Nonrival

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

Governments Don't Need to Own the Media to Control It — They Just Need to Control the Algorithm

promarket

• When Russia forced its dominant news aggregator Yandex to quietly drop independent outlets from its rankings in 2016, readers barely noticed — they kept clicking on whatever Yandex surfaced, giving the government a powerful censorship tool with no visible fingerprints.
• The traffic losses were severe: Forbes Russia lost about 18% of its visitors, while pro-government outlets gained, and excluded outlets responded by changing how they wrote — producing longer, less time-sensitive stories after losing the algorithmic incentive.
• The researchers warn this model — opaque algorithmic ranking by platforms that produce no journalism themselves — now applies to Google Discover, browser news feeds, and AI assistants worldwide, making it an increasingly attractive tool for governments seeking quiet media control.

Americans Are Souring Fast on Data Centers, and It's Happening Across Party Lines

pew

• A new Pew survey finds 54% of Americans now think data centers are mostly bad for the environment, up from 39% in January, with similarly sharp rises in concerns about energy costs and quality of life nearby.
• Six in ten Americans say they'd be uncomfortable with a new data center in their area, with majorities across urban, suburban, and rural communities — and both parties — expressing discomfort.
• Public awareness of data centers has grown significantly since January, suggesting the shift reflects genuine opinion change rather than simple unfamiliarity, and comes as protests and political pushback against new data center construction have spread.

People Around the World Are Optimistic About AI — but Americans Are Among the Most Worried

gallup

• A Gallup survey of 37 countries finds that positive feelings about AI outweigh negative ones almost everywhere, with curiosity being the most common emotion — but the U.S., Netherlands, and Canada rank among the most worried nations despite being heavy users.
• Optimism about AI doesn't require firsthand experience: in Nigeria and Vietnam, large majorities expect AI to help their countries even though most people have never used it.
• Trust in AI's accuracy remains low globally (median of 36%), but frequent users are substantially more trusting and less worried than non-users, suggesting that hands-on experience shapes attitudes.

In the News

A Diesel Export Ban Would Likely Raise Food Prices and Disrupt AI Supply Chains, Not Just Lower Gas Costs

atlantic_council

• Washington is debating a diesel export ban to combat record-high prices, with bipartisan support and apparent interest from President Trump, but analysts warn the policy's costs would outweigh its benefits.
• The biggest risk is a boomerang effect on US consumers: Latin American countries, especially Mexico, rely heavily on US diesel for farming and trucking, and a sudden cutoff could disrupt the food supply chains that stock American grocery shelves.
• A ban could also delay shipments of AI server hardware through Laredo — the US's largest overland port — and push up prices for West Coast consumers who depend on imported diesel, making the policy a poor trade-off.

Analysis

ICE Raids Cost American Cities Up to $14 Billion — and the Economic Damage Doesn't Stop When Agents Leave

wharton

• A Wharton professor built a novel dataset tracking foot traffic and card spending around 5,388 ICE raid locations, finding that targeted areas suffer lasting declines in both worker attendance and consumer spending — not just in the days after a raid, but continuously.
• The damage is broad: every type of business and demographic feels it, not just Hispanic-majority neighborhoods, suggesting fear radiates far beyond the directly targeted population.
• The researcher argues this undercuts the economic case for aggressive enforcement — rather than helping American businesses, the raids appear to be suppressing the consumer spending and labor supply that local economies depend on.

Also Worth a Look

• For the First Time, More Than 40% of Americans View Socialism Favorably — Driven by a Shift Among Independents (gallup)
• Mexico Is Still Negotiating a Trade Deal with Trump — But Canada's Collapse Shows How Badly It Could Go Wrong (csis)
• The U.S. Government Is Spending Billions on AI — But Barely Regulating What It Buys (csis)
• Brazilians Are Equally Cool on Both the U.S. and China Ahead of a Pivotal Election (pew)
• Trump Has Erased Nearly $1.7 Billion in Court-Ordered Fines and Victim Repayments Through Pardons — Far Beyond Any Previous President (the_conversation)
• Skills and Broadband Matter More Than Size in Predicting Which Companies Adopt AI (lse_business_review)
• Reform UK's Economic Problem: Its Own Voters Fundamentally Disagree on Tax and Inequality (lse)