DAILYCALLER (Dylan Kresak) - Nvidia Backs $100,000,000 Push To Spread AI Across College Campuses
‘up to 10 AI Infrastructure Hubs’
NYTIMES (Paul Mozur, Adam Satariano and Aaron Krolik) - How China’s A.I. Is Surging Across Africa
In African tech hubs, developers are picking China’s cheap, freely available artificial intelligence models over more powerful U.S. ones.
AXIOS (Neil Irwin) - AI is only "part" of high U.S. productivity growth, says Stripe economist
AI appears to improve workers' efficiency in a number of sectors. The U.S. has experienced a surge in economy-wide productivity in the last couple of years. But the former isn't necessarily driving the latter. The big picture: Companies are achieving more output per person-hour of labor because they are making better use of existing capital, a provocative new analysis finds — not, at the moment at least, by making major use of AI. - AI advances may be generating substantial micro-level gains in some sectors, but so far are not the driver of one of the most important macro trends of the last couple of years, finds Ernie Tedeschi, chief economist at Stripe. State of play: A surge in labor productivity — after a couple of decades of…
NPR (Greg Rosalsky) - AI tokens could become the kilowatt-hour of the AI age
AI companies use tokens to track usage and bill customers. Now economists are using them to track the spread of AI through the economy.
NYTIMES (Alan Blinder) - A.I. Degree Programs Surge as Colleges Seek Students and Relevance
Colleges from North Dakota to New Jersey are trying to get students to sign up for A.I. degrees. What they teach varies widely.
NYTIMES (Cade Metz) - What Are A.I. Agents Actually Doing?
A San Francisco start-up called Arena found that people are most likely to use A.I. agents on the job, particularly if they are in the tech industry.
AXIOS (Nathan Bomey) - More CEOs envision hiring than firing due to AI, survey finds
Fewer than 1 in 10 CEOs of large U.S. companies plan to cut jobs due to AI in 2026, according to a new survey from consultancy KPMG. Why it matters: The disruptive nature of AI is fostering significant debate over how the economy will evolve. The big picture: 9% of CEOs plan to reduce their workforce because of AI investments this year, according to the 2026 KPMG U.S. CEO Outlook Pulse Survey. - 55% expect to increase hiring in 2026 as a direct result of AI, while 36% expect no change. Zoom in: U.S. CEOs are optimistic about the potential of AI to improve their businesses over the next five to 10 years, but in the short run they've been underwhelmed by the impact, KPMG CEO Tim Walsh tells Axios. - "I would say the majority of companies…
AXIOS (Eleanor Hawkins) - AI "hot takes" are becoming a market risk
Companies across sectors are confronting an increasingly unavoidable narrative: AI can replicate your business. Why it matters: Narrative volatility is a new risk category that communications teams must prepare for in the age of AI . - All it takes is one widely read doomsday essay, research paper or X thread to knock billions off a company's market cap. Case in point: A viral 7,000-word memo that warned of a hypothetical AI future — in which companies rush to replace human workers with AI tools that themselves are rapidly commoditized — sent markets tumbling. - Meanwhile, essays from AI founders and researchers are shaping investor psychology, and product rollouts from AI giants like Anthropic are being treated as existential…
AXIOS (April Rubin) - Gen Z is surprisingly optimistic about career prospects: Survey
Data: Indeed/YouGov ; Chart: Axios Visuals Gen Z is optimistic about their careers despite a gap in expectations among employees and employers in the greater workforce, according to Indeed survey data published Thursday. Why it matters: Gen Z's positivity is unexpected against the backdrop of an entry-level job crisis . - "It's not that Gen Z has confidence necessarily in the market, but they do have a confidence in their ability to adapt," Kyle M.K., Indeed's senior strategy advisor, tells Axios. "This is a group that — for a majority of their lives — they've seen a lot of disruption." - "They just have a lot of confidence in themselves to plan accordingly," he adds, "especially as we go through some of this transformative change…
AXIOS (Madison Mills) - Exclusive: Inside Google's push to sell AI to cities
Google is rolling out an updated "Mayors AI Playbook " with the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the group's Winter Meeting in Washington today, the company first told Axios. Why it matters: Cities are spending more on technology, but many lack the expertise to deploy AI safely and at scale. Whoever helps them cross that gap could lock in years of government contracts. The big picture: Google's first AI playbook for mayors was about awareness. Now, it's about action: a blueprint for implementing AI strategies at the local level. What they're saying: "…the most important step you can take now is to just start. Don't wait for the perfect moment, the opportunity is now," Tom Cochran, USCM CEO and executive director said in a statement. - "AI…