Boom and Bust in AI (Links) – Feb. 17, 2026

The boom: AI is boosting productivity at work. The bust: bottlenecks, shortages, and questions of mental fatigue for users of the tools.

• Simon Willison: Deep Blue (Feb. 15, 2026)
  “Deep Blue” is a term for the ennui, existential dread, and anxiety many software developers feel as generative AI automates coding.
• WSJ: Should I Trust AI Chatbots for Financial Advice? (Feb. 9, 2026)
  Critics claim that current large language models are unsuited for financial advice because they lack empathy, ethical grounding, and reliable math. The chief source, Andrew Lo, interestingly enough is developing a fiduciary AI tool.
• WSJ: With a Frugal AI Strategy, India Offers Blueprint for Developing World (Feb. 16, 2026)
  India is promoting local, low-cost AI to ease court backlogs and boost productivity, exemplified by Adalat AI, a frugal, Indian-language tool that transcribes hearings.
• Fleming Rutledge : Serious Warnings about AI (Feb. 15, 2026)
  “In the past 10 days, I have read a number of serious warnings that AI is moving more swiftly and with more facility than we can keep up with. What will serious Christian thinkers have to say, and how fast can we say it? What is a theology of AI? Can it create a humanity?”
• Financial Times: The AI productivity take-off is finally visible (Feb. 15, 2026)
  “While initial reports suggested a year of steady labour expansion in the US, the new figures reveal that total payroll growth was revised downward by approximately 403,000 jobs. Crucially, this downward revision occurred while real GDP remained robust, including a 3.7 per cent growth rate in the fourth quarter. This decoupling — maintaining high output with significantly lower labour input — is the hallmark of productivity growth.”
• Yahoo Finance: Rampant AI Demand for Memory Is Fueling a Growing Chip Crisis (Feb. 15, 2026)
  Tech leaders warn a global DRAM shortage is cutting production, squeezing profits, and driving big price spikes on electronics, cars, and data centers.
• Adam Ozimek: AI and the Economics of the Human Touch (A Reason for Optimism) (Feb. 9, 2026)
  Fears that AI will either crash the economy or wipe out jobs ignore that many roles survive because people value the human touch, even where automation exists.
• WSJ: The Break Is Over. Companies Are Jacking Up Prices Again. (Feb. 15, 2026)
  Companies from Levi Strauss to McCormick are raising prices on blue jeans, spices, housewares, and industrial goods after a holiday pause. My take: Coke prices are up 10% since late last year, so I think there’s something here.