JOBS . . .

Apparently, ADP’s estimate of anemic gains I posted yesterday was wrong.  February saw a loss of 92,000 jobs.

And inflation?

Trump constantly says he inherited “the worst inflation in history.”  In fact, it was 2.7% and heading down.  Now, with his tariffs and his war, it’s headed back up.

The economy he inherited, he constantly says, was “a disaster.”  In fact, it was the envy of the world.  Now we face stagflation.

He would end the war on Day One, he said (presumably by giving Ukraine to Putin).  Instead, he started another one.

Which might wind up achieving great things quickly, as I dearly hope it does.  But some MAGAns are losing faith.

Their lives have gotten harder even as, in a single year, he’s picked up $3 billion.

(And could we please see an unredacted version of the 38,000 times he appears in the Epstein files?  And the files that have not been released?)

Leaving MAGA is gaining traction. 

I love these gentle billboards:  

“Having doubts?  You’re not alone.  Welcome home.”

A.I.

First I posted Matt Shumer’s scary must-read warning.

Then I posted Alex Wissner-Gross‘ and Peter Diamandis‘ upbeat visionary (sci-fi?) view.

In response to which one of you (with three M.I.T. degrees) — Howard R. — wrote to say:

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As to the lead author of the piece you posted yesterday, I have been following Dr. Alex for a while.  He is definitely quite a visionary.  I don’t mean that in a complimentary manner.  But he is compelling. Amongst the mysterious claims he makes is that AI is going to eliminate want/limits on what we can have.  I am always perplexed by this as there is only so much land out there to build on, only so much metal to make cars etc.  In other words, he has AI as the ultimate silver bullet.  If you read his list of distinctions in his CV it is a bit over the top (from the mundane to the amazing). Anyway, HERE IS MY POINT:  He says that he graduated first in his class at MIT.  Politely, it is not clear what he means by this, less politely it is a lie.  MIT does not rank students in the graduating classes!  (I know I went there.)  I find Alex entertaining, but I have a lot of trouble separating possibility from impossibility with him.

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→ This is all so over my head, but I know this much:  A.I. is rapidly changing everything — and it’s just begun.  Shumer’s piece really is must-reading.

In the meantime, I find myself now using A.I. constantly.

Trouble replacing my printer cartridge?  A.I. instantly grasped the problem and offered a solution that no normal person would ever have come up with.  (See the little white wheel on its side?  It needs to be turned clockwise.  Sometimes the factory ships it without doing that — and without any instructions telling you to do so.  After several wasted hours — don’t ask — I turned to A.I., and a minute later was printing up a storm.)

Have a medical question?  With appropriate disclaimers, A.I. instantly addresses your concerns.

Want to find a terrific speech you saw some V.C. legend give to a group of MBAs . . . but can’t remember his name?  With the scantest of information, asking questions like, “do you remember there being a slide with concentric circles in his presentation?” . . . it found it!

Yes, A.I. sometimes fails.  It sometimes says things that are wrong.  But it’s March of 2026.  Imagine where it will be in a year.  Let alone five.

Humanity is entering an entirely new era.  We need — urgently — to figure out (a) how to protect humanity from a superior species; (b) how to avoid economic catastrophe and, instead, harness A.I. for the benefit of all.  I’m not certain that FOX News hosts, Mike Johnson, and Stephen Miller are the talent pool we should rely on to lead the way.

YESTERDAY’S POST

Stephen W.: “Been with you from the beginning.  It’s been a great ride.  In your first column you wrote, ‘for most of us it’s hard to remember that just 20 years ago ATMs barely existed.’  Now, 30 years later, it is hard to imagine who even uses cash aside from those involved in the underground economy?  For me, I never carry it and the only time I use it is when I employ, shall we say, ‘small businesses,’ like plumbers, waiters, cleaners, mowers, etc.  Here’s to another 30 years!!!”

I’m game.

PRKR

One of “our” speculations — ParkerVision — has jury selection coming up in two weeks in a trial against MediaTek.  Anything could happen, ranging from it’s all being just a big bust . . . to a last-minute settlement . . . to a small verdict in our favor . . . to a large verdict . . . to — conceivably — a large verdict with treble damages for “willfulness.”

The outcome could foreshadow some of the several other pending cases further down the road.  I asked Copilot for a list: another against MediaTek; three against RealTek; one against Texas Instruments; and, of course, the big kahuna . . . ParkerVision’s lawsuit against Qualcomm (with Apple and Samsung as co-defendants). In that one, if you ask this layman’s biased opinion, treble damages for willfulness are totally warranted.