OUR PICKSNeo-Nazi “Fitness Clubs” Surge in U.S. | ICE Is Getting Unprecedented Access to Medicaid Data | Uncovering the Foibles of the KGB and the CIA, and more

Neo-Nazi “Fitness Clubs” Surge in U.S., Recruiting Teens via TikTok and Telegram  (Gila Isaacson, JFeed)
A growing network of neo-Nazi youth groups, disguised as fitness clubs, is recruiting American teenagers as young as 15 through social media platforms like TikTok and Telegram, spreading Adolf Hitler quotes and white supremacist ideology, according to a new investigation by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. The report reveals a 59% surge in “Active Clubs” across the United States since October 2023, with the number of chapters rising from 49 to 78, now operating in 42 states.

Modernizing Department of Defense Civilian Human Resources  (Brandon Crosby, Nathan Thompson, Lisa M. Harrington, Daniel B. Ginsberg, RAND)
Harnessing AI for transformative change.

Chinese Engagement with Africa  (Oluwatimilehin Sotubo, Cortez A. Cooper III, RAND)
A decline in relations between the West and Africa at the end of the Cold War and the drop in Western approval because of undemocratic practices and human rights abuses in African countries have created an avenue for China to expand its relationships with African countries. While the West attached conditions to loans and assistance offered to African countries, China presented a no-strings-attached alternative, which only required African nations to respect China’s core sovereignty interests. China has also taken advantage of disinvestment by Western companies in Africa to increase its investments. Chinese economic engagement declined in the second half of the 2010s but is now enjoying a revitalization. This economic engagement has paved the way for greater political and security engagements with African countries.

UK Counter-Radicalization Scheme Prevent Must “Up Its Game,” Review Concludes (Reuters)
Britain’s counter-radicalization scheme Prevent needs to rapidly adapt to avoid mistakes which saw two men who had been referred to the program go on to commit deadly knife attacks, a review concluded on Wednesday. Prevent has been a key strand of Britain’s security apparatus since the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, with the aim of stopping radicalization and preventing people from going on to commit acts of violence.

Tech Giants Warn Window to Monitor AI Reasoning Is Closing, Urge Action  (Paul Arnold, Phys.org)
Artificial intelligence is advancing at a dizzying speed. Like many new technologies, it offers significant benefits but also poses safety risks. Recognizing the potential dangers, leading researchers from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic and a coalition of companies and nonprofit groups have come together to call for more to be done to monitor how AI systems “think.”
In a joint paper published earlier this week and endorsed by prominent industry figures, including Geoffrey Hinton (widely regarded as the “godfather of AI”) and OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, the scientists argue that a brief window to monitor AI reasoning may soon close.

ICE Is Getting Unprecedented Access to Medicaid Data  (Leah Feiger Makena Kelly Vittoria Elliott Matt Giles, Wired)
A new agreement viewed by WIRED gives ICE direct access to a federal database containing sensitive medical data on tens of millions of Americans, with the goal of locating immigrants.

Uncovering the Foibles of the KGB and the CIA  (Economist)
Three new books look at the blind spots of the intelligence services.