Friday Focus: Iran’s window of maximum leverage and a new AI model puts financial systems at risk
Friday Focus: Iran’s window of maximum leverage and a new AI model puts financial systems at risk
Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to full length editions of the Friday Focus podcast with Janice Stein. Your donor membership comes with other great perks including a livestream pass to our mainstage debates and advanced access to full length episodes of our other weekly podcast with Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne.
The U.S. and Iran are locked in a long-term stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz. With the midterms looming, the Iranians view the next few weeks as the window of maximum leverage. If the strait stays closed into the summer months people will start to feel the pain in a very real way that could tip into a global recession. The consequences of this high stakes game of poker are getting much more serious as both parties are digging in. Who blinks first? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to Mythos, a new AI model from Anthropic which allows users to find and exploit vulnerabilities in major operating systems. This new software will give malignant actors access to private information that could cripple our financial institutions. We did not learn our lesson from social media and the laissez faire attitude we have taken towards AI will lead to a very real and dangerous Y2K moment.
You may also like
June 23, 2026
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump loses his bargaining power and has Mark Carney’s “elbows up” promise delivered?
July 24, 2026
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump doubles down on the Iran war and tariffs, and an AI model escapes the lab
July 17, 2026
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump undermines his own party and the crisis of Canadian conservatism
June 9, 2026
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: are we in a recession – or a growth trap?
July 10, 2026
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: the Iran-U.S. ceasefire unravels and Alberta pulls ahead while Ontario and Quebec fall behind
July 3, 2026
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: the American experiment at 250 and Canada’s pipeline gamble
May 12, 2026
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: A weakened President needs China’s help and a debate over the new Governor General
July 31, 2026