Ethics matter. And using them in times of stress matters, too. SBF lost the plot in his defense this week, seeking to blame his lack of attention to detail and his colleagues for the failings at FTX and Alameida.

There was a lack of ethics in his decisions and a further lack of ethics in his trial strategy.

I have no idea how contrived the entire set of episodes was at FTX, but blaming colleagues seems both a low shot and a long shot simultaneously. It would have been better to tell the truth - I crossed lines due to a frothy market. I thought it would be fine. The market tanked, I panicked and then crossed more lines trying to keep the ship afloat. When I failed, I tried to cover for my mistakes. At least the jury would have heard some honesty and contrition.

So, the trial is over, and SBF is guilty. Justice will be done. Given all the evidence, it seems to be the right decision.

But this week, AI was also put on trial. Both the Whitehouse and 10 Downing Street held meetings that produced statements and documents. The competition to be the leader who rails in AI seems pervasive across many governments. The full Whitehouse press briefing is below, as is the gist of the UK meeting.

The two most interesting responses are Elon Musk’s statement that jobs will become unnecessary (he’s right) and Steven Sinovsky’s thoughtful essay on why AI regulation is premature.

The AI section is lengthy this week; Michael Parekh explains why Google is investing $2bn in Anthropic, and Dan Shipper shows why the Apple Journal app has nothing on ChatGPT as a Journal co-pilot.

There are four pieces on AI’s use in Venture Capital, focusing on EQT and SignalFire (not to be confused with SignalRank). And Andre Retterath of Data-Driven VC writes about the correlation between alumni networks and who gets funded (ominous).

Enjoy.