#StrikeForGaza: The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces called for a one-day global strike today, in solidarity with Gaza in a movement that “stands against the open genocide in Gaza, the ethnic cleansing and the colonial settlement in the West Bank,” reports the Palestine Chronicle. The objective of the strike is to put pressure on governments to push for a ceasefire and stop supporting Israel’s war on Gaza, as well as draw global attention to what is happening in the besieged strip.

“No business as usual”: The strike calls for a full-day halt of normal day-to-day life, including staying home from work and school, as well as any carrying out any monetary transactions (whether online, by card, or with bank notes). Some have also suggested that the strike should include deactivating Meta-affiliated accounts (Facebook and Instagram) and instead posting on X using the hashtag #StrikeforGaza.

There are a few countries in our neighborhood that are going with it:Here in Egypt, anecdotal evidence points to a small handful of businesses (including Osana in Maadi) shutting down for the day in honor of the strike. In Lebanon, all government offices and public institutions have shut down, says CNN.Jordan is also joining the movement, with stores and streets of Amman left empty this morning. The Jordanian UNRWA chapter closed their facilities as well, and several labor unions, private companies, and schools have followed suit.

Effective Accelerationism (e/acc) is rising and causing a divide in the AI scene: e/acc (pronounced “e-ack”) — a movement that advocates and wants to speed up the progress for unrestricted technology — is taking hold within the AI space, with proponents arguing for open-sourcing AI software and resisting corporate control, reports the New York Times. Members of the movement reject concerns about the safety and regulation of AI, instead they believe that the benefits of advancing technology outweigh any risk.

E/acc emerged as a response to the Effective Altruism movement, which promotes a data-driven approach to philanthropy and expresses concerns about the dangers of uncontrolled AI. The Effective Altruism movement postulates that uncontrolled AI could potentially replace humanity with AI — a prospect with which the e/acc movement has no problems.

It’s not a binary setup of opinions, with several different camps and sub-movements on the rise, including bio/acc and d/acc, pushing the AI scene towards what the NYT describes as an “era of tribalism.”

The e/acc movement has gained significant backing from influential figures such as OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, and Marc Andreessen, a b’naireinvestor known for his techno-optimistic views who expressed his support for the movement's rejection of concepts like existential risk, sustainability, and ESG criteria.

French AI startup Mistral AI successfully raised EUR 385 mn in funding, putting the seven-month-old company in pole position to rivalUS tech giant OpenAI, according to Bloomberg. Mistral will use this investment to finance the development of its open-source software development, the company said in a statement cited by the business information service.

About the company: Mistral AI specializes in open-source software that powers chatbots and other generative AI tools. Powered by Timothée Lacroix, Arthur Mensch, and Guillaume Lample. Lacroix and Lample previously worked as researchers in Meta’s AI lab in Paris and Mensch worked as a researcher for Google’s DeepMind AI lab, The New York Times says.The company announced plans to conduct extensive testing of its infrastructure, intending to make it widely available in early 2024.

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