Gaza's postwar future

Plus Google's 'woke' AI bot and the importance of love [View this email in your browser]( [The Week Evening Review]( Netanyahu's plan for Gaza, Google's Gemini woes, and how love impacts health   Good evening, Artificial intelligence is back in the headlines thanks to Google's Gemini. While "culture warriors" may be up in arms over "woke" AI imagery, some take it in stride, Joel Mathis says. Whether you agree that diverse representations in AI are "generally a good thing" or that the controversy is proof of an "ideological echo chamber," this debate is one we will have, probably repeatedly, for a long time as technology develops. Welcome to the future. Summer Meza The Week Digital     Today's Big Question Will Israel have indefinite control of Gaza? It has been more than four months since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. As the violence has raged on, one overarching question has gone unanswered: What will happen the day after the fighting stops? This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his clearest proposal for what a postwar Gaza might look like, delivering a "day after" plan to his war cabinet. Netanyahu described a scenario in which Israel maintains indefinite military control over the compact Palestinian territory. While the two-page document is light on specifics, the future it outlines precludes an independent Palestinian state and is directly at odds with U.S. hopes for postwar Palestinian sovereignty. What did the commentators say?The plan, which includes references to a "complete demilitarization" of the Gaza Strip, as well as an overhaul of the territory's civil and educational infrastructure, is a "basis for discussion," CNN said. There has been "no immediate official U.S. reaction." Netanyahu has been "under pressure — at home and internationally — to publish proposals for Gaza since he began his military operation" and is "keen to restore a crumbling reputation" domestically, BBC said. Crucially, the document "neither accepted nor rejected the demands of the right-wing flank of his coalition" to institute full Israeli control and settlement plans on the territory, The Jerusalem Post said. The plan also describes an overtly "Israeli-controlled buffer zone" across the territory's southern border. This "risks inflaming tensions with the Egyptian government," The New York Times said, and would involve invading Rafah, where much of Gaza's population has settled to escape Israeli bombardments to the north. What next?While the stance articulated in Netanyahu's document goes "against" that of the Biden administration, it is nevertheless the "first step toward synchronization with the international pressure to promote an outline to end the war," Haaretz's Jonathan Lis said. The document is "less about how and more about when," Lis said. Donor nations will likely withhold rebuilding funds from Gaza until Israel can assure them their "money won't be wasted due to further airstrikes." Netanyahu's document received "only a muted response" from his domestic constituents after it was made public, The New York Times said. Palestinians, meanwhile, "strongly criticized" the plan, with the Palestinian Authority calling it a means to "perpetuate Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories" and "destined to fail."     QUOTE OF THE DAY "At some point, Donald Trump won't be here forever. … Assholes come and go. But America is here to stay." New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on the future of the Republican Party during Politico's Governors Summit on Thursday   Advertisement by Betterment [Betterment is the automated investing app that puts your money to work](   Talking Points Is Google's new AI bot 'woke'? Can artificial intelligence be too politically correct? Google took down its new AI-powered Gemini image generator after the system produced widely mocked images. The "bizarre results" came in response to "simple prompts," The New York Post said. Asked to "create an image of a pope" — all of whom, so far, have been white men — the system "provided pictures of a Southeast Asian woman and a Black man wearing holy vestments." Those images were "amplified" by culture warriors Elon Musk and psychologist Jordan Peterson, said The Washington Post, who "accused Google of pushing a pro-diversity bias into its product." But it is "unclear how widespread the issue actually was." Google decided nonetheless to pull back, saying that while diverse representations in AI are "generally a good thing," Gemini's results were "missing the mark." 'Ideological echo chamber'?"In Gemini's telling, the Pope is Black, ancient Romans are Black, the Founding Fathers were at least partially Black," Liz Wolfe said at Reason. Ask the chatbot to depict the "evils of communism," though, and instead get a short lecture about the dangers of "oversimplification." That "comically woke bias" is proof that Google is an "ideological echo chamber." Actually, the situation "shows the limitations of AI," David Gilbert said at Wired. The real issue is that "generative AI systems are just not very smart." Many AI bots have been "plagued with bias," depicting only minorities as prisoners and only white people as CEOs. Gemini's problems probably represent "overcompensation" for the model's usual tendencies. Putting more guardrails into an AI system would make it more predictable, Chris Stokel-Walker said at Fast Company, which would mean the "thing that makes generative AI unique is gone." And "relying on historical accuracy may result in the reinforcement of the exclusionary status quo." 'Sensitive topics'"Wokeness" isn't Google's only problem. Gemini, formerly known as Bard, is also being criticized for its handling of "sensitive topics" involving China, said Al Jazeera. The outlet's prompt for images associated with Jan. 6 was also refused, with an explanation that "elections are a complex topic with fast-changing information." This means that Google doesn't just have a tech challenge but a political one, as well. Gemini was supposed to be a "milestone moment" for the company, said Business Insider. Instead, the controversy has cast a "shadow over real advances it has made in AI to keep it neck-and-neck with competitors."     WORD OF THE DAY starvemaxxing A form of extreme dieting young men use in the hopes of "forming stronger jawlines and an angular, masculine facial structure," Business Insider said. The practice is an offshoot of the "lookmaxxing" trend gaining popularity on TikTok.   Advertisement by Betterment [Betterment is the automated investing app that puts your money to work](   The Explainer How love impacts your health Love has a strong impact on human health. It can cause a natural high and even improve your physical well-being, but the loss of it can also have detrimental effects. How can love improve your health?"Love is a biological necessity that is as vital to a person's well-being as fresh water, food and exercise," Stephanie Cacioppo, a neuroscientist at the University of Oregon, said to National Geographic. Being in love releases hormones including oxytocin, vasopressin, dopamine and serotonin. "When the love network is turned on, it activates the brain's reward centers, releasing a cascade of hormones, neurochemicals and natural opioids that make us feel joy and also help our body heal and our mind deal with pain," Cacioppo said. Married couples tend to enjoy longer life spans, perhaps because of the "consistent social and emotional support, better adherence to medical care and having a partner who can hold you accountable to healthy lifestyle behaviors," said Time. "Married couples have lower rates of substance abuse, lower blood pressure and less depression than single peers." How can a broken heart hurt your health?"We pay the price of having emotional responses when we lose our companions," Sue Carter, the emeritus director of The Kinsey Institute, said to National Geographic. Experiencing a heartbreak denies the body the feel-good hormones it was receiving regularly and increases the production of stress hormones like cortisol and norepinephrine. Physical symptoms like depression, anxiety, loss of appetite, weight changes and trouble sleeping can all stem from grief. "When social bonds are broken by separation or loss of a partner, the nervous system needs time to re-equilibrate and adjust," said Carter. Some people experience broken heart syndrome, a "heart condition brought on by extreme emotions," the Mayo Clinic said. It can even be fatal, as it causes short-term heart muscle failure. “One groundbreaking study of grief from the 1960s looked at 4,486 widowers in Britain," said Cacioppo. "During the first six months after they lost their spouses, they had a 40% higher risk of dying than a married person their own age."     Statistic of the day $150: The amount a New Orleans magician was allegedly paid to create an AI-generated robocall that mimicked President Joe Biden's voice. The magician was allegedly hired in January by a Democratic consultant linked to the campaign of presidential candidate Dean Phillips, who has denied any involvement in the scheme.   NBC News     INSTANT OPINION Today's best commentary 'Let's build a climate Wall of Shame'Nate Loewentheil in The New York TimesAmerica needs a "climate memorial," says Nate Loewentheil. Carve the "names of public figures actively denying" climate change deep in the stone. When greenhouse gas emissions "wreak their full havoc on the climate," people will deserve to know the names of those who, faced with an "urgent crisis," put politics and profit above "Earth and humanity's place on it." Vulnerable states like Florida and Louisiana deserve their own memorials. Just put them "well above sea level." 'Biden impeachment inquiry is political improv'Joe Perticone in The BulwarkThe House Republicans leading the effort to impeach President Joe Biden aren't letting anything as pesky as the truth get in their way, says Joe Perticone. The Justice Department just charged FBI informant Alexander Smirnov with lying when he told agents Biden had "sought bribes from Ukrainian officials while serving as [former President] Barack Obama's vice president." This destroyed the "core argument" in the GOP's case, but the impeachment crew is "continuing the spin" as if "nothing has changed." 'Don't buy Putin's bluff. The West can outspend him.'Bloomberg editorial boardVladimir Putin pretends Russia's economy is so strong he can "prosecute the war in Ukraine indefinitely," says the Bloomberg editorial board. "He's bluffing. His aggression is costing him dearly." Since 2021, Russia's military spending has jumped from 3.6% of GDP to 7.1%. Moscow had a budget surplus before the invasion, but now it is financially strapped. The West should exploit Putin's "economic vulnerability" by tightening sanctions and arming Ukraine to force him to "end the bloodshed."     Picture of the day Fire's power Firefighters work on a burned residential building after it was engulfed in flames, killing at least four people and injuring 13 others in Valencia, Spain.  Alberto Saiz / AP     Good day 🕹️ … for a video game seller. A California man discovered that a sealed copy of 1987's "The Legend of Zelda" that he has could be worth upwards of $700,000. The 22-year-old said to CNBC's Make It that he nearly let the game go for $17,000 when a collector told him it was an extremely rare copy from its first production run, primarily because it remained unsealed.     Bad day 🪓 … for Vice Media. Company executives plan to lay off hundreds of its over 900 employees over the next week, eliminating its digital publishing division, according to a company memo from CEO Bruce Dixon. Vice also plans to cease publishing new content on its flagship website as the company adapts to become "more competitive in the long-term," Dixon said.     Puzzles [Daily crossword]( Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes [sudoku]( and [codewords](. [Play here](     The Week recommends The chilling plausibility of 'Prophet Song' The scariest book of 2023 wasn't a horror novel — it was Irish novelist Paul Lynch's Booker Prize-winning "Prophet Song." Set in an alternate present-day Ireland, the book follows married pair Eilish and Larry Stack. He is plotting protests against the newly elected Party and its assaults on civil rights but goes missing when the new Garda National Services Bureau (GNSB), a kind of Irish KGB, starts cracking down on dissenters. Eilish is left to care for their four children as society disintegrates. Template for AmericaWhile set in Ireland, "Prophet Song" is a realistic look at how a new American civil war might unfold. Fascists are elected and chip away at the constitutional order bit by bit, so that many people hardly notice what has been lost until it is too late. In popular imagination, this would be a red-versus-blue affair. But Lynch's book shows it would instead be neighbor versus neighbor, with cities divided against themselves. It is easy to imagine this happening in the United States after an authoritarian takeover, given how Republicans and Democrats are not separated into neat geographic enclaves. Time to leaveEilish's sister, Áine, pleads with her to flee to Canada, delivering the novel's most unforgettable line: “History is a silent record of people who did not know when to leave." But Eilish refuses to go. Considering how despots could stage a takeover of the U.S., "Prophet Song" is as illuminating as any real-life history.     Poll watch Nearly one in five Americans view mental health issues as the top public health threat in the United States, according to a new Axios/Ipsos poll. The poll surveyed 1,247 adults and found that 17% thought mental health was the top threat, behind obesity and the opioid epidemic but ahead of gun violence and cancer.     In the morning This weekend brings you a Saturday Wrap featuring analyses of Iran's Axis of Resistance and how Biden's campaign can give itself a reboot.  Thanks for reading, Summer     Evening Review was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, Kelsee Majette, Joel Mathis, Summer Meza, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz, Anahi Valenzuela and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek. Image credits, from top: Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images; Rafael Henrique / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images; Irina Marwan / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images   © Future US, Inc • [theweek.com]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Privacy Policy]( The Week is published by Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036.