@JamesSpiro

Journalist and Founder of The Spiro Circle | Seen on @Forbes | Formerly @Calcalistech | Written work: @JNS_org, @TimesofIsrael | TV: @i24News_EN, @ILTVNews

Israel
Joined June 2009
NEW: Israeli cybersecurity firms raised about $4.3 billion in the first nine months of 2026, roughly 39% of all Israeli tech funding. Not only is the slice of the pie sizable, but companies and investors are noting that money is increasingly flowing to address one industry pain point: securing artificial intelligence. Read exclusively in @JNS_org >> jns.org/feature/made-in-isra…
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🇮🇱🗳️🇺🇸 With Israel and the US both heading to the polls soon, voters are still wondering if they can trust the process. Earlier this year, I spoke with Shai Bargil, co-founder and CEO of @Sequent_Tech, an Israeli-founded company developing cryptographic, open-source voting technology. We discuss: - Differences in paper ballots and digital voting - Voter ID laws - How election accessibility can introduce new challenges
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PREVIEW: We judge the past with information people didn’t have at the time. In my next conversation, I explore the “fog of life” and ask whether Community Notes and corrections on social media and podcasts should become standard. Full episode and (returning) guest reveal coming soon. Subscribe now to see when it drops. thespirocircle.com/
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NEW: AI makes it easier to communicate across borders. But understanding the person receiving the message takes more than fluent language or relying on a national stereotype. Watch "AI translates our words. Can it 'read the room?'" with Arona Maskil now. thespirocircle.com/p/ai-tran…
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7:40am: Replace my blue soda stream cylinders for the first time since 2021. Excitement ensues. 7:48am: Break device valve by not being careful enough with the screw tops. Annoyed but salvageable. 8:10am: Discover models for blue cylinders are no longer sold in Israel. Not ideal morning.
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I also discovered someone stole three of my empty gas cylinders, which is incredibly passive-aggressive (genius?). As close as you can get to a victimless crime.
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“Is France gonna make it?”
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Pro-Palestinians are burning down France; the Zionists are not. The pro-Palestinians tore down statues and rioted in the streets; the Zionists did not. The contrast between those on the side of the West and those who are actively destroying it has never been clearer. Wake up.
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Decline is a choice, and it looks like UK Labour is making it policy.
🚨 NEW: Ed Miliband is reportedly blocking AI investment into Britain over concerns it harms net zero [@Telegraph]
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🪙🎙️ Announcement: I’ll be your MC on October 28–29, bringing some familiar Spiro Circle questions to the stage. Fintech is one of Israel’s largest tech sectors, with an emphasis on fraud, payments, and insurance tech. The sector raised roughly $1.4 billion in 2025, and will surely be impacted by AI in 2026 and beyond. Learn more and register to attend below — I’d love to see you there. thespirocircle.com/p/fintech…
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Live on @ForbesIsrael: I spoke with Act Security co-founder and CEO Jonathan Langer about Sisyphus, the king condemned to push a boulder uphill for eternity, and why that story resonates with security teams facing a list of problems that never ends. He explains why the company's approach returns to foundational principles: defense in depth, reducing the attack surface, and giving systems only the access they need. Full interview: forbes.co.il/e/cybersecurity… [Correction: Sisyphus was a mortal king of Corinth, rather than a god, as I said in the recording]
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🫪 is fast becoming my favorite emoji. Hard to believe we went so long without it.
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Not bad, considering half the circle is the Ocean.
If you don't have at least 1 million people within a 30km radius of your city, you live in a rural poophole. You should move. Test it for yourself: tomforth.co.uk/circlepopulat…
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*Half* a @Scaramucci. Who would have ever thought?
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James Spiro retweeted
One word answer, no fluff: What is the one country with a high birthrate and a high GDP? @grok
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Turns out “Artificial” may be the *actual* sequel to “The Social Network” in 2026.
Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial,” a movie about the evils of AI and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is earning rave reviews, raising questions about Amazon’s decision to drop the movie and whether its own AI investments played a role. One creative team member on an Amazon MGM series tells Variety that AI training is a requirement on the lot these days. The source describes a “mandatory and perfunctory meeting” with the company’s AI team, billed as standard workplace education. The AI group spent an hour pitching the creatives on a suite of products it referred to as “tools.” Meanwhile, Nicolas Cage revealed that he refused to sign a document permitting Amazon to use AI in and around his likeness on his now-canceled series “Spider-Noir”: “I am not an AI-friendly actor. I’m not a member of their club,” he said. As one film executive at a rival studio put it: “A reaction this strong just shows you, every studio pretending the film wasn’t releasable is just conflicted out by their own investments in AI.” variety.com/2026/film/news/a…
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Institutions expect us to trust them but get basic facts of a viral story wrong in their headlines. The bird was $15,000. Even I know this - and nothing I’ve learnt about this Kelly Clarkson Brooklyn story has been by choice.
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“When the BBC visited the store on Wednesday, there were more reporters than customers.” These stories exist on social media; no one in the real world actually cares.
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