AI-Powered Productivity Boom, Syria’s Normalization, and More

May 11, 2023

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems can write well-crafted sentences, create computer code, summarize articles, brainstorm ideas, and much more. How might this groundbreaking technology affect the productivity of U.S. workers? A new report from Martin Neil Baily, Erik Brynjolfsson, and Anton Korinek explores what’s at stake.

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This week, the Arab League voted to reinstate Syria’s membership, ending the suspension it imposed in 2011 in response to Bashar al-Assad’s violent repression of peaceful protests. The vote marks a turning point in the normalization of the Assad regime and in regional security architecture more broadly, writes Steven Heydemann.

“21st century Americans deserve better than 20th century solutions. At a time when other western democracies are stepping up to protect their citizens’ digital rights, the United States needs its own set of digital protection tools—whether beefing up the FTC’s authority or creating a new, focused digital agency,” argues Tom Wheeler.

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