I’m not one to react nervously to doom-laden predictions, but I was a touch rattled last week when Geoffrey Hinton, the eminent “Godfather of AI”, said a 10% chance of it killing off the human race soon was a “not unreasonable” estimate.
Published: 17 September 2026
But then I remembered as an eighteen-year-old the abject global terror about nuclear catastrophe during the Cuba Missile Crisis and the happy ending.
What’s more, I am easily cheered by comedy, and President Trump soon distracted me with a corker, assisted by a quartet of Celtic clowns.
Reacting to Trump making several remarks on his visit to Ireland about how he’d love to see Irish unity, in Cardiff on Monday, at a joint press conference, that charismatic trio the SNP’s John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru), and Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill signed a non-binding, guff-laden memorandum of understanding describing the United Kingdom “in its current form” as “unjust and unsustainable”.
“Westminster’s time is coming to an end”, they explained, and they intended “to use every opportunity available to us to press the case for greater fairness for Wales and Scotland in areas such as the operation of the UK funding arrangements and powers over our constitutional future.”
In other words, give us more money and – if the day ever dawns when the populace seem likely to vote the way we want – a referendum on independence on demand.
Considering that UK governments heavily subsidise the Celtic fringe (in 2024-5 public spending per person was UK average £13,504, with the English getting £13,134, the Welsh £15,155, the Scots £15,563 and Northern Ireland £16,116), I think the people who run them so badly under devolution have a nerve.
The Donald — having a lovely weekend on his Irish golf-course — had been spraying around statements about his enthusiasm for Irish unity that he thought would play well with the Irish diaspora in the run-up to the November midterm elections, but the world is too used to him now to take throw-away comments seriously.
Sinn Fein had a go.
Despite only 2% of the southern Irish electorate classifying Irish unity a major priority, Mary Lou McDonald dutifully told RTE that Trump’s remarks emphasised that the Irish government should be getting ready for reunification, though she devoted most of her RTE interview to complaining the US government was facilitating the genocide of Palestinians, which goes down well with her voters.
But full marks to Emma Little-Pengelly for reflecting the tone of those who recognised what was going on.
It was, she said, “classic Donald Trump”, who relished controversy and whose words should be taken “with a huge pinch of salt”.
Being unhappy at present because he had failed to bully the UK into a war in Iran and other issues, she thought his words were mischievous but designed to cause controversy and grab headlines.
Micheal Martin said he responds to Trump’s queries about the likelihood of there being a “merger” soon, that it would take a great deal of hard work and he was not interested in “simplistic rhetoric” on the issue.
Unionists can take it off their list of worries.
Pray about AI.
