AI bringing politicians to heel from a NV mailbox

The projected impacts of artificial intelligence vary from a glorious post-scarcity paradise of unleashed human spirit and creativity, to a filthy, merciless, and brutal dystopian hellscape, to of course humanity’s annihilation. While we wait to see which, or what combination of those, comes to pass, here's one of today's real-world impacts: Via the FT:

Apple has increased the price of MacBooks and iPads by about 20 per cent worldwide, one of the broadest price rises in its history, as the iPhone maker blamed memory chip shortages caused by the AI infrastructure boom.

The costs of all that slop are many and varied indeed.

IN NEVADA CURRENT

Nevada's ever-present eviction threat. Rental assistance funding allocated by state lawmakers last year has prevented evictions for nearly 1,700 households in Nevada, but that's still inadequate, and the state will need an ongoing infusion of funds if it wants to prevent Nevada's eviction problem from getting even worse. Michael Lyle reports: State’s eviction prevention program on shaky financial footing, lawmakers told

But back to our AI overlords... A massive national pro-AI super PAC and its associate organizations all have Nevada mailing addresses, which I thought was worth writing up just because it's sort of quirky. And then I got sucked into the structure and practices of the PACs, and one thing led to another, and ... here you go:  Pro-AI PAC sinks a New York City congressional candidate — from a Nevada mailbox

Also...

Trump wants $87.6 billion to pay for his war in Iran, aid to farmers and more. Like AI slop, getting humiliated by Iran is another thing that doesn't come cheap. Via the D.C. bureau.

Why rural healthcare fund’s $50B for tech upgrades may not help vulnerable hospitals and providers. "A disproportionate focus on technology runs the risk of overlooking the most basic needs of rural healthcare systems, such as ensuring that rural areas have a healthy healthcare workforce – and providers that get paid for the work they do." Commentary via The Conversation.

Good Luck