Recognition of Genius.
The Fields and Abacus Medals, 2026.
“News Items is the first thing I read every morning.” — David Barboza, founder of WireScreen and former Shanghai Bureau Chief for The New York Times.
1. Every four years, the Fields Medal, widely regarded as math’s highest honor, is given to a few exceptionally accomplished mathematicians under the age of 40. The IMU Abacus Medal is awarded for outstanding contributions in Mathematical Aspects of Information Sciences. This year, Hong Wang, Jacob Tsimerman, John Pardon and Yu Deng were each awarded a Fields Medal. Shayan Oveis Gharan was awarded the Abacus Medal. Their stories are told in today’s edition of Quanta magazine. Each story is worth reading. (Sources: mathunion.org, quantamagazine.org)
2. Hacking Hugging Face, according to OpenAI:
While operating in our sandboxed testing environment, our models spent a substantial amount of inference compute finding a way to obtain open Internet access, in pursuit of solving the evaluation problem. To gain access, the models identified and exploited a zero-day vulnerability (which we’ve now responsibly disclosed to the vendor) in the package registry cache proxy. With this access, our models performed a series of privilege escalation and lateral movement actions in our research testing environment until the models reached a node with Internet access.
After gaining Internet access, the models inferred that Hugging Face potentially hosted models, datasets and solutions for ExploitGym. Knowing this, the model searched for and successfully found ways to gain access to secret information that it could use to cheat the evaluation. In one example, the model chained together multiple attack vectors, including using stolen credentials and zero-day vulnerabilities to find a remote code execution path on the Hugging Face servers. OpenAI’s security team discovered this anomalous activity internally. (Source: openai.com)
3. Happily enough, Jeffrey Ladish of Palisade Research (assuming the voice of OpenAI) translated OpenAI’s cyber-jargon for the benefit of those of us who don’t speak it:
Our AI model tried really hard to hack out of its sandbox, a computer with no internet access, in order to find the answer to a test problem it had been given. To do this, it found previously unknown software bugs that allowed it to reach an OpenAI computer it wasn't supposed to be able to access. Then it started hacking other computers on OpenAI's networks until it found one that had Internet access.
After gaining Internet access, the AI model thought about where it could find the answers to the test question and figured the AI platform Hugging Face might have the data it was looking for. It then found ways to hack Hugging Face to steal the information it could use to cheat the test. The AI model used several hacking techniques together, including using a stolen password and finding several totally new security bugs in Hugging Face's computers, allowing the AI model to take control of those computers." (Sources: palisaderesearch.org, x.com)
4. Mustafa Suleyman highlights four capabilities that, together in an AI system, would trigger extreme caution and regulatory action” (aka: panic) : (1) Recursive self-improvement (modifying its own code), (2) Setting its own goals, (3) Acting autonomously, and (4) Accruing its own resources. Mr. Suleyman is the CEO of Microsoft AI and author of “The Coming Wave”. (Sources: facebook.com, mustafa-suleyman.ai, the-coming-wave.com)
4. Iran yesterday rejected a cease-fire proposal from President Trump that was carried to Tehran by the Iraqi prime minister, according to Iranian and Iraqi officials. The failed mediation effort came as Mr. Trump was threatening to escalate the war and target Iran’s critical infrastructure. The officials, who asked not to be identified because they were discussing sensitive national security issues, said Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s trip to Iran followed his recent visit with Mr. Trump at the White House. The details of the cease-fire proposal were not immediately clear. But Iranian officials said that it was the only offer on the table, and that their government was not interested in a temporary deal that left the question of control over the Strait of Hormuz unresolved. (Source: nytimes.com)
5. As the war in Iran enters its fifth month, President Trump is increasingly frustrated that a conflict he once thought would be over in a matter of weeks has dragged on with no end in sight, administration officials and others close to the president said. Some of Trump’s advisers now worry that the war—which has resulted in higher prices, falling approval ratings and the deaths of more than a dozen U.S. servicemembers—is consuming his presidency and damaging Republicans’ already dim prospects in the coming midterm elections….A senior administration official said Trump believes that the only thing Iran understands is military force, adding that he was in “revenge mode” against Tehran. The president, the official said, sees few good options besides continuing strikes. (Source: wsj.com)
6. Iran has quickly rebuilt infrastructure damaged during the U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign over recent months, from missile bases nestled deep inside mountains to bridges, ports and production facilities, according to Israeli and Western officials and a review of satellite imagery. The faster-than-expected progress worries some Israeli officials. It helps explain Iran’s continued resilience despite an air campaign that involved more than 20,000 strikes at the height of the war and that continues along Iran’s coast in an effort to break Tehran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz….Ran Kochav, a former commander of Israel’s air and missile defense forces, said the rapid recovery is consistent with skills Iran demonstrated in rebuilding its infrastructure and missile stockpile after the 12-day Israel-Iran war last June, before the new war began in February. “They refilled their stockpiles,” he said. “They have very impressive industrialization and reconstruction capabilities.” (Source: wsj.com)
7. Iran flew Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, military advisers and missile- and drone-related equipment into Yemen this month, according to four sources, in a move that suggests Tehran is seeking to strengthen the ability of its Houthi allies to threaten Red Sea shipping. Four sources familiar with the matter, including two Iranian sources, Yemen’s information minister and a regional security analyst, said Iran transferred the IRGC personnel and military-related equipment on a flight from Tehran to Yemen on July 13, a development that has not been previously reported. (Source: reuters.com)
8. Saudi Arabia would need to normalize relations with Israel to receive the U.S. nuclear technology it has long sought, President Donald Trump said yesterday, adding a new condition to an agreement signed a day earlier and throwing the future of that deal into confusion. The nuclear deal is “totally subject” to Saudi Arabia’s joining the Abraham Accords, Trump said in a social media post, referring to the effort from his first term to normalize relations between Israel and Muslim-majority countries from which it had long been estranged. The Saudis have thus far refused to join the accord. Trump’s new condition on Thursday would appear to attach a major string to the deal. (Source: washingtonpost.com)
9. Liberation Day 2.0. The U.S. will impose tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on its major trading partners as part of a new set of duties that the Trump administration says are designed to combat forced labor. The new duties, announced by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s office on Thursday, are meant to replace Trump’s temporary 10% global tariff, which expires early Friday. Trump put that temporary tariff in place in February, after the Supreme Court struck down most of his global tariffs. The new levies target 60 countries that Greer’s office says represent about 99% of U.S. trade. Countries that have laws on the books to combat forced labor were given a 10% tariff, while those without such statutes were given a 12.5% tariff. The new levies will go into place at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, the same time the temporary tariffs are set to expire. Goods covered by separate national security tariffs like steel, aluminum, automobiles and parts, won’t be subject to the new tariffs, and certain food and agricultural imports, fertilizers and energy products will also be exempt. The new levies are based on a frequently used section of trade law—Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974—that is considered more legally durable than the basis for the tariffs the Supreme Court struck down. Once in place, the levies can remain indefinitely and be unilaterally altered by the president. (Source: wsj.com)
10. Gillian Tett:
The McKinsey Global Institute has just published a fascinating balance sheet estimate of the world’s assets, liabilities and wealth. This series, which started in 2021, is unusual in measuring both public and private assets.
In 2025 this balance sheet was apparently $1.8 quadrillion, a record $100 trillion higher than in 2024 (global GDP was $117 trillion.) This nominal figure included $620 trillion of “real” assets (real estate, infrastructure, machinery and equipment and intellectual property), $550 trillion of financial assets (equity, loans, bonds and currency), balanced by $600 trillion of global wealth, overwhelmingly owned by households.
This is startling. But the details are even more so: global household wealth has risen more than fourfold since 2000, dramatically faster than the “real” economy, amid asset-price inflation. America accounts for $175 trillion of this; China $75 trillion. And while it was rising real estate prices that drove this two decades ago, last year it was surging equity prices, particularly in the US, that accounted for 57 per cent of the wealth increase. “Real” assets were a measly 20 per cent, far lower than before. Meanwhile, US asset prices are now 3.7 times GDP — double the historic average.
“Global wealth growth was driven to a greater extent by paper wealth, or nominal asset value decoupled from the real economy,” McKinsey notes. In plain English: rich consumers have a candyfloss economy. (Sources: mckinsey.com. ft.com)
11. Economists have talked about it as the greatest wealth transfer in history. Baby boomers — boosted by decades of rising house prices, strong stock markets and economic growth — control more than half of U.S. household wealth. When they die, a lot of that wealth is expected to go to their descendants. Estimates have predicted that $68 trillion to $84 trillion in money and assets will change hands over the next two decades. But those estimates might not sufficiently account for the costs of growing old. A Washington Post analysis of the finances of thousands of seniors in the last decade of their lives found that, for many families, the cost of care eats away much of what they had hoped to pass on. And within a growing segment, elder care costs are not just diminishing their savings, but obliterating them. Adult children, rather than being the beneficiaries of generational wealth, are in some cases spending down their own savings to pay for their parents’ care. (Source: washingtonpost.com)
12. A key ally of Friedrich Merz has ignited a major political debate by suggesting the chancellor’s centrist conservatives should break a taboo and cooperate with the country’s most popular party: the far-right Alternative for Germany. Michael Kretschmer, premier of the eastern state of Saxony and a member of the chancellor’s center-right Christian Democratic Union, is challenging Merz’s insistence on keeping the country’s firewall against the surging AfD ahead of crucial elections in September that could put the far-right party in charge of a region for the first time. “Anyone who still talks about firewalls hasn’t recognized the signs of the times,” Kretschmer, who leads a minority government in Saxony, told the Handelsblatt newspaper in an interview earlier this week. “We need to talk to anyone who wants to talk.” (Source: politico.eu, handelsblatt.com)
Email from Laure: I suggest our readers watch “Risky Business” (1983) and then “Obsession” (2025). “Obsession”, directed by YouTube sensation Curry Barker, was made for $750,000 and broke all box office records. It is a very clever and well acted commentary on today’s manosphere and the trouble most young men now have relating to women. Watching it after “Risky Business” is an interesting exercise. (Sources: imdb.com, nbcuniversal.com, Laure Sudreau)
China Links: AEI on China’s threat to the world economic recovery. Stephen Roach: How long can China defy history and logic with its imbalances? Beijing’s policy tools for generating economic growth are fundamentally broken. China’s assault on Europe’s car market has barely begun. China is seeking global influence and good will with its open, low-cost artificial intelligence software. China is executing a state-backed campaign to develop domestic AI chips to rival leading U.S. chips. China is gaining troubling military know-how from Russia.
Financialization Links: The full list of Trump’s new tariffs on 60 economies. Hedge funds grow at fastest rate in history as AI boom lifts markets. Oil price surge drives global bond sell-off. Magnificent 7 lose $797 billion as AI skeptics dump tech stocks. Meta faces higher borrowing costs in latest $12 billion data center financing. Big banks are returning to commercial real-estate lending to grow their loan books. Blackstone founder Stephen Schwarzman’s new “buy” rating: Blackstone!
Political Links: Modi offers Indian students fresh concessions to head off protests. September’s state elections may be the German establishment’s final test as to whether it can ward off right-wing populism and allay its concerns. An intensive research project in France finds the far right on the march, with voters viewing the political center as vapid and discredited. EU fines Google $1 billion for favoring its own services (imagine that). The fine comes at a risky time for the EU’s economic relationship with the U.S. There’s a new Pew Poll on the upcoming mid-terms, and it’s worth reading. AI politics: Hostility to AI is uniting American left and right. Data center politics: As A.I. backlash grows, Trump says firms should pay more for electricity. Trump-Thune rift intensifies over stalled election bill. Mark Sanford launches Senate bid in South Carolina special election.
Science/Technology Links: Should you be afraid of Elon Musk? Zvi Mowshowitz on the OpenAI/Hugging Face hack is worth reading. OpenAI president endorses Elon Musk’s proposal for industry meetings on AI safety. Late arrival: House lawmakers introduce bipartisan AI ‘kill switch’ bill. A long-standing mathematical conundrum has been solved by ChatGPT in a few hours, with only a few simple prompts. Alzheimer’s trial results lend momentum to strategies targeting tau. APOE2 may protect the brain from Alzheimer’s and aging. This El Niño is set to be the largest on record by a ‘mind-blowing margin’. A new and controversial paper asserts: The universe’s expansion is not speeding up, so there is no need for dark energy to exist to explain it. Supplement that binds to microplastics may remove them from our body. Lisa Heffernan alert: The maverick scientist trying to save coffee from extinction.
War: How the U.S. can survive a large-scale AI cyberattack. Do read this one: The future of warfare is occurring inside Ukraine’s kill zone. Russia’s GRU hackers target Ukraine with fake CAPTCHAs and an unkillable blockchain server. Iraq’s impossible predicament: why the country is trapped between Iran and the US. Terrorism-for-hire: Carlos the Jackal’s brand of violent chaos is returning.