OVERWORLD:
-Enter the age of military robot dogs-

ONE BETWEEN:
-Pope Francis cares about AI, and wants to get involved-

THE DEPTHS:
-This giant piece of art was stolen, and never found-

"Pain is joy when it cries, it's my smile in disguise."
— Pusha T

✦DISCOVERY PICKS✦

▶️ YouTube:
How Private Equity Ate Britain

✖️ X:
A controversial writer you've never heard of. The US banned some of his books from publication for 30 years.

❓
Mystery link.

We’re here

Enter the age of military robot dogs

You’ve probably seen those cool robot dogs before, most famously from Boston Dynamics.

But have you seen them… leading a Chinese recon unit with a gun on their head?

Last month, this video was released by Chinese state-run news agency CCTV. In it, soldiers from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) are seen operating alongside these four-legged robots. Check it out:

✦Paranoia✦

The US response to China's advancements has been kinda shook. According to WIRED, at least one American lawmaker called for a Defense Department report on the implications of armed robot dogs for national security.

Still, the United States isn’t far behind. The Pentagon has been experimenting with quadrupedal robots armed with M4A1 carbines, XM7 rifles, and even M72 anti-tank weapons… Damn! Recently, the Marine Corps tested integrating AI-enabled weapon systems into robot dogs.

Caution: US defense officials stress that these experiments are exploratory, and mostly for understanding how robotic systems might work in future conflicts.

Despite this stated “exploratory” approach, the US military is actively incorporating robot dogs into various roles. Since 2020, the Air Force has used them for base security and other tasks, and their presence has expanded across different branches for roles like hazardous material detection and perimeter security.

It’s not AI: The US military and robotics companies seemingly want to keep these systems human-operated. It’ll probably be much like how military drone operators are trained now — moving joysticks like gamers, distantly operating death machines on a real battlefield.

✦QUICK HITS✦

✦Business & Tech✦

Gah… damn! Cocoa prices have tripled, creating challenges for candy makers. Long-term contracts protect some companies until 2025, but crop issues and market speculation drive costs higher. Companies may reduce cocoa use or innovate to manage expenses.

GameStop's annual shareholder meeting was postponed due to server crashes from high interest. The meeting was disrupted, immediately adjourned, and rescheduled for Monday. This coincided with a surge in GameStop's stock amid renewed meme stock interest driven by Roaring Kitty.

The real winner: Streaming services are raising prices, but Tubi, a free ad-supported service, saw a 46% audience increase in May, outperforming Disney+ with 1 million average viewers. Tubi reported 74 million monthly active users in September 2023.

Elon Musk envisions Tesla's humanoid robots boosting its market cap to $25 trillion, half of the S&P 500's $45.5 trillion value. Currently valued at $580 billion, Tesla aims for limited robot production by 2025.

✦Fashion & Culture✦

Surprisingly good: For Spring 2025, Jerry Lorenzo's Fear of God reinvents '80s-'90s corporate tailoring. This is kinda drastic from the cozy, elegant sweatpants Fear of God has been doing for a decade — still, turned out pretty good.

Good as always: JW Anderson’s collection at Milan Fashion Week showcased cozy, sleep-inspired designs with padded silhouettes, quilted coats, and playful modern pieces. Super fun stuff.

Charles Barkley announced his retirement from television after the 2024-2025 NBA season. He confirmed he will leave TNT, expressing gratitude for his 25-year career and naming possible successors.

Is this the first Nintendo commercial?

✦Hmm… Interesting✦

Cozy 1-minute read: Money is the oldest, best and easiest collaboration tool

Dense 7-minute read: A most profound video game: a good cognitive aid for research at the frontier of life and mind

Big read for big brains: Do you still count on your fingers?

Really, really sick: Play Quake in your browser

For developers: Leveraging Zig's Allocators

ONE 

BETWEEN

Old God vs. New God

Pope Francis cares about AI — wants to get involved

Last week, Pope Francis talked AI with some world leaders at the G7 summit.

He basically urged them to prioritize human dignity in the development and use of artificial intelligence, a classic sentiment at this point.

Also, this historic appearance marked the first time a pope attended the G7 summit, emphasizing the ethical implications of AI on human relations.

Anyway, Francis stressed that AI must remain human-centric, with decisions about its use, especially in weaponry, remaining under human control.

"We would condemn humanity to a future without hope if we took away people’s ability to make decisions about themselves and their lives," he said.

Speaking of robot dogs, Francis also called for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons, asserting, "No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being."

We’ll see how any of that goes, lol.

THE DEPTHS

Sneak lore

This giant piece of art was stolen and never found

One morning in 1934, an unbelievable scene took place in the St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium.

The Ghent Altarpiece, a grand, actually huge, polyptych painted by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, was missing one of its panels depicting the Just Judges, leaving a gaping hole in its place.

✦Stolen, again✦

It wasn’t the first time the Ghent Altarpiece had been stolen or potentially destroyed. If you understand how big of a deal the painting is, you’d get why.

Commissioned by the wealthy merchant Jodocus Vijd in the early 1420s, it was installed in the family’s chapel as a testament to Vijd’s wealth and prestige. It was actually one of the first artworks painted in oils.

Over the centuries, it became one of Northern Europe’s most coveted artworks. But fandom and hate grow in symmetry.

First, Protestant iconoclasts almost destroyed it, then Napoleon stole it, and then the German army seized it in WWI.

✦Worst timing ever✦

Despite its dramatic history, the 1934 theft shocked Belgium, already in turmoil after King Albert I’s mysterious death and the collapse of two major banks. The loss of such a prominent artwork wounded national pride deeply.

Authorities were baffled. The police found no clues as to how the thief could’ve possibly disassembled and stolen a panel nearly 1.5 meters tall unnoticed.

Tips flooded in, but none led to serious leads.

(Below is the Just Judges)

✦Held hostage✦

Then, on May 1, 1934, Bishop Honoré Coppieters received a ransom letter in a surprisingly gentle tone demanding one million francs for the panel's return.

The polite tone suggested hope, and negotiations began. The thief left part of the panel at Brussels North station as a gesture of goodwill, but no one could recall the depositor’s identity.

Negotiations continued with ten more letters until they abruptly stopped, and the case went cold.

(Below is an illustration of The Ghent Altarpiece in St Bavo Cathedral, by Pierre François De Noter, 1829.)

✦The thief confesses✦

On November 25, 1934, stockbroker Arsène Goedertier, on his deathbed, confessed to being the thief.

His lawyer found incriminating evidence in Goedertier’s desk, but the panel's location remained a mystery.

Goedertier’s motives were unclear. Despite financial troubles, he was wealthy and god-fearing. His love for true crime and art suggested a desire for excitement rather than financial gain.

✦Still missing✦

In recent years, there have been some developments. A historian named Paul De Ridder claimed in 2014 to have traced the panel to a prominent Ghent family, but they have not come forward to confirm or return the panel, likely due to concerns about their reputation.

This claim has led to renewed interest and investigations, but no conclusive results have emerged.

Thus, as of now, a copy holds its place. The original "Just Judges" panel is still missing, and its fate remains unknown.