Can you monitor the situation without monitors? Try Polymarket Sports Bar

Hello and welcome organizerNewsletter for edge Readers are political junkies, and Washington insiders are technology junkies. If this email was forwarded to you but you are not a subscriber, Register here So you can get that pure, uncut organizer Every Wednesday, straight from the source (aka me).

I was taking Friday off in Maine when two major pieces of tech news arrived: First, the White House released its framework for a sweeping national AI bill with the goal of getting it through Congress. (Haydenfieldour AI correspondent, has a comprehensive breakdown of the matter here.) Second (and obviously more important), Polymarket opened the Situation Room, a pop-up bar in the Mount Vernon Triangle that was meant to be a “situation monitoring” room on a wall of television screens.

According to a report by NBC Washington‘s Gary GrumbackThings didn’t go well at all. Friday apparently got off to a bad start, closing at 9pm due to the giant wall of TV screens monitoring the situation not working – the very spot on the bar. (The screens were still a mess on Saturday afternoon, and… according to Wired Reporter McKenna Kelly(Polymarket offered guests free champagne as an apology.)

One of my colleagues attended some time on a Friday before everything closed, and described it as full of young professionals who still had their work badges and backpacks on, “honestly not much different than any other type of work or happy hour.” Aside from a jazz band, a giant lighted globe and a working TV screen — “a long table that looks like shuffleboard but is actually a screen that people look down upon” — my colleague spotted Josh Tuckerhead of growth at Polymarket, in the VIP area on the outdoor seating patio, although it was somewhat sparse. “It was raining too, so (I don’t think) anyone wanted to be there,” he suggested. The whole event, in his estimation, was “pretty stupid.”

(As a covered person Blockchain-based restaurants and Absolute ridiculous offersI deeply regret not being able to attend. But please send all advice for your next restaurant opening, or anything that might have larger political and societal consequences, to tina.nguyen+tips@theverge.com.)

Red on Red Violence, Amnesty International edition

For months I have been writing about it Growing discord within the MAGA coalition Between the tech right, which has become deeply influential in Donald Trump’s White House, and the conservative movement, an active coalition of influence groups motivated more by family values ​​and Christian ideology than simple loyalty to Trump. But what was once intense tension has now turned into clarity and formality. Monday, a few days after the White House announcement Amnesty International’s legislative frameworkA group of Republicans and conservative activists announced the launch of the campaign Alliance for a better future (ABF), aiming to take a right-wing approach to fighting the growing political influence of the technology and artificial intelligence industry. Members have very high powers in conservative circles: Michael Toscano From the Institute of Family Studies brad Littlejohn, Head of programming at American Compass, and a longtime conservative political operative Tim Estes.

But within hours, it was fired last Highly influential Republican: Nathan Limmeran alumnus of the GOP-aligned digital agency Targeted Victory, and a former policy advisor to the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Ajit baiand Executive Director of Building American Artificial Intelligencean advocacy group associated with the industry’s leading pro-AI PAC Driving the Future. (Major donors to the $100 million committee Including Andreessen Horowitz, head of OpenAI Greg Brockmanand co-founder of Palantir Joe Lonsdale.) He took issue precisely with the fact of that max tigmark, A prominent The AI ​​safety advocate and founder of the influential Future of Life Institute (FLI) retweeted the ABF announcement and pitted the group against the equally influential Andreessen Horowitz crowd.

Let’s put aside the question of who is funding what for now and talk about the Alliance for a Better Future in its own right. I used to cover right-wing politics On a very in-depth level, I can definitively say that the backgrounds of the members of this AI-skeptical think tank matter a lot:

However, when I reached out to Leamer for comment, he pointed out a big difference: The organization was made up of employees from These organizations, but the institutions themselves were not officially endorsing the ABF. “The Heritage Foundation does not run ads that conflict with the President’s framework for AI in the White House,” Leamer said, citing “The Heritage Foundation.” The organization’s long-standing “one vote” policy: When heritage supports something, that is everyone Its employees support this. Following his tweet, two members of the ABF Board of Directors, John Shoepe and Joel Thayerthey go out of their way to say that they are acting in their personal capacity, and that their opinions do not represent those of their employers.

after organizer Published I have received this response to Leamer’s allegations from the CEO of ABF Janet KellyThey categorically deny that FLI was funding them. “We are backed by people who cannot be bought by Big Tech billionaires,” she said. Edge In a statement. “But we know that tech’s little keyboard warriors are desperate to spread lies because they don’t have the courage to look parents in the eye about how philanthropists are leaving kids exposed.”

Is it an all-out right-wing civil war yet? Not exactly, but with this splinter group established, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get there. I don’t doubt for a moment that Limmer and the White House have indeed worked with these groups (and perhaps some of these individuals) in the past on AI issues. But whenever conservatives start publicly accusing each other of taking dark money, whether it’s money from FLI, a16z, Kochs, Mercers, Club for Growth, or any number of groups, I can imagine Ronald Reagan mourning the death of the Eleventh Commandment (“Speak ill of no other Republican”). These days, there’s really no such thing as friendly cooperation between right-wing interest groups, and barring exceptional circumstances (or Democratic control of the White House), it’s hard enough to rally them behind a single policy goal. It becomes more difficult when the disagreement is over long-standing conservative issues such as child safety and family values, and populist issues that are at the forefront of minds such as job security.

Clarity for clarity’s sake: Cryptocurrency markets were completely shaken up this week when the White House released compromise language for the Clarity Act, the cryptocurrency market structure bill currently stalled in Congress after… Coinbase pulled its support earlier this year. Main issue: The new bill strictly limits stablecoin revenues It bans stablecoin rewards programs, a big win for traditional banks worried about consumer flight. Now it’s up to Congress for more profiling shenanigans, perhaps in April.

Influencer wars: FBI Director (and Influencer) Kash Patel Friend, country singer and influencer Alexis WilkinsHe had previously been accused of being a Mossad agent. This week, I laid down X thread with 13 posts It claimed that it was the target of a foreign-influenced disinformation campaign. What country was she attacking? She didn’t say that, she claimed that tucker carlson, joe kent, and Candace Owens They were paid to mutilate it.

Glass shelf clock: condition reported Tuesday In the last quarter, under Barry Weiss command, CBS Evening news It reached its lowest ratings never In both the overall audience and in the key 25-54 demographic. (This would be a good time for my colleague to reappear Liz Lobato The column is from October This shows exactly what happens to female executives hired by technology investors to manage dying assets.)

I would never in a million years put in a “will”. Laura Lemire Meet The Dalai Lama“As a bet on Polymarket, but it looks like I should have:

March 25 update: Added comment from ABF CEO.