GAO-23-106667. Social Security Series Part 1: Published: May 18, 2023. “Since 2010, the fund that SSA uses to pay benefits to retirees has been paying out more money than it has been receiving in taxes. At the current rate, the fund’s trustees estimate that it will exhaust its reserves in 2033 and be unable to… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Economy
College is remade as tech majors surge and humanities dwindle
Washington Post via MSN: “Two trends in higher education nationwide are colliding at the University of Maryland: booming enrollment in computer science and plummeting student demand for the humanities…Across the country, spring graduation season highlights the swiftly tilting academic landscape. Cap-and-gown roll calls for computer science and other technology-centered disciplines are becoming ever lengthier, and… Continue Reading
Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy
UN Environment Programme – Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy – The report proposes a systems change to address the causes of plastic pollution, combining reducing problematic and unnecessary plastic use with a market transformation towards circularity in plastics. This can be achieved by accelerating three… Continue Reading
ReFED Releases New Food Waste Estimates and Calls for Increased Action by Food System
“ReFED has released new estimates on the extent, causes, and impacts of food loss and waste in the United States, as well as an updated analysis of the solutions needed to fight it. The findings represent a stark call to action for food businesses, funders, policymakers, and other food system stakeholders to dramatically ramp up… Continue Reading
How to Fight Rising Subscription Fees Without Going Cold Turkey
WSJ Video: “Subscription price creep is real, and new data show that more consumers are rejecting higher prices on some of their favored subscription streaming and delivery services. WSJ personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen joins guest host Dion Rabouin. 5 Step Guide to Pushing Back.” Continue Reading
IRS submits Direct File report to Congress; Treasury Department directs pilot to evaluate key issues
“The Internal Revenue Service submitted a report today to Congress evaluating a Direct File option for taxpayers and is taking steps to begin a pilot project for the 2024 filing season following a directive from the Treasury Department. The report to Congress, required by the Inflation Reduction Act, evaluated the feasibility of providing taxpayers with… Continue Reading
Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence
Microsoft researchers published a study arguing that OpenAI’s GPT-4 AI system was progressing toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). The 155-page paper, entitled “Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence,” argues that GPT-4 is part of a new cohort of large language models (LLMs) “that exhibit more general intelligence than previous AI models.” Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence:… Continue Reading
Can ChatGPT Decipher Fedspeak?
Hansen, Anne Lundgaard and Kazinnik, Sophia, Can ChatGPT Decipher Fedspeak? (March 24, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4399406 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4399406 – Yes! This paper investigates the ability of Generative Pre-training Transformer (GPT) models to decipher Fedspeak, a term used to describe the technical language used by the Federal Reserve to communicate on monetary policy decisions. We… Continue Reading
Oversight of A.I.: Rules for Artificial Intelligence
Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing. May 15, 20223 – Oversight of A.I.: Rules for Artificial Intelligence – Hearing video Witnesses – Samuel Altman, CEO OpenAI San Francisco, CA – Download Testimony: “…OpenAI is a leading developer of large language models (LLMs) and other AI tools. Fundamentally, the current generation of AI models are large-scale statistical prediction… Continue Reading
The Rule of Law
Sunstein, Cass R., The Rule of Law (March 30, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4405238 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4405238– “The concept of the rule of law is invoked for purposes that are both numerous and diverse, and that concept is often said to overlap with, or to require, an assortment of other practices and ideals, including democracy, free… Continue Reading
The Disappearing White-Collar Job
WSJ – free access: “A once-in-a-generation convergence of technology and pressure to operate more efficiently has corporations saying many lost jobs may never return For generations of Americans, a corporate job was a path to stable prosperity. No more. The jobs lost in a monthslong cascade of white-collar layoffs triggered by overhiring and rising interest… Continue Reading
The Four Addictions The Challenge of Breaking Hard Habits in the 2020s
Bruce Mehlman, May 10, 2023 [40 page PDF] “Over the first two decades of the 21 st Century, the U.S. (and world) grew increasingly dependent on: • China (for manufacturing, supply chains & deficit financing) • Digital (as everything digitized, networked & automated) • Easy Money (as low interest rates & QE persisted without serious… Continue Reading
