Excited to see my new article "Regulatory Sandboxes: One Decade On" out in print. There's not much evidence that fintech sandboxes have benefitted anyone other than tech businesses - something we should bear in mind as policymakers rush to adopt AI sandboxes. www.law.georgetown.edu/internationa...

“Accepting this story of AI’s inevitability — or that of any technology — is a grave mistake for educators. Not only does it cede tremendous power to tech companies that are unaccountable to teachers, students, or school communities…” 1/2 kappanonline.org/teach-like-a...

This article depresses me. There's so much opportunity for pols to capitalize on justified skepticism re the tech industry, but a16z et al learned just how easy it was to buy votes for crypto legislation so they're repeating the playbook for AI & it'll prob work. fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

I concur. The Wall-E spaceship is what they're going for. fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

💯 Even now, we could just ban crypto. The ban wouldn’t be airtight, but it doesn’t need to be to stop most of the harm.

💯 I can’t tell you how many academic conversations I’ve had where I’ve been told “they wouldn’t do that; it doesn’t make financial sense.” But for some, the money is a means to power, not an end. Another way the rational actor economic paradigm doesn’t always hold up….

As per usual with fintech, dodging existing laws - rather than new technological capabilities - are what makes the business model (also as per usual, Andreessen Horowitz is backing a key player in this EWA industry) fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

a required skill for being able to use an LLM in any professional capacity is discernment, essentially already being an expert in the field so you know when (and why) its outputs are incorrect. now, LLMs are being deployed to non-expert groups in a way that ensures they will never *be* experts

Coinbase soon to incorporate "A new AI-driven wealth management advisory service"! After reading @polphilpod.bsky.social's excellent article about Cassandras, I couldn't help reflecting on my 2022 book that previewed the financial crisis of 2030.

This is a tough one, but I want to make the case for Marc Andreessen. He is about as bad as Altman on AI, and is also the reason we have a crypto industry (and most other predatory fintechs). He ended up being villain #1 of Fintech Dystopia fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

The separation of banking and commerce isn’t some outdated relic. It’s about having a financial system that serves the public good, not one that merely subsidizes the most rapacious practices of Wall Street and Big Tech.

Rumors of the death of the lawyer have been greatly exaggerated … www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...

I had an interesting exchange with the chatbot issued to students by my university about the advisability of using it—at a university. It thought this was a terrible idea.

Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.

ICYMI: We asked PS commentators to identify the biggest risks to economic and financial stability in the coming year. Read responses from Anat R. Admati, @profhilaryallen.bsky.social Allen, @simonhrjohnson.bsky.social, and others at the link. bit.ly/4pCNshx

Glad to see more people talking about the dangers of the Network State movement fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

+ keep jamming it into education

Great for many reasons, not least of which is that Lander is taking on an incumbent (Goldman) who is rated "A" by the crypto industry for industry friendliness

Comm'r Crenshaw's warnings here are spot on. If you want to read more about: crypto and AI industry's political power: fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha... the devolution of investing into gambling: fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

Ironic. Having opened the door to making everything unregulated gambling, crypto seems to be getting left behind as it becomes easier to bet on just about anything (prediction markets) and to get less regulated exposure to traditional assets (tokenization). finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-...

Still more opportunities to democratize exploitation! fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

Hard agree fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

Rohit Chopra has by hired by the Democratic Attorneys General Association’s policy arm to help design national strategies for going after companies exploiting the most vulnerable consumers — using state powers. Gift link here ⬇️ www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Project Syndicate asked @profhilaryallen.bsky.social, @simonhrjohnson.bsky.social, Corey Klemmer, Anat Admati, and me about the prospects of a financial crisis in 2026. I focused on the concentration of risk in the AI sector and the opacity of how it's being managed in off-balance-sheet debt deals.

Don’t miss our new PS Big Question, featuring Anat Admati, @profhilaryallen.bsky.social, Jayati Ghosh, Simon Johnson, Corey Klemmer, and Erin Lockwood. bit.ly/4puqQ2o

Because when even the non-financial press is asking whether we're on the brink of a financial crisis (triggered by AI or crypto, pick your poison), it is DEFINITELY the right time to let banks do more leverage

I’m not worried that the AI bubble will herald the end of capitalism as we know it - or even the end of the AI boom. I'm worried that it will result in a massive upwards transfer of wealth - and further endanger our democracies in the process. graceblakeley.substack.com/p/the-ai-cir...

It's also indicative of the fact that this tech - like so much Silicon Valley output - isn't good enough to survive without special legal treatment. fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

Or, hear me out, what if AI is just Juicero? fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

"It must become unacceptable for Democrats to accept crypto money." Yes, and say it even louder for the folks up the back. And it must also become unacceptable for Democrats to accept AI money because - to paraphrase Pam from the office - it's the same money.

If you'd like to see me taking a blowtorch to overhyped AI narratives, as well as exploring the implications of a burst bubble for our financial system, the video of the AFR panel is now up on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qFf...

“The purchase of GPUs by the companies we are investing in under the arrangement that they buy said GPUs points in the direction of strong demand for our product”, the executive added

AOC is wise to the fact that the AI industry is openly angling for government bailouts. The AI industry is already a product of corporate welfare policies (incl dispensations from copyright enforcement and data center permitting) but it's about to get worse. fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

HAHAAHHAHAAHHAAA Anthropic has posted two jobs, both paying $200K+. FOR WRITERS. (Looks like a policy/comms hybrid.) ANTHROPIC. IS WILLING TO PAY HALF A MILLION A YEAR. FOR WRITERS. Whatsamatter boys, can't your plagiarism machine make a compelling case for you? LOL. LMAO, even. #AI

I'd make a "time to find a bunker" joke if bunkers hadn't also been co-opted by the folks who brought you Theranos and Juicero...

@alexbores.nyc double-down in coverage from CNBC: "I am someone with a master's in computer science, two patents, and nearly a decade working in tech. If they are scared of people who understand their business regulating their business, then they are telling on themselves."

I think @mmasnick.bsky.social offers a very plausible explanation for @klonick.bsky.social's description of Google cannibalizing its own business: fealty to Christensen's theory of disruptive innovation. But that really begs a reckoning with that theory... fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

This is the playbook a16z honed for crypto. Just watch as the AI industry funds a boatload of political ads that don't actually mention AI because they know it's unpopular. fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

Did you see this @annmlipton.bsky.social ?

ICIJ's latest investigation The #CoinLaundry is a collaboration of 113 journalists from 38 media partners in 35 countries that exposes how cryptocurrency companies have empowered a shadow economy that lavishly profits from crime. Here are our findings:

The lady doth protest too much, methinks...

A techno-libertarian strain of eugenics has long been present in Silicon Valley fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

I looked at the likely impacts of this psychotic break on our financial system (the working title was "End Times Finance") www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/u...

@profhilaryallen.bsky.social on this @ourfinancialsecurity.org panel is offering one of the most comprehensive and decisive takedowns of the gen AI hype I've heard. (The recording will end up on the AFREF YouTube channel.) www.youtube.com/@Americansfo...

Still reading, but Fintech Dystopia fintechdystopia.com by @profhilaryallen.bsky.social is very good - cuts through all the noise very effectively. Adorno's perfect beach read.

"Democratizing Finance"

Oh no - et tu, NZ? I wrote a chapter about tech industries as welfare queens, lobbying for subsidies in the form of special legal treatment because their tech can't succeed on it's own. It's a well-oiled machine - don't fall for it Aotearoa! fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...

📆 Join us tomorrow at 3pm ET for a conversation with @profhilaryallen.bsky.social, Professor at the American University Washington College of Law, on the threats the AI bubble - and the finances behind it - pose to financial stability. RSVP here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

@profhilaryallen.bsky.social stopped by to chat about "Fintech Dystopia" on the podcast this week. It's a bit of a topic shift from my usual privacy/STS focus but the book was just too interesting not to have her on. newbooksnetwork.com/hilary-allen...