The Week Evening Review
Europe boosts its defenses, a menthol cigarette dilemma, and AI rights

 
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION

Is Europe ready to come to its own defense? 

After decades of relying on the United States and NATO to shoulder the burden of its defense, French President Emmanuel Macron last week declared the continent must build "stronger, more integrated European defenses." That means building industrial capacity and its own anti-missile shield. "There is a risk our Europe could die," he said. "We are not equipped to face the risks." 

France already has a nuclear arsenal, The Wall Street Journal said, but it may be time to "Europeanize" those weapons. "This deterrence contributes to the credibility of European defense," Macron said. Some German officials are reportedly looking to France and the U.K. to provide a nuclear umbrella for the continent "should the U.S. no longer be willing to fulfill that role."

What did the commentators say?
Macron has been calling for "European security and strategic autonomy" since he first took office in 2017, Carine Guerout and Jason C. Moyer said at the Wilson Center. Russia's attack on Ukraine spurred his original vision into something closer to reality. Now, "military budgets are reaching unprecedented levels."

The French leader is "determined to make a lasting impact on the EU," Ania Nussbaum said at Bloomberg, but the next step requires that his "ideological victories translate into concrete action." Macron's peers think he's better at grandstanding than "quiet diplomatic coordination." And while France has increased its defense production, the "continent is nowhere near being the 'war economy' that Macron proclaimed in the summer of 2022."

What next?
There is some action, however. The U.K. pledged to boost its defense budget by $94 billion over six years to "pile pressure on European allies to follow suit," said Politico. "We can't keep thinking America will pay any price or bear any burden if we are unwilling to make sacrifices for our own security," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said during a visit to Poland.  

But it's not clear when — or if — Europe will be able to stand on its own. "Many EU officials believe there is currently no credible alternative to the U.S. military umbrella," said NBC News. But Macron insists the continent has no choice but to prepare. "The United States has two priorities: the United States first and the China question second," he said. "The European question is not a geopolitical priority."

 
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The Explainer

The problem of banning menthol cigarettes

The Biden administration has slammed the brakes on its plan for banning menthol cigarettes. It started considering the measure in 2021, hoping to reduce smoking in young people and people of color, as Black and Latino smokers are far more likely than white smokers to choose menthols. But it proved more controversial than expected.

Opponents of a ban said it could result in racial profiling by police and trigger an illegal market. "The cartels would capitalize on being able to smuggle mentholated cigarettes into the U.S.," said Pete Forcelli, a retired deputy assistant director at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

The FDA has called its proposed rule against selling the mint-flavored smokes a "critical piece" of President Biden's Cancer Moonshot initiative, said The New York Times. Studies have suggested it could prevent hundreds of thousands of smoking-related deaths over decades. 

Why is banning menthols so important?
Public health officials have warned that the mint flavor in these cigarettes makes them particularly addictive, and the cooling sensation makes the smoke easier to inhale. Menthols are the only flavored cigarette still on the market. Congress and the Obama administration banned the others in 2009, considered enticing for new smokers because they mask tobacco's harsh taste. 

Why delay?
The proposed ban has divided leaders in the Black community, a key part of Biden's base, with some focusing on the health benefits and others concerned about tensions between police and Black smokers. Restrictions on menthol cigarettes would have the biggest impact on Black smokers, about 81% of whom used menthols in 2020, compared with 30% of white smokers. A mentholated cigarette ban would get 380,000 Black smokers to quit smoking, said a study cited by The Wall Street Journal.

Biden's support among Black voters is weaker than it was four years ago, according to polls. One survey found that 54% of "'core' Biden voters … oppose the proposed ban," said National Review. "The White House appeared to think better of a policy that could anger Black voters in an election year." Still, the ban has only been delayed, not abandoned. 

 
 

Statistic of the day

0: The number of bags lost in the last 30 years at Japan's Kansai International Airport. Despite averaging 20 to 30 million passengers a year, the airport has not lost a piece of luggage since 1994, said Kansai officials. Aviation group Skytrax recently recognized the airport for having the world's best luggage delivery. 
CNN

 
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY

'Sickle cell always steals my dreams and interrupts all the things I want to do.' 

Twelve-year-old Kendric Cromer, the first patient in the world to start a commercially approved gene therapy that may cure sickle cell, talking to The New York Times about what the condition has cost him.

 
 
Talking Points

Should AI have rights?

Artificial intelligence is becoming more advanced by the day. But what happens when it becomes so advanced it can emulate human behavior and intelligence? 

A legal person making decisions
While AI technology is not yet advanced enough to be comparable to humans, "if future AI were to achieve a form of consciousness or self-awareness, the conversation around AI rights would become more pertinent," said Psychology Today. "We need to build a new field of digital minds research and an AI rights movement to ensure that, if the minds we create are sentient, they have their rights protected," Jacy Reece Anthis said at The Hill. 

Specifically, AI would need to be granted legal personhood. A legal person is a "human or a nonhuman legal entity that is treated as a person for legal purposes," said Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute. "Corporations, like AI systems, are not people. Yet the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that government should not suppress corporations' political speech," Simon McCarthy-Jones said at The Conversation. "The same principle could extend to AI."

A machine is what we make it
It is difficult to determine whether a robot is truly able to feel and make its own decisions. "Sentience is notoriously hard to define," said the Journal. AI does not act on its own instinct or morality, a way in which it differs from humans and even animals. "The moral status of animals is often linked to their sentience and ability to experience pain and pleasure. AI, as we understand it today, lacks these sentient qualities," said Psychology Today. 

Thus, treating AI as a human could devalue humanity as a whole. "We don't know if sentient AI will be possible," said Lance Eliot at Forbes. "While parallels can be drawn from the animal rights movement, AI's distinct nature as a human-created, nonsentient entity presents unique challenges," said Psychology Today. "In contemplating AI rights, we are not just shaping the future of AI but also reflecting on the evolving nature of rights, personhood and morality in a rapidly changing world."

 
 

Good day 🎮

… for gamers. The successor to Nintendo's flagship best-selling Switch console will be announced during the financial year ending March 2025, according to the Japanese gaming company. It expects to sell 13.5 million Switch units in the current financial year as it "tries to squeeze further sales from the aging device," said Reuters.

 
 

Bad day 🌴

… for soon-to-be retirees. A government report released on Monday said Congress has under a decade to fix the Social Security program before it runs short enough on cash to threaten a "sharp cut in benefits for nearly 60 million retirees and family members," said NPR. The report from  Social Security trustees predicted that the retirement fund's trust fund would be depleted by November 2023. "At that point, benefits would automatically be cut by 21% unless lawmakers adopt changes before then," NPR said.

 
 
Picture of the day

Showstopper

Rapper Cardi B needed nine staff to fan out her expansive Windowsen gown at last night's Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Actors, musicians, models and billionaires made their way up the red carpet to showcase their take on this year's "Garden of Time" theme.
Taylor Hill / Getty Images

 
 
Puzzles

Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes sudoku and codewords

 
 
The Week recommends

May movies are brash and bold, then intimate and quiet. This month's new releases include everything from cinematic car chases and epic stunts to small and tender stories about the price of fame, teenage dysphoria and motherhood.

'I Saw the TV Glow' (May 3)
Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun's first film, 2021's "We're All Going to the World's Fair," paid eerie homage to low-budget horror films, and their second film, "I Saw the TV Glow," does much the same. This low-fi A24 jaunt (or haunt) is about loving a TV show so much that you lose yourself "within a pop-culture universe that offers an alternate reality," said Rolling Stone. The film is also a "profound vision of the trans experience," said Richard Brody at The New Yorker. 

'Babes' (May 17)
This raunchy female-driven comedy stars "Broad City" co-creator Ilana Glazer and standup comic Michelle Buteau. In the grand tradition of "Bridesmaids" and "Bachelorette," director Pamela Adlon embraces the cruder aspects of femininity, specifically motherhood and the horror it can bring. The movie's title is tongue-in-cheek, as "her stars de-objectify a label used by dudes, slapping it on themselves."

'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' (May 24)
This is the prequel to George Miller's 2015 film, "Mad Max: Fury Road." The follow-up slots Anya Taylor-Joy into the role of young Furiosa, played with ferocity and road rage by Charlize Theron in the previous installment. This "epic, 'Odyssey'-esque prequel … follows the titular character over the roughly two decades before she becomes the Imperator," said Entertainment Weekly. 

 
 

Poll watch

Almost two-thirds of young Americans would not want to live in a state that banned abortion, according to a new CNBC / Generation Lab poll. The poll surveyed 1,033 people ages 18 to 34 and found that 62% would "probably not" or "definitely not" live in a state with an abortion ban. 

 
 
INSTANT OPINION

Today's best commentary

'No, low-skilled immigrants don't cost taxpayers money'
Tyler Cowen at Bloomberg
The "mainstream consensus" that "less-skilled immigrants are a burden on public finances" appears to be wrong, says Tyler Cowen. Economists at the University of Oregon and the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland say their research shows that "new low-skilled immigrants to the U.S. are a net fiscal plus." Those with a high-school degree pump $750 annually into "government coffers." They contribute more to the "entire economy," partly by helping "native workers" shift to higher-paying jobs.

'Parents need help regulating their children's social media. A government ban would help.'
Nicole Russell in USA Today
Social media can be terrible for kids and nearly impossible for parents to regulate, says Nicole Russell. The bipartisan Kids Off Social Media Act could help. If passed, it will "prevent kids younger than 13 from accessing social media, prohibit social media from programming algorithms for teens under 17" and let schools block social media access. This "targeted and carefully crafted ban" will help parents balance kids' use of smartphones, a "tool that has become necessary and harmful."

'The one thing Trump knows he wants in a running mate'
Jamelle Bouie in The New York Times
Donald Trump has "at least one litmus test" in his running-mate search, says Jamelle Bouie. "You cannot say that you'll accept the results of the 2024 election." Trump has said he'll respect the November result if, in his words, "everything's honest." And the 2020 election taught us that "anything short of a Trump victory is, for Trump, tantamount to fraud." That rules out anyone who accepts the "basic democratic norm" that you can't overturn a loss.

 
 
WORD OF THE DAY

cancerphobia

An irrational fear of cancer is causing people and governments to make poor decisions about the disease. "Most people still believe that a diagnosis of cancer is a death sentence," David Ropeik said at New Scientist. "That is no longer true." But that fear leads patients to choose more aggressive and risky surgeries than required and governments to spend huge amounts on tackling environmental carcinogens when we "now know that cancer is predominantly caused by naturally occurring mutations to DNA."

 
 

Evening Review was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, 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 Stephen Kelly / Getty Images; Catherine Falls Commercial / Getty Images; Leonello Calvetti / Science Photo Library / Getty Images; Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy