Interest Rates Spike, Politicians Take Sides on the AI Safety Debate, Time’s AI Cover | Diet TBPN
John Coogan and Jordi Hays of TBPN discuss how the US-Iran conflict is pushing interest rates above 7%, the politics of AI safety regulation, and media funding tied to AI coverage.
The gist
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War-driven energy disruptions cause broad inflation, making it nearly impossible for the Fed to cut rates despite political pressure.
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AI companies are spending around $1 trillion in capex against only a few hundred billion in revenue, which pushes interest rates up until productivity gains arrive.
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The Tarbell Center has placed funded journalists at Time, NPR, Bloomberg, and others to cover AI safety, raising questions about undisclosed editorial conflicts.
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