The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have exposed a new reality: the battlefield is becoming too transparent, too fast, and too automated for mass, low-skill infantry to survive. In that environment, militaries will not get rid of human fighters — they will narrow them. The future elite will be smaller, more cognitively trained, and embedded inside human–machine combat cells that can sense, decide, and act without higher headquarters. Their defining virtue won’t be brute courage but restraint: the ability to override automation, to make lawful and proportional choices when AI reaches its limits. But we should not mistake this refinement for stability. As more states adopt AI-enabled elite formations, the competition for speed, autonomy, and informational dominance may actually make escalation easier, not harder.
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
The ‘Supercenter’ Effect: How Massive, One-Stop Retailers Fuel Overconsumption − and Waste
To confirm prejudices some of you may habor: supercenters are bad! No wonder retailers love the format.
Washington and Tel Aviv Accuse Iran of Planning to Assassinate Israeli Ambassador in Mexico Without Presenting a Shred of Truth
Here’s the kicker: according to the Mexican government, there are no official reports of any such attack.
Shutdown Has Highlighted Washington’s Retreat From Big Ideas on Health Care
Health care in the US has become too big to fix.
Who Will End Up Paying for the AI Spending Spree?
AI is now so clearly a money burn pit that efforts are already underway to fob the losses off on taxpayers. Is there any way to head it off?
Coffee Break: Mamdani’s Battle With Entrenched Power Begins
New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani won the election, but now his real battle with entrenched power begins.
Russia’s Choices as It Brings Ukraine to the Brink with Electricity War, Takes Pokrovsk
Even with Russia’s domination undeniable as its electricity attacks turn off power all over Ukraine, Russia still has complex choices to make.
The E.U. ‘Derisks’ Itself Into Another Disaster
Despite years of supposed preparation, the bloc is now scrambling for rare earths. Will the US have any more success?
Book Excerpt: How Coyotes Found a New Homeland in the East
The explosion of populations east of the Mississippi was made possible by logging and the slaughter of wolves.
Military Moral Injury, Violence, and the Parable of the Guinea Worm
The casual US celebration of violence runs into the reality that those required to inflict it regularly suffer deep inner damage.
The Sunday Morning Movie Presents: The Confessions of Felix Krull (1958) Run Time: 1H 46M
The Confessions of Felix Krull is a movie about a charming, kind hearted scam artist and his adventures.
What Can Europe Learn From China’s Critical-Tech Innovation Push?
China’s rise in frontier technologies narrows its gap with the US as Europe struggles with slow replication and fragmented research.
