The Daily Briefing highlights the news of the day and research that reveals the spirit of the day.
The Daily Briefing is a newsletter sent straight to your inbox every morning that provides biblical insight on today's news.
Top News
6. OpenAI flags 6 new incidents of ‘concerning’ behavior and unveils plan to track it (NBC News)
“OpenAI has disclosed six new incidents of “unexpected or concerning” behavior by its artificial intelligence models. As industry worries swell over the technology’s rapid progress, the company also unveiled a new framework for tracking and reporting these instances of what it termed “misalignment.”
“The announcement follows mounting public calls for a slowdown in the pace of the technology’s development, with U.S. tech bosses voicing grave safety concerns including the risk of human extinction. These interventions have helped drive growing public attention to the issue ahead of a summit next week between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that will be clouded by questions over whether rivalry between the superpowers could prevent cooperation on the issue.”
Beware of the paper clip… In a paper published in 2003, Nick Bostrom shared a thought experiment to illuminate the existential risk that AI might eventually pose to humanity. An advanced AI is given the objective of optimizing the production of paper clips. Driven by this pursuit, the AI neglects common sense and “starts transforming first all of earth and then increasing portions of space into paper clip manufacturing facilities.” It destroys everything, including its programmers, to gather resources for paper clip production.
This is less a thought experiment and more a fable, according to Nicholas Bloom. “It’s not really about AIs making paperclips. It’s about people making AIs. Look around. Are we not madly harvesting the world’s resources in an attempt to optimize artificial intelligence? Are we not trapped in an “AI maximizer” scenario?”
"Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?" When Isaiah warned Hezekiah that everything stored up would be stolen and his future sons would become eunuchs in the Babylonian king's palace, he was relieved the judgment would not happen during his own lifetime. His contentment with peace in his days was overshadowed by his indifference for potential calamity in future days. Like Hezekiah celebrating peace in his time, some are celebrating technological innovation in their time, with both failing to count the cost. (2 Kings 20)
5. U.N. panel cites possible U.S. war crimes as Trump again says Iran wants a deal (CBS News)
“There are "reasonable grounds" to believe the U.S. committed war crimes with two strikes in Iran that killed at least 178 civilians, a U.N.-commissioned panel of human rights experts said Thursday. “The only party in this conflict that has committed war crimes is the Iranian regime, which has murdered thousands of its own people, killed Americans overseas, executed acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz, and launched indiscriminate attacks against its neighbors in the region,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said Thursday.
“Oil prices dropped for a second day Thursday after U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said a damaged Saudi oil pipeline should be back online again "relatively soon" after being hit by drones. Meanwhile, gas and diesel prices continue to soar as energy experts warn those costs are likely to climb in the days ahead. President Trump insisted again Thursday that Iran wants to make a deal to end the six-and-a-half-month war. "Hopefully we're toward the end of the war," he said.”
Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone and the UN is a selective enforcer… Since 2006, UN’s Human Rights Commission has condemned Russia 14 times, North Korea 19 times, China 0 times, and Israel 116 times.
The UN lacks credibility when it comes to consistently calling out human rights violations, but there are 4 ways to rebuild credibility. According to a study featured in the Harvard Business Review, rebuilding credibility requires you to manage expectations, under-promise and over-deliver, focus on small wins, and be consistent.
When we don’t call out evil, we bury it like seeds in a garden. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn noted in The Gulag Archipelago: “In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.” (Is. 5:20)
4. Federal Reserve raises interest rates for the first time since 2023 (CBS News)
“The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023 on Wednesday, reversing course as the Iran war drives up global energy prices and fuels inflation. The Fed raised the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points, bringing its target range to between 3.75% and 4% — its highest level since December 2025. The benchmark rate influences borrowing costs across the U.S. economy, including for credit cards, auto loans and personal loans.
“U.S. stock indexes rose sharply Thursday after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates in a bid to rein in rising inflation. The S&P 500 closed higher by 1.1% while the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 316 points, or 0.6%."
“Wealth without independence is a unique form of poverty,” according to Morgan Housel. In The Art of Spending Money, Housel argues that the ultimate financial asset is personal independence. “You can’t put a price tag on waking up and doing what you want with your day.” Housel suggests that “spending money is the clearest window into what you value most.” And a telling measure of success is less how much money is in the bank and more “the psychological distance between what you have, and what you want.”
Have you completed a reverse obituary? Housel suggests to start with the end in mind. "Write down what you want your obituary to say, then figure out how to live up to it." Because according to Housel: "There are two ways to use money. One is as a tool to live a better life. The other is as a yardstick of status to measure yourself against others. Many people aspire for the former but spend their life chasing the latter… Spending money to show people how much money you have is a fast way to go broke and an expensive way to gain respect. Disappointment is often the outcome."
Andrew Murray observed that the world is focused on what you own while Christ gives attention to how you use it. As the interest rate increases, we are all acutely aware that we are stewards, not owners, of these precious resources. Essentially God the Father has given us an allowance and instructions: use his money to make this earth a little more like heaven. Housel puts it well: "A big, nice house might make you happier, but mostly because it makes it easier to have friends and family over, and the friends and family are actually what are making you happy." (1 Chron. 29:11)
Cultural News
3. Worried About Your College Kid? Now You Can Hire a Local Mom. (NY Times)
“Horwitz is in the business of playing a version of mom for local college students. Concierge companies offering student support have existed for decades. But in recent years, a new crop of upstarts — such as Horwitz’s company, MindyKnows; the Bama Mama in Alabama; the GA Mom in Georgia; and Campus Mom in Texas — have met additional demand from a new generation of worried parents.
“Historically, college has been a time for young adults to gain a sense of independence. They run their own errands, do their own laundry, organize their own lives. That’s changing, according to Monteigne Long, a co-founder of Campus Mom, who said the parents of this generation of college students are much more involved in their children’s day-to-day lives.”
Apparently Rick Astley isn’t the only one who is Never Gonna Give You Up… Since 1975, the hours per week that men and women spend with children has doubled. Working moms spend more time with her kids today than a non-working mom in 1975. A working dad spends almost as much time as those non-working moms in the 70s.
What changed? Star Trek… A previous generation of parents leaned on Benjamin Spock’s The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. The book famously began by telling parents to “trust yourself… you know more than you think you do.” Dr. Spock encouraged parents to rely on their own common sense instead of experts. Then, in 1993, William and Martha Sears penned The Baby Book. This introduced attachment parenting. "Attachment mothering is not martyr mothering... Because of the trust that develops... parents' response time gradually lengthens as baby gains the ability to control himself."
Like Elsa, it is tough to Let It (or them) Go… But Paul David Tripp puts it well: “Your hope as a parent is not found in your power, your wisdom, your character, your experience, or your success, but in this one thing alone: the presence of your Lord… Let your heart rest. You are not in this parenting drama alone. Your potential is greater than the size of your weaknesses, because the One who is without weakness is with you, and he does his best work through those who admit that they are weak but in weakness still heed his call…He loves our children infinitely more than we do and as evidence of that love, he has placed them in a family of faith where the story of his love will be heard again and again.” (Pro. 22)
News You Can Use
2. Questions at the Gas Pump
Watch it here. “Dress for action like a man; I will question you…” (Job 38:3)
1. Worship music hits DIFFERENT over football
Watch it here. "So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands." (Ps. 63:4)
