Aija Leiponen
aijaleiponen.bsky.social
Aija Leiponen
@aijaleiponen.bsky.social

Professor of digital innovation strategy @Cornell
Interested in decarbonization innovation

Business 59%
Economics 26%

Whoa! According to Jason Furman the only US industry to grow this year has been data centers & IT
This seems significant.

"U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025 was almost entirely driven by investment in data centers and information processing technology, according to Harvard economist Jason Furman."
Without data centers, GDP growth was 0.1% in the first half of 2025, Harvard economist says | Fortune
Is a U.S. without data centers a country without GDP growth?
fortune.com

Reposted by Aija Leiponen

This seems significant.

"U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025 was almost entirely driven by investment in data centers and information processing technology, according to Harvard economist Jason Furman."
Without data centers, GDP growth was 0.1% in the first half of 2025, Harvard economist says | Fortune
Is a U.S. without data centers a country without GDP growth?
fortune.com

Ok. Do you have a source that explains why it won't happen? I'm not a technical expert but am curious.

Electrify! Electrify! Electrify!

And develop cheap green hydrogen.
Electrification could now reach 75% of all energy demand, as the road-transport and heating sectors rapidly electrify 🔥🚗

These two sectors account for 50% of global energy use and are now ready to switch from fossil molecules to clean electrons.

https://loom.ly/BwyhReA

Electrification could now reach 75% of all energy demand, as the road-transport and heating sectors rapidly electrify 🔥🚗

These two sectors account for 50% of global energy use and are now ready to switch from fossil molecules to clean electrons.

https://loom.ly/BwyhReA

Cornell's agreement actually explicitly restored academic freedom but it allows gov access to anonymized admission data (but not set the criteria).

Now would be a great time to stop legacy admission practices across the ivies and other top private universities.
A good summary of why Cornell's capitulation to authoritarian extortion is an affront to democracy and academic freedom. aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...
A good summary of why Cornell's capitulation to authoritarian extortion is an affront to democracy and academic freedom. aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...

Reposted by Aija Leiponen

It looks bad because it is bad #EconSky

Yes?

Reposted by Aija Leiponen

Finland has a goal to be net zero GHG emissions by 2035.

Emissions were declining, the LULUCF removals were strong, the plan was looking good, but then LULUCF collapsed.

Net GHG emissions have actually risen over the last decade!

www.treasuryfinland.fi/investor-rel...

1/

Unreal
Trump posts AI video showing him literally dumping shit on America
Trump posts AI video showing him literally dumping shit on America
Transparency helps innovation ... until it doesn't.

My new paper with Cunningham, Hodgson, and Wang (on the JM!) studies the 2017 FDA Final Rule, which required drug firms to publicly disclose all clinical trial results.

Disclosure increased, but innovation slowed.
cowles.yale.edu/sites/defaul...
The Portland Frog army has now infiltrated Tulsa, OK and they’ve made an unlikely alliance with the T-Rex infantry and Sharks on Hoverboards mercenary forces.

This is truly terrifying.

Reposted by Aija Leiponen

Ending slavery increased GDP by 9.1% as slavery reduced the welfare of the enslaved substantially, while only generating minuscule welfare gains to slave owners. Fascinating topic that once again highlights how coercive instructions are economically detrimental!

www.nber.org/papers/w3435...
The Economic Geography of American Slavery
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org

An NFT of a stock is not a stock
The crash is going to be brutal when it comes.

Robinhood says "it might offer "tokenized" equity in OpenAI. By "tokenized," Business Insider reports, Robinhood means "blockchain-enabled representations of securities like stocks." In reality, they have no connection to OpenAI equity whatsoever."

Reposted by Aija Leiponen

The crash is going to be brutal when it comes.

Robinhood says "it might offer "tokenized" equity in OpenAI. By "tokenized," Business Insider reports, Robinhood means "blockchain-enabled representations of securities like stocks." In reality, they have no connection to OpenAI equity whatsoever."

Growth = minimizing the number of people who are hungry, sick, homeless, or not free, within planetary constraints.

It's not complicated (in principle).
”For sustained growth, governments often reach for tried-and-tested ideas, such as loosening regulations to build more roads or expand airports — giving less thought as to whether that growth is inclusive or undermines sustainability goals”

#Growth

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
End GDP mania: how the world should really measure prosperity
The obsession with economic output as a measure of human development puts sustainability on the back burner. Researchers can now help to devise better indicators.
www.nature.com
”For sustained growth, governments often reach for tried-and-tested ideas, such as loosening regulations to build more roads or expand airports — giving less thought as to whether that growth is inclusive or undermines sustainability goals”

#Growth

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
End GDP mania: how the world should really measure prosperity
The obsession with economic output as a measure of human development puts sustainability on the back burner. Researchers can now help to devise better indicators.
www.nature.com

Heehee
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

Umm... That's not how copyright works
Exclusive: OpenAI is planning to release a new version of its Sora video generator, which creates videos featuring copyrighted material unless copyright holders opt out of having their work appear.
OpenAI’s New Sora Video Generator to Require Copyright Holders to Opt Out
Executives at the startup notified talent agencies and studios over the last week.
on.wsj.com
Exclusive: OpenAI is planning to release a new version of its Sora video generator, which creates videos featuring copyrighted material unless copyright holders opt out of having their work appear.
OpenAI’s New Sora Video Generator to Require Copyright Holders to Opt Out
Executives at the startup notified talent agencies and studios over the last week.
on.wsj.com

Some of the white pines, symbols of peace, that are around my house located on the traditional land of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ may have been here in the 1820s when Erie canal was built and the Haudenosaunee were cheated out of their lands, displaced, and largely decimated.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/n...
New York Faces Painful History as It Marks the Erie Canal’s Bicentennial
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Aija Leiponen

Only in Finland: the single biggest taxpayer criticises government for cutting taxes
Miki Kuusi: Hallituksen leikkaukset ovat vieneet suomalaisten uskon tulevaisuuteen
Suomen kovin veronmaksaja, Woltin toimitusjohtaja Miki Kuusi sanoo, että Suomi on jumiutunut menneisiin menestyksiin ja lamauttavaan leikkauskierteeseen.
yle.fi
Far as I can tell, Robert Redford was:
* successful at everything he tried
* genuinely intelligent & insightful
* desired by women
* envied by men
* an absolute mensch to everyone he dealt with
* a tireless, lifelong philanthropist
... and he died peacefully in his sleep.

10/10 life. No notes.

I hope this is accurate