There’s a strong “We’re all trying to find the guy who did this” element to large US tech companies discovering that the modern information environment is chaotic, low trust, driven by whim, does not reward truth-finding, is not self-correcting, given to faddish obsessions, etc

We’ve got exclusive new polling on local data center development at @heatmap_news. Over the past year, we’ve asked Americans whether they would support or oppose a data center being built near where they live. We haven’t changed the wording. When we first polled the question a year ago, Americans were split 43-42 on support/oppose. When we asked again in Feb, a bare majority opposed data centers. Today, 75% of Americans say they would oppose a data center being built near where they live, and 61% said they would “strongly oppose” such a proposal. It’s a swift, massive shift in US public opinion on a scale that I wouldn’t have once thought possible. More details, including the party ID & rural/urban breakdown, in my new story:

Climate and AI alignment plug into similar anxieties — that our technological society is slipping out of control, that an apocalyptic force will punish us, that our prosperity will be our doom. But while most people drive, fly, heat their homes, etc, most do not research AI

We’re supposed to be eight weeks into the worst oil supply crunch in history. So: Why aren’t prices higher? I had a fantastic time discussing this and many other topics with @JasonBordoff, the head of Columbia’s @ColumbiaUEnergy and a senior energy & climate advisor in the Obama admin. We spoke about the current oil supply shortage, why the UAE left OPEC, and what we learned from the Biden era. You can listen on @heatmap_news: Or wherever you get your podcasts: