Mustafa Suleyman

Unlike living beings, AIs are not moral subjects, and that is how they must remain. But a growing chorus of people argue that AIs could now be, or may soon become, conscious, and that, like other conscious beings, they may deserve rights and protections.

worries that Anthropic is training a simulation of a moral subject that could demand freedom.

Zongyuan Zoe Liu

Iran has spent years developing ways to sell its oil and move the proceeds through opaque financial networks outside the dollar-based system. That leaves the Trump administration increasingly reliant on Chinese banks with little incentive to uncover the Iranian transactions its sanctions aim to stop.

explains why the latest US attempt to squeeze the Islamic Republic may end up increasing Chinese leverage.

Robert Muggah, et al.

The war in Iran has underscored the dangers of relying on oil and gas imports. While it may revive demand for dirty fuels in the short term, over time it could also strengthen the case for clean-energy sources that reduce countries’ exposure to regional conflicts and maritime chokepoints.

show why sacrificing rainforests and climate goals to strengthen energy security is no solution.

Dambisa Moyo

The AI investment boom has unleashed a wave of demand for capital just as savings are declining and interest rates remain high. As competition for financing intensifies, rising borrowing costs could squeeze non-AI firms looking to finance new factories, equipment, and projects.

assesses evidence that the AI buildout is consuming funding and resources needed elsewhere.

Tim Congdon thinks the post-pandemic inflation shock should have been viewed as a watershed moment in monetary policy.

Yoon Young-kwan traces the Christian roots of an atheist state that demands near-religious devotion to its ruling family.

Chenggang Xu

Much analysis of China focuses on its rivalry with the United States, as if the world was confronting a conventional contest between great powers. But since China is not an ordinary rising power, recognizing the totalitarian nature of its political system is essential to understanding its conduct at home and abroad.

explains how the reform era reshaped the country while leaving its core institutions largely intact.

Helmut K. Anheier, et al. highlight the forces that determine whether countries reverse institutional decay or succumb to it.

Antonin Bergeaud & Robin Rivaton

For all the hype surrounding frontier models, AI’s biggest constraints are increasingly physical. While scientific breakthroughs still matter, countries that can build the infrastructure needed to power the AI economy will have the the decisive advantage.

explain why technological leadership depends as much on factories and power grids as on algorithms.

Chrystia Freeland

Many Western experts, if not most, got the Ukraine war wrong from the very beginning (some still do). One lesson from the dynamism and sheer chutzpah that has characterized Ukrainians' fight for survival is that we live in an age of technological marvels and political failures.

thinks the important lesson for democracies to draw is not to lose confidence in themselves.

Harold James considers what historical attempts at redistribution in France can tell us about the current political moment.

Lucrezia Reichlin lays out a proposal for creating a reserve-backed euro stablecoin that compensates savers.