Best of BS Opinion: How the calm today may be masking deeper risks

You know that moment when your car hums along just fine, but one weird little light on the dashboard keeps flickering? That quiet, pulsing reminder that even though everything feels normal, something might still be off under the hood? That's how the world also feels right now, technologies are advancing, markets are steadying, systems are stabilising, but those little blinking lights? They're everywhere. Let's dive in.
Take the bond market. Nir Kaissar walks us through a reality-check: people are panicking over interest rates, but zoom out and the current 4.5 per cent on 10-year Treasuries is historically normal. The bigger issue? We're just not used to it anymore after years of easy money. The machine is working but fiscal red flags like $5 trillion in potential deficits or unsustainable tax cuts are blinking. Ignore them, and we might end up stalling on the highway.
Meanwhile, Mihir S Sharma cautions that with artificial intelligence, the system isn't just running, it's accelerating like a Tesla in Ludicrous Mode. But no one agrees on where it's heading. Some say AI will democratise creativity and generate jobs. Others predict mass layoffs and existential threats. Will it empower developing countries or further divide them from AI-rich superpowers? The engine is sleek, but no one can read the road signs ahead.
And for Pakistan, Shekhar Gupta points out a particularly worrisome light on the regional dashboard: Field Marshal Munir. A military chief with unprecedented power, a hollowed-out civilian government, and a jailed popular rival (Imran Khan) — this isn't a hybrid regime anymore, it's a duckbilled platypus of power. Past performance, as they say in mutual fund ads, is no guarantee of future returns. But in Pakistan, past power-hungry generals have ended up disgraced, exiled, or dead. Munir, however, seems poised to act while he still can. India, beware: the system next door may look stable, but it's humming toward a potentially explosive 12 months.
Then there's Devangshu Datta, who shows how GPS and drones, marvels of civilian tech, are now shaping military arsenals. From V-1 flying bombs to AI-guided kamikaze drones, our tools for convenience are doubling as tools for conflict. Precision strikes and geolocation warfare are here, whether we're ready or not. The system works brilliantly, for both Swiggy and the battlefield.
Even climate scientists are leaning into geoengineering, as Kumar Abishek writes. Solar Radiation Modification might temporarily cool the Earth by bouncing sunlight back into space. It's technically feasible, increasingly funded, and yet deeply risky. The cooling may come with unintended consequences and no global playbook to manage them. The science is on, but the ethics light is blinking furiously.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Time of India

31 minutes ago

• Time of India

How Trump has targeted Harvard's international students - and what the latest court ruling means

Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads President Donald Trump and his administration have tried several tactics to block Harvard University 's enrollment of international students, part of the White House 's effort to secure policy changes at the private, Ivy League foreign students has become the administration's cornerstone effort to crack down on the nation's oldest and wealthiest college. The block on international enrollment, which accounts for a quarter of Harvard 's students and much of its global allure, strikes at the core of Harvard's identity. Courts have stopped some of the government's actions, at least for now - but not the latest court order, a federal judge on Friday put one of those efforts on hold until a lawsuit is resolved. But the fate of Harvard's international students - and its broader standoff with the Trump administration - remain in are all the ways the Trump administration has moved to block Harvard's foreign enrollment - and where each effort Security tries to revoke Harvard's certification to host foreign students In May, the Trump administration tried to ban foreign students at Harvard, citing the Department of Homeland Security's authority to oversee which colleges are part of the Student Exchange and Visitor Program . The program allows colleges to issue documents that foreign students need to study in the United filed a lawsuit, arguing the administration violated the government's own regulations for withdrawing a school's hours, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston put the administration's ban on hold temporarily - an order that had an expiration date. On Friday, she issued a preliminary injunction, blocking Homeland Security's move until the case is decided. That could take months or government can and does remove colleges from the Student Exchange and Visitor Program, making them ineligible to host foreign students on their campus. However, it's usually for administrative reasons outlined in law, such as failing to maintain accreditation, lacking proper facilities for classes, failing to employ qualified professional personnel - even failing to "operate as a bona fide institution of learning." Other colleges are removed when they Burroughs' order Friday said the federal government still has authority to review Harvard's ability to host international students through normal processes outlined in law. After Burroughs' emergency block in May, DHS issued a more typical "Notice of Intent to Withdraw" Harvard's participation in the international student visa program."Today's order does not affect the DHS's ongoing administrative review," Harvard said Friday in a message to its international students. "Harvard is fully committed to compliance with the applicable F-1 (student visa) regulations and strongly opposes any effort to withdraw the University's certification."Trump has sought to ban U.S. entry for incoming Harvard students Earlier this month, Trump himself moved to block entry to the United States for incoming Harvard students, issuing a proclamation that invoked a different legal filed a court challenge attacking Trump's legal justification for the action - a federal law allowing him to block a "class of aliens" deemed detrimental to the nation's interests. Targeting only those who are coming to the U.S. to study at Harvard doesn't qualify as a "class of aliens," Harvard said in its lawyers asked the court to block the action. Burroughs agreed to pause the entry ban temporarily, without giving an expiration date. She has not yet ruled on Harvard's request for another preliminary injunction, which would pause the ban until the court case is decided. "We expect the judge to issue a more enduring decision in the coming days," Harvard told international students the center of Trump's pressure campaign against Harvard are his assertions that the school has tolerated anti-Jewish harassment, especially during pro-Palestinian protests. In seeking to keep Harvard students from coming to the U.S., he said Harvard is not a suitable destination. Harvard President Alan Garber has said the university has made changes to combat antisemitism and will not submit to the administration's demands for further administration has stepped up scrutiny of Harvard scholars' and students' visas In late May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed U.S. embassies and consulates to start reviewing social media accounts of visa applicants who plan to attend, work at or visit Harvard University for any signs of Wednesday, the State Department said it was launching new vetting of social media accounts for foreigners applying for student visas, and not just those seeking to attend Harvard. Consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles, the department said, telling visa applicants to set their social media accounts to "public."In reopening the visa process, the State Department also told consulates to prioritize students hoping to enroll at colleges where foreigners make up less than 15% of the student body, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail information that has not been made students make up more than 15% of the total student body at almost 200 U.S. universities - including Harvard and the other Ivy League schools, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal education data from 2023. Most are private universities, including all eight Ivy League Harvard students are also caught up in the government's recent ban against travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 nations, mostly in Africa and the Middle East. The Trump administration last weekend called for 36 additional countries to commit to improving vetting of travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United students make up half the students at some Harvard programs Harvard sponsors more than 7,000 people on a combination of F-1 and J-1 visas, which are issued to students and to foreigners visiting the U.S. on exchange programs such as fellowships. Across all the schools that make up the university, about 26% of the student body is from outside the some schools and programs, by nature of their subject matter, have significantly more international students. At the Harvard Kennedy School, which covers public policy and public administration, 49% of students are on F-1 visas. In the business school, one-third of students come from abroad. And within the law school, 94% of the students in the master's program in comparative law are international administration has imposed a range of sanctions on Harvard since it rejected the government's demands for policy reforms related to campus protests, admissions, hiring and more. Conservatives say the demands are merited, decrying Harvard as a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. Harvard says the administration is illegally retaliating against the university.

Time of India

35 minutes ago

• Time of India

Tesla launches limited robotaxi trial in Austin

Tesla has sent out invitations to a small group of people to join the limited test of its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, which is tentatively set to start on Sunday, according to posts and email screenshots on social media. The invitations said a Tesla employee will accompany riders in the front passenger seat, the posts showed. A successful trial in Austin will be crucial for Tesla, as car buyers shun the company following its CEO Elon Musk 's embrace of hard-right politics in the US and worldwide. The company has shifted from building a cheaper EV platform to robotics and artificial intelligence. Much of the company's valuation rests on that bet. Musk has said he will focus on safety in the trial, with humans remotely monitoring the vehicles. He has said he expects to be able to scale the robotaxi quickly. Tesla plans to deploy around 10 Model Y SUVs that run on a version of Tesla's full self-driving driver assistance software , Musk has said. The start could be delayed and the service might be limited or unavailable in bad weather. Riders have to be aged 18 or above to take a ride. "Tesla is rolling out the Robotaxi service extremely cautiously, which is good. Baby steps," posted Omar Qazi, an user with 635,100 followers who posts often about Tesla using the handle @WholeMarsBlog and received an invite. "Very much so," CEO Elon Musk responded. But commercializing autonomous vehicles is an expensive, risky process. Tesla and others such as Alphabet's Waymo and Amazon's Zoox have faced federal investigations and recalls following collisions. Industry experts have questioned the efficacy of Tesla's self-driving technology that depends mostly on cameras and AI, without redundant sensors such as lidar and radar, claiming fog, heavy rain, and glaring sunlight can hamper safety. On Wednesday, a group of Democratic lawmakers from the Austin area called on the company to delay the rollout until September, when a new state law governing autonomous vehicles takes effect. Users who confirm their presence in Austin can download Tesla's Robotaxi app, which they use to call a vehicle. "Through this exclusive preview, you'll have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback on our Robotaxi service," one of the screenshots showed. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the screenshots.

Time of India

35 minutes ago

• Time of India

As Musk's 'robotaxi' rollout approaches, Democratic lawmakers in Texas try to throw up a roadblock

A group of Democratic lawmakers in Texas is asking Elon Musk to delay the planned rollout of driverless 'robotaxis' in the state this weekend to assure that the vehicles are safe. In a letter, seven state legislators asked Tesla to wait until September when a new law takes effect that will require several checks before autonomous vehicles can be deployed without a human in the driver's seat. Tesla is slated to begin testing a dozen of what it calls robotaxis for paying customers on Sunday in a limited area of Austin, Texas. "We are formally requesting that Tesla delay autonomous robotaxi operations until the new law takes effect on September 1, 2025," the letter from Wednesday, June 18, reads. "We believe this is in the best interest of both public safety and building public trust in Tesla's operations." Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Egg freezing yang dilakukan Luna Maya aman, tapi ada risikonya CNA Indonesia Baca Undo by Taboola by Taboola It's not clear if the letter will have much impact. Republicans have been a dominant majority in the Texas Legislature for more than 20 years. State lawmakers and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott have generally embraced Musk and the jobs and investment he has brought to Texas, from his SpaceX rocket program on the coast, to his Tesla factory in Austin. The company, which is headquartered in Austin, did not responded immediately to a request for comment from The Associated Press. Live Events The law will require companies to secure approval from the state motor vehicles department to operate autonomous cars with passengers. That approval, in turn, would depend on sufficient proof that the cars won't pose a high risk to others if the self-driving system breaks down, among other reassurances. Companies would also have to file detailed plans for how first responders should handle the cars if there is a problem, such as an accident. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories The letter asked Tesla to assure the legislators it has met all the requirements of the law even if it decides to go ahead with the test run this weekend. The letter was earlier reported by Reuters. Musk has made the robotaxi program a priority at Tesla and a failure would likely be highly damaging to the company's stock, which has already tumbled 20% this year. Musk's political views and his affiliation with the Trump administration have drastically reduced sales of Tesla, particularly in Europe, where Musk's endorsement of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party in February's election drew broad condemnation. Tesla shares bottomed out in March and have rebounded somewhat in recent months. Much of the rise reflects optimism that robotaxis will not only be deployed without a hitch, but that the service will quickly expand to other cities and eventually dominate the self-driving cab business. Rival Waymo is already picking up passengers in Austin and several other cities, and recently boasted of surpassing 10 million paid rides. In afternoon trading Friday, Tesla shares were largely unchanged at $320.