Conflict
There is no transitive law in bureaucracy.
‘Huge impact’: Biden on cusp of slashing emissions from new homes
Actions speak louder than words. Climate change is a greater priority than affordable housing.
‘Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might impose strict energy standards, raising home construction costs while lowering pollution.’
Focused limited regulatory resources on areas with the greatest risk is sensible. It also ends up limiting the amount of overall regulation, as opposed to a broad-brush that tries to cover everything with a thin veneer of protection.
‘Risk-based regulation means targeting regulation and regulatory effort on things which pose the greatest risks to society or to regulatory objectives. So risk-based regulation operates at two levels—in the design of regulatory systems and in their operationalization.
‘Designing regulation based on risk informs where to draw the regulatory perimeter—what falls within and what falls outside—and how to calibrate regulatory requirements so that more onerous requirements are placed on those activities which are thought to pose the greatest risk to society, including the deployment of technologies. Risk-based regulation at the operational level means targeting regulatory resources on those organizations or activities which pose the greatest risk to the regulator’s objectives, which are usually legally defined.’
‘The World Has Won’: New International Regulations to Protect Against Pandemics Finally Approved
In the tragedy of the international commons that is wildly contagious disease, it is good news that the countries of the world agree to mutualize some part of the responsibility for sharing information and other best practices. The only problem? There is no compliance mechanism.
Why do all of these things sound like the Socio-Economic Committee for a high school Model UN?
‘After two years of intensive negotiations – including long nights this week – the World Health Assembly (WHA) finally passed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) and committed to completing pandemic agreement talks within a year. ‘
The Chinese plan to use AI for mind control, a more tangible risk than AGI.
‘In its internal documents, the CCP says that it will use AI to shape reality and tighten its grip on power within its borders — for political repression, surveillance, and monitoring dissent. We know that the party will also use AI to drive breakthroughs in industrial engineering, biotechnology, and other fields the CCP considers productive. In some of these use cases, it has already seen success. So even if it lags behind US tech by a few years, it can still have a powerful geopolitical impact. There are many like-minded leaders who also want to use the tools of the future to cement their authority in the present and distort the past. Beijing will be more than happy to facilitate that for them. China's vision for the future of AI is closed-sourced, tightly controlled, and available for export all around the world.’
Drowning in oil: How bureaucracy is crippling Nigeria’s economic engine
Regulatory conflict in Africa is a natural consequence of the country’s economic reliance on oil.
‘Nigeria, blessed with an estimated 37 billion barrels of oil reserves—the largest in sub-Saharan Africa—should be a beacon for global investors. Yet, an intricate bureaucracy, entangling up to 20 federal agencies in the approval process, is suffocating the sector. This regulatory morass is pushing potential investments towards smaller oil-producing nations, according to findings by BusinessDay.
‘The chorus of knowledgeable voices highlights a sobering truth: new investments in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector are being stifled by regulatory bodies’ turf conflicts and conflicting mandates. This industry, the backbone of the largest economy in Africa, is being choked out by a poisonous concoction of unpredictable events and bureaucratic red tape.’