The conversation around AI has settled into a predictable cycle: the announcement of a reality-altering feature from a new model, followed by a scientific study reminding us that AI is neither truly intelligent nor capable of reasoning, and may, in fact, be making us dumber. I should be upfront: I think AI models are great. I use them as much as I can, I try to learn with them, and I believe they will fundamentally transform how we work. In this essay, I’ll explain why.
Read MoreI was out for a run this weekend with a friend who also works in the financial industry. As we sat down afterward over a cup of tea, our conversation turned—unsurprisingly—to the risk of a Black Monday tomorrow. This, in case you’re wondering, is how investors are spending their weekend: nervously looking ahead to next week’s open. Accidents happen in financial markets, but it’s not often they’re triggered by policy errors as egregious as the one we saw last week from Donald Trump. Not to worry, though; Mr. Trump and his team have a habit of throwing mud at the wall to see what sticks. This one, clearly, is sliding down pretty quickly. So they’ll walk it back, right?
Read MoreGlenn Loury and John McWhorter are at their best when they disagree, and I enjoyed their discussion about the disastrous exchange between Trump, Vance, and Zelensky at the White House. Both agree that the U.S. is right to push for a negotiated settlement, which involves pressuring Ukraine to acknowledge its precarious position. However, they diverge on how this pressure was communicated and its potential repercussions. Glenn argues that Trump and the vice president rightly prioritized American interests by applying pressure on Zelensky, while John takes the opposite stance, framing his argument within a broader critique of the U.S. president and his administration.
Read MoreLast week, I questioned how seriously we should take the initial direction of Mr. Trump’s attempt to end the war in Ukraine—an approach that involves openly conceding to Russia’s demand for territorial annexation and a binding commitment to block Ukraine from NATO membership. This was followed by a bizarre attack on Zelensky on X, where the U.S. president accused his Ukrainian counterpart of being a dictator and of instigating the war. On Friday, scenes at the White House made it abundantly clear: we should take it very seriously indeed. On first glance, Noah Smith and Niall Ferguson were right, and I was wrong. The fates of the key players in this drama are deeply intertwined and will converge soon enough, but it’s worth examining them separately.
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