Today, a distinguished panel of Hoover scholars and expert guests discusses how artificial intelligence is impacting labor productivity and shaping the future of work; a former Canadian ambassador to the US speaks with H.R. McMaster about opportunities for greater US-Canada cooperation in the face of shared security and economic challenges; and Steven Davis interviews a leading researcher in health economics about the causes of a mortality gap among middle-aged Americans.
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work
AI’s introduction into all workplaces could spur one of the most consequential transitions in history, and governments need to not only plan for the transition but also remain positive with citizens about the technology’s potential. That was the message from a pair of panel discussions held at the Hoover Institution on March 17 that featured leading scholars, industry participants, and former senior policymakers. “(It’s) something very special that we get to live through,” Distinguished Visiting Fellow and former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said of the rise of artificial intelligence. “But every time that I'm here [in Silicon Valley], I'm reminded that change is coming far faster than our politics realizes. A conservative estimate is that AI is going to have twice the impact of the Industrial Revolution in just half (of) the time.” At the event, Hoover Institution Director Condoleezza Rice framed the moment as one defined by speed, not speculation. Read more here.
US Foreign Policy
On the latest episode of Today’s Battlegrounds, former Canadian ambassador to the United States David MacNaughton speaks with Senior Fellow H.R. McMaster about Canada and US cooperation on Arctic and North American security as well as prospects for deepening economic cooperation after the 2026 review of the USMCA trade agreement. The conversation also touches on ways to turn recent bilateral tensions into opportunities for both nations. MacNaughton provides insights into shifting dynamics in Venezuela, China’s expanding economic and strategic footprint in Latin America, and the implications of political rhetoric and rising tensions for the US–Canada relationship. McMaster and MacNaughton also highlight the growing importance for both nations of energy security, critical minerals, and resilient supply chains as pillars of economic and national security. Watch or listen here.
Answering Challenges to Advanced Economies
Mortality rates fell sharply for college-educated Americans in recent decades but not for other Americans. Mortality trends also differ sharply between rural and urban areas of the United States and across US counties. On the latest episode of Economics, Applied, Senior Fellow and Director of Research Steven J. Davis asks Dartmouth economics professor Jonathan Skinner about these puzzling and troubling trends and how to explain them. According to Skinner’s recent research, “deaths of despair,” “the China shock," obesity, and income inequality don’t explain the trends. Instead, the explanation turns on differences in smoking trends and the consequences for mortality. Watch or listen here.
Higher Education
Senior Fellow Paola Sapienza joined The Education Exchange podcast hosted by Senior Fellow Paul E. Peterson to discuss how college attendance affects students’ political outlooks. Sapienza argues that while students lean left at the start of their college years on average, they tend to shift further to the left over the course of their undergraduate education. But Sapienza also notes that ideological extremism within this cohort is low, most political shifts are moderate, and most students remain centrist upon graduation. The conversation reflects Hoover’s commitment to studying the philosophical and ideological climate within higher education—and the implications of that climate for the nation’s education system, politics, and culture. Listen here.
Law and Policy
In a post at his Volokh Conspiracy blog, Senior Fellow Eugene Volokh evaluates the Trump administration’s effort, via executive order, to mandate “that no college football game, specifically college football's CFP or other postseason games, be broadcast in a manner that directly conflicts with the Army‑Navy Game.” Volokh advances “a few thoughts on why this strikes [him] as an attempt to unconstitutionally pressure broadcasters.” Volokh argues that “the goal of the Order is to use the looming threat of possible license cancellation to pressure broadcasters into making a particular content decision,” noting that the Supreme Court “has recognized that such indirect threats can themselves violate the First Amendment.” Volokh concludes by noting that a future administration of a different political viewpoint could use the Order, if upheld, as precedent to restrict other broadcast content deemed against the “public interest.” Read more here.
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