The AI Boom Runs on an Even More Dangerous Machine (Part 2)

Silicon Valley promises abundance, but corporate America is built for extraction. The underlying operating system is stuck on making big shareholders rich the expense of everyone else. It’s time for a reboot. *From the “AI and the Future of the American Worker,” a series on how artificial intelligence is impacting labor, power, and the meaning of work. (Read Part 1 of this article here).

By Lynn Parramore

Articles

Article | Health

Are We Reforming Global Health or Washing Our Hands Of It?

Global health financing is collapsing just as demands on health systems are rising. As funding retreats and reform debates intensify, a deeper question emerges about who bears the costs, and whether today’s fixes risk creating lasting damage that will be difficult to reverse.

By Padmashree Gehl Sampath

Article | Inequality & Distribution

Why Public Policy’s Core Value Should Be Equality

By Mark Glick, Gabriel Lozada, and Darren Bush

Article | Energy, Environment, Labor, Technology & Innovation

AI is Hungry for Power and You are Footing the Bill

By Lynn Parramore

Article | Technology & Innovation

Russell’s Teapot: Dispatches From the Final Stage of the AI Bubble

By Servaas Storm

Article | Labor, Philosophy & Ethics, Technology & Innovation

What Does it Mean to Work Under Algorithmic Eyes?

By Lynn Parramore

Working Papers

Senate Finance Committee Democrats have invited outside evidence and proposals for their next health-care agenda. Their critique of insurers has force, but the remedies leave most of the system untouched, risking further disappointment unless reform reaches hospitals and entire conglomerates.

By Phillip Alvelda and Thomas Ferguson

As America marks 250 years of independence, Adam Smith is again being pressed into service as a founding myth. A deeper reading of The Wealth of Nations reveals a far richer thinker than today’s easy invocations of markets and liberty suggest.

By Alessandro Roncaglia

Equality runs deeper than preference or policy fashion, rooted in human social instincts and reflected in outcomes across societies. It is time for economics and policy alike to reckon with how profoundly distribution shapes well-being and social stability.

By Mark Glick, Gabriel Lozada, and Darren Bush

Beneath the grand claims and vast capital spending, AI is delivering weak productivity, mounting losses, and growing financial strain. If the boom cannot generate profits, jobs, or durable gains, how much longer can the bubble hold?

By Servaas Storm

What should courts prioritize in determining antitrust cases: measurable welfare effects, or the protection of competitive rivalry itself? The Consumer Welfare Standard and the Protect Competition Standard offer different answers.

By Mark Glick, Gabriel Lozada, and Darren Bush

As the Supreme Court’s unitary executive theory reaches the Federal Reserve, a deeper constitutional question comes into view: who holds the power to make money?

By Christine Desan

Webinars and Events

Dec 08, 2025

Webinars and Events

LEPC VII: Growth Strategy in the States

LEPC VII will bring together leading thinkers, practitioners, and policymakers to analyze the drivers behind this sub national success, and to chart actionable pathways for the future. Each session outlined explores a foundational dimension of India’s growth story, with attention to both policy diagnosis and on-the-ground innovation.

Dec 02, 2025

Webinars and Events

International Conference on Digitalisation, Market and Society ​

International Conference on Digitalisation, Market and Society is a cross-disciplinary plenary on how digital transformation is altering work, gender norms, and social institutions—and how society can respond inclusively.

Jul 24, 2025

Webinars and Events

Monsoon School on Inequality 2025

The focus of this year’s monsoon school is on pluralistic approaches to research on inequality, bringing together perspectives from varied streams of economic thought. It will provide an interactive platform for advanced-level PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and scholars affiliated with Indian research institutes to engage with diverse concepts, debates, and methodologies related to inequality.

Jul 14, 2025

Webinars and Events

The Political Economy of Ecological Change and Economic Security in the Global South

The urgency of the climate crisis cannot be overstated, particularly given its disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities in the Global South.

May 31, 2025

Webinars and Events

The End of Globalization? With Paul Krugman

Four months of the Trump presidency have already changed the world as we knew it. How did we get here? What consequences have the tariffs had and will have? How will U.S.-European trade relations evolve? What about the confrontation with China?

Apr 10, 2025

Webinars and Events

Trump, Tariffs, and the World Crisis

with THOMAS FERGUSON, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INET

Upcoming Projects from the Young Scholars Initiative

YSI projects are collaboratively organized by members of the community to explore topics in new economic thinking. Projects may be held virtually (discussions, webinars, reading groups) or in person (workshops, pre-conferences). Learn more about YSI here

To view projects further into the future, visit the YSI website.