Sunday, March 22, 2026

Andrew Yang on AI's impact on jobs, Anthropic's battle with the Pentagon and NYC Mayor Mamdani.

 



How many human jobs will AI tools eliminate?

AI tools can eliminate many jobs for a few reasons.

First, they lower the cost of doing cognitive work. In the past, automation mainly replaced physical, repetitive factory tasks. AI can now help do parts of writing, customer service, coding, design, analysis, scheduling, research, and back-office work. That means companies can get the same output with fewer people in some roles.

Second, AI hits task bundles, not just single tasks. A job is usually made up of many smaller tasks. If AI automates 30% to 70% of those tasks, a company may not need to fully replace every worker, but it may need fewer workers overall. That is how job reduction often happens in practice.

Third, AI spreads faster than older technologies. Software can be deployed across millions of workers almost instantly. A new factory machine used to require buying equipment, building plants, and retraining staff over years. AI can often be added through a browser, an app, or an API. That makes adoption much faster.

Fourth, AI affects both high-skill and lower-skill work at the same time. Earlier waves of automation often hit narrower categories. AI can pressure entry-level white-collar jobs, support roles, clerical work, and some professional work all at once. That broad reach is why people are worried.

On your second question: not necessarily because it is already larger and faster than any time in previous history. The stronger claim is this:

It has the potential to displace workers unusually broadly and quickly compared with many past technologies.

But we do not yet know that it will be the single biggest or fastest job disruption in all history. Past disruptions were enormous too, such as mechanized agriculture, industrialization, and computerization. Those changes eliminated huge categories of work, but they also created new ones over time.

What makes AI feel different is:

  • speed of deployment

  • impact on knowledge work

  • ability to improve itself rapidly through better models and tools

  • low cost of copying software once built

So the concern is less “this is already the biggest job loss event ever” and more “this could outpace society’s ability to retrain and reallocate workers.”

The real danger is when three things happen together:

  1. jobs disappear faster than new ones appear,

  2. workers cannot retrain fast enough,

  3. the gains go mostly to the owners of the technology rather than displaced workers.

That is when you get wage pressure, unemployment, and social instability.

So the best one-sentence answer is:

AI may eliminate many jobs because it can automate a wide range of mental tasks cheaply, at scale, and very quickly, which could reduce labor demand faster than workers can adapt.

If you want, I can also give you the best argument on the other side — why AI may change many jobs without causing mass permanent unemployment.

Monday, March 16, 2026

Somalia’s most serious problems today are a mix of insecurity + weak state capacity + recurring humanitarian violations.


  • Armed conflict & terrorism (especially Al-Shabaab): Ongoing attacks, insecurity in rural areas, and contested territory make daily life dangerous and prevent normal commerce, schooling, and aid delivery. ACAPS

  • Large-scale humanitarian need: Roughly ~6 million people are projected to need humanitarian assistance in 2025, reflecting how persistent the crisis is. OCHA+1

  • Food insecurity & malnutrition: Somalia repeatedly faces crisis-level hunger, with warnings in 2025 of millions facing acute food insecurity and very high child malnutrition risk. The United Nations in Somalia+2OCHA+2

  • Climate shocks (droughts/floods) + disease outbreaks: Erratic rainfall, drought recovery that can reverse quickly, flooding, and outbreaks amplify hunger, displacement, and poverty. Amnesty International+1

  • Mass displacement: Conflict and climate shocks have pushed millions from their homes, creating long-term camps and urban strain. EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid+1

  • Weak governance, corruption, and limited rule of law: Institutional capacity is still being rebuilt after decades of conflict; corruption and weak enforcement undermine services, trust, and investment. UNDP+2Knowledge Hub+2

  • Poverty, low job creation, and economic fragility: Growth has often been too weak to raise living standards broadly, and aid volatility can worsen conditions and fiscal space for safety nets. World Bank+1

  • Underfunded aid response / access constraints: Even when needs are clear, funding shortfalls (and insecurity in some areas) can sharply reduce assistance at the worst time. Reuters+1


Sunday, March 15, 2026

Iran's Economy Would Collapse If It Lost Kharg Island: Energy Analyst

 



The United States has now started targeting Iran’s most strategic economic asset, Kharg Island. Situated in the northern Persian Gulf, Kharg Island deals with 90% of Tehran’s oil export and President Donald Trump has characterised the attack as an attempt to pressure the Iranian administration to end the blockade of Strait of Hormuz.

Described by Trump as the “crown jewel” for Iran, a dozen targets were struck on Friday night by the US military on Kharg Island that likely led to a sharp rise in fuel prices in China. Retail gasoline and diesel saw their sharpest ​increases since March 2022 on Monday. Trump, in a new threat, said he might hit the Kharg Island again “just for fun.”