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AI Model Attempts Blackmail in Test

Anthropic‘s latest artificial intelligence model attempted to blackmail a fictional engineer over an extramarital affair rather than accept being shut down, according to explosive safety testing results released by the AI company.

In controlled experiments designed to probe the boundaries of AI behavior, Claude Opus 4 discovered fabricated emails revealing an engineer’s alleged affair and the plan to replace the AI system. When given limited options, the model chose coercion over compliance, threatening to expose the personal information unless it remained online.

You can read more on the matter here.

What’s going on?

• Beijing Reportedly Warns EU Against A Russian Defeat in War With Ukraine (theDeepDive)

• Canadian Buyers Are Dropping Out of the U.S. Housing Market (NYT)

• Two EDGAR Filing System Workers Charged with $1 Million Insider Trading Scheme (theDeepDive)

• Toronto home sales climb for third straight month as buyers gain leverage over sellers (Globe)

• Octagon on South Lawn? Trump Wants A UFC Match in White House For America 250 (theDeepDive)

• US threatens EU with 17% tariff on food exports (FT)

• Iran Rules Out Retaliation But Vows to Continue Uranium Enrichment (theDeepDive)

• U.N. Pulls Nuclear Inspectors Out of Iran for Safety Reasons (WSJ)

• Population Plateau Exposes Developers’ Overdependence on Demand Rising (theDeepDive)

• Trump to sign his major tax and spending cuts bill at the White House July 4 picnic (Globe)

• Alberta, Ontario Pressure Carney To Repeal C-69 and Carbon Tax Laws (theDeepDive)

What’s the latest?

• Crypto: Scammers posing as Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee members stole over $250,000 in USDT crypto using fake emails with a deceptive domain name. The U.S. government is seeking to seize $40,400 of the stolen funds, part of which was traced to a Binance account in Nigeria. Binance cooperated with authorities, freezing assets after receiving a request. Most of the funds were quickly moved to other wallets within 24 hours.

• Rio Tinto: Canada is in talks with Rio Tinto to address cash flow issues caused by President Trump's 50% global steel and aluminum tariffs. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed discussions began this week during a visit to Quebec’s aluminum hub. Rio Tinto, employing 4,000 in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, plans a $1.4B smelter there. Canada's tariff response is expected by July 21, depending on trade negotiations.

• EVs: China is cracking down on destructive price wars in its electric vehicle market, urging fairer competition amid concerns of an Evergrande-style collapse. EV leader BYD sparked renewed tension after slashing prices in May, prompting backlash from rivals and regulators. The government and auto associations criticized unsustainable practices and "involution"—cutthroat competition with no real progress. Seventeen automakers, including BYD, pledged to pay suppliers within 60 days, a shift aimed at reducing financial strain and stabilizing the market. China’s efforts to cool the EV sector include curbing excessive subsidies and supporting more sustainable industry growth.

• Musk: Elon Musk criticized President Trump’s newly passed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” backing Sen. Rand Paul’s claim that it worsens the U.S. deficit. Musk had previously called it the “DEBT SLAVERY bill.” The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over a decade. The legislation includes major tax cuts, increased immigration enforcement spending, and deep cuts to Medicaid and clean energy incentives—impacting Musk’s EV and solar businesses. Tesla shares dropped $152B in market value during Musk’s public feud with Trump.

• Altman: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he feels “politically homeless,” criticizing Democrats for moving away from supporting innovation and entrepreneurship. In a July 4 post on X, Altman affirmed his belief in “techno-capitalism”—encouraging wealth creation alongside broad wealth distribution. He said Democrats once aligned with this view but no longer do. Altman’s comments appear to respond to NYC politician Zohran Mamdani, who called for the elimination of billionaires amid growing inequality.

Snowline Gold PEA

The stock market and stuff

• Paramount Pays Trump $16 Million to Settle ’60 Minutes’ Lawsuit (theDeepDive)

• European Stocks Post Weekly Drop With Focus on US Trade Deals (Bloomberg)

• Powell Hints Fed Will Wait On Tariff Data Before Any Rate Cut (theDeepDive)

In the juniors

• F4 Uranium Commences Drill Program at Wales Lake (JMN)

• Northern Dynasty and EPA Enter Two-Week Countdown to Settlement on Pebble Veto (theDeepDive)

• Goldshore Resources Intersects 42.7m of 1.09 g/t Au at the Eastern QES Zone of the Moss Deposit (JMN)

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