Dror Poleg
@drorpoleg.com
I research technology’s impact on work, cities, and markets. Bylines: NY Times, The Atlantic, etc.
DrorPoleg.com
DrorPoleg.com
We’re all degenerates now.
December 21, 2025 at 11:13 PM
We’re all degenerates now.
“Opposition to data centers is accelerating. In Q2 2025 alone, an estimated $98 billion in projects were blocked or delayed, more than the total for all previous quarters since 2023.”
www.datacenterwatch.org/q22025
www.datacenterwatch.org/q22025
December 20, 2025 at 8:27 PM
“Opposition to data centers is accelerating. In Q2 2025 alone, an estimated $98 billion in projects were blocked or delayed, more than the total for all previous quarters since 2023.”
www.datacenterwatch.org/q22025
www.datacenterwatch.org/q22025
"In the 1980s, almost 75% of thirtysomething New Yorkers earning the equivalent of $100,000 in today’s money owned their own home. Today that figure is less than 50%... it should come as no surprise to see young people holding the strongest zero-sum attitudes..."
December 20, 2025 at 12:05 PM
"In the 1980s, almost 75% of thirtysomething New Yorkers earning the equivalent of $100,000 in today’s money owned their own home. Today that figure is less than 50%... it should come as no surprise to see young people holding the strongest zero-sum attitudes..."
Innovation, markets, politics, show business, and some classic literature. Here are the books I enjoyed most in 2025.
www.drorpoleg.com/books-i-enjo...
www.drorpoleg.com/books-i-enjo...
Books I Enjoyed In 2025
Below are books I read and enjoyed this year, not necessarily for the first time. The list includes books I took many notes on, meaning I found them worthwhile. I included affiliate links to Amazon in...
www.drorpoleg.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Innovation, markets, politics, show business, and some classic literature. Here are the books I enjoyed most in 2025.
www.drorpoleg.com/books-i-enjo...
www.drorpoleg.com/books-i-enjo...
Your chatbot isn’t creative enough? Give it some drugs!
A new marketplace sells lines of code that can be added to your preferred AI tool to simulate the influence of popular substances
A new marketplace sells lines of code that can be added to your preferred AI tool to simulate the influence of popular substances
December 17, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Your chatbot isn’t creative enough? Give it some drugs!
A new marketplace sells lines of code that can be added to your preferred AI tool to simulate the influence of popular substances
A new marketplace sells lines of code that can be added to your preferred AI tool to simulate the influence of popular substances
Money never sleeps, why should you?
This will advantage professional traders, and help push amateur ones towards automated trading tools.
This will advantage professional traders, and help push amateur ones towards automated trading tools.
December 15, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Money never sleeps, why should you?
This will advantage professional traders, and help push amateur ones towards automated trading tools.
This will advantage professional traders, and help push amateur ones towards automated trading tools.
The hottest job in America: Storyteller.
The percentage of LinkedIn job postings in the U.S. that include the term “storyteller” doubled in 2025. Meanwhile, corporate earnings calls and investor-day mentions of "storyteller" and "storytelling" are up 30% from 2024 and 220% from 2015.
The percentage of LinkedIn job postings in the U.S. that include the term “storyteller” doubled in 2025. Meanwhile, corporate earnings calls and investor-day mentions of "storyteller" and "storytelling" are up 30% from 2024 and 220% from 2015.
December 15, 2025 at 9:11 PM
The hottest job in America: Storyteller.
The percentage of LinkedIn job postings in the U.S. that include the term “storyteller” doubled in 2025. Meanwhile, corporate earnings calls and investor-day mentions of "storyteller" and "storytelling" are up 30% from 2024 and 220% from 2015.
The percentage of LinkedIn job postings in the U.S. that include the term “storyteller” doubled in 2025. Meanwhile, corporate earnings calls and investor-day mentions of "storyteller" and "storytelling" are up 30% from 2024 and 220% from 2015.
All business is show business.
December 11, 2025 at 2:18 PM
All business is show business.
NYC should learn from the best city on earth: In Tokyo, you can't buy a car unless you own/rent a place to park it.
And no one is allowed to park in the street, *even* if they pay.
And no one is allowed to park in the street, *even* if they pay.
December 4, 2025 at 3:04 PM
NYC should learn from the best city on earth: In Tokyo, you can't buy a car unless you own/rent a place to park it.
And no one is allowed to park in the street, *even* if they pay.
And no one is allowed to park in the street, *even* if they pay.
"Walmart Inc. discovered it could charge 40% more for Walmart+ by offering to put away people’s groceries exactly where they want them." www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Tired Americans Are Spending More Just to Avoid Chores
Companies are taking advantage of a consumer eager for products that take on some of life’s drudgery.
www.bloomberg.com
December 4, 2025 at 2:14 PM
"Walmart Inc. discovered it could charge 40% more for Walmart+ by offering to put away people’s groceries exactly where they want them." www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Bloomberg NEF expects data-center power demand to reach 106 GW by 2035 — a 36% jump from the previous outlook, published just seven months ago.
December 3, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Bloomberg NEF expects data-center power demand to reach 106 GW by 2035 — a 36% jump from the previous outlook, published just seven months ago.
NYC is the most expensive city in the world — unless you're a car.
"There are roughly 3 million on-street parking spaces in New York... Only about 80,000 are metered. The rest are free."
Here's a way to fund free buses: Start charging cars for street parking.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...
"There are roughly 3 million on-street parking spaces in New York... Only about 80,000 are metered. The rest are free."
Here's a way to fund free buses: Start charging cars for street parking.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...
Opinion | Paying for Free Buses Means Free Street Parking Must End
Free buses would be transformative not only for riders, but for the ecosystem of the city as a whole.
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:53 AM
NYC is the most expensive city in the world — unless you're a car.
"There are roughly 3 million on-street parking spaces in New York... Only about 80,000 are metered. The rest are free."
Here's a way to fund free buses: Start charging cars for street parking.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...
"There are roughly 3 million on-street parking spaces in New York... Only about 80,000 are metered. The rest are free."
Here's a way to fund free buses: Start charging cars for street parking.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...
"the cost of AI will converge to the cost of energy... the abundance of it will be limited by the abundance of energy."
— Sam Altman, 2025
— Sam Altman, 2025
December 2, 2025 at 8:27 PM
"the cost of AI will converge to the cost of energy... the abundance of it will be limited by the abundance of energy."
— Sam Altman, 2025
— Sam Altman, 2025
Great chart from Blackstone: Vacancy by asset type. Offices are as vacant as ever; data centers are as busy as they've ever been.
December 2, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Great chart from Blackstone: Vacancy by asset type. Offices are as vacant as ever; data centers are as busy as they've ever been.
WSJ: 30 million square feet of NYC office space has been converted to apartments over the past two decades, “with the pace of transformation picking up”
December 2, 2025 at 10:33 AM
WSJ: 30 million square feet of NYC office space has been converted to apartments over the past two decades, “with the pace of transformation picking up”
How most companies “experiment” with AI…
December 1, 2025 at 2:27 PM
How most companies “experiment” with AI…
Which one do you use? Gemini app downloads are catching up to ChatGPT.
December 1, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Which one do you use? Gemini app downloads are catching up to ChatGPT.
Companies are betting they can grow without hiring. They are not wrong. The basic relationship between inputs and outputs has changed: you can create much more value without adding much more labor or raw materials.
This trend has been unfolding for fifty years. AI is intensifying it.
This trend has been unfolding for fifty years. AI is intensifying it.
November 26, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Companies are betting they can grow without hiring. They are not wrong. The basic relationship between inputs and outputs has changed: you can create much more value without adding much more labor or raw materials.
This trend has been unfolding for fifty years. AI is intensifying it.
This trend has been unfolding for fifty years. AI is intensifying it.
Bubbler no bubble, AI hype is sparking a long overdue renaissance of atomic energy.
“The UK is following the US in seeking to fast-track new atomic development, spurred on by the need to provide enough energy for its AI ambitions plus the increasing electrification of industry and vehicles.“
“The UK is following the US in seeking to fast-track new atomic development, spurred on by the need to provide enough energy for its AI ambitions plus the increasing electrification of industry and vehicles.“
Britain plots atomic reboot as datacenter demand surges
: Taskforce calls UK the priciest place on Earth to build nuclear projects and urges radical regulatory reset
www.theregister.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Bubbler no bubble, AI hype is sparking a long overdue renaissance of atomic energy.
“The UK is following the US in seeking to fast-track new atomic development, spurred on by the need to provide enough energy for its AI ambitions plus the increasing electrification of industry and vehicles.“
“The UK is following the US in seeking to fast-track new atomic development, spurred on by the need to provide enough energy for its AI ambitions plus the increasing electrification of industry and vehicles.“
Software is finally bumping into physical constraints. Google wants to double its AI infrastructure every six months. But our energy capacity cannot grow fast enough to meet demand.
November 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Software is finally bumping into physical constraints. Google wants to double its AI infrastructure every six months. But our energy capacity cannot grow fast enough to meet demand.
This is on point. The Cambridge Dictionary's Word Of The Year for 2025 is...
Parasocial: "involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or an artificial intelligence"
Parasocial: "involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or an artificial intelligence"
November 20, 2025 at 11:15 AM
This is on point. The Cambridge Dictionary's Word Of The Year for 2025 is...
Parasocial: "involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or an artificial intelligence"
Parasocial: "involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or an artificial intelligence"
Of course, there is a restaurant with AI-made recipes and "3D-printed shawarmas", and of course, it's in Dubai.
November 19, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Of course, there is a restaurant with AI-made recipes and "3D-printed shawarmas", and of course, it's in Dubai.
AI funding is moving from cash flow to debt. A sign the party is about to end — or a whole new phase is just getting started?
WSJ/Jason Zweig: “Between Sept. 1 and Nov. 13… big tech companies issued more bonds than they had in the previous three calendar years combined”
WSJ/Jason Zweig: “Between Sept. 1 and Nov. 13… big tech companies issued more bonds than they had in the previous three calendar years combined”
November 18, 2025 at 9:34 PM
AI funding is moving from cash flow to debt. A sign the party is about to end — or a whole new phase is just getting started?
WSJ/Jason Zweig: “Between Sept. 1 and Nov. 13… big tech companies issued more bonds than they had in the previous three calendar years combined”
WSJ/Jason Zweig: “Between Sept. 1 and Nov. 13… big tech companies issued more bonds than they had in the previous three calendar years combined”
Unemployment is still low, but humans are drifting towards less pleasant jobs.
Bloomberg: “Jobseekers are applying for roles that were often shunned in the past, such as directing traffic and working at materials recovery facilities”
Bloomberg: “Jobseekers are applying for roles that were often shunned in the past, such as directing traffic and working at materials recovery facilities”
November 18, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Unemployment is still low, but humans are drifting towards less pleasant jobs.
Bloomberg: “Jobseekers are applying for roles that were often shunned in the past, such as directing traffic and working at materials recovery facilities”
Bloomberg: “Jobseekers are applying for roles that were often shunned in the past, such as directing traffic and working at materials recovery facilities”
WSJ: “Tesla is now requiring its suppliers to exclude China-made components in the manufacturing of its cars in the U.S.”
November 16, 2025 at 10:43 AM
WSJ: “Tesla is now requiring its suppliers to exclude China-made components in the manufacturing of its cars in the U.S.”