Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 8h

“I’ve never been more confident in the research road map in front of us”, he said, “and also the economic value that’ll come from using those models.”

How OpenAI put itself at the centre of a $1tn network of deals

The company behind ChatGPT has signed agreements with many of the largest tech groups, adding to a growing web of financial dependencies across the AI world

on.ft.com

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 8h

I knew it reminded me of something

Visualization of OpenAI’s links to other tech companies

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 16h

Atemberaubend. Wörtliches Zitat, wissenschaftspolitischer Sprecher CDU/CSU Fraktion.

Netzwerk Nachhaltige Wissenschaft @nnwiss.bsky.social · 17h

Wer sich für eine wissenschaftliche Laufbahn entscheidet, geht ins Risiko. Wer einen sicheren Job will, sollte nicht in die Wissenschaft gehen - so wenig wie in die Kunst oder die Politik.” Interessante Aussage eines Berufspolitikers, dessen Job keiner Höchstbefristung unterliegt.

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Netzwerk Nachhaltige Wissenschaft @nnwiss.bsky.social · 17h

Wer sich für eine wissenschaftliche Laufbahn entscheidet, geht ins Risiko. Wer einen sicheren Job will, sollte nicht in die Wissenschaft gehen - so wenig wie in die Kunst oder die Politik.” Interessante Aussage eines Berufspolitikers, dessen Job keiner Höchstbefristung unterliegt.

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 19h

Volume of the UK’s recently launched Global Talent Fund fund to attract academics from the US: $72 million.

Volume of gift needed for the University of Zurich to poach two (2) economics professors from MIT: $32 million.

Go figure.

www.news.uzh.ch/en/articles/...

Nobel Laureates Duflo and Banerjee to Join UZH

www.news.uzh.ch

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 20h

Unbelievable…

Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 1d

A fantastic episode. The art of talking about a big, complex book is perfected, by host and author, to an unbelievable degree.

Daniel Denvir @danieldenvir.bsky.social · 9d

New @thedigradio.bsky.social: first of two w @melindacooper.bsky.social on Counterrevolution: Extravagance and Austerity in Public Finance. How neoliberalism remade US capitalism into an engine for endless asset appreciation, and the attendant reactionary politics www.thedigradio.com/podcast/coun...

Counterrevolution w/ Melinda Cooper

Featuring Melinda Cooper on Counterrevolution: Extravagance and Austerity in Public Finance. Neoliberalism remade the American economy into an engine for the appreciation of assets stretching from the...

www.thedigradio.com

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 1d

Während Politikwissenschaftler*innen unter Höchstanstrengung den Wählerwillen zum Thema Vermögensbesteuerung vermessen, Evidenz zur undemokratischen Willensbildung:

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Emily Dische-Becker @emilydische.bsky.social · 1d

"Wir haben 43 Videos aus den letzten zwei Jahren identifiziert und analysiert. Sie geben vor, Orte darzustellen, wo Waffensysteme in Häusern versteckt sind: Orte, die es aber so nicht gibt." www.srf.ch/news/interna...

Propaganda in 3D: Wie Israel mit Computeranimationen systematisch die öffentliche Meinung beeinflusst

Mit fragwürdigen 3D-Animationen versucht Israel systematisch die öffentliche Meinung zu beeinflussen.

www.srf.ch

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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 2d

The trillions invested in US AI boom is one of the awesome exercises in PLANNING by commerical and government entities.

-40% of US GDP growth this year is AI
-AI companies account for 80% of gains in US stocks in 2025.

Just don't ask about the social welfare function....
bsky.app/profile/benb...

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 2d

h/t @kanejim.bsky.social & @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social.

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 2d

You all better set aside some time to rework those intro to comparative political economy lectures.

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 2d

Remember when dense networks of strategic cross-shareholdings among firms, native to coordinated market economies, went the way of the dodo?

The Rhenish model, Germany, Inc. undone by Anglo institutional investors?

Well, the dodo is back. Say hello to USA, Inc.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 2d

If profits shape the energy transition we need to understand the biggest profit event this century: the 2022 oil and gas price spike.

Very happy our paper is now out in Energy Research & Social Science. Thread by lead-author @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social 👇

Gregor Semieniuk @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social · 2d

🚨NEW PAPER🚨
We all know the 2022 energy price shock fueled the cost of living crisis. It also caused a profit bonanza for the very rich. We show the US reaped the largest profits ($377bn) of any country. 50% went to the richest 1%, only 1% to the bottom 50%. A🧵 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

River or sankey diagram showing the allocation of profits from global oil and gas companies to quantiles of the US wealth size distribution via financial system intermediaries, such as asset managers, and categories of ultimate beneficiaries, such as business owners, pension funds and shareholders in listed companies. The scale is hundreds of billions of US dollars, and ultimately 50.4% of profits reaching the US personal wealth distribution go to the richest 1% of households.

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Gregor Semieniuk @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social · 2d

Fossil fuel profits also sharply increase inflation inequality.
Incremental 2022 fossil fuel profits over 2021 compensate several percent of 2022 inflation for the richest groups (triangles and squares), dwarfing differences in inflation due to differing consumption baskets (disks). 10/

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Gregor Semieniuk @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social · 2d

🚨NEW PAPER🚨
We all know the 2022 energy price shock fueled the cost of living crisis. It also caused a profit bonanza for the very rich. We show the US reaped the largest profits ($377bn) of any country. 50% went to the richest 1%, only 1% to the bottom 50%. A🧵 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Jonathan Hopkin @jonathanhopkin.bsky.social · 2d

All university researchers around the country are having to deal with new procedures around the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme yet foreign fascists are given free rein to pollute our public space. What a joke of a country. Zero dignity.

Josiah Mortimer @josiah.writes.news · 2d

🔴 ‘America Must Save Britain’: MAGA-Mania and Conspiracy Theories Broadcast Nightly on GB News’ New US Show

A new daily GB News programme broadcast from Washington features climate denial, vaccine misinformation, and non-stop praise for Donald Trump. ✍️ @bylinetimes.bsky.social

'America Must Save Britain': MAGA-Mania and Conspiracy Theories Broadcast Nightly on GB News' New US Show

A new daily GB News programme broadcast from Washington features climate denial, vaccine misinformation, and non-stop praise for Donald Trump – as its hosts tell the American audience that the UK need...

bylinetimes.com

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 2d

LinkedIn has become the social media platform of choice for social scientists, hasn't it. Seriously, that sucks.

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Josiah Mortimer @josiah.writes.news · 2d

🔴 ‘America Must Save Britain’: MAGA-Mania and Conspiracy Theories Broadcast Nightly on GB News’ New US Show

A new daily GB News programme broadcast from Washington features climate denial, vaccine misinformation, and non-stop praise for Donald Trump. ✍️ @bylinetimes.bsky.social

'America Must Save Britain': MAGA-Mania and Conspiracy Theories Broadcast Nightly on GB News' New US Show

A new daily GB News programme broadcast from Washington features climate denial, vaccine misinformation, and non-stop praise for Donald Trump – as its hosts tell the American audience that the UK need...

bylinetimes.com

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 2d

Value of the Eurosystem's gold holdings as of August: €1 trillion.

The increase is due to valuation effects, of course. Still, not quite sure what to make of this.

Chart showing the reserve assets of the Eurosystem.

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Philipp Heimberger @heimbergecon.bsky.social · 2d

In a new paper, we provide fresh evidence on the macroeconomic effects of public investment in 27 EU member states. We find that public investment has favorable effects on output and unemployment; doesn't crowd out private investment; and doesn't jeopardise debt sustainability.

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 3d

One week until applications close on Oct 15th. 👇

Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · Jun 27

Some news: In 2026-27, I'll be visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, leading the theme seminar on

‘𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺‘

There's no place quite like the IAS to think, together, about big questions. Please share—applications are open 𝚗̲̲𝚘̲̲𝚠̲.

Screenshot of this document: https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/SSS%20Call%20for%20Applications%202026-27%20.pdf

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herman mark schwartz @thunen.bsky.social · 3d

echoing praise for @susglickman.bsky.social 's recent NYRB article on DoD, private equity, and silicon valley. pair with @hozic.bsky.social 's earlier piece on hollywood, the valley and DoD -> comprehensive picture.
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

The War Over Defense Tech | Susannah Glickman

Last October, on a Martin Luther–inspired website called www.18theses.com, a software executive named Shyam Sankar published a four-thousand-word polemic

www.nybooks.com

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David Attewell @davidattewell6.bsky.social · 3d

@dpzollinger.bsky.social and I are thrilled "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies" is out as an SI at @wepsocial.bsky.social!

Its papers explore the foundations of the cleavage pitting new left against radical right parties, and how it compares to the classic cleavages of Lipset & Rokkan:

🧵⬇️

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Benjamin Braun @benbraun.bsky.social · 3d

Very much looking forward to this.

Instituto Meridiano @institutomeridiano.org · 3d

🔆 CONSTRUIR EL FUTURO 🔆

FINANZAS Y CRISIS CLIMÁTICA
8 de noviembre, 10.00 h

@danielagabor.bsky.social y @benbraun.bsky.social hablarán de los retos y límites actuales de las finanzas ante la crisis climática y sobre cómo ponerlas al servicio de una transición rápida, justa y democrática.

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Instituto Meridiano @institutomeridiano.org · 3d

🔆 CONSTRUIR EL FUTURO 🔆

FINANZAS Y CRISIS CLIMÁTICA
8 de noviembre, 10.00 h

@danielagabor.bsky.social y @benbraun.bsky.social hablarán de los retos y límites actuales de las finanzas ante la crisis climática y sobre cómo ponerlas al servicio de una transición rápida, justa y democrática.

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Progressive International @progintl.bsky.social · 3d

Following the violent interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla on 2 October, David Adler, Co-General Coordinator of the Progressive International, and dozens of crew members remain in detention.

Break the siege. Free the Crew. Release David.

🔗 Read more online: buff.ly/TKfIOPr

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