Midweek, Olivier covered the Pentagon’s first confirmation that the U.S. has weapons in orbit. It’s no huge surprise given that the Space Force published a blueprint in 2025 called “Space Warfighting: A Framework for Planners.” But after years of not acknowledging weapons in space, the disclosure may send a message to allies like France and rivals like China and Russia.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in a speech that the U.S. “has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action.” He did not specify what kind, how many, or where the threat is coming from – Olivier suspects China. U.S. officials are aware of both Chinese and Russian actions in space, confirming it may become a space arms race.
Thursday
To close the week, Olivier unpacked a federal indictment detailing Russia’s “hybrid war” against the West, including an alleged murder-for-hire plot in the Washington, D.C., area this summer. The Justice Department charged five people tied to a “global assassination network” that allegedly recruited people to surveil, kill and commit acts of terrorism.
It fits a broader pattern, Olivier notes: attacks meant to destabilize the West while staying below the threshold that would trigger NATO’s mutual defense provisions. Some recent examples include Russian drone incursions in other countries and this week’s shootdown of a suspected Russian drone by an Italian fighter jet. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, called on the EU to address incidents that “fall below armed aggression but clearly threaten our national security.” Whether Washington will respond more forcefully is unclear.
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