US hits out at Aus opt-out laws + The Houthis vs Saudi Arabia explained

Chris Spyrou (0:07)

Hey, Chris Spyrou, with you, welcome to The Briefing. Iran-backed rebels have seized a stretch of the Middle East the whole world leans on, and they're locked in a battle with one of America's closest allies in the region. That ally is Saudi Arabia.

It's forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, and marks the latest escalation in a conflict that just keeps spreading, but it's one that the Saudis are going out without the backing of the US.

Jessica Genauer (0:30)

For Saudi Arabia and for the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, he will be very, very concerned right now, because he's looking at a very volatile situation. It's going to be very hard for Saudi Arabia to get its oil out of the region, and he's not seeing strong and clear backing from the US.

Chris Spyrou (0:47)

That deep dive into the escalating fighting between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, how it's hitting al-Bazars and when it could end, is coming up in the second half of this episode. First up, let's get into the headlines with Sacha Barbour Gatt on Wednesday the 23rd of September.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (1:03)

Thanks Chris. We're starting today in the US where Donald Trump has given a lengthy speech at the UN's General Assembly, talking up his record at home defending the war on Iran and calling for AI to be renamed. The president claimed he had a choice to make when it comes to what happens next in Iran, either signing a deal or...

Donald Trump (1:23)

Do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations? But I believe we'll make a deal right after the election.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (1:43)

Now, the election he's referring to there is the midterms, which are happening in six weeks, the first Tuesday of November, and they will decide whether the Republicans will retain control of Congress over the final two years of Trump's presidency.

Chris Spyrou (1:54)

Trump also spoke about the might of the American military and talked up US power as the solution to the world's problems.

Donald Trump (2:01)

We are reasserting American power, including American military power, where necessary, in our region and around the world to create a safer future for all of us. It's happening and it's happening quickly.

Chris Spyrou (2:14)

He went on to discuss and defend a wide range of US actions and diplomatic efforts overseas, including in Venezuela, Greenland and Cuba, as well as drone strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific, before moving on to issues of artificial intelligence, which he formally suggested be renamed.

Donald Trump (2:30)

From this point forward, all of United States documents and hopefully the world will be changed to, use the much more accurate term, super as opposed to artificial.

So it's super intelligence. In other words, welcome to the new world of superintelligence-SI.

Chris Spyrou (2:51)

Just that's so wild that we're hearing that at the UN. He also rejected a recent push by Australia and other middle powers to put controls on AI through a global body that would step in if and when the technology crossed agreed on thresholds.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (3:06)

Yeah, just quickly on the whole super intelligence thing. So that term actually is already used to define something else, which is an advanced form of artificial intelligence that currently exceeds human capabilities. And experts have warned that super intelligence represents one of the greatest risks AI could pose to humanity. There have been calls to ban it, including from US politician Bernie Sanders. So yeah, the fact that he's kind of using this term doesn't really gel with what we already know about it. It is different to AI. It's not the same thing. Look, while we're speaking of the US and Australia and tech, the White House has made a rare intervention speaking out publicly against the government's plans to let Aussies opt out of the algorithm. Now, this was made in a submission to a consultation on Labor's draft digital duty of care bill. Trump's administration in that submission warned the opt out policy would be, quote, extraterritorial censorship of protected speech. Now, this tracks with the US president's recent remarks around US tech giants and attempts by other countries to enforce controls on their platforms. So, this is rare because usually if there are issues with a particular country's legislation or policy agenda, they will make those submissions or those representations through private channels, not publicly. This was published by the US embassy. So, a very public rebuke there of Australia's attempts to control tech giants.