Feeney on AI Infrastructure, Positioning for Risk
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Politico
24 minutes ago
- Politico
Putin got a warm Trump meeting. Europe is afraid Zelenskyy won't.
While publicly Europe and Ukraine have appeared upbeat, privately officials were wary of Putin's red carpet welcome back to the West, where he secured the veneer of global legitimacy without making the kind of gestures toward peace the U.S., Europe and Ukraine have sought. 'Worries have been there all the way this year, and yesterday's meeting did not really help,' a European official said. Trump's position on the war has yo-yoed in recent weeks. While he had for months blamed Ukraine for the conflict, he had been more critical of Putin and Russia in the lead-up to the summit. He even said Putin would face 'severe consequences,' if he did not agree to stop the war after Friday's gathering. But after several hours of meetings with Putin in Alaska, Trump backtracked on a demand for an immediate ceasefire, again said it would be up to Ukraine to end the fighting and advised Kyiv to 'take the deal,' without specifying what Putin had suggested. Trump said after the summit that he negotiated with Putin over land swaps but declined to provide more details. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday will lead a teleconference among the 'coalition of the willing' — countries that have indicated they will provide troops and other support to Ukraine at the end of the war, according to a European official. Ahead of the summit, Trump said he supported some American role in providing security guarantees — some form of assurance or support from Washington to deter Russia from attacking again after a peace deal is agreed. Nordic and Baltic leaders welcomed those commitments again after Trump spoke with European officials late Friday. While Trump did much more than usual to consult with Europe in the lead-up to the summit with Putin and after, the frequent contact does not seem to have yielded tangible results. European officials are relieved that Trump did not agree to a deal with Putin but disappointed that the threat of steep secondary tariffs targeting third countries buying Russian oil was tabled. 'They want to try to influence the negotiation process as much as possible, because they know Trump really wants to do it this way, and they don't want to leave the initiative to Putin,' said Giuseppe Spatafora, a former NATO official who is now a research analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies. 'In general, the Europeans talk much more often to Trump than during the first 100 days, which is good. They have influence. But it's limited.' Zelenskyy's last visit to the Oval Office in February quickly went off the rails when Vice President JD Vance and later Trump both lectured him for not being grateful enough for American support and overplaying what they said was a weak diplomatic position. Zelenskyy's decision to wear a black polo, black pants and boots rather than a suit further soured the atmosphere. But Trump and Zelenskyy have been on better terms in recent meetings, as Kyiv's allies sought to improve the relationship and Trump's frustration with Putin mounted.
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Trump tariff agency plan stalls amid White House turf battle
'The silence has been deafening,' said one lobbyist, who advises some of the country's largest companies on customs policies. 'Importers have received no guidance and some companies aren't even tracking [the service] anymore.' That's a shift from the administration's early days, when officials at agencies like the Commerce Department, USTR and Treasury jockeyed to own the project, according to the people familiar with the discussions. Trump initially assigned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to lead the project to create the ERS, as part of a Jan. 20 directive tasking him with conducting a feasibility study, in consultation with the Commerce and Homeland Security departments' secretaries. The details or status of the study have not been made public. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also took an interest in the ERS, which he viewed as an opportunity to position himself at the center of trade policy, not traditionally a part of that Cabinet secretary's portfolio, two of the people said. He saw it as a possible means of regaining the foremost position in the administration's trade policy hierarchy, particularly after a plan to place USTR under the Commerce Department appeared to fizzle. After embracing the idea in the press and in other public remarks, Trump handed the service to Lutnick in the spring, even though a feasibility review of the program was still ongoing, the people close to the administration said. 'Foreign companies are going to pay if they want to come and sell products to the wealthiest country on Earth,' Lutnick said at an inauguration rally on Jan. 21, adding that the ERS will 'put up tariffs.' Lutnick as recently as last week said those tariff collections could hit $50 billion a month and 'ultimately reach a trillion dollars' in total revenue, in an interview on Fox Business Network's 'Mornings with Maria.' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt signaled that Lutnick had taken over the program in March, telling reporters that the Commerce chief is 'working very hard on [the ERS] and is quite enthusiastic about [it], if you have noticed from his media interviews.' 'I was surprised when they gave it to Lutnick,' said one of the people close to the White House, adding that Trump's decision was met with skepticism from within the administration. 'When they told us they were giving it to him, people were like, 'Really? Does he actually know what he's doing with it?'' Lutnick began to lose interest in the ERS once it became evident that the revenue would fall far short of replacing the income tax. Loftier ideas, such as using the funds to establish a new sovereign wealth fund, failed to gain traction after months of behind-the-scenes discussions, according to two people familiar with the talks and a lobbyist who regularly meets with administration officials.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
CEO Says AI Is Taking On 'Soul-Crushing Jobs' With Agents That Work 24/7, Never Eat, And Never Need Benefits
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how major companies run their operations, with some executives saying it's already transforming the workforce. ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW) CEO Bill McDermott says AI agents are taking over repetitive, draining work—and doing it without lunch breaks or healthcare benefits. AI Steps Into Support Roles "We're slowing down the hiring in jobs that are, quite frankly, soul-crushing jobs," McDermott said in a recent interview with Bloomberg, pointing to IT support as an example. He said 97% of standard software is now generated by AI, and 80% of customer inquiries are fully managed by AI agents. Security and risk management tasks, patchwork, and change management are also handled by these systems. Don't Miss: The same firms that backed Uber, Venmo and eBay are investing in this pre-IPO company disrupting a $1.8T market — Bill Gates Warned About Water Scarcity. "They work hard 24 by seven. You don't have to pay them and they don't need any lunch and they don't have any health care benefits," McDermott said. "AI is affordable and complements our workforce." While ServiceNow is still hiring, it's adding fewer people to these support roles. McDermott predicts other well-run companies will follow the same path, reorganizing around AI and moving away from traditional 20th-century corporate structures. Industry-Wide Shift Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff told Bloomberg in June that AI now accounts for 30% to 50% of his company's workload, calling the trend a "digital labor revolution." The company has restructured around AI and cut more than 1,000 jobs this year. Benioff says Salesforce's AI operates at about 93% accuracy and is helping employees focus on higher-value tasks. Trending: 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. You can Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has also warned that AI's effects on the job market are already being felt, especially by younger workers. The bank says unemployment for tech workers ages 20 to 30 has risen nearly 3 percentage points since early 2024. That's more than four times the increase in the overall jobless rate. According to Business Insider, Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius estimates generative AI will eventually replace 6% to 7% of U.S. jobs within a decade, though many workers could find roles in other industries. McDermott praised the president's recent AI action plan, saying, "We need less regulation and more innovation." He said the government should run more efficiently and transparently, adding that ServiceNow has worked in the public sector for years to achieve those Over AI's Human Cost Still, the idea of replacing large numbers of human jobs with AI is deeply troubling to labor advocates, economists and even tech executives. They warn that corporate enthusiasm for machines that never tire, never demand raises, and never get sick could strip millions of people of their livelihoods. As former Google X executive Mo Gawdat put it in a podcast recently, "CEOs are celebrating that they can now get rid of people and have productivity gains and cost reductions because AI can do that job. The one thing they don't think of is AI will replace them, too." Read Next: In a $34 Trillion Debt Era, The Right AI Could Be Your Financial Advantage — UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article CEO Says AI Is Taking On 'Soul-Crushing Jobs' With Agents That Work 24/7, Never Eat, And Never Need Benefits originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
