‘A’ Grades Are Suddenly Everywhere Since the Arrival of ChatGPT

AI is accelerating grade inflation, research indicates, and making it harder for employers to size up graduates

By Lindsay Ellis of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"Chirikov pulled data on more than half a million grades from 2018 to 2025 at a large public university in Texas that publishes course syllabi and grade distributions."

"He then compared classes with more AI-exposed tasks, most prevalent in humanities and engineering disciplines, with classes less reliant on writing and coding work. There was little difference between the two groups through 2022. Afterward, “A” grades shot up higher in the more AI-exposed courses. In classes that had more take-home assignments like homework, getting an A was even more likely."

"In 2023, 37% of employers used grade-point average in hiring, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. That figure has ticked back up to 42%."

"Learning requires “productive struggle” that is eroded by AI, says Berkeley’s Chirikov."

Related posts:

Does grade inflation cost students $213,872 in lifetime earnings? (2026)

Tough Professors Are Better For Students In The Long Run (2011) 

Students Use Drugs To Get Better Grades (and guess when they go up in price) (2009) 

Should We Pay Students To Study? (2008) 

The American Rebellion Against AI Is Gaining Steam

Booed commencement speakers, blocked data centers, plummeting poll numbers: Fast-growing industry has a faster-growing crisis

By Amrith Ramkumar, Katherine Blunt and Lindsay Ellis of The WSJ. 

I used a book called The Economics Of Macro Issues by Daniel Benjamin and Roger LeRoy Miller. It mentioned Luddites, people who destroyed industrial equipment in England in the early 1800s. They were weavers who lost their jobs to new machinery. 

This is not exactly the same. But it is similar in the sense that there are acts of violence due to new technology.

Excerpts from the article:

"Consumers resent energy-price jumps exacerbated by the spread of data centers. Workers fear widespread job losses. Parents worry about AI undermining education and harming children’s mental health. In recent months, the wave of anger has brought protests, swayed election results and spurred isolated acts of violence.

In April, a 20-year-old Texas man allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman’s home and made threats at the company’s San Francisco headquarters, according to a federal complaint filed against him. A few days earlier, someone fired 13 shots at the front door of an Indianapolis councilman who had recently approved a data center."

"The poll (from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley) showed about 30% of Democrats think America should accelerate AI innovation as quickly as possible, compared with roughly half of Republicans and 77% of tech founders."

"Voters in Festus, Mo., ousted four city council members a week after they approved a $6 billion data center. Dozens of communities in states from Maine to Arizona are trying to ban new data centers."

"Some 360,000 Americans are in Facebook groups opposed to the facilities, roughly quadruple the number from December"

"Local opposition blocked or delayed at least 48 projects valued at some $156 billion last year"

"A record of 20 were canceled in the first quarter of the year because of local backlash"

Related posts:

 

Romance novelist gets death threats on social media because she uses AI to help her write stories (2026) 

 

Robots writing science fiction (2024)

 

“Why did the human stare at the glass of orange juice?” “They were trying to concentrate.” (2023)

 

Will technology cost artists their job? (2023)

Can computers write poetry?Could they replace poets? (2020)

Will computer programs replace newspaper columnists?  (2020)

Robot Journalists-A Case Of Structural Unemployment? (2010)

Structural Unemployment In The News-Computers Can Now Tell Jokes  (2013)

WHAT do you get when you cross a fragrance with an actor?

Answer: a smell Gibson.

Are Computer Programs Replacing Journalists? (2015)

Driving an Electric Vehicle Could Cost You an Extra $130 a Year

To boost highway maintenance, a new bill in Congress proposes an annual fee for battery-powered vehicles

By Sean McLain of The WSJ. Excerpts:

Economists say that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Highways have to be paid for somehow. If more people drive electric cars then less money is collected from the gas tax which is used to maintain highways. A big question is how much should EV drivers pay? With a gas powered car the more you use the highways the more gas you use. So you pay more in taxes at the pump. The article also touches on the fact that when cars get better mileage less money gets collected from the gas tax.

Excerpts from the article:

"When drivers pump gasoline, a small tax on each gallon contributes $30 billion a year to maintain the interstate highway system. But what about cars that don’t use gasoline at all?

If a proposed House of Representatives bill becomes law, electric-vehicle owners would face an annual, nationwide registration fee to chip in for road repairs"

The new bill "proposes charging a registration fee every year to EV owners. The amount would start at $130, rising every two years until it hits $150."

"The federal gas tax sits at 18.4 cents a gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents a gallon for diesel. Those rates were last increased in 1993."

"The fee would mean EV drivers could end up paying more than drivers of traditional vehicles, who pay between $73 and $89 a year in gasoline taxes" according to a pro EV group.

"all drivers are using less fuel. U.S. drivers consumed about 374.05 million gallons of motor gasoline a day in 2025, a decrease from 2024 despite driving more miles"

"car engines in recent decades have become smaller and more efficient, and hybrid options have surged in popularity." 

Here’s What’s Shoring Up the Global Economy During the Energy Shock

Oil reserves, leaps in energy efficiency and the AI boom have helped stave off a slump for now

By Jason Douglas of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"This resilience reflects ample energy reserves, policies to help consumers and the offsetting effects of the artificial-intelligence boom that is powering trade and business investment in the U.S. and beyond.

It also highlights an underappreciated shift in the workings of the global economy. Over the years, countries have become steadily more energy efficient, squeezing more economic activity out of each drop of oil or cubic meter of natural gas burned. The energy needed to generate a dollar of gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, has since 2000 fallen by about a third in the U.S. and Europe and by about 40% in China, according to World Bank data."

"Better energy efficiency “cushions the shock” from supply disruptions, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in April. Underlining the global economy’s resilience, the IMF said that assuming energy flows through the strait resume by midyear, it expects only modestly slower growth this year than in 2025, at around 3.1% versus 3.4% last year."

"A deeper reason for the global economy’s resilience compared with previous energy shocks is greater energy efficiency. Advanced economies have shifted to less energy-intensive services such as finance and healthcare from more energy-hungry manufacturing."

"Renewables have also played a role—both solar and wind lose less energy as heat than burning fossil fuels. Consumer appliances have been re-engineered to use less electricity and firms have squeezed out improvements in industrial processes to save energy."

"German engineering giant Thyssenkrupp has improved its use of energy through measures including capturing waste heat, reducing leaks and replacing lighting and other components with newer, more energy-efficient alternatives"

A French company is "using AI to monitor and adjust energy use in its fiberglass furnaces to boost efficiency, and is replacing natural gas with more efficient fuels such as hydrogen." 

Almost 50% of Preventable Cancers Linked to Just Two Lifestyle Habits

By Carly Cassella of ScienceAlert. Excerpts:

"According to a recent analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO), more than a third of all cancer cases globally are preventable.

Lung, stomach, and cervical cancers make up nearly half of those cases.

This means that millions of deadly cancers every year could be prevented through medical intervention, behavior changes, reducing occupational risks, or tackling environmental pollutants."

"In 2022, there were nearly 19 million new cases of cancer. Roughly 38 percent of those diagnoses were related to 30 changeable risk factors."

"These included tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, high body mass index, insufficient physical activity, smokeless tobacco (like chewing tobacco), a traditional stimulant known as areca nut"

"The number one preventable factor associated with cancer? Smoking tobacco. It was linked to 15 percent of all cancer cases that year."

"After tobacco smoking, the runner-up among changeable lifestyle factors was drinking alcohol. It accounted for 3.2 percent of all new cancer cases (approximately 700,000 cases)."

"smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol account for almost half (around 48 percent) of all cases of preventable cancer."

Related posts:

Physical exercise and a nutritious diet can fight dementia (2025) 

Regular physical exercise is the single, most effective intervention that can improve brain and physical health (2025) 

Can weight-lifting promote empathy? Can aerobic exercise improve memory? (2025) 

Facing a Cancer Diagnosis? Exercise and Diet Could Make a Difference (2025) 

For a long and healthy life, diet and regular exercise are a better bet than trendy supplements and expensive longevity clinics (2025)

How Your Midlife Eating Habits Can Help You Live Longer and Healthier: A plant-rich diet with some fish and dairy might make the biggest difference, new research suggests (2025)

Self-Control as a Performance-Enhancing Drug: Like cognitive ability, self-control predicts health, wealth, and all things good (2024)

Does Exercise Improve Survival After a Cancer Diagnosis? An Encouraging New Study (2024)

Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom (2023)

Even Short Runs Have Major Health Benefits (2023)

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (2023) 

Exercise Helps Blunt the Effects of Covid-19, Study Suggests (2023)

Carry Your Groceries, Take the Stairs: Short, Intense Movement Can Improve Your Health (plus non drug ways to fight diabetes and Covid) (2022)

Almost half of cancer deaths globally are attributable to preventable risk factors, new study suggests (2022)

New research leads to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego‐depletion effect (the theory of the exhaustible willpower muscle) (2019)

How lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dementia (2019)

Good health begins with individual decisions (2018)

Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior (2017)

Regular Exercise: Antidote for Deadly Diseases? (2016)

Is Willpower An Untapped Resource? (2011) 

Childless adults who do not expect children are more likely to invest in stocks than those who expect children

From Tyler Cowen.

"We examine how fertility expectations influence financial risk-taking using nationally representative data from three countries. Our results indicate that childless adults who do not expect children are 21-36% more likely to invest in stocks than those who expect children, controlling for personal characteristics. This effect persists also when medical infertility instruments expectations. We find no similar effects for other savings categories, nor differences in self-reported risk tolerance. Households expecting children report shorter financial planning horizons, which may explain their lower risk-taking. These results suggest declining fertility can increase young adults’ stock market participation through childbearing expectations.

That is from a recent paper by Judith Bohnenkamp, Ville Rantala, and Melina Murren Vosse" 

Related posts:

 

Does working from home raise lifetime fertility? (2026) 

 

The Depopulation Bomb: As global fertility rates drop, two economists make the case for humans (2025)  

 

China’s New Plan to Encourage More Births: $500 a Year: Beijing plans to pay the amount per child until the age of 3, as falling birthrates reverberate through economy (2025) 

 

Babies and the Macroeconomy (2025) 

 

There’s little evidence that subsidies and protections have substantially raised the number of children women have over their lifetime (2025) 

 

Would you and your significant other get married if the government paid you $14,000? What if they paid the two of you to have children? (2025)

 

Worldwide Efforts to Reverse the Baby Shortage Are Falling Flat: Subsidized minivans, no income taxes: Countries have rolled out a range of benefits to encourage bigger families, with no luck (2024) 

 

Can you choose when to have your baby born if it brings you some money? (2024)

 

Births in U.S. Drop to Levels Not Seen Since 1979: Millennials fuel continued downward trend in fertility rates (2021)

 

U.S. Population Growth, an Economic Driver, Grinds to a Halt: Covid-19 pandemic compounds years of birth-rate decline, puts America’s demographic health at risk (2021) 

 

A number of women who put off having babies after the 2007-09 recession are forgoing them altogether; more educated women and student debt also contribute to decline in birth rates (2018)

 

U.S. Fertility Rate Hits Lowest Level on Record (2012) 

 

Did The Recession Help Lower The Birth Rate? (2011)

The Economy Affects The Birth Rate (2010)

Should the Government Pay People to Have Sex? (2007)

Can You Mix Economics With Religion?

The ancient Greeks sure thought you could. They had a god of commerce and a god of wealth. You can read about them at Britannica.

Hermes (commerce)

Plutus (wealth)

The name of Plutus came up in a Wall Street Journal article called The Greek Tragedy That Changed Europe. It is about the debt problems that Greece faces and how they might affect the European Union. It says:

"Plutus, the Greek god of wealth, did not have an easy life. As the myth goes, Plutus wanted to grant riches only to the "the just, the wise, the men of ordered life." Zeus blinded him out of jealousy of mankind (and envy of the good), leaving Plutus to indiscriminately distribute his favors.

Modern-day Greece may be just and wise, but it certainly has not had an ordered life. As a result, the great opportunity and wealth bestowed by European integration has been largely squandered."

Here are links for Wikpedia:

Hermes

Plutus

The following picture shows what Hermes might have looked like

The Freaknomics blog has a good article about people donating more money to their churches if other people can see how much they are donating called “We Pretend We Are Christians”

 

Related posts:  

 

The Economics of Religion (2026) (One economist says "Faiths thrive when they demand more of their participants—and so do their broader societies" while another says "religious beliefs are irrational")

Religious advice on investing (2025)

Religion and Growth (2024)

Vatican Tells Catholics How to Make ‘Faith-Consistent’ Investments (2022)

Should you invest according to religious guidelines? (2017)

Does Economics Trump Religion (2010)

Can You Find Virtue by Investing in Vice? (2006)

Another Book Relates Religion to Economics (2007)

New Book Uses Economics to Analyze Religion (2006) 

The Freaknomics blog has a good article about people donating more money to their churches if other people can see how much they are donating called “We Pretend We Are Christians” 

Republicans give up on free market policies while Democrats seek money from wall street donors

See Democrats Are Courting These Wall Street Financiers to Help Them Win in 2028: Potential presidential candidates are already looking to build a donor network ahead of formally entering the race next year by Brian Schwartz and John McCormick of The WSJ. Excerpts:

[Democrats] "have met with wealthy investors and financiers in recent months."

"Wall Street and wealth are viewed with great suspicion among many of the progressives likely to play a significant role in picking the party’s nominee, and taxing the rich and bashing capitalism have become a rallying cry for many of them. Wall Street has nonetheless long been a significant source of money for the party"

"The early meetings with donors are happening quietly, including over meals near Wall Street and in Midtown conference rooms. They are also playing out in Silicon Valley and other U.S. wealth centers."

[Centerview Partners co-founder Blair] "Effron, a longtime bridge between Wall Street and Democrats, has played a central fundraising role in multiple presidential elections.

Emanuel, who has had his own stints working for Wall Street, including becoming a senior adviser at Centerview after returning to the U.S. in 2025 from his Japan ambassadorship, has been among the potential presidential contenders already engaging with longtime business community acquaintances about a bid."

Then see How the Trump Administration Became an Activist Investor: The president’s reach for government stakes in private companies has business leaders scrambling by Maggie Severns, Gavin Bade, Josh Dawsey and Meridith McGraw of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"There is free-market capitalism and state capitalism. Now, there’s Trump capitalism.

In recent months, the president has extended his hand into American business in unorthodox and, to some corporate leaders, alarming ways—from progressive-style demands to cap credit-card rates to assertive deals grabbing government shares in private companies."

"Administration officials are stoking the president’s instinct to shift more authority over private-sector industries to Trump and his team. The Trump administration has announced direct investment stakes in at least 10 companies, including a 10% equity stake in Intel and a “golden share” of U.S. Steel, which grants the government power to influence company decisions.

“We’re seeing the government get more involved in different aspects of the economy, which is a pivot off the more traditional Republican approach of the last century,” said Kelly Ann Shaw, deputy assistant to the president for international economic affairs in Trump’s first term.

The Trump administration obtained significant shares of critical-minerals companies" 

"Trump’s approach extends well beyond national-security concerns"

"In December, Trump met with The Wall Street Journal and said, “When people need something, I think we should take stakes in companies. Now, some people would say that doesn’t sound very American. Actually, I think it is very American.”"

"Trump called for the interest-rate cap [on credit cards] to begin in late January, a deadline that came and went without action from the administration." 

"In January, Trump announced policies that marked a turnabout, including a ban on institutional investors such as Blackstone from buying homes."

"“This is a much different Republican Party and a much different leader than I think we’ve seen in the last 50 years,” said Suzanne Clark, president of the Chamber of Commerce, which represents many of the largest U.S. corporations and for decades has advocated for a smaller government role in the economy."

"To critics, the president has embraced a form of state capitalism that expands the authority of the executive branch, recalibrating America’s traditional balance of powers."

"[Jake] Sullivan, Biden’s former adviser, said he worried that the administration’s investment in companies might warp markets and reward cronies."

Related posts:

People gave up a chance to win money in order to avoid hearing from those with opposing political views (2017) 

People say the president can control gas prices if the president belongs to the other party (2017)

Are some blue jeans really Democratic and others Republican? (2019)

Why Are Americans So Distrustful of Each Other? (2021)

"In 2017, around 70% of Democrats said that Donald Trump voters couldn't be trusted, and around 70% of Republicans said the same of Hillary Clinton voters" 

More and more, executives at major corporations belong to the same politcal party and tend to leave their companies if they are in the minority party there (2022) 

Adam Smith Meets Jonathan Haidt (on political polarization and the animosity of hostile factions)  (2023)

Why Tribalism Took Over Our Politics: Social science gives an uncomfortable explanation: Our brains were made for conflict (2023) 

Democrats and Republicans say economy is improving, but mostly only when someone from their party is president (2024) 

Did Fracking in Pennsylvania Turn Democrats Into Republicans and Republicans Into Democrats? (2024)

Are fewer Democrats buying Teslas because of Elon Musk's political views? (2024)

Partisanship deeply colors how Americans think about trade policy, especially tariffs (2024) 

Would you give up some income in order to get a job at a firm whose workers share your political opinions? (2024)

Republicans Are Feeling Good Again, Driving Up Consumer Sentiment: Democrats’ sentiment slips, but overall index ticks higher (2024)

Causes and Extent of Increasing Partisan Segregation in the U.S. – Evidence from Migration Patterns of 212 Million Voters (2025)

Red vs. Blue Is Dividing Stock Portfolios Like Never Before: A political gap in optimism about markets is translating into trading decisions (2025)

Can testosterone shift political preferences? (2025)

What does conservatism mean? Fewer taxes & regulations or preserving traditional values and communities? A Republican county in Tennessee faces this question when farmers go against land developers (2025)

Poor whites used to vote for Democratic presidential candidates while rich whites voted Repulican. This has now reversed (2026)

Elites moved toward democrats more than nonelites moved away: Income, education, and occupational class in US presidential elections, 1980–2020 (2026)

Politics and Your Portfolio Shouldn’t Mix (2026) 

See also Americans start caring more about deficits and the national debt when the party they oppose runs them up by John V. Kane of New York University and Ian G. Anson of The University of Maryland. Excerpt:

"In the past two decades, US budget deficits have skyrocketed, and the national debt is now over $22 trillion. But do Americans care about the size of deficits and the national debt? In new research, John V. Kane and Ian G. Anson find that people tend to care more about the deficits and debts when they are increased by presidents from the party that they oppose. Both Republicans and Democrats, they write, become less concerned about governments running deficits when their President is in charge."

Life is full of tradeoffs: Do we have to give up beautiful trees to have more reliable electricity?

See Ann Arbor Would Like to Report a ‘Massacre’ of Its Trees: Utility company DTE Energy says its trimmers are keeping the power on. That’s not good enough for the canopy-loving residents of Tree Town by Ryan Felton of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"The Delphs (Anita and Ron) are among many Ann Arbor residents who say they are witnessing a defacement of the local landscape. Tree trimmers for DTE Energy have been driving around cutting limbs that appear to be closing in on power lines as part of a long-term effort to reduce outages. 

The result has been an affront to many in Tree Town, as Ann Arbor is affectionately known, leaving many trees looking more like something out of a Dr. Seuss book." 

"Power outages from overgrown limbs have long plagued Metro Detroit. In 2019 DTE launched what it dubbed the “Tree Trim Surge,” and over the next five years it spent over $1 billion on the effort. DTE says its job is to keep the lights on and its work is paying off—last year, Ann Arbor had its best electric reliability service in three decades."

"On a block in the city’s west side, a row of trees had been pruned to more closely resemble a brutal letter V."

"On Nextdoor, residents sparred in a thread about the Delphs’ trees. Some were horrified; others suggested the trimming is a necessary trade-off." 

Related posts:

Life is full of tradeoffs: If we want more land for data centers (& tax revenue) we will have less land for housing (or is Vito Corleone buying real estate?); plus a "difficult" decision to sell a gardening store and nursery for $160 million (2026) 

Life is full of tradeoffs: If we want more Steinway pianos do we have to give up some trees in Alaska? (2025) 

Life is full of tradeoffs: Miami Beach’s Historic Art Deco District Collides With Push for More Housing: Florida law revisions could enable developers to demolish art deco buildings in favor of high-rise towers (2025) 

Life is full of tradeoffs: Will sea mining destroy bottom-dwelling sea life? (2025) 

Life is full of tradeoffs: If we want more solar panels do we have to give up some pine trees? And cause inbreeding and birth defects in bears due to reduced habitat? (2025) 

Life is full of tradeoffs: We can have more data centers and local tax revenue or less tourism and a dirtier environment (2025) 

Life is full of tradeoffs: Seafloor mining could bring us metals used in the making of electric-vehicle batteries at the cost of harming the environment (2025) 

Life is full of tradeoffs: If we want a cleaner environment in Massachuesetts do we have to give up sand used to make concrete? 2024 (this one has another 20 posts on this topic that are not linked here)

Life is full of tradeoffs: If we want a cleaner environment in Minnesota do we have to give up metals needed for green energy? (2024) 

Life is full of tradeoffs: If we want to protect Hawaii's marine life and tuna fisheries we will have fewer rare minerals for defense applications (2024) 

Life is full of tradeoffs: If we want to keep gas prices low we might have to reduce sanctions on Russia (2024)

Life is full of tradeoffs: if we want more "big data" and artificial intelligence then we might have less green energy (2024)

Life is full of tradeoffs: if we want more nickel to make EV batteries we might have to use more coal (2024)

Life is full of tradeoffs: it costs money to keep chemicals out of our water systems (2024)

Life is full of tradeoffs: reaching net zero emissions by 2050 vs. the costs of the transition (2023)

AI Is Distorting Practically Everything About the Economy

It makes growth look better and the job market look worse. Maybe an AI investment bust wouldn’t hurt so much after all.

By Greg Ip. Excerpts:

"Morgan Stanley now sees capital spending by the five largest AI “hyperscalers” topping $800 billion this year and $1.1 trillion next year. At 3.3% of gross domestic product, next year’s figure would exceed projected spending on national defense."

"inflation-adjusted GDP . . . grew a respectable 2% annualized in the first quarter. Beneath the surface, though, are two economies: AI and everything else."

"Personal consumption, the biggest component of GDP, grew a relatively muted 1.6%. Investment fell in housing, business structures such as office buildings and factories, and transportation equipment like trucks and aircraft. Meanwhile, investment soared 43% in tech equipment, 23% in software and 22% in data-center buildings."

"gross computer spending contributed 1.7 percentage points of the first quarter’s 2% growth. Net out imports, and that drops to just 0.4 point."

"AI is distorting: international trade. It’s why U.S. imports rose so much in the first quarter, causing the trade deficit to widen"

"The [S&P 500] index is up 7% since the start of the Iran war. Weighting all 500 companies equally, the index actually fell slightly."

"Private-sector layoff announcements are actually running below levels of a year ago."