Happy Vyshyvanka Day
I won't be wearing a dog shirt today
Good Morning:
Kleio is annoyed at me because I won’t be wearing a dog shirt today. I’ll be wearing a Vyshyvanka, a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt. Why? Because it’s a Vyshyvanka Day, observed on the third Thursday in May.
How do you observe Vyshyvanka Day? Well, it helps if you have a vyshyvanka, in which case you just put it on. If you don’t have a vyshyvanka, you’re shit out of luck this year, but you can be prepared for next year. There are lots of them available on Etsy, but my recommendation is that you buy from this place.
One of the cool things about Ukrainians is that when you wear a vyshyvanka, they don’t get upset about cultural appropriation. They are generally delighted by it.
One note: wherever you get your vyshyvanka, make sure it’s actually made in Ukraine. There aren’t that many ways for you to spend money on Ukrainian products. This is one. Please don’t pass it up.
I know what you’re wondering. You’re wondering: Ben, what vyshyvanka will you be wearing today?
I will be wearing a red, white, and blue vyshyvanka procured for me by the very estimable
. It was made at a time when US-Ukrainian relations were of a sort that one could make a vyshyvanka in American flag colors and that all seemed perfectly natural.Now it seems subversive.
Yesterday on #DogShirtTV, the estimable Holly Berkley Fletcher and I discussed the South African Afrikaner “refugees” who are showing up in the United States and the challenges of land reform and wealth inequality in post-colonial societies. Then the estimable Marishka Hlyten came on to talk about Russian abuse of Ukrainian children:
The Situation
In today’s “The Situation” column, I respond to a statement by three Yale professors who study fascism, in which they explained that they are taking jobs in Canada in light of the U.S. political environment. I argue that people in positions of influence and power—such as tenured professors at elite institutions—have an obligation to lead rather than flee:
These are the people who should be out there doing stuff, taking risks so that others who actually have real vulnerabilities don’t have to. They should be leading from the positions of incredible safety they occupy. If they don’t want to do that, fine, no judgment. As I say, we should all live where we want. But making videos congratulating yourself for abandoning the United States is just thumbing your nose at the people you leave behind in situations of much greater risk than you ever had.
Today On Lawfare
Compiled by the estimable Caroline Cornett
AI Agents Must Follow the Law
Cullen O'Keefe and Ketan Ramakrishnan discuss the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) agents and the importance of designing Law-Following AIs (LFAIs) rather than “AI henchmen,” whose programmed loyalty could lead them to carry out unlawful orders. O’Keefe and Ramakrishnan propose a research agenda to inform the development of AI agents and ensure that AI agents, particularly those in government, be law-following.
What we do feel strongly about, however, is the proposition that AI agents exercising the government’s most coercive domestic powers—such as surveillance, investigations, prosecutions, law enforcement, and incarceration—must be law-following. A government staffed by human henchmen, perfectly obedient to their principal, including their principal’s unlawful orders, would be intolerable; we are a government of laws, not of men. A government staffed by AI henchmen, who do not face criminal liability or reputational damage, would be even more intolerable.
Romania, Foreign Election Interference, and a Dangerous U.S. Retreat
Katie Kedian discusses the upcoming election in Romania, which has generated controversy due to the Romanian Supreme Court’s decision to annul the results of the first round of voting due to concerns about Russian interference. Kedian warns that the Trump administration’s dismantling of mechanisms to combat foreign interference is weakening the United States’s electoral landscape.
And so, as other countries continue to ramp up their efforts against foreign electoral interference, the U.S. is now moving full steam ahead to completely destroy its defenses against that threat: All of the positive U.S. government developments listed above have been dismantled or severely downgraded. In addition, tech platforms, nonprofits, and research centers have grown skittish, not because the new fictional narrative has any truth, but because steering clear of the political firestorm is necessary for survival. All of this leaves the U.S. public less informed and less safe from foreign interference.
Podcasts
On Lawfare Daily, O’Keefe joins Kevin Frazier and Renee DiResta to discuss the concept of LFAIs and how to ensure AI agents operate safely and align with our societal values.
Today’s #BeastOfTheDay is the capybara at a capybara spa:
In honor of today’s Beast, take a me-day!
Today’s #BeastOfTheDay is not this infinite domino effect machine, which is disqualified on account of not being an animal, but which is nevertheless a Beast worthy of recognition:
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