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July 9, 2025
Congress Should Avoid an App Store Crack-Up
Prominent members of Congress are reviving the Open App Markets Act (OAMA), a bill they say will create “a freer and fairer marketplace” in Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. But rather than opening “the door to more choices and innovation,” the legislation would do the opposite: It would weaken security, reduce customer choice,…
July 8, 2025
The Texas Flash Floods
“This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States. . . We do not have a warning system.” — Judge Rob Kelly, Kerr County, Texas, 4 July 2025 As I write this, the death toll in the Texas flash floods now exceeds 70, with 12 people still missing, including 11 girls and one camp counselor….
July 8, 2025
As Congress Releases the AI Regulatory Hounds, A Reminder
The centerpiece of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” in tech policy circles was the “AI moratorium,” a temporary federal limit on state regulation of artificial intelligence. The loss of the AI moratorium, stripped from the bill in the Senate, elicited howls of derision from AI-focused policy experts such as the indefatigable Adam Thierer. But…
July 7, 2025
How the Vatican Is Shaping the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
As AI transforms the global landscape, institutions worldwide are racing to define its ethical boundaries. Among them, the Vatican brings a distinct theological voice, framing AI not just as a technical issue but as a moral and spiritual one. Questions about human dignity, agency, and the nature of personhood are central to its engagement—placing the…
July 3, 2025
The Open App Markets Act: How “Competition” Reform Would Open America’s Digital Doors to Hackers and Foreign Adversaries
The Open App Markets Act (OAMA) has reemerged in Congress with renewed momentum, aiming to break up what some lawmakers perceive as monopolistic control over mobile app distribution. Supporters frame this legislation as a victory for competition and consumer choice, claiming it will free users from the restrictive hold of Apple’s App Store and Google…
July 2, 2025
Cheerleading is Dumb Energy Policy
Any moment now, we will be releasing the full results of the AEI Energy/Climate Survey of the American public that my AEI colleague Ruy Teixeira and I conducted right before the election. The survey provides a fascinating snapshot of what Americans think about a wide range of climate and energy issues. Today, I share some what the…
July 2, 2025
Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton: Doctrinal Drift Erodes Online Speech Protection and Court Credibility
Supreme Court opinions typically are governed by well-established doctrines for determining whether a statute passes First Amendment muster. Notably, content-based laws (ones targeting particular subjects or ideas but not others) must surmount the demanding strict scrutiny test, while content-neutral laws (ones applying evenhandedly to all subjects) face the relaxed intermediate scrutiny standard. Sometimes, however, the…
July 1, 2025
Marie Antoinette Does AI Tech Policy Analysis
Millions of elderly Americans live alone or lack companionship. They should go die while experts figure out if AI buddies designed to keep them company have the right “guardrails.” That’s my distillation of a presentation at a recent conference focusing on technology governance, including our current hot-button, AI. I came away from the presentation more…
June 27, 2025
Top Five Climate Change Narratives in the Media
Today, in cool and cloudy Washington, DC, I’ll wrap up my AEI Summer Honors Course (THB Pro subscribers have access to the syllabus and the reading packet here). The students have been absolutely fantastic and the discussions lively and informed. A highlight of the week was a chance to visit the U.S. Department of Energy and…
June 26, 2025
When and How Markets Think for Themselves
Markets as Minds Man, it’s been hot this week, and hot all over. Heat waves are like petri dishes for observing power systems and electricity markets. Every evening, just after the Texas sun dips below the horizon, the electricity market does something remarkable. Prices jump, batteries discharge, gas turbines spin up, and lights remain on…