This week’s midterms showed that the political bill for the AI boom is falling due.
asserted
bill → show → boom
The Democratic sweep intensified fears over runaway spending, mounting debt and resistance to datacentres, sending tech shares tumbling.
asserted
sweep → intensify → shares
On Thursday Wall Street suffered its worst day since the pandemic as $3.2tn was wiped from markets.
asserted
3.2tn → suffer → markets
Anthropic, developer of the Claude chatbot, is hoping to float within the next fortnight for $1.5tn (£1.1tn), but it may not now get even a trillion dollars.
uncertain
it → hop → dollars
The dominant AI chipmaker Nvidia saw its value crash by more than $400bn.
asserted
value → see → 400bn
The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, lost $113bn in two days.
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man → lose → days
It brings a needed dose of reality to an industry whose spending plans and valuations depend on heroic expectations of future profits.
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plans → bring → profits
That is a view held by many influential figures – from Goldman Sachs’ research boss to Nobel laureate Daron Acemoğlu.
asserted
That → hold → Acemoğlu
AI may transform the economy.
uncertain
AI → transform → economy
That does not guarantee investors will earn back the sums being poured into it.
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investors → guarantee → it
He rejected concerns about AI and the need to impose stricter rules despite most Americans wanting more safeguards.
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Americans → reject → safeguards
He called concerns about the potential dangers of AI development a “hoax”.
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He → call → development
Republicans paid a price for his refusal to listen.
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Republicans → pay → refusal
Mr Trump argued computing capacity was a national asset that needed to expand rapidly, while dismissing resistance to the infrastructure and the companies building it.
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that → argue → it
Democrats could campaign against those costs falling on residents while the gains went to tech billionaires and their companies, which donated money to Mr Trump’s favoured causes.
uncertain
which → campaign → causes
Mr Musk’s SpaceX, a combined space, satellite-connectivity and AI group, warned in its June 2026 prospectus that new regulations could derail its growth plans.
uncertain
regulations → warn → plans
He spent $200m in Texas for Republicans as Democrats took aim at AI datacentres in a state where there was rising voter discontent over the industry’s rapid expansion.
asserted
Democrats → spend → expansion
Mr Musk could not buy this election.
uncertain
Musk → buy → election
Democrats won a US senate seat, the state governorship and wiped out every other statewide Republican office, taking the Texas house with a comfortable margin.
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Democrats → win → margin
Across the US, the blue wave saw wins for Democrats who have been critical of datacentre construction and pledged to slow or pause their rollout.
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who → see → rollout
Democrats say they intend to make AI companies answerable for the environmental and societal costs of their infrastructure buildup as well as the harm their products cause.
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products → say → buildup
The new Congress is likely to be much more ready to shield voters from rising prices caused by datacentre expansion, ensure independent safety testing for advanced AI and clarify liability for possible harms.
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Congress → shield → harms
Democrats’ willingness to take public fears about AI seriously is welcome.
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willingness → take → AI
People need confidence that elected governments can protect their livelihoods and communities.
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governments → need → livelihoods
Whatever happens to tech stocks, the genie of AI won’t be put back into its lamp.
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genie → happen → lamp
This year alone the technology was given as the reason 120,000 Americans lost their jobs.
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Americans → give → jobs
Politicians ought to strengthen workers’ bargaining power and ensure that productivity gains are fairly shared.
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gains → strengthen → power
Just letting the markets decide will only deepen the economic insecurity and political distrust that is corroding democracy.
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that → let → democracy
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you → raise → article
If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
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you → like → section
The Aporia
