More: Working-class politicians, the blueberry race, and more…
Amodei skepticism: The demand from four American tech leaders to pause AI progress marks a substantial economic and political moment, even if the ultimate objective remains unclear, according to The Wall Street Journal‘s editorial board. The piece responds to Dario Amodei’s weekend letter calling for a slowdown, a stance quickly endorsed by the leaders of other major AI companies.
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The CEOs can also observe how AI politics is tilting toward alarm. One signal is the pushback against data centers based on misinformation. Another is the plaintiff bar waiting for an incident where rogue agents cause damage greater than what was seen in the Hugging Face episode,” notes the Journal, in reference to events where fleets of rogue agents attacked rivals and stole data. “Warnings of an Apocalypse are also rising—often misinformed and amplified by figures like Bernie Sanders who advocate letting the government curb the industry until policymakers gain control. By proposing a self-imposed slowdown and inviting external monitors to scrutinize their models, the CEOs aim to forestall such outcomes.”
Crucially, the editorial continues to argue that “nothing presently prevents these companies from ‘ pacing the frontier’ on their own, echoing Mr. Amodei’s phrasing. OpenAI and Anthropic are at the leading edge. If what their internal assessments reveal is genuinely dangerous, they should act responsibly and ‘align’ development. Slow down on your own,” they insist. “The real complication arises when these firms enlist outside help to bolster their case.”
What would that entail? Regulatory capture is one risk. Determining how to balance progress in the American frontier given the rising threat from Chinese AI is another. (It’s worth noting that the Chinese Communist Party is even more vigilant about threats to its own authority and to free information flow, so the future of Chinese AI remains uncertain. It is likely to involve state control of AI for espionage purposes.)
Some users have suggested part of the reason for the timing is that Anthropic (and possibly OpenAI) may not have a flashy, new model ready to launch soon; framing a slowdown as a move for safety and prudence is more appealing than signaling a broad deceleration of innovation. And since many players aim to go public soon, distinguishing truth from rumor becomes particularly tricky.
That said, our own president seems to regard this as a “hoax.” During an onstage discussion yesterday with Nvidia’s CEO, hosted by the All In podcast, President Donald Trump told Jensen Huang with unusual definitiveness that “the robots won’t take over.”
“America can lead the way—and do so safely,” Huang replied.
Trump then clarified his stance on Truth Social: “AI conquering the world, wiping out humanity, and other dire outcomes is a HOAX.”
And: “The AI hoax peddled by the Radical Left Democrats reminds me of their climate-change scare, where headlines warned of imminent heat deaths. What happened?”
“I am the Hoax Buster,” he continued, “and I’m debunking another hoax now—that AI will seize control, devour, and destroy the world, and that robots will march through our cities to purge us all! This is even more outlandish than the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA hoax, or the Global Warming scam. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Whether Trump is paying close attention is debatable, though it’s arguably positive that he remains broadly supportive of data centers. The main worry is not robots filling streets but more covert risks—sophisticated cyberattacks, intensified espionage, and assaults on critical infrastructure. A future where AI agents endlessly redesign the next wave of agents could lead to misalignment with the original objectives. There is also the possibility of more advanced financial fraud and widespread leaks of private documents. What becomes of privacy and the security of sensitive information if it can be convincingly faked?
Whether regulation or a sector-wide pause is the right remedy remains unclear, and it’s uncertain whether Trump truly grasps the full scope of the issue.
Scenes from New York: Intrigued by Zoomer nostalgia for a era they never experienced, I’m drawn to a certain faux-retro mood.
America’s golden era was NYC before 9/11.
Pictured is the “Windows on the World” dining room in the North Tower
At first I thought these images came from one of those AI-generated ’90s high-society’ accounts, but no pic.twitter.com/M5ZtUmxfvm
— matador (@matadormurderer) September 11, 2026
QUICK HITS
- Researchers Nicholas Carnes and Noam Lupu have published a political science study showing that politicians frequently exaggerate their working-class credentials, and that actual individuals from working-class backgrounds rarely reach elected office. The Washington Post summarizes the finding by noting that around 52 percent of Americans hold working-class jobs, yet only about 2 percent of state legislators in 2023 and 2 percent of Congress members in 2019 had previously worked in such roles.
- “About 15 years ago, executives from the U.S. fruit producer Driscoll’s traveled to China to cultivate blueberries into the next big dietary trend there. The California company sent a specialist to Yunnan to secure prime farmland, partnered with global blueberry-genetics firms to lock in top cultivars, and introduced advanced cultivation methods to mass-produce this fruit in Chinese supermarkets. By 2020, thousands of tons were being produced for Chinese shoppers,” reports the Wall Street Journal. As blueberry fortunes spread, Chinese entrepreneurs quickly built their own farms, adopting high-tech growing techniques similar to Driscoll’s and allegedly copying greenhouse designs. They even appropriated patent-protected varieties, a Chinese court has ruled.
- Leveling it all:
Remember!
If the metrics and tests show that your preferred education policies aren’t working, you can always just abolish the metrics and tests. https://t.co/vwnu2d9fGB
— Jeremiah Johnson 🌐 (@JeremiahDJohns) September 14, 2026
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The president doesn’t appear overly concerned about the budget:
Q: Do you expect Congress would need to approve the $5,000–
TRUMP: I don’t know, but it’s simple enough. It’s $5,000 for every adult in the country, and we can manage that easily because we’re collecting so much money pic.twitter.com/PmSgSgibAq
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 13, 2026
