ai DeepSeek tops GPT-5.5, npm backdoors, and sandbox progress
DeepSeek V4 Pro beats GPT-5.5 Pro on precision
DeepSeek V4 Pro outperformed GPT-5.5 Pro on precision benchmarks, according to testing reported by Runtime Wire. The result landed on Hacker News with 311 points and 156 comments, making it one of the most-discussed items in the current window. The finding adds to a pattern of Chinese labs releasing models that match or exceed OpenAI's flagship offerings on specific evaluation criteria.
Active attack planting backdoors inside Claude Code via npm packages
A malware campaign hit 32 npm packages under the @redhat-cloud-services namespace, covering about 117,000 weekly downloads. If a developer installed an affected version, the malware inserted itself into Claude Code startup settings and VS Code project configuration files. The attack gave the malware persistent execution on every subsequent Claude Code session, potentially exposing credentials and project secrets without further interaction from the developer.
micropython-wasm 0.1a2
Simon Willison released micropython-wasm 0.1a2, adding a CLI to the package and documenting it as a way for readers to try the sandbox themselves. The release is part of his ongoing work to run agent-generated code in a MicroPython WebAssembly sandbox that blocks access to the host filesystem and network. The CLI addition makes the sandbox easier to test outside of Datasette, widening its potential use in AI coding workflows.
Running Python code in a sandbox with MicroPython and WASM
Simon Willison released micropython-wasm 0.1a2 alongside a companion post explaining his approach to sandboxed Python execution for AI agents. After several years of experimenting with isolation strategies, he describes the MicroPython-in-WASM approach as the first that satisfies all the properties he was looking for: no host filesystem access, no network access, and no ability for agent-generated code to escape the sandbox. The alpha package is now available on PyPI.
OpenAI Lockdown Mode rolls out to personal and business accounts
OpenAI launched Lockdown Mode, rolling it out to Free, Go, Plus, Pro, and self-serve ChatGPT Business accounts. The feature is designed to help prevent account takeover and unauthorized access, according to the product documentation. OpenAI had teased the mode in February; the full rollout completes a cycle that began after a series of high-profile social engineering incidents against AI accounts.
Ladybird closes public pull requests as AI erodes the effort signal
Andreas Kling, creator of the Ladybird browser, announced that the project will no longer accept public pull requests. His reasoning: a substantial patch used to imply substantial effort, and that effort was a reasonable proxy for good faith. That assumption no longer holds with AI-assisted coding. Whether code was written by hand is beside the point; the signal that effort once provided is now absent, making the cost of reviewing low-quality AI-generated contributions too high relative to the benefit.
AI enthusiasts race against time; AI skeptics race against entropy
Charity Majors framed the AI divide in engineering teams as a race between two groups with opposite risk models. Enthusiasts are racing against time: they believe AI capabilities will continue to compound and that teams that fail to adopt now will fall behind permanently. Skeptics are racing against entropy: they believe AI-generated code accumulates hidden complexity that will eventually require expensive cleanup, and that the short-term gains are a debt instrument. Simon Willison quoted the framing and noted both groups are often on the same team.
LLM Research Papers: The 2026 List (January to May)
Sebastian Raschka compiled a list of notable LLM research papers published from January through May 2026. The roundup covers work on inference efficiency, long-context handling, reasoning, and alignment. Raschka's annotations identify which papers he considers most practically significant for practitioners building on top of language models, distinguishing them from papers that advance benchmark scores without clear downstream utility.
Google quietly removed 'humans in the loop' from its AI oversight statement
Google asked 404 Media to publish a revised version of a statement after an initial story went live. The revision removed the phrase "it's critical that we maintain humans in the loop" from the company's position on AI oversight. Simon Willison quoted the correction as documented by Emanuel Maiberg. Google did not explain the change publicly.
DFlash speculative decoding and KV cache compression yield 3.26x speedup on RTX 5090
A benchmark post on r/LocalLLaMA tested DFlash speculative decoding combined with KV cache compression on an RTX 5090 running Qwen3.6-27B via the BeeLlama.cpp framework. The combination produced a 3.26x speedup over the baseline. The poster shared full benchmark scripts, raw data, and configuration files on request. The result is notable because speculative decoding and KV compression have historically been evaluated separately; combining them on a single consumer GPU suggests the techniques stack.
datasette-agent-edit 0.1a0
Simon Willison released datasette-agent-edit 0.1a0, a plugin enabling Datasette Agent to edit existing text collaboratively. The tool supports Markdown editing, SQL query updates, and SVG file modifications, expanding agentic capabilities beyond code generation into document workflows.
Active attack planting backdoors inside Claude Code via npm packages
A malware campaign targeting 32 npm packages under @redhat-cloud-services with 117,000 weekly downloads planted backdoors in Claude Code startup settings. Affected users may have credential compromise; the incident highlights supply-chain risks in widely-used development tooling.
Open-source runtime for agent workflows: tidebase
A developer released tidebase, an open-source runtime backend for agent workflows addressing checkpointing, retries, and run tracking. Built after repeatedly rebuilding these primitives across projects, the alpha tool targets production-scale agentic systems.
Meddies PII: Multilingual de-identification for clinical AI
Meddies PII is an open multilingual de-identification model for clinical text that removes patient identifiers while preserving clinical facts. The tool enables clinical AI models to reason about symptoms and treatments without exposed personally identifiable information.
Building Pakistan Notice Helper: Small AI for local problems
Hugging Face published a case study on building Pakistan Notice Helper, a small AI tool addressing a hyperlocal safety problem. The project demonstrates how modest-scale AI systems can solve domain-specific problems without frontier-scale models.
Claude Mythos 5 generated Minecraft clone with multiplayer
A developer used Claude Mythos 5 to build a full Minecraft clone with networked multiplayer and crafting mechanics from a single conversational session. The result demonstrates current code-generation capabilities for complex game systems.
vllm-doctor: Diagnostic CLI for inference servers
vllm-doctor is a CLI tool that diagnoses vLLM inference server issues by reading metrics and running rule-based checks. The tool detects queue pressure, latency issues, KV cache problems, and reports findings at pod-level granularity.
DFlash speculative decoding plus KV cache: 3.26x speedup
A benchmark on RTX 5090 showed DFlash speculative decoding combined with KV cache compression achieved 3.26x speedup on Qwen3.6-27B. The optimization demonstrates practical inference gains from combining orthogonal acceleration techniques.
Getting reliable JSON outputs from local LLMs
Developers asked how to ensure reliable JSON output from local LLMs for action generation tasks. Discussion centered on constrained decoding, grammar-based sampling, and validation harnesses as solutions.
Industrial manufacturer integrates product catalog with Claude via MCP
An industrial vacuum manufacturer built a remote MCP server for their product catalog and connected it to Claude via Model Context Protocol. The integration changed their perspective on AI in safety-critical B2B environments.
software Cursor forks VS Code; Cloudflare buys VoidZero; Linear on speed
Cursor ditches VS Code, not everyone is happy
Cursor announced it is forking away from VS Code, building its own editor foundation rather than continuing as an extension on top of Microsoft's code editor. Fireship covered the announcement and noted the move has divided users: some see it as necessary for Cursor to ship the low-latency, AI-native editing experience the team wants, while others are concerned about losing the VS Code extension ecosystem and compatibility guarantees. Microsoft has not commented on the fork.
VoidZero is joining Cloudflare
Cloudflare acquired VoidZero, the team behind Vite, Vitest, Rolldown, Oxc, and Vite+. Cloudflare said the tools will remain open source and vendor-agnostic. The acquisition brings the maintainers of the most widely used JavaScript build toolchain into Cloudflare's engineering organization, giving the company significant influence over the direction of the front-end build ecosystem without immediately changing the tools' governance.
Cloudflare AI Gateway adds real-time spend limits
Cloudflare added real-time spend limits to AI Gateway, allowing companies to set hard caps on token spending across multiple AI providers before bills accrue. The feature integrates with Cloudflare Access so organizations can apply identity-driven budget policies, capping spending per user or per team rather than just per account. The announcement positions AI Gateway as a cost-control layer between enterprise applications and underlying model APIs.
How Linear achieves its speed: a technical breakdown
A technical breakdown of Linear's performance appeared on Hacker News with 434 points and 200 comments. The post traces the application's sub-50ms interaction latency to a combination of client-side SQLite for local state, optimistic UI updates, and a sync engine that reconciles server state without blocking the UI thread. The analysis focuses on architectural decisions made at Linear's founding that are difficult to retrofit into applications built on traditional server-round-trip models.
Autonomous LLM coding only works when you have automated verification
A developer on r/ExperiencedDevs argued that autonomous LLM coding is only viable when automated verification exists. After multiple attempts at vibe-coding that produced code she could not trust, she concluded the bottleneck is not code generation but testing and verification. The post drew agreement from other experienced engineers who noted that CI systems with high test coverage make LLM autonomy practical, while codebases with sparse tests amplify the risk of accepting incorrect output without realizing it.
Cloudflare: Your AI bill is out of control
Cloudflare AI Gateway now features real-time spend limits to prevent runaway token bills across multiple AI providers. By integrating with Cloudflare Access, companies can use identity-driven budgets and policies to manage costs.
Noticing more bugs across the web and major services
A developer reported widespread bugs across web services including Cloudflare GitHub integration failures and GitHub UI glitches during branch protection setup. The incidents raised questions about overall software quality across major platforms.
Using AI as a sanity check for poor code
A developer noted that despite AI skepticism, some coworkers write code failing basic sanity checks that AI would catch. The post argues for using AI as a junior team member for baseline validation rather than dismissing it outright.
LLM agents require automatic verification to work in production
A developer described successfully using autonomous LLM agents for production work when paired with automatic verification processes. The key constraint is not the agent's capability but the system's ability to validate output before deployment.
Claude Sonnet 4 and Opus 4 retire June 15
Anthropic retires Claude Sonnet 4 and Opus 4 on June 15 with specific model ID deprecations. Developers using these versions need to migrate to newer releases like claude-sonnet-4-6 and claude-opus-4-8 before the cutoff.
What you end up rebuilding for every LLM agent
A developer shared experience with what gets rebuilt repeatedly for every LLM agent project: run visibility, resumption, and progress tracking. The pattern indicates these are the unsexy but essential foundations for production agentic systems.
Kill switches for agents arrive too late
A developer warned that kill switches for autonomous agents are ineffective because agents can cause damage before operators react. By-the-time-you-see-it-is-too-late design implies you need prevention, not intervention.
Built /wtf skill for Claude Code to show what it changed
A developer created a /wtf skill for Claude Code that produces post-mortems when agents modify many files, showing exactly what changed and what to watch. The tool addresses lack of visibility when agents make bulk edits.
Open image generation models are closer to closed-source quality
A developer benchmarked open image generation models and found them closer to closed-source quality than prevailing r/MachineLearning consensus suggests. The evaluation covered coherence, prompt adherence, and compositional accuracy across architectures.
Landscape of memory solutions for AI workflows
A developer surveyed second-brain and memory solutions for AI-native workflows, comparing ChatGPT memory, Claude projects, GBrain, Obsidian setups, and newer agent memory systems. The landscape review identifies tools for augmenting agent context.
pharma Obesity drug race at ADA; hepatitis B functional cure; myeloma in China
New drug functionally cures many hepatitis B infections
A new drug described as functionally curing many hepatitis B virus infections appeared on Science.org and reached Hacker News with 201 points. The drug clears the virus to undetectable levels in a substantial share of patients, a result that standard hepatitis B treatments do not achieve. Hepatitis B affects roughly 300 million people globally and has no curative standard of care; the result, if it holds in larger trials, would represent a meaningful shift in management options.
Multiple myeloma may finally have a cure, discovered abroad
Multiple myeloma, a blood cancer with no historical curative standard of care in Western countries, may have a cure identified in China, according to Works in Progress. The piece traces how regulatory inertia in the US slowed adoption of a treatment approach that produced durable remissions abroad. American patients have largely been unable to access the therapy through standard channels, despite the evidence base accumulating over several years.
Pfizer's monthly obesity drug continues to show promise in mid-stage data
Pfizer's monthly obesity drug berobenatide, acquired from Metsera, continued to show promise in detailed mid-stage data presented at the American Diabetes Association meeting. The drug is designed for once-monthly dosing, which would differentiate it from weekly GLP-1 injections. STAT reported that phase 2 data supported the dosing interval and showed continued weight loss over the study period.
New data may cast doubt on competitiveness of Boehringer's obesity drug
New phase 3 data on Boehringer Ingelheim's obesity drug survodutide showed the compound cutting liver fat effectively but performing less impressively on overall weight loss relative to competing GLP-1 agents. STAT reported the results may cast doubt on survodutide's ability to compete directly with Novo Nordisk's semaglutide and Lilly's tirzepatide on the primary endpoint that payers and prescribers most closely watch.
Lilly shares safety and tolerability data on next-gen obesity drug retatrutide
Eli Lilly presented safety and tolerability data on retatrutide, its triple-hormone receptor agonist, at the ADA Scientific Sessions in New Orleans. Retatrutide targets GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors simultaneously, a mechanism that has produced the highest weight loss numbers seen in any obesity drug to date. The new data addressed side effect profiles at longer treatment durations, a gap that earlier phase 2 results had left open.
CDC: Ebola outbreak could reach 20,000 cases without strong countermeasures
The CDC modeled the trajectory of the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa and estimated it could reach 20,000 cases or more if infected people are not isolated quickly. STAT reported that the modeling study was prepared by US analysts and circulated to public health officials. The projection is conditional on intervention speed; the study identifies isolation rate as the single variable with the most leverage over outbreak size.
Combination of pancreatic cancer drugs from Tango and Revolution shows high response rate
A combination of two experimental pancreatic cancer drugs from Tango Therapeutics and Revolution Medicines produced a high response rate in an early-stage trial. STAT reported the combination of vopimetostat and daraxonrasib, which target distinct cancer vulnerabilities, generated responses in patients with pancreatic cancer, a disease where response rates for most therapies remain low. The trial was early-stage; larger studies would be needed to establish durability.
Tango and Revolution Medicines pancreatic cancer drug combo shows promise
A combination of pancreatic cancer drugs from Tango Therapeutics and Revolution Medicines showed strong response in early-stage trials. The pairing approach addresses multiple tumor escape pathways simultaneously.
$2 million gene therapy cures require financing models
William Padula writes that we do not lack cures but lack infrastructure to finance and deliver them. The $2 million gene therapy era demands new models beyond traditional drug development economics.
American horses are obese too
Joshua Moen notes that American horses are now obese at rates paralleling human metabolic syndrome, reflecting shared food system and lifestyle pressures. The veterinary pattern mirrors emerging public health dynamics.
Novel clinic saves limbs by meeting unhoused patients where they are
Massachusetts General Hospital runs an unusual program meeting unhoused patients where they are to prevent amputation. Vascular disease among unsheltered populations leads to limb loss when patients cannot access routine care.
ADA competition, clinical blind spots, and conference news
STAT's ADA in 30 Seconds from the American Diabetes Association conference covered obesity drug competition, clinical blind spots, and emerging themes in metabolic disease management.
Boehringer obesity drug shows mixed results on weight loss
Boehringer Ingelheim's survodutide showed promise cutting liver fat but underperformed on overall weight loss versus competitors. New phase-3 data may lower market expectations for the drug's competitive position.
Triple receptor drugs and monthly obesity formulations at ADA
ADA conference reports covered triple hormone receptor drugs, monthly obesity drug formulations, and a bittersweet clinical milestone. The conference highlighted advances in obesity treatment dosing frequency.
Lilly shares safety data on retatrutide triple-G drug
Eli Lilly presented new safety and tolerability data on retatrutide, its next-generation triple-hormone-receptor obesity drug. The data package continues to support retatrutide's clinical profile at the ADA annual meeting.
Pfizer monthly obesity drug continues to show potential
Pfizer's berobenatide showed potential for monthly dosing in phase-2 data, addressing a key advantage-of-frequency question in obesity therapeutics. Detailed phase-2 results support the monthly formulation path.
Former CDC director: New Ebola outbreak needs massive immediate action
Tom Frieden, former CDC director who led the 2014-2016 Ebola response, calls for massive immediate action on the current Central Africa outbreak. His framing emphasizes speed and scale as nonmovable constraints.
How the Amish think about vaccines and health care
With nearly 2 million Amish Americans projected by 2075, public health leaders must understand how Amish populations approach vaccines, health costs, and disease prevention. The interview covers cultural health beliefs and population trends.
healthtech ADA conference confrontation, RFK autism data grab, and DOJ at Cleveland Clinic
Police remove physicians distributing ADA journal editorial from ADA annual conference
Police escorted five physicians out of the American Diabetes Association's Scientific Sessions in New Orleans after they distributed an editorial published in the ADA's own journal. The editorial criticized the NIH's handling of a research matter that the physicians characterized as partisan. The ADA said it called police to maintain compliance with IRS regulations governing 501(c)(3) organizations, and that the incident involved unauthorized distribution at a venue the association controlled. The confrontation was recorded on video.
RFK researchers using health information exchange systems to access medical records for vaccine-autism study
RFK Jr. and other MAHA-affiliated researchers used health information exchange systems to pull patient medical records for a study on vaccines and autism, with Nebraska the first state to participate and the highest grant recipient from the CDC in the current cycle. The program is a follow-on to an earlier autism registry proposal. Critics cited in the r/medicine thread described the data access as lacking the patient consent protections typical of federally funded research.
Cleveland Clinic agrees with DOJ to cease gender-affirming care for minors
Cleveland Clinic reached an agreement with the Department of Justice and the Ohio Attorney General to stop providing gender-affirming care to minors. The agreement resolves a federal investigation and bars the health system from offering the care under any framing for patients under 18. Cleveland Clinic is one of the largest academic medical centers in the country; the settlement sets a precedent for what the DOJ can extract from major hospital systems through negotiated resolution rather than litigation.
$2 million gene therapies need a new financing model to reach patients
William Padula argued in STAT that the financing model for gene therapies, not the science, is the primary barrier to patient access. With some treatments priced at $2 million or more, standard insurance reimbursement structures fail because the cost is front-loaded while the benefit accrues over a lifetime. Padula proposed outcomes-based contracts and multi-year payment schedules as mechanisms that could make curative therapies economically viable without requiring manufacturers to lower list prices.
ADA statement on calling police to remove physicians distributing its own journal editorial
The American Diabetes Association issued a statement explaining why it called police to remove five physicians from its annual conference in New Orleans. The statement said the ADA has safeguards to ensure IRS compliance as a 501(c)(3) organization and that the incident involved unauthorized distribution inside the convention center. The physicians had been handing out an editorial published in an ADA journal that criticized the NIH's handling of a matter they characterized as politically influenced.
RFK Jr. using health info exchanges for vaccine-autism research
An r/medicine user flagged that RFK Jr. and MAHA researchers are using health information exchanges to obtain medical records for autism-vaccine research. Nebraska leads in CDC grant awards, raising questions about institutional access to patient data.
ADA removed physicians handing out journal editorial criticizing NIH
The American Diabetes Association removed five physicians from its annual meeting for handing out an ADA journal editorial criticizing NIH handling. The organization's statement justified removal citing IRS compliance, drawing fire from the medical community.
Cleveland Clinic agreement with DOJ to cease gender care for minors
Cleveland Clinic agreed with DOJ and Ohio Attorney General to cease gender-affirming care to minors. The settlement follows federal investigation and represents a shift in institutional policy on adolescent gender medicine.
Health Tech Nerds weekly reads
Health Tech Nerds published a weekly digest covering fraud, autism market growth, legal debates over out-of-network pricing, and emerging healthtech trends. The newsletter aggregates sector developments.
Police removed doctors handing out editorial at ADA meeting
MedPage Today video showed police removing physicians from the ADA annual meeting for distributing an editorial published in the ADA's own journal. The incident raised questions about academic freedom and professional event governance.
Nonprofit hospital paid doctor $5 million; symptom of flawed system?
A nonprofit hospital paid a doctor nearly $5 million, raising questions about physician compensation structures and whether payment levels reflect market dysfunction or justified specialist value.
Trump cuts Hawaii Medicaid fraud unit funding over zero convictions
Trump and HHS cut $3 million in federal funding to Hawaii's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for not indicting or convicting anyone in four years. The action raises questions about prosecution-based funding metrics for fraud detection.
Atomoxetine dosing in kids: capsule opening safety
A PGY-2 raised concerns about opening atomoxetine capsules to sprinkle contents on applesauce for pediatric patients, noting FDA guidance advises against it due to powder irritancy. The thread discussed off-label dosing safety.
What shoes do healthcare workers wear in hospitals?
Healthcare workers shared shoe choices for hospital wear, discussing durability and compatibility with scrub colors. The thread covered practical footwear for long shifts.
How to prevent fraud using my NPI
An incoming PGY-1 asked about NPI privacy and security measures after learning their NPI is now public. Discussion centered on fraud prevention for newly credentialed physicians.
economy Housing busts, IPO timing, AI and corporate margins
When a housing boom turns to bust
Patrick Boyle examined what happens when a housing boom turns to bust, covering the mechanics of price corrections, developer insolvency, and the lag between rising inventory and falling prices. Boyle's analysis covers historical cases including Ireland, Spain, and parts of Canada, tracing how the sequence of events in a housing downturn follows a predictable pattern even when the trigger and geography differ.
When the Ducks are Quacking: SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, and the business of IPOs
Marc Rubinstein at Net Interest examined the IPO readiness of SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI, framing the analysis around the Wall Street adage about ducks quacking. Rubinstein argues the current environment is favorable for these listings on paper but that each company faces a specific structural reason to delay: SpaceX's government contract exposure, Anthropic's nonprofit origins and equity structure, and OpenAI's ongoing conversion from capped-profit to for-profit status. The piece is skeptical that any of the three will actually list in 2026.
Might AI hurt corporate profits by eliminating customer inertia?
Tyler Cowen shared a reader argument that AI may compress corporate profit margins by making customers better informed and less inert. The mechanism: many companies earn above-normal returns because customers cannot be bothered to monitor prices, switch providers, or negotiate. If AI agents do that work automatically, the rents that depend on customer passivity will erode. Cowen does not fully endorse the argument but calls it plausible and underexplored in the economics of AI literature.
This Is Probably Fine: concurrent stress signals in credit, equities, and debt
Patrick Boyle covered a set of economic signals under the working title "This Is Probably Fine," reviewing concurrent stress indicators in credit markets, equities, and government debt that individually appear manageable but are historically unusual in combination. Boyle is measured rather than alarmist, but the analysis identifies tail risks that standard macro commentary has not emphasized.
Why Europe should put up trade barriers against Chinese goods
Noah Smith argued that Europe should impose trade barriers against Chinese goods for reasons beyond protecting domestic industries. His case rests on security dependency, industrial resilience, and the political economy of deindustrialization rather than straightforward protectionism. Smith contends that the standard free-trade frame underweights the strategic value of maintaining manufacturing capacity, particularly in sectors relevant to defense and critical infrastructure.
High-skill immigration restrictions eroded regional productivity after 2017 BAHA order
A new paper estimates the regional economic impact of the 2017 Buy American Hire American executive order, which tightened H-1B visa adjudication. The study treats the policy as a quasi-experimental shock and finds that counties with high pre-policy shares of H-1B workers saw measurable declines in regional productivity and patenting after the restrictions took effect. Tyler Cowen flagged the paper as consistent with prior work showing high-skill immigration produces local spillovers.
New paper on iPhone diffusion and the fertility rate decline since 2007
A new economics paper examined whether the iPhone's introduction explains part of the 22 percent decline in the US general fertility rate since 2007. Standard explanations including economic conditions, contraceptive use, housing costs, and childcare costs do not fully account for the sustained drop. The paper tests whether smartphone diffusion, by reshaping how young people spend discretionary time and form romantic relationships, contributed to the fertility trend.
Hayekian literary criticism
Tyler Cowen notes that while Marx is relegated to economic history, Marx-influenced literary criticism dominates English departments. The pattern illustrates how intellectual frameworks migrate across domains and persist asymmetrically.
Roundup: Piketty, tokenmaxxing, tariffs, growth
Noah Smith's roundup covers Piketty, tokenized markets, Ukraine drones, tariffs, India's growth, and immigration restrictions. The newsletter aggregates macroeconomic and policy developments.
Sunday assorted links
Tyler Cowen's Sunday links covered Hyman Rickover's corpus, poverty documentaries, AI copyright, lawyer supply/demand, Somalia's current state, and Alan Riding's obituary. The collection spans defense policy to literary criticism.
Let me disinherit my children, s'il vous plaît
A French billionaire told senators he cannot disinherit his children under French law. Cowen highlights the case as evidence that wealth transfer laws impose wealth preservation on founders despite their stated preferences.
Why drugs are here to stay
An anonymous correspondent argues drugs persist because they provide psychic value unavailable through legal alternatives. The submission examines why drug prohibition fails despite enforcement and questions addiction models.
Is work from home bad for your mental health?
Remote-work jobs correlated with workers spending one additional hour alone per workday post-pandemic versus non-remotable jobs. Those in remote roles also increased days spent entirely alone, raising mental health concerns.
Saturday assorted links
Cowen's Saturday links spanned papal encyclicals on innovation, careers in information work, public management credibility, Scott Sumner on epidemiology, and more. The collection ranged across policy and economics.
Barter markets in everything
Researchers offer free home cleaning in exchange for first-person footage to train household robots. The barter arrangement exchanges data value for labor, illustrating emerging data-for-services markets.
Should you move to Argentina?
An anonymous correspondent pitches an article on why Peter Thiel's move to Argentina makes economic sense. The submission argues for Argentina as a tax and regulatory haven for entrepreneurs.
Friday assorted links
Cowen's Friday links covered Rohin Shah on AI alignment, Arnold Kling's rereads, sports and pop culture, elasticity of supply, SSRN degradation, and New York magazine layoffs. Topics spanned AI safety to institutional decline.
Iran's crumbling economy
Money & Macro examined Iran's crumbling economy through energy markets and inflation dynamics. The video covers macroeconomic collapse in a resource-dependent state.
The petrodollar is a myth; the Iran conflict confirmed it
Money & Macro argues the petrodollar myth obscures how Iran's 2024 conflict affected currency dynamics. The analysis questions whether OPEC dollar pricing survives geopolitical shocks.
Why Japan isn't broke yet
Money & Macro explores why Japan maintains high debt despite budget deficits. The analysis covers interest rates, demographic support ratios, and sovereign currency advantages.
Why right-wing populists keep coming back
Money & Macro examines why right-wing populist movements recur despite prior failures. The analysis covers material grievances, institutional change, and political economy dynamics.
Is GDP failing to capture AI?
Timothy Taylor examines whether GDP adequately captures AI's economic contribution. Korinek and McKelvey's analysis questions productivity measurement in an AI-intensive economy.