William D. O'Connell
@williamoconnell.bsky.social
Postdoc at Columbia University's Center for Political Economy ; global finance, public policy, obscure baseball references ;
williamdoconnell.com
williamdoconnell.com
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
Three things made the US a rich and powerful nation: the rule of law, its science & innovation system, and openness to foreign talent. Remarkable how Trump has taken a sledgehammer to all three. No enemy of this country could do more.
May 22, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Three things made the US a rich and powerful nation: the rule of law, its science & innovation system, and openness to foreign talent. Remarkable how Trump has taken a sledgehammer to all three. No enemy of this country could do more.
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
We cannot speak with any sort of authority about the dangers of AI to democracy and the need for authentic communication if we're not willing to show through our actions that we value these things in our own work!
May 22, 2025 at 6:05 PM
We cannot speak with any sort of authority about the dangers of AI to democracy and the need for authentic communication if we're not willing to show through our actions that we value these things in our own work!
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
"Do home prices need to come down?" has received a lot of love, and the question: What if wage growth goes up?
A: It helps, but even if we could *double* real wage growth, Oakville will still need 19 years to hit 2005 affordability.
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
A: It helps, but even if we could *double* real wage growth, Oakville will still need 19 years to hit 2005 affordability.
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
May 22, 2025 at 3:31 PM
"Do home prices need to come down?" has received a lot of love, and the question: What if wage growth goes up?
A: It helps, but even if we could *double* real wage growth, Oakville will still need 19 years to hit 2005 affordability.
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
A: It helps, but even if we could *double* real wage growth, Oakville will still need 19 years to hit 2005 affordability.
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
Yes. Sometimes there will be lists of obviously fake books, but more often we won't notice it at all.
AI detectors, zooming in to examine every image and video for "tells," counting on ChatGPT's quirk-of-the-week to out its use is a mug's game.
The only solution is a political-epistemic one. 🧵
AI detectors, zooming in to examine every image and video for "tells," counting on ChatGPT's quirk-of-the-week to out its use is a mug's game.
The only solution is a political-epistemic one. 🧵
I know that people love to scream at anyone who dares to try to give people a heads up about how advanced "AI"-type stuff is (which is essential for being able to spot it to avoid getting fooled by it), but I think it's important, actually, to be aware that this is where the tech is currently at.
VEO3
Prompt: “a man doing stand up comedy in a small venue tells a joke (include the joke in the dialogue)”
The video and audio are generated together.
Prompt: “a man doing stand up comedy in a small venue tells a joke (include the joke in the dialogue)”
The video and audio are generated together.
May 21, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Yes. Sometimes there will be lists of obviously fake books, but more often we won't notice it at all.
AI detectors, zooming in to examine every image and video for "tells," counting on ChatGPT's quirk-of-the-week to out its use is a mug's game.
The only solution is a political-epistemic one. 🧵
AI detectors, zooming in to examine every image and video for "tells," counting on ChatGPT's quirk-of-the-week to out its use is a mug's game.
The only solution is a political-epistemic one. 🧵
Business leaders have been screaming this for several years, and yet Canadian provincial governments across the political spectrum continue to aggressively defund their universities' arts programs.
May 20, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Business leaders have been screaming this for several years, and yet Canadian provincial governments across the political spectrum continue to aggressively defund their universities' arts programs.
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
Here's a cheat sheet, for those who claim that Canada's housing crisis is isolated to a few pockets of the country. There are substantial regional variations, but the pockets of unaffordability are very, very large.
Raw data here: www.missingmiddleini...
Raw data here: www.missingmiddleini...
May 19, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Here's a cheat sheet, for those who claim that Canada's housing crisis is isolated to a few pockets of the country. There are substantial regional variations, but the pockets of unaffordability are very, very large.
Raw data here: www.missingmiddleini...
Raw data here: www.missingmiddleini...
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
Latest at MMI. The government had a bad week on housing. The problem isn't a lack of message discipline but something larger and more structural: It lacks clear goals and objectives for middle-class housing, which is leading to poor policy.
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
May 17, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Latest at MMI. The government had a bad week on housing. The problem isn't a lack of message discipline but something larger and more structural: It lacks clear goals and objectives for middle-class housing, which is leading to poor policy.
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
Change in overall provincial government spending vs. total provincial government spending on post-secondary education, Canada, 2006-07 to 2025-26 (2006-07 = 100). It's not austerity, it's the choices.
May 16, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Change in overall provincial government spending vs. total provincial government spending on post-secondary education, Canada, 2006-07 to 2025-26 (2006-07 = 100). It's not austerity, it's the choices.
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
The new federal Housing Minister's stated goal for middle-class housing affordability is to keep home prices flat and let wages catch up.
We ran the numbers - that would take up to 50 years in some parts of Canada.
Read more here: www.missingmiddleini...
We ran the numbers - that would take up to 50 years in some parts of Canada.
Read more here: www.missingmiddleini...
May 16, 2025 at 7:25 PM
The new federal Housing Minister's stated goal for middle-class housing affordability is to keep home prices flat and let wages catch up.
We ran the numbers - that would take up to 50 years in some parts of Canada.
Read more here: www.missingmiddleini...
We ran the numbers - that would take up to 50 years in some parts of Canada.
Read more here: www.missingmiddleini...
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
If the federal government's position is that we don't need to lower the price of homes for the middle class, then I think they'll need to make some changes to the National Housing Strategy Act.
May 16, 2025 at 9:39 AM
If the federal government's position is that we don't need to lower the price of homes for the middle class, then I think they'll need to make some changes to the National Housing Strategy Act.
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
Question for the federal government: The platform contained a lot of (IMO very good) measures, like reducing DCs, to lower the cost of homebuilding.
Is the end goal of reducing homebuilding costs to reduce prices, or to increase developer margins?
Is the end goal of reducing homebuilding costs to reduce prices, or to increase developer margins?
May 15, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Question for the federal government: The platform contained a lot of (IMO very good) measures, like reducing DCs, to lower the cost of homebuilding.
Is the end goal of reducing homebuilding costs to reduce prices, or to increase developer margins?
Is the end goal of reducing homebuilding costs to reduce prices, or to increase developer margins?
Not a good start.
Should home prices go down? ’No,’ says Canada’s new housing minister - National | Globalnews.ca
Gregor Robertson, the former Vancouver mayor, was sworn in as housing minister in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet on Tuesday.
globalnews.ca
May 14, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Not a good start.
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apnews.com
May 13, 2025 at 10:08 PM
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In case you ever feel like your vote doesn't matter, know there is one person in suburban Montréal who did, literally, cast the deciding vote.
Quebec riding of Terrebonne flips to Liberals after recount shows candidate won by single vote | CBC News
After a judicial recount, sources tell CBC News the Quebec riding of Terrebonne has flipped to the Liberals, who have beaten the Bloc Québécois by one vote. The result means the Liberals have 170 seat...
www.cbc.ca
May 11, 2025 at 1:30 AM
In case you ever feel like your vote doesn't matter, know there is one person in suburban Montréal who did, literally, cast the deciding vote.
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
More on Danielle Smith govt breaking access law in this report by @matthewblack.ca - Edmonton Journal:
“McLeod’s investigation began in August of 2023 following reporting from the Narwhal and the refusal of all government departments to process a series of requests made by the Globe and Mail.”
“McLeod’s investigation began in August of 2023 following reporting from the Narwhal and the refusal of all government departments to process a series of requests made by the Globe and Mail.”
Alberta government failed to follow access to information rules
A report from Information and Privacy Commissioner Diane McLeod found the province had improperly refused to process a number of requests.
edmontonjournal.com
May 10, 2025 at 1:40 PM
More on Danielle Smith govt breaking access law in this report by @matthewblack.ca - Edmonton Journal:
“McLeod’s investigation began in August of 2023 following reporting from the Narwhal and the refusal of all government departments to process a series of requests made by the Globe and Mail.”
“McLeod’s investigation began in August of 2023 following reporting from the Narwhal and the refusal of all government departments to process a series of requests made by the Globe and Mail.”
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
This is an appalling development with Bill 54.
“McClure writes that some of the bill makes improvements, but other changes "will deteriorate the service provided to electors, compromise Albertans' trust in the democratic process, and remove elements of transparency and accountability."”
“McClure writes that some of the bill makes improvements, but other changes "will deteriorate the service provided to electors, compromise Albertans' trust in the democratic process, and remove elements of transparency and accountability."”
Alberta’s chief electoral officer warns new rules proposed by the UCP bill will basically kneecap a bunch of the work of the election commissioner in investigating complaints and enforcing compliance, including on financial contribution rules and limits. www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/politics/alb...
Alberta chief electoral officer warns UCP proposals will hurt investigative ability
EDMONTON - Alberta's chief electoral officer is warning the government that proposed legislation will impair the election commissioner's power to investigate election rule breaking.
www.thecanadianpressnews.ca
May 10, 2025 at 4:32 AM
This is an appalling development with Bill 54.
“McClure writes that some of the bill makes improvements, but other changes "will deteriorate the service provided to electors, compromise Albertans' trust in the democratic process, and remove elements of transparency and accountability."”
“McClure writes that some of the bill makes improvements, but other changes "will deteriorate the service provided to electors, compromise Albertans' trust in the democratic process, and remove elements of transparency and accountability."”
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
JUST NOW: A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Rumeysa Ozturk, the Tufts PhD student who was taken on the street in Massachusetts by masked immigration authorities.
Ozturk has been detained in Louisiana for the past 6 weeks. But today, the judge ordered that she be allowed to go home.
Ozturk has been detained in Louisiana for the past 6 weeks. But today, the judge ordered that she be allowed to go home.
HAPPENING NOW: Bail hearing for Rumeysa Ozturk, the Tufts PhD student who remains in detention in Louisiana after she was taken from her home in Massachusetts by masked immigration authorities.
The hearing is before a Vermont judge. Ozturk is appearing virtually from Louisiana.
The hearing is before a Vermont judge. Ozturk is appearing virtually from Louisiana.
May 9, 2025 at 5:31 PM
JUST NOW: A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Rumeysa Ozturk, the Tufts PhD student who was taken on the street in Massachusetts by masked immigration authorities.
Ozturk has been detained in Louisiana for the past 6 weeks. But today, the judge ordered that she be allowed to go home.
Ozturk has been detained in Louisiana for the past 6 weeks. But today, the judge ordered that she be allowed to go home.
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
May 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
Personal news- I’ll be joining the University of Georgia’s Department of International Affairs as an Assistant Professor in 2026, after a postdoc at Harvard’s Weatherhead Center this year. I’m really excited for these next steps and deeply thankful to everyone who’s supported me along the way.
May 9, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Personal news- I’ll be joining the University of Georgia’s Department of International Affairs as an Assistant Professor in 2026, after a postdoc at Harvard’s Weatherhead Center this year. I’m really excited for these next steps and deeply thankful to everyone who’s supported me along the way.
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
I think it's worth working through the logic of how the AI cheating mess is symptomatic of a broader epistemic and economic crisis, in which the tenuous bargain higher ed struck with to society to credential job applicants in exchange for being allowed to exist has completely eroded.
🧵
🧵
Students are AI-cheating their way through college because they are rightly terrified of economic precarity and doing everything they can to avoid it, which means getting a college degree because they've been told that a degree is necessary for a reasonably well playing job. And they're not wrong!
May 7, 2025 at 6:31 PM
I think it's worth working through the logic of how the AI cheating mess is symptomatic of a broader epistemic and economic crisis, in which the tenuous bargain higher ed struck with to society to credential job applicants in exchange for being allowed to exist has completely eroded.
🧵
🧵
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
Students are AI-cheating their way through college because they are rightly terrified of economic precarity and doing everything they can to avoid it, which means getting a college degree because they've been told that a degree is necessary for a reasonably well playing job. And they're not wrong!
May 7, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Students are AI-cheating their way through college because they are rightly terrified of economic precarity and doing everything they can to avoid it, which means getting a college degree because they've been told that a degree is necessary for a reasonably well playing job. And they're not wrong!
There is something particularly insidious and divisive about insisting you don't support secession while actively working to make it possible.
Danielle Smith is playing with matches in the country's biggest gas station. I'm not sure she realizes how dangerous it could be, or whether she cares. www.thestar.com/politics/pol...
Bruce Arthur: Danielle Smith is playing with fire when she flirts with Alberta separation
The Alberta premier is indulging in the reckless, dangerous stuff of modern right-wing populism, Bruce Arthur writes.
www.thestar.com
May 7, 2025 at 3:27 AM
There is something particularly insidious and divisive about insisting you don't support secession while actively working to make it possible.
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
Happy to announce that I accepted a Visiting Fellow position with the Centre for Development Economics and Trade at the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI). CDRI is a leading policy research institute in Cambodia. I’m excited to support their research initiative and research network 🙂!
May 6, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Happy to announce that I accepted a Visiting Fellow position with the Centre for Development Economics and Trade at the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI). CDRI is a leading policy research institute in Cambodia. I’m excited to support their research initiative and research network 🙂!
Reposted by William D. O'Connell
In this response to the 15 scholars who reacted to my original essay on Canada’s EU membership, I sketch out a roadmap for Canada’s pivot to Europe.
www.ecsa-c.ca/post/canada-...
www.ecsa-c.ca/post/canada-...
Canada’s Pivot to Europe
Frédéric Mérand, Université de Montréalfrederic.merand@umontreal.ca May 1, 2025 Although not everyone thinks it possible or even desirable to turn Canada into the 28th member of the European Union, al...
www.ecsa-c.ca
May 3, 2025 at 12:19 PM
In this response to the 15 scholars who reacted to my original essay on Canada’s EU membership, I sketch out a roadmap for Canada’s pivot to Europe.
www.ecsa-c.ca/post/canada-...
www.ecsa-c.ca/post/canada-...