Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Anannya Parekh & Aakriti Anand
Modi 3.0: All the Prime Minister’s men
Contrary to the chatter about coalition pressure, the BJP seems to have held its ground. All the big posts—Finance, Defence, Home etc—have been given to the same coterie of its leaders. So the likes of Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah et al have not been punished for the electoral downer.
As for the allies: TDP and JD(U) did not get the infrastructure portfolios on their wishlist—like Jal Shakti—which are key to their ambitions in their state. But TDP did land the prestigious Aviation ministry. But JD(U) has been given Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying—which isn’t considered to be all that important. Lok Janshakti Party’s Chirag Paswan—the surprise entrant into the cabinet—has been awarded Food Processing. Random thought: Why do we have such weirdly named ministries—and since when is ‘dairy’ a verb?
Maha signs of trouble: Meanwhile, the Maharashtra crew—Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena) and Ajit Pawar (NCP)—are furious that they did not merit anything more than a Minister of State each. Even more interesting: The two sworn rivals are singing from the same songbook—leaders of one party speaking up for the other. As we said before: Modi-ji unites us all. He may even end up reuniting the ‘rebels’ with the mother ship before the state elections later this year. The Hindu has the full list plus the Maharashtra rebellion. Indian Express has more on what the allies were given.
Say hello to Apple Intelligence
At its developers conference, the company unveiled plans to insert AI into almost every part of the iPhone. That means everything from emails to emojis:
Think of the announcement as a top-to-bottom makeover of the iPhone, with AI plugged in wherever the company’s software engineers could think to do it. The idea is that using AI on the iPhone will seem normal — so normal that sometimes you might not even notice it’s there.
As for ChatGPT: The integration of OpenAI seems to be part of a “limited partnership”—and users will have to opt in. Here’s how the Apple folks describe it:
[Senior Vice President] Craig Federighi, said the company in its early AI days wants to give users access to “external models” in addition to its own AI. “We’re starting out with the best of these, the pioneer and market leader ChatGPT from OpenAI,” he said. Siri will have the ability to “tap into ChatGPT’s expertise when it might be helpful” for free.
Doesn’t sound like much—but enough to make Elon Musk very unhappy. He is threatening to ban iPhones at his companies if ChatGPT is integrated with its operating system: “That is an unacceptable security violation. And visitors will have to check their Apple devices at the door, where they will be stored in a Faraday cage.”
FYI: The company is trying to claim the very term AI by dubbing its version Apple Intelligence—but even that audacious move wasn’t enough to impress Wall Street, according to Reuters. For the big picture, see NBC News’ five takeaways from the announcement.
Meanwhile, over at Adobe: Its customers are furious at the new terms of service policy—which gives the company the “right to look at your files and existing projects in the name of content moderation.” Apparently, Adobe needs to know if you’re using their products to create child porn etc. People are furious at what they see as a gross violation of privacy. Also: It potentially gives Adobe access to shitloads of training material for its AI.
What’s truly worrying about all this: “It isn't the only company that does things like this. Google uses a mixture of automated scanning and manual review to detect CSAM and Microsoft does something similar.” (Cnet)
War on Gaza: UN endorses peace plan
The UN Security Council approved the US-backed ceasefire plan—with only Russia abstaining from the vote. Here’s the weird bit: When President Joe Biden announced the three-stage plan, he claimed it came from Israel—and it was up to Hamas to accept it. But, but, but: the only person who publicly opposes it is PM Netanyahu.
Hamas, OTOH, welcomed both Biden’s announcement and the Security Council resolution. Even the Palestinian Authority is gung-ho about the plan. The three stages are as follows: a six-week ceasefire; return of the hostages; and, finally, the reconstruction of Gaza. The Guardian has more on what happens next.
The death toll: has reached 37,084 since October 7—and at least 84,494 have been injured. Of these, 274 people were killed and 698 injured in the Israeli attack in the Nuseirat refugee camp. (Al Jazeera)
Meanwhile, in Sudan: The civil war has reached catastrophic proportions. According to the UN, 10 million people have been displaced. And the last functioning hospital has been closed. See: this Big Story for context on the civil war. Al Jazeera has more on what’s happening right now.
Meanwhile, in Kashmir: Nine people were killed—and 33 injured—when militants opened fire on a bus carrying pilgrims to a shrine in Katra. Why this matters:
Sunday’s attack… has sounded alarm bells for security agencies in the Union Territory as it points to militants expanding their area of operation beyond the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in the otherwise peaceful Jammu region.
Indian Express has more on the national security angle.
Amit Malviya accused of sexual exploitation
In a social media post, an RSS member—Santanu Sinha—has accused IT cell chief Amit Malviya of sexually exploiting women. Congress has now held a presser—making it a political issue:
An RSS member.. has said that [Malviya] indulged in nefarious activities. He has indulged in the sexual exploitation of women. Not just in 5-star hotels but in BJP offices in West Bengal. The only thing that we seek from the BJP is justice for women.
There is no evidence in the public domain. Malviya has filed a Rs 100 million (10 crore) defamation suit against Sinha asking him to take down the “false and derogatory post and tender an unconditional apology.” (Hindustan Times)
Netflix is being sued over ‘Baby Reindeer’
The show is supposedly based on the real-life experience of the lead actor—comedian Richard Gadd. He was allegedly stalked by a fan—who sent him hundreds of hours of voice mails, and over 40,000 emails. An online manhunt by fans of the show has identified the woman. She is now suing Netflix and Gadd for making up some serious lies:
The lies that Defendants told about Harvey to over 50 million people worldwide include that Harvey is a twice convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison, and that Harvey sexually assaulted Gadd. Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.
Harvey wants $170 million in damages—which includes all the profits made to date from ‘Baby Reindeer’. Netflix is not backing down. It has been sued previously for other ‘true life’ shows such as ’The Queen’s Gambit’ and ‘Inventing Anna’. A related read: The Guardian has an interesting take on the challenges of showcasing a “true story”. (The Verge)
What’s the colour of your swimsuit?
A new study has found that bright colours or neons—like orange, yellow, and green—are easiest to spot in water. This is important if someone is struggling in a pool—or stranded at sea. Darker colours can be mistaken for shadows, leaves, or dirt. And lighter colours—like white or light blue swimsuits—are as good as invisible. FYI: “Younger children, typically under the age of 10, are most commonly drowning victims in residential pools, whereas drowning victims over the age of 14 are typically in natural bodies of water.” You can see how much of a difference the colour of swimsuit makes below. (CNN)
Two things to see
One: ISRO released six images of the Sun—captured by Aditya-L1, during the solar storm in May. It is India’s first dedicated mission to study the sun and its effects on the solar system. Most of the photos look like yummy gum balls—except for this glittery disco ball below. The Hindu has more nerdy details.
Two: We now know more about ‘Kalki 2898 AD’—which has a budget of $75 million—and is slated to be the most expensive Indian film ever. The dystopian sci-fi flick has a super-duper cast of Big B, Deepika Padukone, Kamal Hassan and Prabhas. Look for a glimpse of Kamal Hassan’s radical makeover in the latest trailer. The movie is set to release on June 27. (Times of India)
