Matt Scherer
@matthewus.bsky.social
Advocate and researcher focused on fighting corporate power and building workers’ technology rights. Fellow at OMI. Posts reflect my own views.
In his latest for Hard Reset, @matthewus.bsky.social asks why is it that, four years after ChatGPT’s release, generative AI has not yet improved productivity at either the level of individual companies or across the economy as a whole? www.hardresetmedia.com/p/the-ai-pro...
The AI Productivity Illusion
Productivity Is About (Much) More than Finishing Tasks Quickly
hardresetmedia.com
Stop me if you've heard these ones before: "AI has 10Xed my productivity!" "Of course AI increases productivity--I can finish projects in hours that used to take weeks!" Read my latest column for @hardresetmedia.com to find out why such comments miss the point on AI and productivity.
The AI Productivity Illusion
Productivity Is About (Much) More than Finishing Tasks Quickly
hardresetmedia.com
In his first for Hard Reset, @matthewus.bsky.social compares the current AI moment to a little known technology from 75 years ago that was supposed to revolutionize the auto industry: www.hardresetmedia.com/p/are-we-bet...
Are We Betting the Economy on a Doomed Technology?
If generative AI turns out to be a dud, it could be our economy that goes up in flames.
hardresetmedia.com
“Unfortunately, the policymakers best-positioned to sound the alarm are ignoring the rapidly growing AI bubble because they are too distracted by Silicon Valley’s sci-fi-esque prophecies.”
The Real AI Threat is the Bubble, not the Apocalypse
The most pressing AI-driven crisis is the overestimation of AI’s capabilities and impacts, which has produced a historically large speculative AI bubble. To safeguard against this economic catastrophe...
lpeproject.org
In today's episode of, "I totally get why people are cynical about politics and see conspiracies everywhere." www.axios.com/2026/05/29/a...
How AI, crypto and AIPAC are ending political careers
Eight of the 12 biggest outside spenders in House primaries fall into one of those three groups.
axios.com
How should we handle it when the AI bubble bursts? On the next MAIHT3k livestream, @matthewus.bsky.social joins me and @alexhanna.bsky.social to discuss how we can avoid bailing out billionaires. Monday, June 1, noon PT twitch.tv/dair_institute
dair_institute - Twitch
Twitch account for The Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR).
twitch.tv
Next week’s conference calls: May 26: Katie Van Dyck (@openmarkets.bsky.social) on sports media costs & antitrust May 28: Matthew Scherer (@econliberties.bsky.social) on AI spending & bubble risks May 29: Weekly Tech Policy Briefing Series 👉 RSVP: thecapitolforum.com/events/?utm_...
Check out my new piece for @lpeproject.bsky.social. My argument in a nutshell: Everyone in DC has been AI-pilled and sucked in by Silicon Valley's sci-fi fantasies--even policymakers who normally reject the self-serving narratives that emerge from corporate America. lpeproject.org/blog/the-rea...
The Real AI Threat is the Bubble, not the Apocalypse
The most pressing AI-driven crisis is the overestimation of AI’s capabilities and impacts, which has produced a historically large speculative AI bubble. To safeguard against this economic catastrophe...
lpeproject.org
And remember, this is what Wall Street execs think of their *own* workers... --------- "At Standard Chartered Plc, CEO Bill Winters said Tuesday he’s replacing 'lower-value human capital' with financial and technology capital to cut 8,000 support roles over the next four years... [1/2]
Check out my new report with @openmarkets.bsky.social, “No Bailouts for Big Tech Billionaires: Policies for when the AI bubble bursts.” The title gives you a sense of its content. Available in audio/podcast form on Spotify, in addition to text!
Open Markets Institute@openmarkets.bsky.social · 3mo agoA brand new report from our fellow Matt Scherer warns that the AI boom is increasingly showing the hallmarks of a dangerous speculative bubble & urges policymakers to prepare now to resist future demands to bail out major tech companies if the market collapses.
If you want to know why people don’t trust Democrats despite the Trump administration being awful, here you go. The party establishment is literally telling policymakers to ignore their constituents because the important thing is not pissing off wealthy donors. www.ft.com/content/7529...
Don't you just love the smell of insider trading in the morning? www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/v...
Volume in stock and oil futures surged minutes before Trump's market-turning post
The timing of the earlier volume spikes — across both equities and crude — caught the attention of traders.
cnbc.com
It's nice to see it spelled out so explicitly. The only interests most policymakers care about when it comes to tech policy are those of corporations and billionaires. Advocates for consumers and workers aren't even at the table. Legislating is merely an exercise in balancing corporate interests.
This is a particularly extreme and galling example of what I call the Tyranny of Quantification, where corporate interests argue that policy should be based solely on easy-to-quantify metrics. That inherently favors corporate interests. (1/3)
E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution
nytimes.com
Given that genAI clearly enhances productivity in cheating and scamming but has mixed results everywhere else, there's a real possibility that genAI will actually have a net negative effect on profitability as companies are forced to invest ever-more in cybersecurity. www.axios.com/2025/10/07/o...
OpenAI's new Sora app and other AI video tools give scams a new edge, experts warn
Fake audio and videos are bound to make scams sound more believable as tools improve.
axios.com
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.
Why it matters: ADSs shape access to jobs, housing, health care & more. Yet too often, they’re opaque, error-prone, and biased—leaving consumers & workers at risk. Transparency + accountability are essential.
Bringing Transparency and Accountability to Algorithmic Decision Systems
Also authored by Grace Gedye, AI Policy Analyst, Consumer Reports Algorithmic decision systems (ADSs) increasingly determine what jobs people apply to, what apartments they can rent, what health care coverage they receive, and other major determinants of their lives and livelihoods. ADSs can speed up decision-making processes and, with proper design and oversight, can help […]
cdt.org
New brief from CDT’s @matthewus.bsky.social & @consumerreports.org's Grace Gedye examines state efforts to regulate algorithmic decision systems (ADSs)—spotlighting promising proposals, pitfalls, and what effective regulation must include. Read more: cdt.org/insights/bri...
California’s “No Robo Bosses Act” is a great start. And much more is needed, because many kinds of powerful institutions are using automated decision-making against us. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
Yes to California’s “No Robo Bosses Act”
California’s Governor should sign S.B. 7, a common-sense bill to end some of the harshest consequences of automated abuse at work. EFF is proud to join dozens of labor, digital rights, and other
eff.org
The Minnesota shooter apparently used data broker websites to find the home addresses of the people he shot and murdered. Congress has had years to do something about data brokers and they've sided with the tech lobby over and over again. Their inaction is deadly.
“@matthewus.bsky.social, senior policy counsel at CDT, has a more dire warning: ‘The moratorium [on state-level AI legislation] is so sweeping that it’s hard to imagine how any law that touches on AI or automated decision-making in any way could escape it.’" www.pcmag.com/news/t...
There's a Lot of AI in Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill': Here's What It Does and Why Elon Is Not a Fan
Among the more eye-catching provisions is a 10-year moratorium on state-level AI regulations. Though xAI stands to benefit, Elon Musk says the spending bill is 'undermining' DOGE.
pcmag.com
You know you've got a serious, serious brand issue when your main competitor is 11 points underwater in favorability but you're doing 10 points *worse* than they are. thehill.com/homenews/cam...
It's obvious that all big LLMs have plateaued. Improvements are X steps forward/Y steps back, with X fast decreasing and Y increasing. None are close to AGI; tweaks/scaling won't get them there. The only reason none of the big developers are saying so is no one wants to be first to admit to the con.
Exclusive | Meta Is Delaying the Rollout of Its Flagship AI Model
The company’s struggle to improve the capabilities of latest AI model mirrors issues at some top AI companies.
link.axios.com
This is seriously great. There has been a vacuum of moral leadership when it comes to the impact of AI on workers and their dignity. And there are a few (if any) people with a bigger moral megaphone than the Pontiff. www.cnbc.com/2025/05/10/p...
Why Pope Leo chose his name: AI, workers’ rights, new Industrial Revolution
Pope Leo also suggested that he would follow the late Pope Francis' lead on his commitment to social justice.
cnbc.com
Colorado lawmakers stood firm on AI accountability — and CDT CEO @alexreevegivens.bsky.social backed their decision to protect workers and consumers rather than gut hard-won safeguards. www.denverpost.com/2...
Live updates: Officials react to killed AI bill, hospitals-pharma fight nears end, immigrant protections finalized
With less than three days left until the Colorado legislature adjourns its regular session, lawmakers are back Monday to move several contentious bills through key votes.
denverpost.com
The tech industry only ever has two positions on any proposed tech regulation: (1) Don’t regulate us. It’s too early. Our tech is still developing. (2) Don’t regulate us. It’s too late. Our tech is everywhere.
Tech companies are talking about the need to protect the welfare and rights of the AI models they are creating...while at the same time pushing back against any meaningful legislation to protect the welfare and rights of actual humans affected by their AI models. www.axios.com/2025/04/29/a...
Anthropic sparks debate over AI rights
Skeptics say we're a long way from conscious LLMs.
axios.com
CDT’s @matthewus.bsky.social co-authored an op-ed with Ed Hawthorne & Amanda Ballantyne in the Ridgefield Press on a Connecticut bill that regulates “bossware” – software that tracks, evaluates, and makes decisions about workers. www.theridgefieldpre...
CDT's @matthewus.bsky.social in IAPP on how policy is addressing #AI-driven hiring practices. iapp.org/news/a/how-...
How the US is handling AI-driven hiring practices
As artificial intelligence use increases and applies more to traditionally human responsibilities in hiring processes, the concerns about mistakes or bias are also rising.
iapp.org
