Nonrival

Expert analysis from think tanks and academia, on public policy, economics, and technology.
Human experts. AI summaries.

Don't Let Spy Scandals and Data Center Fears Push the U.S. Into Overreacting on AI

cset

• Allegations that a Chinese operative targeted Nvidia's CEO, combined with a wave of local votes restricting data centers, have raised fears about China's ability to undermine U.S. AI leadership — but neither episode proves what its loudest interpreters claim.
• The article warns against conflating unproven intelligence allegations with actual technology theft, and against assuming that domestic opposition to data centers is the product of Chinese influence campaigns rather than genuine local concerns.
• The core argument: U.S. policy responses to these threats must be grounded in actual evidence, because overreacting — by imposing sweeping export controls or dismissing legitimate infrastructure debates — could damage the innovation ecosystem America is trying to protect.

Americans Are Turning Against Data Centers — and the Backlash Is Bipartisan

pew

• Data centers have exploded across the U.S. to fuel AI development, with 3,000+ now operational and 1,500 more planned, but public opposition has grown sharply — voters in 38 jurisdictions moved to limit or ban them in the 2026 midterms.
• Majorities of Americans say data centers are bad for the environment, energy costs, and neighbors' quality of life, and six in ten say they'd be uncomfortable having one nearby — a sentiment shared across urban, suburban, and rural communities.
• The backlash is notably nonpartisan: both Democrats and Republicans view data centers negatively, dislike politicians who support building them, and blame them for rising home energy bills — a rare point of cross-party agreement.

The Biggest AI Job Opportunity Isn't in Building AI — It's in Helping Organizations Use It

lse_business_review

• New research analyzing 94,000 AI-related job postings at S&P 500 companies finds that 60–80% of AI roles are 'facilitators' — people who help organizations deploy, integrate, and redesign work around AI, not build it from scratch.
• These facilitator jobs span technical, social, and infrastructural skills, and many don't require coding; demand has grown sharply since 2024 and commands a 23% wage premium over non-AI roles.
• The author argues that most national AI strategies focus too narrowly on frontier researchers or basic literacy, missing the critical middle layer of workers who actually translate AI breakthroughs into economic value.

In the News

El Salvador Is Sending Troops and Attack Helicopters to Haiti — and It May Not End Well

the_conversation

• Nayib Bukele has deployed roughly 2,500 Salvadoran troops, armored vehicles, and attack helicopters to Haiti, framing it as a rescue mission after Salvadoran personnel disappeared in a gang ambush — but the operation is really an overseas test of his iron-fist security model ahead of his 2027 reelection bid.
• The intervention is operating largely outside UN command, with no published rules of engagement, raising serious legal questions: international humanitarian law experts classify Haiti's gang conflict as an armed conflict, and drone strikes in residential areas have already killed dozens of civilians unconnected to gangs.
• History suggests military offensives alone don't work in Haiti — gangs survive by controlling economic networks, and without functioning courts and police to hold territory after foreign troops leave, short-term gains tend to evaporate.

Analysis

What Happens When You Try to Innovate Inside a Transit Bureaucracy

statecraft

• Joshua Schank ran LA Metro's Office of Extraordinary Innovation from 2015, winning some real victories — like automated bus lane enforcement cameras and launching the country's largest microtransit program — but failing to push through a public-private partnership on a major rail line because entrenched finance departments slow-walked the effort until the supportive CEO left.
• The article is a candid inside account of how bureaucratic fiefdoms, overlapping jurisdictions, and turf protection kill good ideas in public agencies — not through outright rejection, but through delay, data-hoarding, and waiting out reformers.
• The core lesson: innovation offices in public agencies can work, but they depend heavily on sustained top-level support, and embedded career staff who control money and information have enormous power to outlast any reformer who doesn't have that backing.

Also Worth a Look

• Trump's Tariff War Is Aimed at the Wrong Target — the Real Trade Barriers Are Hiding in Plain Sight (hoover)
• Americans Still Trust Local Democracy — and That May Be the Best Hope for Restoring Faith in the System (gallup)
• The Supreme Court May Be Ready to Strip Federal Agencies of Their Power to Fine People Without a Court (scotusblog)
• A Landmark Study Claimed Short Sellers Had a Special Edge in Family-Owned Companies. New Research Says That's Wrong. (harvard_corpgov)
• AI Can Read Corporate Earnings Calls to Forecast the Economy Better Than Traditional Indicators (voxeu)
• Your DNA probably affects how your medications work — and most doctors aren't testing for it (the_conversation)
• The Supreme Court Is Being Asked to Weigh In on Trump's Asylum Ban — and 10 Other Big Cases (scotusblog)