A.I.
Are politicians' AI dreams making them the electric sheep?
What Keir Starmer’s recent policy announcements show about his hopes and fears for AI, and the potential folly of his FOMO
scams
It's the Grifter Olympics, and this is just the Opening Ceremony
I cannot stop thinking about the Trump Meme Coin "$TRUMP", possibly the largest grift - and corruption opportunity - ever orchestrated by a political figure. And we can only anticipate more.
Guest explainer: what next for TikTok, and tech, following the US ban?
The US Supreme Court has upheld the ban on TikTok to come into effect Sunday, 19 January . What happens next?
Europe
Audio: Ireland in the queasy middle
Mark Zuckerberg's comments on Europe yesterday seem to have gone under the radar, drowned out by his announcement of a radical shift in content moderation at Meta. But they really are striking. He said that Meta would: “work with President Trump to push back on governments around the
EU investigation of TikTok goes for the jugular
The European Commission officially launched an investigation into TikTok today, announcing it suspected the company of breaching the Digital Services Act. Specifically, it is examining whether TikTok failed in it obligation to "assess and mitigate systemic risks linked to election integrity", which falls under Articles 34 and 35,
Reading list: Romanian election annulled due to digital interference
Get up to speed on the annulment of the Romanian election, and what it might mean for TikTok
Learning to pundit
It is late and I am at my kitchen table, over-caffeinated again. This weekend I got to be part of the general election coverage, which is my Carnegie Hall / Champions League Final. I imagine it might be for some people who read this, so some thoughts: It really is as
Has Ireland bucked the 2024 incumbency curse?
Hello from my kitchen table, at close to 2am. Sharing a thought I can't get out of my head on this election results day, even as the count has yet to deliver anything definitive. Do share your thoughts - either reply or I am on BlueSky - and
The three tech stories of GE24
UPDATE: I added 2 more great pieces of reporting below, from The Journal & Dublin Inquirer, after sending this post as an email We can look at the tech story of the Irish 2024 General Election in 3 ways; tech as a campaign tool, tech companies as campaign actors, and
GE2024: Attack Ads, Money Problems, and the WSJ
Before I get into it, you may have noticed that TheBriefing.ie has had a makeover. My long-time collaborator and friend Brent Gorsky did a full re-brand, including the very cool - and hand made - collages. He wrote about the strategy behind it here. And, I have added a
Irish Politics
Tech looms over this election, but as fiscal policy, not a campaign tool
Between Trump's appointees, mobile tech capital and changing tax rules, we are facing a possible fiscal cliff. Yet we are still hearing 2007-style auction politics. Where is the vision for a less FDI dependent economy?
Where is the Sinn Fein digital campaign?
With just over 2 weeks to go, we expect parties to be ramping up their ad spend. Fine Gael are, but Sinn Fein have yet to start a General Election digital campaign, at least on the paid side.