Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images
Bill Gates says AI will create "true abundance," but the next two decades before it arrives will be "as tumultuous a period as there's been in human history."
"My big concern is this 20-year transition period, where they'll have winners and losers and a lot of disruption," the Microsoft cofounder and billionaire philanthropist said on the latest episode of the "Decoder" podcast.
Gates echoed widespread concerns about white-collar jobs, saying that telesales, telesupport, and accounting will disappear as AI will be able to do those "radically cheaper, radically faster, and even more accurately." As for blue-collar jobs, humanoid robots will take over those, he said.
"If we don't choose to massively slow down or stop, then we will have robots that can build houses, grow food, do surgery," Gates said. "And none of the things that human labor provides to the economy will be necessary for most goods and services."
He also underscored how jarring it will be for someone like him, whose vast resources have allowed him to lead the charge toward eliminating malaria and tackling other humanitarian crises.
"And when the AI says to me, 'No, I'm better than you, you go play pickleball and I'll get back to you, I'm gonna take care of this' — I mean, it's kind of humorous, but it's not humorous," he said.
Gates shared his long-held view that work is vital to giving people a sense of purpose, a way to earn an income, a reason to show up every day, an avenue to build relationships with colleagues, and a path to build things and solve problems.
He suggested that certain activities such as art, sports, cooking, and childcare could one day be reserved for humans, "even though the AI could do those things better."
Gates also highlighted that measures such as early retirement and caps on working hours could help maintain some level of human employment.
He envisioned some people saying, "Let's be like the Amish and let's only use AI for certain things," so they won't have to give up "helping each other or coming up with unique ideas."
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon have both proposed a shorter workweek as a less painful alternative to AI-driven unemployment.
Gates is one of several tech leaders to warn of job disruption on the road to an age of abundance.
Elon Musk has predicted a "bumpy" transition and proposed government checks for all as the best solution to AI-driven job losses. He's said that technology will drive production costs so low that everyone can have "whatever stuff they want," work will become "optional," and it's not worth saving for retirement in 10 or 20 years as money won't matter.
Similarly, Anthropic's Dario Amodei has said that AI promises to "raise the quality of life for everyone," but the "short-term shock will be unprecedented in size."
However, OpenAI's Sam Altman said in May that AI hasn't eliminated as many white-collar jobs as he expected, and he no longer anticipates a "jobs apocalypse."
Despite widespread worry about AI taking corporate jobs, and high-profile layoffs at major companies such as Amazon and Meta, national unemployment hasn't increased materially during the AI boom.
Ukraine's military satellite links work at full speed again after a cap that hobbled its drones, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said on 24 October. Hours later, SpaceX owner Elon Musk, who earlier pointed at Washington, said his company had enforced its own rules. A Ukrainian presidential adviser and a drone volunteer replied that civilian Starlink could not fly such missions.
Ukraine holds off Russia with American tools it doesn't control, so any pause decided abroad, like stalled Patriot deliveries or the Starlink cap, opens gaps in its defense. With no stated rule on what Ukraine's forces may do, the next cutoff could again come unannounced and unexplained.
The ministry recorded stable connections above 400 km/h (250 mph). Before, Kyiv said, links on Starlink and its military version, Starshield, cut out above 161 km/h (100 mph).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the restoration began overnight. "The speeds are now where they need to be," he said, citing defense against jet-powered Shahed drones. He thanked US lawmakers, the media, the State Department, and the US President, but not Musk or SpaceX.
Musk replied "Correct" to an X user who called Starlink "not a weapons system." "Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week," he wrote.
Correct.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 24, 2026
Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be.
Starshield, a different system, is controlled by the US government. What they decide to do is up to them.
Ukraine military violated… https://t.co/ZXBB8bYfPn
He called Starshield "a different system" the US government controls, and warned: "Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately. This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact."
Musk named no evidence, cases, or time frames. Overnight, he answered a headline on the US financial blog ZeroHedge saying he "admits" SpaceX throttled Starlink.
"We simply enforced our terms of service when they were bypassed. There has been no change to our terms of service," Musk wrote.
When the cap hit on 14 October, Musk wrote that the US government owns and controls Starshield and that the US military and "ultimately POTUS" decide any limits. US President Donald Trump, who credited Musk with the fix while Kyiv still saw the cap, said on 24 October he had spoken to Musk about Ukraine but gave no details.
Ukrainian presidential adviser on defense technology Serhii Beskrestnov, known by the callsign Flash, wrote:
"It is very strange that Elon Musk doesn't know about the restrictions on Starlink operations in Ukraine."
Since winter 2026, every Starlink terminal over Ukraine, occupied areas included, has been limited to 70–90 km/h (43–56 mph), he said, and over Russia, Starlink does not work. "So we PHYSICALLY CANNOT USE COMMERCIAL STARLINK for deep strikes and mid-range strikes," Beskrestnov wrote. Deep strikes hit targets far inside Russia, mid-range ones targets closer to the front.
Ukrainian activist and drone fundraiser Serhii Sternenko called Musk's claim untrue. He said Ukraine introduced whitelists of terminals in February, and any terminal used on the move had to be listed and connected to Starshield.
"So using civilian Starlink for drone missions was technically impossible. All drone missions that needed satellite communication could be carried out only with Starshield," Sternenko added.
European governments help pay for Ukraine's Starlink service. Germany funds it under a contract that runs until April 2027. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, whose country pays around $50 million a year for the service, said on 23 October: "Mixing business with politics usually ends badly, especially when we talk about Elon Musk."
The New Statesman has published a letter signed by the great and good defending Sally Rooney's right to support Palestine Action. Prof James Alexander wonders why so many writers couldn't write a decent letter.
The post A Reply to Slavoj Žižek, Jonathon Porritt, Peter Singer, Shami Chakrabarty, Priyamvada Gopal, Tariq Ali, Jeremy Corbyn and All appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, for years allegedly had access to at least two secret foreign bank accounts in Israel and the United Arab Emirates whose deposits totaled roughly $2 billion according to an excerpt, published on Thursday by Vanity Fair, from an explosive upcoming book . The excerpt of the book […]
The post Book says Kushner had access to secret, Arab-funded bank accounts appeared first on Asia Times.
Scintille in diretta a Omnibus, su La7, tra Luca Sommi, giornalista del Fatto Quotidiano e conduttore di Accordi & Disaccordi, e il giornalista economico Alan Friedman. Casus belli: le proteste giovanili di Milano e il ruolo delle presunte interferenze russe nell’alimentare le tensioni sociali in Europa.
Tutto comincia dall’analisi di Sommi sugli scontri di Milano. Il giornalista del Fatto respinge l’idea che dietro la rabbia dei ragazzi ci sia la regia di Mosca e richiama invece le disuguaglianze economiche, l’inflazione e la perdita del potere d’acquisto delle famiglie. Sommi insiste soprattutto su un punto: attribuire il disagio giovanile alle infiltrazioni russe significa distogliere lo sguardo dalle condizioni materiali in cui vivono milioni di persone.
“Mi viene da sorridere al pensiero che il disagio giovanile in Italia e in Europa sia colpa delle infiltrazioni di Putin – osserva – Non riesco a rimanere serio su questa cosa, perché in realtà parliamo di un problema strutturale”.
Poi richiama la condizione sociale di tanti manifestanti, spesso figli di immigrati di seconda generazione o delle fasce più povere della popolazione italiana: “Qui ci sono dei ragazzi che non ce la fanno più. A 11 anni vai in piazza a manifestare. Questo è un termometro di una sperequazione sociale esasperata. Se tu togli 300 euro di reddito di cittadinanza magari al papà, che temporaneamente era in difficoltà, e non hai il coraggio di tassare le multinazionali e i super ricchi, allora accadono queste cose”.
A intervenire successivamente è Antonio Di Bella, ex direttore del Tg3, che introduce una distinzione tra le origini delle proteste e il loro sfruttamento politico da parte del Cremlino: “È chiaro che il fuoco degli scontri non viene acceso dalla Russia o da qualche misterioso manovratore. Ma apertamente gli esponenti del governo Putin usano le tensioni europee come prova della crisi dell’Occidente“.
Di Bella cita anche Aleksandr Dugin, ideologo nazionalista russo e rbadisce che non c’è nessuna “manina misteriosa” ma una strumentalizzazione alla luce del sole: “È evidente che chi manifesta e gli scontri non sono creati da fuori, ma sono alimentati e sfruttati da fuori”.
Dal collegamento Friedman applaude e mostra il gesto dell’ok con la mano. E commenta: “Antonio Di Bella ha detto perfettamente. Poi che qualche filoputiniano difenda Putin non è una sorpresa, che sia un giornalista per un giornale di propaganda del Cremlino, che sia un politico di destra…”.
Sommi interviene: “Friedman, attenzione a dare dei filoputiniani perché si beccano le querele e poi le si pagano”.
Il giornalista americano ribatte immediatamente: “Mi stai minacciando?”..
“No – replica Sommi – Ti invito alla cautela a usare certi termini perché li hanno già usati a lungo anche sul Corriere della Sera e poi hanno pagato copiosamente per aver dato dei filoputiniani a chi si interroga sulle questioni invece di chi liscia da una parte. Te lo dico così, per rinfrescarti le idee”.
Il riferimento è alla vicenda giudiziaria di Alessandro Orsini, sociologo e professore associato alla Luiss Guido Carli di Roma. Il 5 giugno 2022 il Corriere della Sera pubblicò un articolo firmato da Monica Guerzoni e Fiorenza Sarzanini, intitolato “Influencer e opinionisti. Ecco i putiniani d’Italia” e dedicato a una presunta rete di opinionisti e influencer che rilanciavano la propaganda del Cremlino, con riferimenti alle attività del Copasir e dei servizi di intelligence. Tra i nomi compariva quello di Orsini, accompagnato dalla sua fotografia. Il professore ha promosso una causa civile contro Rcs, il direttore Luciano Fontana e le due giornaliste. Il Tribunale di Milano, in primo grado, ha condannato i convenuti a risarcirlo con 27.500 euro per danni e circa 5mila euro per spese processuali.
Friedman sbotta: “Questo è talmente da cafone che neanche ti rispondo. Io non sono qui per litigare e non credo di aver nominato nessun giornale. Attenzione, signor avvocatino“.
Sommi non arretra e gli fa notare la sequenza degli interventi: “Hai parlato di “giornalisti filoputiniani” subito dopo che ho detto che un conto è esultare perché l’Europa va male, visto che c’è una guerra, un conto è avere l’intromissione di Putin nei social»”.
Friedman rivendica di non aver indicato alcuna testata né alcuna persona specifica: “Ho fatto il nome di qualche giornale? Mi querela per non aver fatto nessun nome e aver parlato genericamente? Ma va’! Io volo alto e non scendo a questi livelli bassi, ok?”.
Sommi ride e ribadisce: “Hai appena detto dei giornalisti filoputiniani”.
“Ho parlato genericamente dei putiniani in Italia senza nominare nessuno, signorino“, rilancia Friedman.
Greco, visibilmente spazientito, cerca di chiudere il battibecco: “No, no, non ha nominato nessuno, benissimo”.
Ma Friedman continua a interrompere, ripetendo “Signorino!” e poi “Piccolo signore!“, mentre Sommi reagisce divertito e il conduttore è costretto ad arrendersi con una battuta: “Siamo alla frutta, come dicono in Calabria“.
L'articolo Scontro tra Sommi e Friedman su La7. “Attento a dare del filoputiniano, poi le querele si pagano”. “Mi minacci, signor avvocatino cafone?” proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.
© Pool photo by Reed Saxon
Editor's note: Most of the Ukrainian soldiers and commanders interviewed are identified by their callsigns, in accordance with military protocols.
KHARKIV OBLAST — Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr had already narrowly survived crossing a mine-strewn field and a river in the crosshairs of Russian artillery when the swarm of first-person-view
Years ago, when people asked Geoffrey Hinton why he worked on artificial intelligence, he would repeat a line from J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the creators of the atomic bomb: “When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it.”
© Ramón de la Rocha (EFE)
The commander of an interceptor battalion in Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps said his unit destroyed several thousand Russian aerial targets during Operation Vivaldi, ArmyInform, the Defense Ministry’s news agency, reported on 21 October.
Operation Vivaldi is a Ukrainian counteroffensive north of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, where the 3rd Army Corps has reported liberating settlements. In its third phase, Ukrainian forces reclaimed five settlements and expanded their gains to 176 square kilometers. Strikes on Russian logistics and electronic warfare likely neutralized Russia’s drone defenses before Ukraine sent in armor, the Institute for the Study of War assessed.
The commander, who uses the callsign “Betsyk,” leads the interceptor battalion of the 1030th Anti-Aircraft Missile-Artillery Regiment “Aquila,” part of the 3rd Army Corps. He said Russian forces deployed large numbers of reconnaissance drones to locate Ukrainian positions after the corps began advancing.
Betsyk named Zala, Orlan, Supercam, Merlin, and Knyaz Veshchiy Oleg among the reconnaissance drones used by Russian forces.
Russia also brought in reinforcements and units operating strike drones, including first-person-view (FPV) quadcopters, Molniya fixed-wing FPV drones, and Lancet crews, he said. At one stage, Russian forces deployed crews from their Rubicon drone unit to disrupt the advance, but the move did not change the situation.
Betsyk said his battalion’s work deprived Russian forces of the ability to strike Ukrainian troops and track their movements.
The regiment also works against Russian strike drones heading for targets behind the front line. Betsyk said interceptor crews had destroyed some jet-powered drones, but not in significant numbers.
The main difficulty is speed, he said. Interceptor drones need to reach 500–600 km/h to intercept Russian jet-powered attack drones, according to Betsyk.
For now, the regiment mainly uses conventional air-defense systems against these targets: self-propelled anti-aircraft systems, surface-to-air missile systems, and portable surface-to-air missile systems. Betsyk said these systems were historically designed to engage jet-powered targets.
He compared the current challenge with the early use of piston-powered Shaheds. Those drones initially posed a serious threat but later became easier for Ukrainian air defenses to counter. Russia has largely stopped using piston-powered Shaheds on most fronts since summer, he said, but continues to use piston-powered Gerbera drones, which are relatively cheap and can partly exhaust Ukrainian air defenses. The main drones Russian forces use now are jet-powered Shaheds, he said.
Betsyk expects Russian forces to adapt if Ukraine fields effective interceptors against jet-powered drones. They will seek ways to evade the interceptors, increase speed, improve navigation, and change their tactics, he said. However, he added that the battalion had not observed a major evolution so far and did not expect the drones’ speed to double.
Separately, 3rd Army Corps commander Andrii Biletskyi said Ukrainian forces retook 277 square kilometers and 16 settlements during Operation Vivaldi, Ukrainska Pravda reported. Biletskyi also said Russian losses exceeded 8,000 personnel, according to ArmyInform. These figures are Ukrainian claims and have not been independently verified.
In late August, President Donald Trump announced what he called the “biggest oil deal in world history.” Since then, the full text of the accord — which grants the U.S. sweeping access to Venezuela’s oil reserves — has been one of the most sought-after secrets in Washington, DC. ProPublica has reviewed a copy of the […]
The post The secret terms of Trump’s Venezuelan oil deal appeared first on Asia Times.
Russian drones struck a 24-story apartment building in Kyiv, a university building in Kremenchuk, warehouses, and hypermarkets overnight on 21 October, killing two people in the capital and an elderly couple near Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said. The attack went well beyond Ukraine’s power grid, hitting places where people live, study, and shop. Over the past day, Russian strikes also killed three more civilians and injured dozens across several oblasts.
Russia has kept up nightly drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities through the autumn, mostly aimed at the energy system. It struck Ukraine’s energy 76 times during a US-declared truce, and fired 39 ballistic missiles at the grid three days after Washington announced it. This time the targets also included homes, a university, warehouses, and shops.
Overnight, Russia launched 186 Shahed-type and other attack drones, 88 of them jet-powered, along with Iskander-K cruise missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force said. Air defenses downed or jammed 150 drones. Hits were recorded at 27 locations, and debris fell at 13 more.
A drone hit a 24-story residential building in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district at the level of the 20th floor, starting a fire, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The fire spread over about 70 square meters, and rescuers found the bodies of two people while clearing debris, the State Emergency Service said. Two people were injured and hospitalized, Klitschko said, including a 46-year-old man who was walking past the building, according to the police.
In the Desnianskyi district, seven parked cars caught fire, the State Emergency Service said; police put the number at about 10. The evening before, drones hit a warehouse building in Desnianskyi and a transport facility in Solomianskyi district.
In the village of Korotych near Kharkiv, Russian drones killed an 81-year-old woman and an 83-year-old man, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Rescuers recovered their bodies from the rubble of their house, the State Emergency Service said. Eleven people, including a two-month-old boy and an eight-year-old girl, were treated for acute stress, and 13 houses were damaged.
In Kremenchuk, a drone hit a building of the Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi National University, setting it on fire, the State Emergency Service said. Three people were injured, including a 16-year-old who was hospitalized with a concussion, Poltava Oblast Governor Vitalii Diakivnych said. In the Poltava community, drones damaged an administrative building and warehouses.
In Lviv Oblast, an attack set fire to an enterprise in a village in Lviv district and injured two people, while a house was damaged in a neighboring village, the State Emergency Service said. In Uman, drones hit a hypermarket and damaged a hotel, injuring one person, Cherkasy Oblast Governor Ihor Taburets said.
On the evening of 20 October, a drone hit an Epicentr hypermarket in Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast, injuring eight people, acting Governor Heorhii Reshetilov said. Russia also struck a hypermarket in Rivne Oblast several times that day, injuring four and forcing rescuers to pull back while they fought the fire, the State Emergency Service said.
The overnight strikes followed a day of attacks. In Kyiv, Russian strikes on 20 October killed one person and injured 21, three of them seriously, Klitschko said. An administrative building caught fire, rescuers freed four people trapped on its upper floors, and a healthcare facility was damaged, the State Emergency Service said. In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, two men were killed and seven people injured that day, regional officials said.
In Kharkiv Oblast, Russian attacks over the past day injured 11 more people in Kharkiv, Derhachi, and Shestakove, Syniehubov said. In Kherson Oblast, 13 people were injured, three of them children, the regional administration reported. In the Chernihiv region, an 89-year-old woman and a young woman were hurt in strikes on villages and on Novhorod-Siverskyi, Governor Viacheslav Chaus said, and a 21-year-old woman was injured in the Sumy community, according to the Sumy regional administration.
More than 5,000 subscribers lost power in Volyn Oblast’s Lutsk district, Governor Roman Romaniuk said. In Ternopil Oblast’s Kremenets district, 7,949 subscribers remained without power after earlier Russian strikes on energy facilities, the regional administration reported.
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