Weekend Edition: Who invited the AI notetaker?

Welcome to the weekend!

And the end of a wild week. Here are some figures to discuss over dinner:

60: The number of offers one LA home that was destroyed in the fires received before going into escrow for more than its asking price.

$3 trillion: The 10-year price tag for major EU powers to protect Ukraine and expand their own militaries, according to Bloomberg Economics.

10: The number of undocumented workers who told Businessweek they’d been employed by subcontractors to work at Tesla and SpaceX facilities.

$1.8 trillion: The fees pocketed by hedge fund managers since 1969, according to LCH Investments — almost half of the industry’s gains.

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Deterrence Dilemmas

The Supreme Court was an untested institution in 1801 when William Marbury filed a lawsuit there to finalize his appointment as a justice of the peace. (Marbury was tapped by John Adams, but the administration flubbed some paperwork.) The court was wary of ruling against Marbury, lest it signal to incoming President Thomas Jefferson that he could shirk legal responsibilities. But ruling for Marbury was also fraught: What if Jefferson simply ignored the decision? It wouldn’t be the last time the court confronted its own lack of enforcement mechanisms, writes Greg Stohr, a quandary increasingly relevant in Donald Trump’s second term.

If enforcement is a tricky business, deterrence is even trickier. Just ask Bethany McLean, whose 2001 reporting played a major role in exposing wrongdoing at Enron. At the time, McLean felt that the lengthy jail sentences given to the company’s two former CEOs would send a clear message to C-suites everywhere: White-collar crime isn’t worth it. But two decades, a financial crisis, a Bernie Madoff, a Wirecard, a Martin Shkreli, a Theranos, and an SBF later, she’s not so sure it worked.

There’s intended deterrence that doesn’t work, and then there’s unintended deterrence that does. As notetakers powered by artificial intelligence become more common in meetings, human participants are becoming more circumspect, writes Chris Stokel-Walker. While the tech companies behind these tools pitch them as a step forward in productivity, their presence also raises privacy and etiquette concerns, and risks making bad meetings even worse.

Dispatches

London
Vic Broughton doesn’t consider herself political. But like thousands of other farmers who protested in London this week, she’s seething over the country’s plans to levy inheritance tax on farms passed from one generation to the next. Britain’s farmers aren’t alone: Across Europe, farmers are fed up. Grievances vary — diesel prices in Germany, trade deals in France — but all highlight a loss of faith in government.

Jaipur
In a city dotted with ancient sandstone forts, executives from the world’s richest art institutions gathered to ponder a question: What are the responsibilities of a modern museum? During a panel at the Jaipur Literature Festival, participants lauded countries’ growing success in demanding the return of looted antiquities. But some argued globalization has redrawn enough borders to make the approach illogical.

Live from New York

Weekend Plans

What we’re reading: The Making of Modern Corporate Finance. It argues the US equity market is not the output of an A+ economy, but its input.

What we’re watching: anime. Despite a boom that’s doubled sales over the past decade, the industry is notorious for grueling hours and low pay.

What we’re playing: Grand Theft Auto: Accra. When a car is stolen in the US, there’s a good chance that the vehicle will end up in western Africa.

What we’re driving: an EV. Toyota’s reluctance to embrace them means it could become the Nokia of cars: a No. 1 brand outclassed by new players.

What we keep saying: “Yes in my backyard.” Lexington, Massachusetts is a hotbed for the YIMBY ethos. But a backlash is already brewing.

One Last Thing

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