Two themes: broad apprehension — workers, publics, and experts press for limits on ethics, privacy, surveillance, mental‑health risks, and regulation. Secondly, disruption with contested benefits — AI automates education and white‑collar work but shows limited GDP gains, uncertain productivity, and structural risks (therapy dependence, cheating).
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NY Times: People Loved the Dot-Com Boom. The A.I. Boom, Not So Much. (Feb. 21, 2026)
Unlike the dot‑com era, public enthusiasm for A.I. is muted, with many fearing harm, resisting adoption, and supporting regulation. Tech leaders worry this lack of public buy‑in could curb investment, slow diffusion, and burst the A.I. boom. -
Tyler Cowen: Why even 'perfect' AI therapy may be structurally doomed (Feb. 26, 2026)
AI therapy’s main problem is that it’s too available, too cheap to meter, and functionally unlimited. Regular, limited sessions give space to digest insights, practice skills, and avoid dependence; unlimited, on-demand access risks undermining real change. -
NY Times: Google Workers Seek ‘Red Lines’ on Military A.I., Echoing Anthropic (Feb. 26, 2026)
More than 100 Google A.I. employees urged Jeff Dean to bar Gemini from U.S. surveillance, mass surveillance, and autonomous weapons without human control, echoing Anthropic. -
NY Times: A.I. Complicates Old Internet Privacy Risks (Feb. 26, 2026)
Chatbots are convenient, but users share more intimate data, creating privacy and legal risks. Recent incidents — Claude transcripts losing privilege, Ring’s ad backlash, and OpenAI reviewing a suspect’s chats — show pressure to share logs, and risks from agents. -
Inside Higher Ed: Agentic AI Can Complete Whole Courses. Now What? (Feb. 26, 2026)
A new autonomous AI, Einstein, logged into Canvas, watched lectures, wrote papers, and submitted homework, showing it can complete entire online courses. -
NY Times: India Built the World’s Back Office. A.I. Is Starting to Shrink It. (Feb. 26, 2026)
A.I. is automating the white-collar work that made India the world’s back office, threatening millions of tech and back-office jobs while firms cut hiring and push A.I. services. -
The Atlantic: Sam Altman Is Losing His Grip on Humanity (Feb. 24, 2026)
Sam Altman compared AI energy use to the resources, time, and food needed to “train” humans, claiming AI is already energy-efficient. -
Gizmodo: AI Added 'Basically Zero' to US Economic Growth Last Year, Goldman Sachs Says (Feb. 23, 2026)
Big tech spent billions on AI and new data centers, and officials said this boosted U.S. growth. Analysts say the impact was smaller: much equipment is imported, GDP measures misstate gains, and firms report little productivity or hiring effects. -
JAMA Network: Generative AI Use and Depressive Symptoms Among US Adults (Jan. 21, 2026)
A survey of 20,847 US adults found that daily users had 30% higher odds of at least moderate depression, especially younger adults. - WSJ: Anthropic’s Feud With Pentagon Earns It Fans Amid the Blowback (Mar. 2, 2026)