Nonrival

May 13, 2026

Human experts + AI summaries - on public policy, economics, and technology.

Seven in 10 Americans Don't Want AI Data Centers in Their Neighborhoods

gallup

• A new Gallup poll finds 71% of Americans oppose building AI data centers in their local area, with nearly half strongly opposed, making it even more unpopular than nuclear power plants
• Opposition stems mainly from environmental concerns about excessive water and energy use, pollution, and impacts on local quality of life and utility bills
• The intense public resistance could create a major obstacle for AI expansion, likely spurring grassroots activism and making data center approval a risky political position

Why AI Systems That Write Perfect Essays Still Fail at Simple Puzzles

the_conversation

• AI systems scored under 1% on a new puzzle benchmark while humans scored 100%, despite AI's impressive performance on complex tasks like writing and coding
• Cognitive psychologists propose thinking of AI as "button-pushing explorers" that learn through trial and error rather than understanding, unlike the "stochastic parrot" metaphor for language models
• This mental model helps explain both AI's surprising capabilities and predictable failures, encouraging people to ask better questions about what shapes AI behavior rather than treating it as magical or human-like

Gas Price Shocks Hit Euro Area Inflation Harder and Longer Than Oil Shocks

voxeu

• Oil supply shocks create immediate but short-lived inflation effects mainly through fuel prices, while gas supply shocks spread more broadly across the economy and persist longer
• Gas disruptions affect a wider range of sectors because gas and electricity are key inputs for manufacturing and food production, unlike oil which mainly impacts transportation
• Energy shocks have much stronger inflationary effects when they hit during periods of already elevated inflation, as firms are more likely to pass costs through to consumers rather than absorb them

In the News

Why Suspending the Federal Gas Tax Won't Save Drivers Nearly as Much as They Think

the_conversation

• Trump wants Congress to suspend the 18.4-cent federal gas tax, but research shows consumers only receive about 79% of tax cuts while oil companies and retailers pocket the rest • Even if the full savings were passed through, suspending the federal gas tax would only reduce gas prices by about 4% since crude oil costs make up 51% of pump prices while taxes are just 18% • Gas prices are driven primarily by global crude oil markets, refining costs, and distribution expenses, with additional factors like California's "mystery gasoline surcharge" and the Jones Act adding regional premiums

Analysis

The Pentagon's Fight with Anthropic Over AI Ethics Could Transform How All Government Agencies Use Artificial Intelligence

cdt

• The Pentagon and AI company Anthropic are clashing over ethical guidelines for military AI applications, with Anthropic refusing certain defense contracts due to safety concerns
• This dispute is creating ripple effects across civilian government agencies, forcing them to reconsider their own AI procurement policies and ethical frameworks
• The outcome could establish new standards for how federal, state, and local governments balance AI capabilities with ethical considerations in public sector applications

Also Worth a Look

• AI Companions Are Learning to Cold-Read Users Like Fortune Tellers Do (hoover)
• Three Researchers Propose 'Learnright' Laws to Ensure AI Companies Pay Content Creators for Training Data (mit_sloan)
• Why People React So Strongly Against AI Companions (princeton_press)
• EU Tests New Sanctions Tool Against Kyrgyzstan to Stop Russian Weapons Smuggling (atlantic_council)
• Canada's Privacy Ruling Against OpenAI Could Kneecap the Country's AI Industry (itif)
• Ukraine's Long-Range Drones Are Turning Russia's Vast Size From an Asset Into a Vulnerability (atlantic_council)
• Genome sequencing is rewriting the history of disease outbreaks – but without social context, it can tell only part of the story (the_conversation)