The enormity of the AI revolution is becoming clearer by the day — with leading thinkers now debating whether it's bigger than the invention of the printing press or the splitting of the atom.

• Why it matters: Bill Gates, who knows a thing or two about new eras, wrote this week that artificial intelligence — and the sudden proliferation of chatbots — "is as revolutionary as mobile phones and the Internet."

💡 Here's a snapshot of the real-time reaction to this tectonic shift, synthesized by Axios tech managing editor Scott Rosenberg:

1. This is big — therefore we need to be first: Companies seeking growth, nations seeking power, individuals seeking advancement — everyone in this camp aims to floor the pedal on AI to try to win.
2. This is big — therefore we need to be careful: Advocates of the "go slow and regulate" stance argue that society made a ton of mistakes with social media — and is about to repeat them with AI.
3. This is so big it poses an existential risk to humanity: A subset of the "go slow and regulate" camp sees our AI moment as a "Sorcerer's Apprentice"-style disaster in the making — with a potent new technology that we don't understand on the verge of taking an irreversible leap that imperils us all.
4. This is hype: These skeptics downplay the significance of recent AI advances — and believe ChatGPT and its descendants will hit a wall before they can learn to sort fact from fiction.

💭 The N.Y. Times' Tom Friedman — in a column called "Our New Promethean Moment" (subscription) — wrote that he could barely sleep after getting a demo of GPT-4, the advanced new version of ChatGPT:

• We're entering "one of those moments in history when certain new tools, ways of thinking or energy sources are introduced that are such a departure and advance on what existed before that ... you have to change everything ...
• "[H]ow you create, how you compete, how you collaborate, how you work, how you learn, how you govern and, yes, how you cheat, commit crimes and fight wars."

Friedman's analogies: "invention of the printing press, the scientific revolution, the agricultural revolution combined with the industrial revolution, the nuclear power revolution, personal computing and the internet and … now this moment."

• 🎧 Go deeper: Hear (or read) Kara Swisher interviewing Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT.

Former President Trump, who predicted he'd be arrested in a probe into alleged hush money he paid to an adult film star, now suggests — without evidence — the case might be dropped by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

• "I think they've already dropped the case," Trump told Axios' Sophia Cai and other reporters last night aboard his plane ("Trump Force One") as he returned from a Waco rally billed as the first of his '24 campaign.
• "Some fake cases, they have absolutely nothing."

🥊 Reality check: It was Trump who had named last Tuesday as the target date for his own arrest. Then the week came and went with no public action by Bragg, who has not commented on the case.

• Bragg said in a Friday afternoon memo to his staff, after a threatening letter with a powdery substance was found in his mailroom: "We will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly."

In a rambling, 90-minute speech at the Waco airport, Trump said he's an example of the "weaponization of law enforcement," and told the crowd: "They're coming after you."

• Attacking criminal investigations of election issues around the country, Trump said: "People see it's bull----."

Share this story ... More on the rally.

The deadly tornadoes that spiraled through Mississippi and Alabama on Friday night — traveling at 59 mph — killed 26 people, flattened entire blocks, ripped a steeple off a church and toppled a water tower, AP reports.

• Pope Francis today prayed for the people of Mississippi during his weekly noon blessing overlooking St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.

President Biden declared a disaster in Mississippi, opening up federal funding.

The tornado devastated a swath of the 2,000-person town of Rolling Fork, Miss. (above), reducing homes to piles of rubble and flipping cars.

The National Weather Service said the tornado was given a preliminary rating of EF-4 — the second highest.

• The weather service warned of a risk of more severe weather today — including high winds, large hail and possible tornadoes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

More photos.

Two Cuban migrants landed at Key West (Fla.) International Airport on a motorized hang glider yesterday and were turned over to U.S. Border Patrol, the Monroe County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office announced.

• The trip is about 90 miles. No details were available about what happened next for the two men.

Context: Overwhelmed by Cubans and other migrants arriving at the Mexican border and into Florida by boat, the Biden administration in early January began requiring them to request a permit online showing they have a U.S. sponsor. Those who arrive without doing that risk deportation. (AP)

NATO today criticized Vladimir Putin for "dangerous and irresponsible" nuclear rhetoric, a day after he said he would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus — which shares borders with Ukraine and Poland.

• Why it matters: This may be the first time since the mid-'90s that Russia has deployed nuclear weapons outside its borders, Reuters reports.

Putin likened his move to the U.S. stationing weapons in Europe, and insisted Russia won't violate its nuclear non-proliferation promises.

• Tactical nuclear weapons refer to those used for specific gains on a battlefield, rather than those with the capacity to wipe out cities.

The great Eli Saslow, who joined The New York Times as a writer at large in February, makes his debut with this fascinating piece on how the homelessness epidemic in Phoenix has affected small businesses:

Cities across the West have been "transformed by a housing crisis, a mental health crisis and an opioid epidemic, all of which landed at the doorsteps of small businesses already reaching a breaking point because of the pandemic. ...

"And in Phoenix, where the number of people living on the street had more than tripled since 2016, businesses had begun hiring private security firms to guard their property and lawyers to file a lawsuit against the city for failing to manage 'a great humanitarian crisis.'"

Behind the scenes: "To report the article," according to a Times Insider piece ("With Empathy, a Writer Searches for the Tension Points in America"), "in February he traveled to Phoenix twice; during his visits, he spent nearly all day, every day, with business owners and those in the homeless encampment.

• "He estimates he reported for 100 hours — half of them in the neighborhood — and spoke with upward of 50 people. And of course, he ate at Old Station Subs, opting for Reubens and chicken salad."

Read Eli's story (subscription).

UConn suffered a shocking 73-61 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the women's Sweet 16 yesterday — ending the Huskies' streak of 14 consecutive Final Fours.

• The Huskies will miss the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005 — 18 years ago. (CBS Sports)

But UConn's men's team will play in its first Final Four since 2007.

Four of the eight programs in the men's Elite Eight this weekend have a chance at the Final Four for the first time in school history, Axios data viz journalist Thomas Oide reports for our weekly "Charted" visual.

91 of the 358 Division I basketball programs have made at least one Final Four since 1939. One school joined that list yesterday, and three have a chance today:

• Florida Atlantic (won yesterday; in first Final Four): 2 NCAA tournament appearances.
• Creighton (play today): 24 appearances.
• San Diego State (plays Creighton today): 15 appearances.
• Miami (plays Texas today): 12 appearances.

Worth noting: Florida Atlantic will play either Creighton or San Diego State in the Final Four on April 1.

• UConn, returning to the Final Four for the first time since 2007, will play either Miami or Texas. Texas last appeared in the round in 2003.

🧮 By the numbers: BYU holds the record for March Madness appearances without a Final Four — 30! The Cougars didn't make the tournament this year.

• Missouri and Xavier are tied for second with 29 appearances.

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