Mediaboss Marketing

After years of igniting conflict with his special brand of kerosene, Donald Trump now wants to bring down the temperature in the country.

Hes sensing the risks to his own interests if he gets blamed for the violence he unleashed on law enforcement after the search of his Florida residence. So he appeared on Fox News and sent an emissary to the Justice Department, to deliver the message that he was ready to help lead the way out of chaos.

Of course, what Trump actually wants is plausible deniability for the chaos he continues to create. On TV he intoned for conciliation, but online he kept right on the attack, blaming his legal troubles on Democrats and corrupt enemies. Meanwhile, there are more threats of violence from his allies.

Trumps lawyer warned on right-wing TV that criminal charges for Trump would cause so much mayhem and would be a monstrous mistake. (Most lawyers say my client is innocent. Trumps seems to be advising that if you decide to prosecute, youre signing up for mob violence in the bargain.)

Another Trump lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, threatened instant house-raiding retribution for President Biden the moment Trump is re-elected. And Trump himself was right behind him, affirming that he, too, is thinking of retribution on so many enemies, most of whom no longer even hold public office.

Former veep Mike Pence, ever looking for disgraces that let him nudge away from his onetime boss, also noticed that sowing violence against law enforcement may pose a political opportunity. Pence, who just happened to be in the early-presidential-primary state of New Hampshire this week, chided the GOP for suborning attacks on the FBI and Justice Department.

The Republican Party is the party of law and order, Pence said, deploying a slogan that completely misidentifies the contemporary Republican Party. Who can convince the GOP base that attacking law enforcement (or election officials, or political opponents, or public health spokespersons) really is un-American?

Probably no one, because, as Mar-a-Lagos aftermath has proven, this is an authoritarian movement. Law and order is a phrase that long ago was co-opted to mean intimidation and domination. What Pence never counted on when he signed up for Team Trump is that the intimidation and domination would extend to insufficiently supplicated cops.

This week I sat down with former Attorney General Eric Holder for an interview airing on VICE News upcoming Breaking the Vote TV show (watch for it after Labor Day!). Holder has a book out on what he calls the existential emergency of American democracy, and how to fix it. He had some pretty specific things to say about Trump getting charged, and especially the aftermath of the Mar-a-Lago search.

All but the most cynical AGs would get fired up about a politician who targets law enforcement personnel for personal gain. But Holder also seems to recognize the political salience of the Mar-a-Lago aftermath. Holder isnt running for office, but he does want Democrats to hold the House and add a couple Senate seats so they can quickly enact democratic and voting reforms.

Whats interesting is that with Trump looking for cover, and Pence looking for opportunity, and Holder looking for a rallying cry, youve heard very little from any prominent Dem office-holders. Maybe its because its politically-sleepy August, or maybe because President Biden would rather talk about the new climate bill.

Were likely to learn more in the next several days about what the DOJ has on Donald Trump and his quest to take and hold onto classified documents. It probably wont be the last time Trumps supporters threaten law enforcement, and it definitely wont be the last time Trump encourages them.

Makes you wonder if that will piss off any Democrats actually running for something the way it pisses off an attorney general from the Obama years.

Sign up your friends for Breaking the Vote! And watch out for the Breaking the Vote show coming soon from VICE News. Youll be able to say you read it before they watched it!

Concession-proof

GOP Rep. Liz Cheney used the attention on her loss in Tuesdays GOP Wyoming primary to pivot to her next act: making good on her vow to never let Donald Trump get to the Oval Office again.

Cheney moved quickly to form a political action committee dedicated to the task, and juiced it with millions from her now-moot congressional campaign war chest.

Cheneys life as a future-ex member of Congress began very poetically: with bullshit from her opponent on Fox News. Harriet Hageman, who took Trumps endorsement and beat Cheney by more than 37 points, went on Hannity Wednesday and complained that Cheney never called her to concede the election.

Cheney, as is her practice in the January 6 committee, responded with receipts. Hi, Harriet, it is Liz Cheney calling, Cheney said on Hagemans voicemail. It is about 8:13 on Tuesday the 16th. Im calling to concede the election and congratulate you on the win. Thanks.

Hageman, who lied about the 2020 election throughout her campaign, is probably not caught in a lie here, as more squabbling showed the whole thing was likely a miscommunication. Still, it makes perfect sense that her official road to Congress begins with misinforming everyone on Hannity.

Everybody has resigned

The feds this week charged Walter Lee Hoornstra, of Missouri, for threatening an election official in Arizona in May 2021. According to the indictment, Hoornstra left a voicemail on the personal cellphone of the official, threatening that your ass will never make it to your next little board meeting if the official didnt comply with election audits in the state.

Hoornstra is just the sixth person charged for threatening election workers, despite more than 1,000 threats reported to a DOJ task force over the past year.

Given the epidemic of intimidation, its a staggeringly low number of charges. Federal officials said about 10 percent of reports warrant further criminal investigation, and only a tiny fraction of those meet the legal threshold for a threat. The problem, of course, is that threats dont have to be technically illegal to be effective.

Take Gillespie County, Texas, where the entire local election administration staff just resigned because of ongoing intimidation. Ive been threatened, Ive been stalked, Anissa Herrara, who just resigned as county election administrator, told the local press. We have some people who are pretty fanatical and radical about things, said county Judge Mark Stroeher. Unfortunately, they have driven out our elections administrator, and not just her, but the staff. Everybody has resigned.

You really have to choose your venue to keep all the action straight This Week in Subpoenas. Lets go around the horn from Georgia, to D.C., to New York, and Mar-a-Lago!

Target acquired

Its not clear exactly how Rudy Giuliani got himself to the Fulton County Courthouse on Wednesday. Ill give you one answer: I didnt walk, Rudy said as he arrived to testify in front of the grand jury investigating interference in the 2020 election in Georgia.

Last week Rudy tried to get out of appearing in DA Fani Willis grand jury by saying recent medical procedures left him unable to fly by plane. Ordered by a judge to get to Atlanta by some other conveyance, Rudy turned up shortly after finding out hes a target of the investigation.

We dont know what prosecutors asked Rudy, what he said, or if he answered questions at all. Did he come close to matching Trumps Fifthtastic record of refusing to answer questions 440 times? Alas, grand jury proceedings are secret, and we may never know unless or until Rudy gets charged.

So whats next for Rudy? He has legal exposure all over the place, both criminal and civil. Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen told VICE News Greg Walters that he thinks Rudy will eventually flip and become a cooperating witness against Trump. And Rudy himself, asked by a reporter at an NYC airport where hed just flown in after his testimony, quoted the DA saying he satisfied his obligation to the Fulton County grand jury.

More lawyers who need lawyers

Two other Trump coup lawyers have been ordered to appear in Fulton County. Jenna Ellis, who was sunk deep into Trump efforts to overturn 2020and is currently trying to help Christian nationalist Doug Mastriano take over elections as governor of Pennsylvaniais due to appear Aug. 25. And John Eastman, whos been searched by federal agents investigating the coup attempt AND who told Georgia lawmakers about evidence of widespread fraud that didnt exist, is trying to fight his subpoena and is set to appear in a Santa Fe court next Friday.

Senators who need lawyers

A federal judge ordered GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham to testify in Fulton County too, since Graham made two phone calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the election, just to see about throwing out ballots. Graham is still on a quest to quash his subpoena.

Governors who need lawyers

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp resisted Trumps scheme to overthrow the election, but he doesnt want to appear as a witness in front of Willis grand jury. Kemp said that would interfere with his reelection bid, after which, Willis went HAM.

Still other lawyers who need lawyers

Trump White House lawyer Eric Herschmann got a subpoena from a federal grand jury investigating the coup attempt. You may remember Herschmann from his earlier hits, which include representing Trump during his first impeachment trial, and from his testimony in front of the January 6 committee, where he recalled telling John Eastman he was out of his fucking mind for his coup plan involving former Veep Mike Pence.

Former presidents (and more of their lawyers) who need lawyers

A Florida judge appears ready to reveal more information about what federal agents were looking for when they raided Mar-a-Lago nearly two weeks ago. The judge heard arguments yesterday from media organizations who want to unseal the affidavit backing up the FBIs search warrant. DOJ opposes that release because it could complicate a possible future prosecution and tip off targets about sources, methods, and legal strategies.

But the judge ordered DOJ to propose redactions that could allow the affidavit to come out without compromising investigations. The feds have until next Thursday, and then they may have to fight it out with the judge over just how much information about the search, any classified documents, and the case comes out. DOJs position is understandable, but literally everyone else wants to know what exactly prompted the agency, all the way up to AG Merrick Garland, to calculate that getting the documents back was worth the blowbacklike having FBI agents lives threatened.

We also learned that former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputy, Patrick Philbin, were also questioned in the documents probe earlier this year.

Former vice presidents possibly considering hiring lawyers

Mike Pence is looking for places to edge away from the guy who whipped up the mob that called for him to be hanged. He may want to run for president, after all! This week Pence was asked if hed testify in front of the Jan. 6 committee and he didnt say no!

In the public Pinterest

When Arizona GOP Rep. Mark Finchem isnt busy spreading election conspiracies and hanging out with Oath Keepers, he likes to spend lots of time online. Finchems Pinterest posts offer a window into the interests and mindset of the guy whos running to control elections as Arizonas next secretary of state. Finchem likes normie things like dogs, but he was also very disappointed with Michelle Obamas choice of shorts. Also, he kept a Treason Watch List, compared Barack Obama to Hitler, and appears to fantasize about another American civil war. He deleted some of his posts, but you can still see them (thanks, Internet Archive!).

You are both wrong and confused. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, in a letter to attorney Brian McEvoy, calling out McEvoys attempt to shield Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp from testifying to Willis special grand jury.

Clerk Cant Mesa County, Colorado Clerk and indicted felon Tina Peters wont get to be on the red carpet for the premier of a new film about her! A judge this week denied Peters request to travel out of state so she could attend Mike Lindells Moment of Truth election conspiracy summit in Missouri. The event features the new film Selection Code, a documentary about Peters hosted by (honestly, though, what the hell happened to) Lara Logan.

August breach days All the Mar-a-Lago news this week kind of obscured this wild report: While Trump forces scrambled to overturn election results after November 2020, aligned lawyers were very busy trying to get access to voting machine data all across the country. The Washington Post has records from Sidney Powell and a bunch of Trump allies who retained a private data firm to gain access to voting systems and data in Georgia, Nevada, and Michigan. The scope of it is mind-blowing, one plaintiffs lawyer in a lawsuit says. Investigations, including potentially criminal ones, are underway. Dont miss a special appearance from Cyber Ninjas sleuth Doug Logan!

Felonious bunk In a world where conspiracy theorists are running to control voting, election workers face threats by the thousands, and a losing president could get charged for mounting a coup attempt, the greatest threat to democracy is clearly convicted felons who vote.

Welcome to Gov. Ron DeSantis newly created election crimes unit, which delivered its first investigations leading to charges Thursday. DeSantis announced 20 people were arrested for voting in 2020 despite being ineligible because of murder or sex offense convictions. Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 that restored voting rights to most felons if they meet certain conditions. But some classes of felons were excluded.

The new era of political violence is here. THE ATLANTIC

The Arizona Republican Partys anti-democracy experiment. NEW YORK TIMES

TikTok is great for spreading political messagesand conspiracy theories. VOX

Follow this link:
RIP, Party of Law and Order - VICE

Todays artificial intelligence is as self-aware as a paper clip. Despite the hypesuch as a Google engineers bizarre claim that his companys AI system had come to life and Tesla CEO Elon Musks tweet predicting that computers will have human intelligence by 2029the technology still fails at simple everyday tasks. That includes driving vehicles, especially when confronted by unexpected circumstances that require even the tiniest shred of human intuition or thinking.

The sensationalism surrounding AI is not surprising, considering that Musk himself had warned that the technology could become humanitys biggest existential threat if governments dont regulate it. But whether or not computers ever attain human-like intelligence, the world has already summoned a different, equally destructive AI demon: Precisely because todays AI is little more than a brute, unintelligent system for automating decisions using algorithms and other technologies that crunch superhuman amounts of data, its widespread use by governments and companies to surveil public spaces, monitor social media, create deepfakes, and unleash autonomous lethal weapons has become dangerous to humanity.

Compounding the danger is the lack of any AI regulation. Instead, unaccountable technology conglomerates, such as Google and Meta, have assumed the roles of judge and jury in all things AI. They are silencing dissenting voices, including their own engineers who warn of the dangers.

Todays artificial intelligence is as self-aware as a paper clip. Despite the hypesuch as a Google engineers bizarre claim that his companys AI system had come to life and Tesla CEO Elon Musks tweet predicting that computers will have human intelligence by 2029the technology still fails at simple everyday tasks. That includes driving vehicles, especially when confronted by unexpected circumstances that require even the tiniest shred of human intuition or thinking.

The sensationalism surrounding AI is not surprising, considering that Musk himself had warned that the technology could become humanitys biggest existential threat if governments dont regulate it. But whether or not computers ever attain human-like intelligence, the world has already summoned a different, equally destructive AI demon: Precisely because todays AI is little more than a brute, unintelligent system for automating decisions using algorithms and other technologies that crunch superhuman amounts of data, its widespread use by governments and companies to surveil public spaces, monitor social media, create deepfakes, and unleash autonomous lethal weapons has become dangerous to humanity.

Compounding the danger is the lack of any AI regulation. Instead, unaccountable technology conglomerates, such as Google and Meta, have assumed the roles of judge and jury in all things AI. They are silencing dissenting voices, including their own engineers who warn of the dangers.

The worlds failure to rein in the demon of AIor rather, the crude technologies masquerading as suchshould serve to be a profound warning. There is an even more powerful emerging technology with the potential to wreak havoc, especially if it is combined with AI: quantum computing. We urgently need to understand this technologys potential impact, regulate it, and prevent it from getting into the wrong hands before it is too late. The world must not repeat the mistakes it made by refusing to regulate AI.

Although still in its infancy, quantum computing operates on a very different basis from todays semiconductor-based computers. If the various projects being pursued around the world succeed, these machines will be immensely powerful, performing tasks in seconds that would takeconventional computersmillions of years to conduct.

Semiconductors represent information as a series of 1s and 0sthats why we call it digital technology. Quantum computers, on the other hand, use a unit of computing called a qubit. A qubit can hold values of 1 and 0 simultaneously by incorporating a counterintuitive property in quantum physics called superposition. (If you find this confusing, youre in good companyit can be hard to grasp even for experienced engineers.) Thus, two qubits could represent the sequences 1-0, 1-1, 0-1, and 0-0, all in parallel and all at the same instant. That allows a vast increase in computing power, which grows exponentially with each additional qubit.

If quantum physics leaves the experimental stage and makes it into everyday applications, it will find many uses and change many aspects of life. With their power to quickly crunch immense amounts of data that would overwhelm any of todays systems, quantum computers could potentially enable better weather forecasting, financial analysis, logistics planning, space research, and drug discovery. Some actors will very likely use them for nefarious purposes, compromising bank records, private communications, and passwords on every digital computer in the world. Todays cryptography encodes data in large combinations of numbers that are impossible to crack within a reasonable time using classic digital technology. But quantum computerstaking advantage of quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition, entanglement, and uncertaintymay potentially be able to try out combinations so rapidly that they could crack encryptions by brute force almost instantaneously.

To be clear, quantum computing is still in an embryonic stagethough where, exactly, we can only guess. Because of the technologys immense potential power and revolutionary applications, quantum computing projects are likely part of defense and other government research already. This kind of research is shrouded in secrecy, and there are a lot of claims and speculation about milestones being reached. China, France, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, Canada, and India are known to be pursuing projects. In the United States, contenders include IBM, Google, Intel, and Microsoft as well as various start-ups, defense contractors, and universities.

Despite the lack of publicity, there have been credible demonstrations of some basic applications, including quantum sensors able to detect and measure electromagnetic signals. One such sensor was used to precisely measure Earths magnetic field from the International Space Station.

In another experiment, Dutch researchers teleported quantum information across a rudimentary quantum communication network. Instead of using conventional optical fibers, the scientists used three small quantum processors to instantly transfer quantum bits from a sender to a receiver. These experiments havent shown practical applications yet, but they could lay the groundwork for a future quantum internet, where quantum data can be securely transported across a network of quantum computers faster than the speed of light. So far, thats only been possible in the realm of science fiction.

The Biden administration considers the risk of losing the quantum computing race imminent and dire enough that it issued two presidential directives in May: one to place theNational Quantum Initiativeadvisory committee directly under the authority of the White House and another to direct government agencies to ensure U.S. leadership in quantum computing while mitigating the potential security risks quantum computing poses to cryptographic systems.

Experiments are also working to combine quantum computing with AI to transcend traditional computers limits. Today, large machine-learning models take months to train on digital computers because of the vast number of calculations that must be performedOpenAIs GPT-3, for example, has 175 billion parameters. When these models grow into the trillions of parametersa requirement for todays dumb AI to become smartthey will take even longer to train. Quantum computers could greatly accelerate this process while also using less energy and space. In March 2020, Google launched TensorFlow Quantum, one of the first quantum-AI hybrid platforms that takes the search for patterns and anomalies in huge amounts of data to the next level.Combined with quantum computing, AI could, in theory, lead to even more revolutionary outcomes than the AI sentience that critics have been warning about.

Given the potential scope and capabilities of quantum technology, it is absolutely crucial not to repeat the mistakes made with AIwhere regulatory failure has given the world algorithmic bias that hypercharges human prejudices, social media that favors conspiracy theories, and attacks on the institutions of democracy fueled by AI-generated fake news and social media posts. The dangers lie in the machines ability to make decisions autonomously, with flaws in the computer code resulting in unanticipated, often detrimental, outcomes. In 2021, the quantum community issued a call for action to urgently address these concerns. In addition, critical public and private intellectual property on quantum-enabling technologies must be protected from theft and abuse by the United States adversaries.

There are national defense issues involved as well. In security technology circles, the holy grail is whats called a cryptanalytically relevant quantum computera system capable of breaking much of the public-key cryptography that digital systems around the world use, which would enable blockchain cracking, for example. Thats a very dangerous capability to have in the hands of an adversarial regime.

Experts warn that China appears to have a lead in various areas of quantum technology, such as quantum networks and quantum processors. Two of the worlds most powerful quantum computers were built in China, and as far back as 2017, scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei built the worlds first quantum communication network using advanced satellites. To be sure, these publicly disclosed projects are scientific machines to prove the concept, with relatively little bearing on the future viability of quantum computing. However, knowing that all governments are pursuing the technology simply to prevent an adversary from being first, these Chinese successes could well indicate an advantage over the United States and the rest of the West.

Beyond accelerating research, targeted controls on developers, users, and exports should therefore be implemented without delay. Patents, trade secrets, and related intellectual property rights should be tightly secureda return to the kind of technology control that was a major element of security policy during the Cold War. The revolutionary potential of quantum computing raises the risks associated with intellectual property theft by China and other countries to a new level.

Finally, to avoid the ethical problems that went so horribly wrong with AI and machine learning, democratic nations need to institute controls that both correspond to the power of the technology as well as respect democratic values, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. Governments must urgently begin to think about regulations, standards, and responsible usesand learn from the way countries handled or mishandled other revolutionary technologies, including AI, nanotechnology, biotechnology, semiconductors, and nuclear fission. The United States and other democratic nations must not make the same mistake they made with AIand prepare for tomorrows quantum era today.

Read more here:
Quantum Computing Is Even More Dangerous Than Artificial Intelligence - Foreign Policy

Multiverse and BASF Partner to Research Quantum Use for Foreign Exchange Optimization

At first glance you might wonder why BASF, a large chemical company, would be working with Multiverse Computing to use quantum computing for a financial problem. But on closer look, you would see that BASF is a giant company with 2021 revenues of 78.6billion ($78.2B USD) and operates in over 190 countries. So they need to convert currencies in their operations all the time and even small improvements in the exchange rates that they can achieve could be worth a lot of money. The team started a small 9 month research effort in January 2022 that focused only on the trading between Euros and U.S. dollars. It will be completed shortly and the team will issue a final technical report. Presumably, if this first trial is a success the companies will move on to subsequent phases that may incorporate more currencies or more complicated scenarios. For more about this project, you can read a press release issued by Multiverse that you can access here.

August 23, 2022

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Continue reading here:
Multiverse and BASF Partner to Research Quantum Use for Foreign Exchange Optimization - Quantum Computing Report

Pebble and Mensa Brands have roped in actor Tiger Shroff for their upcoming campaign to promote Pebbles range of smartwatches.

Speaking about the collaboration, Komal Agarwal, Founder of Pebble, said: Tiger Shroff has made his mark not just as a stellar actor, but also as an icon for todays youth. His drive and energy to constantly improve and stay on top of his game aligns perfectly with Pebbles ethos were delighted to be partnering with him for our campaign. She further pointed out that the actor has a cool, calm and collective persona while achieving his best, and the same matches perfectly with Pebble's temperament as a brand.

Ananth Narayanan, CEO of Mensa Brands, added: Its an absolute joy to be working with Tiger as we start this new chapter of Pebble. Hes a talented artist and the voice of a generation, and were delighted to have him on board.

Actor Tiger Shroff said, Ive never been the kind of guy who waits around for stuff if I want something, Ill go get it and Im willing to put in the work to get it. He also expressed his excitement about being part of the campaign and said: Pebble is the perfect representation of who I am: Im always moving forward, and I need a smartwatch that can keep up with me.

Read more news about (marketing news, latest marketing news,internet marketing,marketing India, digital marketing India, media marketing India, advertising news)

See original here:
Wearable brand Pebble ropes in Tiger Shroff as brand ambassador - Exchange4Media

Disney+ Hotstar has collaborated with delivery app Swiggy for the HBO series House of the Dragon which premiered on the platform on August 22. The collaboration between the two has turned the Swiggy rider into a dragon. Consumers can also notice a tag line on the top of the order Fire will reign, hunger will not. Our dragon rider is on the way!

In a LinkedIn post, EVP Hotstar Sidharth Shakdher wrote about the dragons.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:6967765275446247424?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_share&utm_content=post

The collaboration initiated interesting conversation on social media with people talking about how Swiggy was using dragons to deliver food.

Last week, the OTT platform also launched a marketing campaign for the series with BFFs Sara Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor who were recently seen sharing the Koffee With Karan couch, sharing their excitement to watch the series.

In a video posted on their social media handles, the actors were seen discussing the series. When Janhvi, a Game of Thrones fan, went quizzing Sara about the show, Sara replied House of the Dragon was a new and different show and watching Game of Thrones was not mandatory.

Based on George R.R. Martin's book Fire and Blood, the 10-episode series is a remarkable, turbulent story about the House of Targaryen, set 200 years before the events that captivated global audiences in Game of Thrones. The series is a gripping saga that takes us deep into the extraordinary world of Westeros and explores the Targaryen family - the all-powerful dragon riders who are the seemingly invincible rulers of the seven kingdoms.

Read more news about (marketing news, latest marketing news,internet marketing,marketing India, digital marketing India, media marketing India, advertising news)

Excerpt from:
Why is the Dragon delivering on Swiggy? - Exchange4Media