AI Governance and Economic Disruption

Simon Willison: A quote from Corey Quinn (May 26, 2026)
“I cannot believe I’m saying this, but getting the literal Pope to canonize your product’s specific technical limitations as a spiritual treatise is the single greatest act of vendor lobbying I have ever seen.” — Corey Quinn, on Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah’s influence on Magnifica Humanitas
TNW : From the Vatican stage, Anthropic’s Chris Olah says AI cannot be steered by AI labs alone (May 25, 2026)
At the Vatican launch of Magnifica humanitas, Anthropic’s Christopher Olah warned frontier AI labs face incentives that can conflict with doing right, and urged oversight from governments, churches, and civil society.
Business Insider: Google is going to ruin the internet (May 21, 2026)
Google’s new AI search will give direct, personalized answers instead of links, threatening website traffic, ad revenue, and the open web.
NY Times: To Understand Pope Leo’s Efforts on A.I., Look at the Man 3 Seats Away (May 26, 2026)
Pope Leo XIV released an encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” urging A.I. be “disarmed,” and calling for moral limits to protect human dignity. He engaged directly with tech leaders, including Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah.
Epoch AI: Frontier labs don’t use most AI compute (yet) (May 21, 2026)
ChatGPT sparked a massive AI compute boom to roughly 16–20 million H100-equivalents by end-2025, funded by hundreds of billions annually. Top frontier labs used under half that compute, though OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI are growing fast.
Pew Research Center: US views of how data centers affect the environment, energy costs, jobs and more (Mar. 12, 2026)
Most Americans have heard about data centers, but opinions are mixed. Many see negative impacts on the environment, home energy costs, and nearby quality of life, while larger shares view local jobs and tax revenue benefits as positive.
WSJ: Employ an AI Twin to Handle Your Piles of Busy Work (May 21, 2026)
Executives are adopting AI “digital twins” that mimic their speech and writing to give presentations, answer questions, and advise employees, expanding reach and productivity.
WSJ: Your AI Has a Long Memory. And That Can be a Problem. (May 25, 2026)
Chatbots that remember help with schedules, preferences, and family details, but their memory can cling to outdated, incorrect, or sensitive facts, biasing advice and invading privacy.
MIT Technology Review: A reality check on the AI jobs hysteria (May 26, 2026)
Current labor data show AI has not yet caused large-scale white-collar job losses, and exposed occupations do not have higher unemployment. Young workers in exposed roles have declined.
WSJ: The First Class of AI Natives Is Graduating. Offices Are Getting Ready. (May 25, 2026)
The Class of 2026, raised alongside ChatGPT, brings strong AI skills, using tools to speed work, automate tasks, and win some advanced roles.
NY Times Opinion: A.I. Is a Job Creator (May 22, 2026)
Artificial intelligence will automate many white‑collar tasks, but it won’t trigger a job apocalypse, and new roles, like data‑center construction and A.I. management, are already emerging.
Jack Clark: Reckoning with the future; and a singularity story (May 26, 2026)
AI progress is accelerating, producing systems that outperform humans on many tasks, and may soon improve themselves, driving large social and economic change.
NY Times: Main Takeaways From Pope Leo’s Encyclical on A.I. (May 25, 2026)
Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, urges centering human dignity amid AI, and says AI is not human.
NY Times: Pope Leo Has Released an Encyclical About A.I. Why Is That Important? (May 24, 2026)
Pope Leo XIV issued an encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas”, about preserving human dignity in the era of artificial intelligence.
WSJ: What Investors Should Realize About Those AI IPOs (May 22, 2026)
Latest-generation AI models pose security and liability risks, so makers are restricting access to governments, and trusted users. That will make AI companies government contractors, reshape commercial models, and change what investors should expect.

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