davidrotman

These quantum switches need a materials makeover Fixing the materials flaws in quantum computers is key to unlocking their advantage

Most of today's quantum computers rely on qubits with Josephson junctions that work for now but likely won't scale as needed for applications. cen.acs.org/materials/el... #chemsky 🧪

AI materials discovery now needs to move into the real world Startups flush with cash are spinning up AI-assisted laboratories with the hope of finding new materials much faster.

And @davidrotman.bsky.social tells us why the AI materials industry is still waiting for its ChatGPT moment. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...

The State of AI: Welcome to the economic singularity This week, Richard Waters, FT columnist and former West Coast editor, talks with MIT Technology Review’s editor at large David Rotman about the true impact of AI on the job market.

Week 5 of our State of AI collaboration with the @financialtimes.com - and this week we have @davidrotman.bsky.social and @richardwaters.bsky.social discussing the impact generative AI is having on the jobs market and the economy as a whole.

www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/01/1...

Predicting reaction mechanisms with electron flow matching Understanding chemical reactivity ultimately requires understanding mechanisms.

Glad to share my new Substack post on the recent Nature paper by Joonyoung F. Joung and coauthors, introducing FlowER, a generative ML model that predicts reaction mechanisms while strictly conserving mass and electrons. open.substack.com/pub/bravoaba...

Fed’s Cook Says She Won’t Be Bullied Into Stepping Down Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook signaled her intention to remain at the central bank in defiance of calls for her resignation by President Donald Trump over allegations of mortgage fraud.

“I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” Cook said. www.bloomberg.com/news/article... Amen.

You guys. The Lisa Cook story isn’t about her mortgages. Please please please stop being so credulous.

A graph of overall labor productivity & manufacturing labor productivity, showing manufacturing labor productivity stagnant

You can see the productivity boom everywhere but in the manufacturing statistics

Very interesting interview from @davidrotman.bsky.social, exploring how the loss of manufacturing jobs fueled US political divisions, and how we're failing to prevent the next "China shock."

Energy Dept. Cancels $3.7 Billion for New Technologies to Lower Emissions

DOE cancels $3.7 billion in demonstration projects aimed at cutting emissions — a couple big carbon capture demos, but also cement, glass, iron, chemicals projects.

Calpine and Exxon Mobil were hit, as were startups like Sublime and Brimstone. (Full list in story.) www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/c...

This is an essential point: For all the talk of nuclear, geothermal or maybe one day CCS, what folks are mostly building now to power AI data centers is new natural gas turbines — and they’ll be operating way past the point when the US power sector needs to hit net zero.

This is the deepest journalism I’ve seen yet on AI’s impact on the US power sector. I’m honored to be included w/ David Victor, Ari Peskoe, Costa Samaras, EPRI, and others. 🔌💡 www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1...

Sweeping tariffs could threaten the US manufacturing rebound They won’t bring back manufacturing, and they could stunt our ability to make tomorrow's breakthroughs.

The Trump administration’s broad tariffs won’t bring back manufacturing, and they could stunt the US’s ability to make tomorrow's breakthroughs.

Sweeping tariffs could threaten the US manufacturing rebound They won’t bring back manufacturing, and they could stunt our ability to make tomorrow's breakthroughs.

@davidrotman.bsky.social digs into what tariffs will mean for manufacturing:

$8 billion of US climate tech projects have been canceled so far in 2025 Battery, solar, and wind projects are getting killed in record numbers. Here’s a map of all the cancellations so far this year.

@caseycrownhart.bsky.social reports on the billions of dollars of climate tech projects that companies have halted since Trump took office.

By way of comparison, it's "more than three times the total investments cancelled over the previous 30 months."

It's funny that there's been a prolonged "but what about the optimal case for strategic tariffs that promote critical sectors" debate and meanwhile the actual policy in question is just aiming a rusty shotgun at the kneecaps of the entire manufacturing sector for seemingly no reason

Rightwing populists will keep winning until we grasp this truth about human nature | George Monbiot Economic inequality breeds resentment and a desire to get even. That’s what fuels support for even incompetent regimes, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

It's a straightforward relationship: high #inequality leads to the triumph of the far right. It will keep winning until governments deliberately seek to make societies more equal. I'm looking at you, Keir Starmer.
This week's column. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Manufacturing Boom We Already Had A Q&A with Biden industrial-policy official Alex Jacquez on the right way to boost domestic production in critical sectors

As this @ddayen.bsky.social interview with @alexsjacquez.bsky.social demonstrates.
prospect.org/economy/2025...
The one backhanded bright side?

Game of clones: Colossal’s new wolves are cute, but are they dire? Colossal Biosciences claims it has revived an extinct species, but scientists outside the company are skeptical.

Some much-needed skepticism on the "dire wolves" conversation from @antonioregalado.bsky.social

www.technologyreview.com/2025/04/08/1...

Some of the stats in here are really striking. Per one paper, federal investments in R&D account for at least a fifth of all productivity gains in the U.S. economy since World War II. And the societal return for every $1 invested in the sciences is *conservatively* estimated at $5.

Large AI models are cultural and social technologies Implications draw on the history of transformative information systems from the past

1. @alisongopnik.bsky.social, Cosma Shalizi, James Evans and myself have a new piece in Science on "AI" Large Models, pushing back against much of the collective wisdom about what they can and can't do. Official below, unpaywalled at henryfarrell.net/large-ai-mod... . So why this now?

' WD8wm

How Do Dems Save the Country and Their Party? A key phrase to remember could be "a little disruption"

To the rational Yanks out there: this is tha man you need to be reading: @djrothkopf.bsky.social

He's been brilliant in seeing what was coming, in commenting on it as it was happening. And he's still brilliant in providing leadership on what to do.

davidrothkopf.substack.com/p/how-do-dem...

Steel Productivity has Plummeted Since Trump’s 2018 Tariffs Studies have shown that tariffs depress productivity in protected industries. U.S. steel is a case in point.

Studies have shown that tariffs depress productivity in protected industries. U.S. steel is a case in point. (via @bennsteil.bsky.social) www.cfr.org/blog/steel-p...

Opinion/Guest column: Gutting NIH a disaster in the marking for research, local economy Less research equates to less business between the university and these Worcester companies, spreading the pain far beyond campus borders.

Taking a cue from @cantlonlab.bsky.social, I have written an op-ed for my local newspaper about the impact of the NIH funding chaos. I'd appreciate it if you read and share. #NIH #Research #Science #Worcester

www.telegram.com/story/opinio...

Welcome to the era of gangster tech regulation Trump has offered tech a way to buy itself out of consequences.

Lopatto Banger Alert (although it was my headline, give me that much) www.theverge.com/2025/1/20/24...

@lauradtyson.bsky.social talking about the productivity implications of AI - the topic du jour #ASSA2025. @smithcollege.bsky.social

Are We Up to the Moment We Are About to Face? Our Parents and Grandparents Say, "Yes, We Are."

Are we up to the moment we are about to face? Our parents and grandparents say yes we are. My latest. open.substack.com/pub/davidrot...

How to build the virtual cell with artificial intelligence: Priorities and opportunities

"AI virtual cell, a multi-scale, multi-modal large-neural-network-based model that can represent and simulate the behavior of molecules, cells, and tissues across diverse states."

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Are Childhood Vaccines ‘Overloading’ the Immune System? No. (Gift Article) Vaccines today are more efficient and contain far fewer stimulants to the immune system than some used decades ago.

It’s an idea as popular as it is incorrect: American babies now receive too many vaccines, which overwhelm their immune systems and lead to conditions like autism.

www.nytimes.com/2024/12/14/h...

The AI race doesn't have to be zero-sum.
International organisations already find natural alignment in specific domains, where competition naturally transforms into collaboration, not through grand agreements.
Check out our policy paper