Kristina McElheran
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kmcelheran.bsky.social
Kristina McElheran
@kmcelheran.bsky.social
2K followers 1.4K following 290 posts

Associate Prof at University of Toronto. Digitization scholar studying firm use of technology, productivity, strategy, and the future of work.

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Economics 20%
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kmcelheran.bsky.social
Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · Sep 1
Beware of coverage of AI-related pre-prints...unless they are mine. ;-)
The A.I.-Profits Drought and the Lessons of History
Like the steam engine, electricity, and computers, generative artificial intelligence could take longer than expected to transform the economy.
www.newyorker.com

kmcelheran.bsky.social
Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 6h
@graememcelheran.bsky.social we apparently are better-connected IRL than online!
moskov.goodventures.org Dustin Moskovitz @moskov.goodventures.org · 6h
how do you do fellow tech and science journalists

kmcelheran.bsky.social
Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 6h
This is a great analogy.
nick-pettigrew.bsky.social Nick Pettigrew @nick-pettigrew.bsky.social · 13h
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
dancow.bsky.social Dan Nguyen @dancow.bsky.social · 14h
VC, founder, dumbass

Reposted by Kristina McElheran

moskov.goodventures.org
Dustin Moskovitz @moskov.goodventures.org · 6h
how do you do fellow tech and science journalists

Reposted by Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce, Jacob T. Levy , and 6 more

nick-pettigrew.bsky.social
Nick Pettigrew @nick-pettigrew.bsky.social · 13h
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
dancow.bsky.social Dan Nguyen @dancow.bsky.social · 14h
VC, founder, dumbass
@Nick_Davidov Asked Claude Cowork organize my wife's desktop, it stated doing it, asked for a permission to delete temp office files, I granted it, and then it goes "ooops" Turns out it tried renaming and accidentally deleted a folder with all of the photos my wife made on her camera for the last 15 years. All photos of kids, their illustrations, friends' weddings, travel, everything. It's not in trash, it was done via terminal It's not in iCloud, it already synced the new file structure. She didn't have Time Machine. Disc recovery tools can't see anything. I called Apple and they pointed me to a feature in iCloud allowing to retrieve files that were saved before but are no longer on iCloud Drive (they keep them for 30 days). I'm now watching it load tens of thousands of files. I nearly had a heart attack. Nick Davidov • @Nick_Davidov VC, founder, DVC.ai - backing repeat founders with a community of 200 engineers. e/acc/OSS. Perplexity, Higgsfield, Animation, Etched. Husband to @msdavidova

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Tom Clark, John Horgan , and 20 more

eoinhiggins.bsky.social
Eoin Higgins @eoinhiggins.bsky.social · 1d
Concentration camps: stories of as many as 50 people to a cell — men and women in some cases — with no windows and limited airflow, a single camera-monitored toilet, aluminum blankets, no showers and poor quality food.
ICE detainees from Maine being held under ‘inhumane’ conditions in Mass. facility, attorneys say
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said the allegations of overcrowding and lack of access to lawyers are false.
www.pressherald.com

Reposted by Kristina McElheran

essencesimmone.blacksky.app
essencesimmone.blacksky.app @essencesimmone.blacksky.app · 2d
The Target situation is like a microcosmic example of the US tariff initiative. People thought they needed Target, until the boycott. Now they’ve found ways around it and don’t wanna go back. Other countries are now realizing they don’t need the big superpower USA and are adjusting accordingly.

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Jon Green, Melanie C. Green , and 11 more

govwesmoore.bsky.social
Governor Wes Moore @govwesmoore.bsky.social · 2d
I stand with County Executive Calvin Ball as he signs emergency legislation today prohibiting privately owned buildings from being used as ICE detention centers.

Howard County chose dignity, accountability, and its people. Tune into our event now:
bit.ly/4a2VtHw
Redirecting...
bit.ly

Reposted by Ian Hall, Lesley A. Hall, Janet Murray , and 9 more

bencollins.bsky.social
Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 2d
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
It Turns Out Waymos Are Being Controlled by Workers in the Philippines
During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, was grilled over the company's reliance on overseas workers.
futurism.com

kmcelheran.bsky.social
Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 3d
Oi. Too tired to even skeet properly. Presented yet a new paper today. Is it the weekend yet?

kmcelheran.bsky.social
Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 3d
Great coverage of our paper J-curve paper on AI’s productivity impacts by @willagreer.bsky.social in @npr.org’s Planet Money newsletter! www.npr.org/sections/pla...
5 papers from the Super Bowl of Economics
Planet Money went to the annual meeting of the American Economics Association, and we saw some fascinating papers presented there.
www.npr.org

kmcelheran.bsky.social
Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 3d
We found a “J-curve”: down, then up. Up is conditional on survival, so potentially a wild ride. Nice coverage of our paper/AEA presentation this week by Planet Money: www.npr.org/sections/pla...
5 papers from the Super Bowl of Economics
Planet Money went to the annual meeting of the American Economics Association, and we saw some fascinating papers presented there.
www.npr.org

Reposted by Michael E. Mann, Rebecca Solnit, Richard E. Lenski , and 8 more

pbump.com
Philip Bump @pbump.com · 4d
Jeff Bezos’s wealth has increased an average of $70 million every day of 2026, meaning that he could have offset The Post’s losses with what he’s made since Monday.

Reposted by Kristina McElheran

karlbode.com
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 4d
unlike "CEO said a thing!" journalism, this Canadian reporter actually manages to ask an objective expert instead of parroting a rich executive
Musk vows to put data centers in space and run them on solar power but experts have their doubts
NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk vowed this week to upend another industry just as he did with cars and rockets — and once again he's taking on long odds.
ca.finance.yahoo.com

Reposted by Philip N. Cohen, Kristina McElheran

eoinhiggins.bsky.social
Eoin Higgins @eoinhiggins.bsky.social · 4d
Yes. Yes! Thank you

Reposted by Will Jennings, McKenzie Wark, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham , and 1 more

moiradonegan.bsky.social
Moira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social · 4d
Really nuts how many men were like "Me Too went too far, and I need to email Jeffrey Epstein about it."

Reposted by Rebecca Solnit, Alistair Munro, Jean Burgess , and 16 more

simonwillison.net
Simon Willison @simonwillison.net · 4d
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!

This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell
Somewhat devastating news today from the CIA: One of CIA’s oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. There's not even a hint as to why they …
simonwillison.net

Reposted by Robert C. Richards, Nelson Flores, Kristina McElheran

eshockmanwrites.bsky.social
Elizabeth Shockman @eshockmanwrites.bsky.social · 4d
The two children who returned to MN today say they saw one of their Valley View schoolmates at a detention center in TX. This is a child whose family was last in contact with the school on January 9. No one has known where they were until now.

Reposted by Lesley Bartlett, Jason Lyall, Peter Jacobs , and 1 more

nicolefoy.bsky.social
Nicole Foy @nicolefoy.bsky.social · 4d
our government used a Blackhawk helicopter in a major American city, detained children and zip-tied U.S. citizens all to target... squatters

and the alleged Tren de Aragua presence? "It was a brutal lie against the American public."
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
The Real Story Behind the Midnight Immigration Raid on a Chicago Apartment Building
The Trump administration has claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken over the building. But new documents make no mention of the gang and reveal federal agents had information about “ille...
www.propublica.org

kmcelheran.bsky.social
Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 5d
And folks are worried what AI is gonna do to civilization…
jamisonfoser.bsky.social Jamison Foser @jamisonfoser.bsky.social · 5d
this might be the most incredible quote I've ever seen
newsjennifer.bsky.social @NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 5d
This is bonkers. MAHA 'farmers' with ecoli tainted raw milk admit they really don't know how to make the stuff after all.

"Producing raw milk takes careful planning from a facility and infrastructure standpoint. Unfortunately, we learned this after the fact."

people.com/ballerina-fa...

Reposted by Kristina McElheran

jamisonfoser.bsky.social
Jamison Foser @jamisonfoser.bsky.social · 5d
this might be the most incredible quote I've ever seen
newsjennifer.bsky.social @NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 5d
This is bonkers. MAHA 'farmers' with ecoli tainted raw milk admit they really don't know how to make the stuff after all.

"Producing raw milk takes careful planning from a facility and infrastructure standpoint. Unfortunately, we learned this after the fact."

people.com/ballerina-fa...
Hannah Neeleman's Ballerina Farm Halts Sale of Raw Milk Due to Bacteria Concerns: Report
Hannah and Daniel Neeleman have paused Ballerina Farm's sale of raw milk following health violations discovered during routine testing. Screenings from summer 2025 showed high levels of coliform, the ...
people.com

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Will Jennings, Michael J. Hicks , and 1 more

chadbourn.bsky.social
Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 5d
The French are taking none of Musk’s bullshit.
French Response * @FrenchResponse X.com Investigating child sexual abuse material isn't controversial. Turning it into political theater is manipulation. Maybe that logic flies on some island. Doesn't fl in France. Elon Musk & X @elonmusk • 3h This is a political attack

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Steve Peers, Jonathan M. Gilligan , and 5 more

radleybalko.bsky.social
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 5d
Remember the incident where DHS claimed officers shot a guy because he attacked them with a snow shovel?

Yeah. It didn't happen. They shot him through the door of his own home. And then arrested him. And then lied about it. Again.

And they almost shot some kids in the process.
paleofuture.bsky.social Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 5d
They just blindly shot through the fucking door.

"Additional photographs show damage consistent with a bullet fragment lodged in a bedroom wall down the hallway — suggesting it traveled between a mattress and a portable crib in a room where several small children sleep."
froomkin.bsky.social Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 5d
"Photographic evidence from the shooting scene of a Venezuelan man by federal agents last month in Minneapolis supports the account of witnesses there – and appears to undercut the narrative provided by federal officials." www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, Wolfgang Crämer , and 14 more

radleybalko.bsky.social
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 5d
Floored by this story. A man wrote a pollite email to a federal prosecutor objecting to the deportation of an Afghan seeking asylum. DHS responded with an administrative warrant to get the man's info from Google, then visited his home to intimidate him.
DHS Hunts Down 67-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Who Criticized Them in Email
The Department of Homeland Security is using a little-known tool to go after its critics.
newrepublic.com

Reposted by Kristina McElheran

clinodev.bsky.social
clinodev @clinodev.bsky.social · 5d
Snatching people up in the hallway waiting to take their oath of citizenship.

people.com/immigrants-a...
Immigrants Approved for Citizenship ‘Plucked Out’ of Line Moments Before Pledging Allegiance: Report
Immigrants lined up to become U.S. citizens in Boston on Dec. 4 were pulled from line by USCIS officials moments before the ceremony. The incident comes after USCIS told employees to halt all immigrat...
people.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Caroline Krafft, Jonathan M. Gilligan , and 9 more

paleofuture.bsky.social
Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 5d
They just blindly shot through the fucking door.

"Additional photographs show damage consistent with a bullet fragment lodged in a bedroom wall down the hallway — suggesting it traveled between a mattress and a portable crib in a room where several small children sleep."
froomkin.bsky.social Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 5d
"Photographic evidence from the shooting scene of a Venezuelan man by federal agents last month in Minneapolis supports the account of witnesses there – and appears to undercut the narrative provided by federal officials." www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
Live: Judge orders release of suspects in alleged shovel attack on agent
Department of Homeland Security says agent fired in self-defense after being attacked with a snow shovel and broom.
www.startribune.com

Reposted by W Grant, Kristina McElheran

newrepublic.com
The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 5d
The Illinois Department of Public Health sidestepped the federal government this week by independently joining the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). It is the second state to do so, after California joined the network last month. trib.al/0ecIsxF
Individual States Join World Health Organization After Trump Drops It
Illinois is the latest state to take this step.
trib.al

Reposted by Roger A. Pielke, Matthew Bunn, A. E. Dessler , and 23 more

cato.org
Cato Institute @cato.org · 5d
The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023.

The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.

https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3

kmcelheran.bsky.social
Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 6d
So true! But I often wonder if we should…. Giffen goods and whatnot… (I’ve stopped doing this for free for folks who will turn around and monetize those insights, which is worth keeping in mind)

Reposted by Kristina McElheran

thehill.com
The Hill @thehill.com · 6d
#BREAKING: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said that all federal immigration officers in Minneapolis will begin wearing body cameras while in the field.
thehill.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Jonathan A. Eisen, Brendan Nyhan , and 10 more

dumbrunner.bsky.social
Dumb Runner @dumbrunner.bsky.social · 8d
I saw it too: