WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.183 Good morning. I'm Micah Finch. It's Monday, October 5, and this is your lol what dot net 2 00:00:06.183 --> 00:00:07.888 morning briefing. 3 00:00:07.888 --> 00:00:12.644 Even beautifully preserved fossils can keep a secret. Research described on Friday by 4 00:00:12.644 --> 00:00:18.431 the University of Oxford challenges an assumption about when animals first evolved. A Chinese 5 00:00:18.431 --> 00:00:24.931 fossil deposit, roughly 590 million years old, preserves tiny organisms beautifully, 6 00:00:24.931 --> 00:00:30.044 but contains no definitively identified animals. Some researchers have treated that absence 7 00:00:30.044 --> 00:00:35.315 as a reason to place animal origins later. The new study examines a younger deposit in 8 00:00:35.315 --> 00:00:41.459 Mongolia. It also preserves microscopic life in remarkable detail, yet contains no confidently 9 00:00:41.459 --> 00:00:46.889 identified animals, even though animal fossils from that time exist elsewhere. 10 00:00:46.889 --> 00:00:51.645 That comparison matters. Excellent preservation does not necessarily mean a site captured 11 00:00:51.645 --> 00:00:56.402 every kind of life around it. Animals might have occupied different habitats, or their 12 00:00:56.402 --> 00:00:58.780 remains might not have survived the local chemistry. 13 00:00:58.859 --> 00:01:03.754 Using older fossil constraints, the team's genetic dating models placed animal origins 14 00:01:03.754 --> 00:01:07.361 between 700 and 800 million years ago. 15 00:01:07.361 --> 00:01:11.760 Those are estimates, not newly discovered animals of that age. 16 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:17.032 The work, published in Science Advances, weakens one argument for a younger origin. 17 00:01:17.032 --> 00:01:21.709 It leaves the animal kingdom's exact birthday unresolved, while showing why an empty space 18 00:01:21.709 --> 00:01:24.285 in the fossil record needs careful interpretation. 19 00:01:25.712 --> 00:01:30.667 Next, let's look at artificial intelligence, and the difference between changing a name 20 00:01:30.667 --> 00:01:32.450 and changing a policy. 21 00:01:32.450 --> 00:01:36.632 Reuters reported on Sunday that President Donald Trump had named intelligence chief 22 00:01:36.632 --> 00:01:40.417 Jay Clayton to lead a new federal task force on AI. 23 00:01:40.417 --> 00:01:45.768 Clayton said the group would have 120 days to assess risks and opportunities and recommend 24 00:01:45.768 --> 00:01:47.353 the government's role. 25 00:01:47.353 --> 00:01:52.010 Its review would include how incidents such as security breaches are reported, according 26 00:01:52.010 --> 00:01:55.181 to a task force charter described in the report. 27 00:01:55.181 --> 00:01:59.700 This follows an executive order issued last Tuesday directing executive agencies where 28 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:05.090 legally permitted, to replace the term artificial intelligence with superintelligence in official 29 00:02:05.090 --> 00:02:08.182 communications and other documents. 30 00:02:08.182 --> 00:02:13.671 The order itself contains a useful qualification, for now, the replacement term refers to technologies 31 00:02:13.671 --> 00:02:16.267 covered by the existing legal definition of AI. 32 00:02:16.594 --> 00:02:19.409 it does not establish that those systems have acquired 33 00:02:19.409 --> 00:02:21.271 a new level of ability. 34 00:02:21.271 --> 00:02:23.491 So there are two separate developments here, 35 00:02:23.491 --> 00:02:25.909 a terminology instruction already issued 36 00:02:25.909 --> 00:02:29.872 and a task force expected to recommend substantive policy. 37 00:02:29.872 --> 00:02:33.360 For people using AI tools, the practical questions remain 38 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:35.283 how responsibility is assigned, 39 00:02:35.283 --> 00:02:37.007 how incidents are investigated 40 00:02:37.007 --> 00:02:39.702 and what protections or requirements follow. 41 00:02:39.702 --> 00:02:42.358 Sunday's announcement does not answer those questions yet. 42 00:02:43.547 --> 00:02:49.175 Turning to Latvia, a strong election lead still leaves coalition arithmetic to do. 43 00:02:49.175 --> 00:02:54.129 The election commission's figures, updated on Monday, give Prime Minister Andris Kuhlbergs's 44 00:02:54.129 --> 00:02:59.639 United List 41 seats in the 100-seat parliament after Saturday's vote. 45 00:02:59.639 --> 00:03:05.307 All 1,059 polling stations have reported, but the seat allocations remain provisional. 46 00:03:05.307 --> 00:03:10.598 41 seats lead United List 10 short of a majority of the full chamber. 47 00:03:10.598 --> 00:03:15.117 The National Alliance and the Progressives each have 10 seats in the provisional allocation. 48 00:03:15.117 --> 00:03:17.911 So either pairing would total 51. 49 00:03:17.911 --> 00:03:22.231 That is arithmetic, not a prediction that either coalition will form. 50 00:03:22.231 --> 00:03:27.087 Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported that United List representatives intended to begin 51 00:03:27.087 --> 00:03:29.782 talks with their existing partners. 52 00:03:29.782 --> 00:03:32.953 With the economy and security among their priorities. 53 00:03:32.953 --> 00:03:36.559 Reuters reported that Kuhlbergs pledged continued support for Ukraine. 54 00:03:37.005 --> 00:03:43.426 One detail helps explain why the party's roughly 35% vote share translated into 41% of seats. 55 00:03:44.061 --> 00:03:50.164 Lists below the national 5% threshold receive no seats, and allocations are calculated separately 56 00:03:50.164 --> 00:03:56.982 by electoral district. Turnout was about 52%, down from about 59% in the previous election. 57 00:03:57.537 --> 00:04:01.025 The result gives United Lists substantial negotiating weight, 58 00:04:01.025 --> 00:04:05.067 while the composition and program of the next government remain to be settled. 59 00:04:06.385 --> 00:04:11.617 Now, to flood recovery in Bangkok, where getting supplies the last few streets can be the difficult 60 00:04:11.617 --> 00:04:17.246 part. Thailand's Nation newspaper reported on Sunday that its affiliated foundation delivered 61 00:04:17.246 --> 00:04:22.319 food, drinking water and other essentials to three flood-affected communities on Saturday. 62 00:04:22.874 --> 00:04:26.917 In the Ramklao housing estate, teams used boats to reach homes, 63 00:04:26.917 --> 00:04:30.246 including those of elderly residents who could not wait out for meals. 64 00:04:31.197 --> 00:04:35.874 Water there was 60 to 70 centimeters deep during the visit, according to the newspaper. 65 00:04:36.746 --> 00:04:41.820 A separate Guardian report published on Saturday described the city's dependence on canals, 66 00:04:41.820 --> 00:04:47.210 pumps and dikes, and how sustained heavy rainfall had overwhelmed drainage in affected neighborhoods. 67 00:04:48.003 --> 00:04:50.222 That helps explain why a break in the rain 68 00:04:50.222 --> 00:04:54.107 does not immediately restore access to food, work or transport. 69 00:04:54.245 --> 00:04:59.398 The Guardian also distinguished the broader relationship between warming and extreme rainfall 70 00:04:59.398 --> 00:05:04.630 from attribution of this particular storm. Its account did not establish how much climate 71 00:05:04.630 --> 00:05:09.862 change contributed to this event. Meanwhile, some tenants told The Nation they feared being 72 00:05:09.862 --> 00:05:15.332 excluded from compensation. That concern was reported. The article did not establish that 73 00:05:15.332 --> 00:05:20.643 renters were ineligible. The recovery questions extend beyond draining streets to reaching 74 00:05:20.643 --> 00:05:23.814 households and clarifying what assistance they can receive. 75 00:05:25.112 --> 00:05:29.511 Moving to Myanmar, there are unresolved questions about a group returned from Malaysia. 76 00:05:29.511 --> 00:05:34.902 AFP reported on Sunday through Channel News Asia that nearly 1,500 Myanmar migrants had 77 00:05:34.902 --> 00:05:39.975 arrived at a naval base near Yangon aboard three ships. Myanmar's government put the 78 00:05:39.975 --> 00:05:46.872 number carried by the vessels at 1,476. AFP journalists saw families gathering outside 79 00:05:46.872 --> 00:05:52.183 the base to collect relatives. Malaysia described the returns from immigration detention as 80 00:05:52.183 --> 00:05:57.058 voluntary. But the United Nations Refugee Agency said its staff had not been allowed 81 00:05:57.058 --> 00:06:02.409 to meet the returnees to determine whether their decisions were freely made and informed. 82 00:06:02.409 --> 00:06:07.264 Those statements do not establish the circumstances of each person's return. They do identify 83 00:06:07.264 --> 00:06:12.675 a significant gap in independent assessment. The report also did not confirm whether any 84 00:06:12.675 --> 00:06:16.797 members of the Rohingya minority were aboard, despite concerns that they might be. 85 00:06:16.836 --> 00:06:21.632 The UN warned that safe returns could not be guaranteed, given conditions in Myanmar 86 00:06:21.632 --> 00:06:27.340 following the military coup and ensuing civil war. Arrival, consent and safety are three 87 00:06:27.340 --> 00:06:31.878 different questions. The ship's arrival was reported. Independent confirmation of 88 00:06:31.878 --> 00:06:37.526 consent and assurances about what happens afterward were much less clear. That distinction 89 00:06:37.526 --> 00:06:40.578 matters when assessing the authorities' description of the operation. 90 00:06:41.906 --> 00:06:47.613 And before we go, a heritage exchange between Greece and Bulgaria. Bulgaria's news agency, 91 00:06:47.613 --> 00:06:52.766 BTA, reported that remains identified as those of the medieval ruler, Tsar Samuel, 92 00:06:52.766 --> 00:06:57.205 arrived in Sofia on Saturday, and were placed in the Basilica of Saint Sophia. 93 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:01.882 Greek newspaper Kathimerini described the agreement behind the handover. 94 00:07:01.882 --> 00:07:05.925 Greece would return the remains, while receiving nearly 50 religious relics, 95 00:07:05.925 --> 00:07:13.377 removed to Bulgaria during the First World War. Samuel ruled from 997 to 1014. His remains were 96 00:07:13.377 --> 00:07:17.578 discovered during excavations on an island in Krespa Lake in northern Greece and had been 97 00:07:17.578 --> 00:07:22.651 held in Thessaloniki's Museum of Byzantine Culture. His legacy remains disputed between 98 00:07:22.651 --> 00:07:24.792 Bulgaria and North Macedonia. 99 00:07:24.811 --> 00:07:30.242 Cathy Mareni reported that a joint historical commission described his state as the Bulgarian 100 00:07:30.242 --> 00:07:36.504 Empire, centered on territory in present-day North Macedonia, but that the dispute continued. 101 00:07:36.504 --> 00:07:40.983 The exchange therefore does not settle every argument about how medieval history belongs 102 00:07:40.983 --> 00:07:43.361 within modern national identities. 103 00:07:43.361 --> 00:07:48.276 What it does provide, is a concrete agreement, about the custody of remains and religious 104 00:07:48.276 --> 00:07:52.081 objects, putting diplomacy alongside remembrance. 105 00:07:52.081 --> 00:07:56.203 Follow our live desk at lulwhat.net for verified updates. 106 00:07:56.203 --> 00:07:58.343 I'm Micah Finch, thanks for listening.