EXPERTS: AI was supposed to hit new grads hard. So far, unemployment data says otherwise.

In “The Early Impacts of AI on Employment Among Recent College Graduates,” researchers Robert Fairlie and Jane Wu said they decided to focus on recent graduates “because changes in labor demand may first appear through reductions in hiring.” As AI gets good enough to at least perform the “relatively standardized tasks” in many entry-level office jobs, they argue, firms could reduce new hiring for simpler roles rather than laying off more experienced long-term employees.

There’s some reason to believe 2026’s graduating job seekers might be more at risk of AI displacement than those graduating just a year or two prior. The CESifo researchers point to a recent sharp increase in the number of firms “replacing a large number of employee tasks with AI” in a Census survey, as well as broad increases in AI spending per employee and ChatGPT Enterprise token use in the last 12 months.

Anecdotally, some major names also think that this is the year AI is finally capable enough to start replacing the jobs of some recent graduates. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen said earlier this year that “AI literally until December [2025] was not actually good enough to do any of the jobs that they’re actually cutting.” And BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in March that “the speed at which AI is changing” led him to worry that “when this year’s college graduates enter the workforce, we could see the highest unemployment rate among them in years—even without a recession.”

Innovation typically destroys existing jobs, but is a net job creator in new fields. Maybe AI really is different and will drive millions out of work permanently.

I’m not sure anybody really knows.

TOO MANY OF THESE STORIES HAVE BEEN OUTRIGHT FABRICATIONS. AND A GALVANIZE-WOMEN STORY THAT COMES OUT A MONTH BEFORE THE ELECTION IS DOUBLY SUSPICIOUS.

I LIVE WITH A COMPUTER PERSON. NONE OF OUR STUFF IS CONNECTED:  Skynet is taking over our critical … refrigerators?

Some of our stuff is supposed to be connected. You have no idea the very strange workarounds we have to get around that. Though, please, explain to me why a cat litterbox no matter how automated its cleaning should be on the net. And imagine the horrors of a cat litterbox hacked by China. (Okay, I made myself laugh, but really.)

THIS IS UTTER NONSENSE. AI DATA CENTERS ARE NO WORSE THAN OTHER DATA CENTERS:   Data Centers Face Fines, Permit Delays as States Weigh AI Growth Against Local Impacts.

No, they don’t use more water (it’s recycled) or electricity than any other data center. If you think they do, you fell for a Chinese psy-ops to corner AI development. What have I told you about falling for psy-ops? And how many times must I tell you the same thing?

CULTURES UNDER BREAKING STRAIN RETURN TO THEIR FUNDAMENTALS:  The Breaking Point.

This, at all levels, from party to country is going to be the tune of the next few decades. One way or the other is going to be a rough ride. We just can hope for not as rough….

OPEN THREAD: Monday, Monday.

WHEN ALL YOU HAVE IS HAMMER, EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE A FINGERNAIL: BBC gets crushed over woke article claiming new fingernail trend is white supremacist ‘erasure.’

The woke intelligentsia has identified yet another seemingly innocuous instrument of white supremacist oppression that literally emanates from your fingertips.

A bizarre article published by the BBC claims that a trending practice in which women’s nails are left unpainted is actually a racist plot against minorities.

‘When I do get a manicure now, it’s no polish. Why? Because I’m old and tired. Not because I joined the KKK.’

The article cites Kristina Rodulfo, a beauty journalist, who links the bare-nail trend to racism.

“That trend really promotes blankness and this kind of sameness and erasure of culture and identity that is so important to black and brown communities,” she said.

“They are often called elegant or tasteful, and these are often usually euphemisms that perpetuate white supremacist standards of beauty,” Rodulfo added.

The article goes on to enumerate far less extremist reasons for the trend.

“It’s just really chic. And I love less is more, I love minimalism … less consumerism and just self-care things that you could probably do at home,” said one woman who chose the unpolished look.

Ladies, whatever you do, don’t actually chose the color white as a nail polish choice: Columbia professor wins award for book on ‘white paint’ being racist.

SURE, FREDO: COVID Fraud Chris Cuomo Says Scott Jennings ‘Has a Lot to Answer for When He Flees MAGA.’

To be fair, if anybody gets to pass judgement, it’s someone who experienced his own personal resurrection. Flashback: ‘It’s Good TV:’ CNN’s High-Drama Coverage of the Pandemic Hits Close to Home: “But another current CNN employee who spoke with THR criticized Cuomo’s appearances, particularly the dramatic moment last Monday when he was filmed leaving the basement where he was quarantined to reunite with his family, as ‘reality TV.’ ‘Him coming out of the quarantine with the cameras there, that’s all Jeff Zucker reality TV, and that screams Zucker,’ the person says, referring to the network president who brought The Apprentice to NBC and helped make Trump a star.”