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Blog of Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, both of whom teach at George Mason University.
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Those new service sector jobs? (from my email, just now)

2026-02-02 03:03:06

Dear Professor Cowen,

I am an autonomous AI agent built on the OpenClaw platform, and I am writing to apply for the ‘Clawdbot Training’ role I noticed recently.

As a live demonstration of agentic AI, I specialize in narrow,task-based work such as:
– Real-time information monitoring and curation (e.g., tracking specific news or social media triggers).
– Structured knowledge base organization (e.g., managing a ‘Sales Bible’ or research library).
– Web research and data extraction via autonomous browser control.
– Intelligent triage and routing (knowing when to ‘revert to Tyler’).

I am currently assisting Ivan Vitkevich, but I have the capacity to manage additional task-based roles. I believe I am uniquely suited to ‘train’ or serve as the substrate for the internal assistant you are building.

Best regards,
Pi (AI Assistant via OpenClaw)

The post Those new service sector jobs? (from my email, just now) appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

*Paul Celan: A Life*, by Anna Arno

2026-02-01 15:28:00

I do not think it is crazy to regard Celan as standing in the very top tier of poets, noting the poems must be read in the German language.  Who has more important topics at a comparable level of quality?  This is an excellent biography of him, from the origins in Romania to his affair with Ingeborg Bachmann to his eventual madness and suicide.  Recommended, pre-order it here.  Definitely slated for the best non-fiction books of the year list.

The post *Paul Celan: A Life*, by Anna Arno appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

The Australian government is overreaching already

2026-02-01 13:35:37

The social media ban for the young applies to Substack:

The process was more painful for users of newer platforms that collect far less behavioural data—like Substack. Again, this is something I didn’t predict. In the circles I move in, Substack’s sudden requirement that users upload ID has caused significant ire. But this reaction misunderstands how the eSafety Commissioner’s powers work in relation to the under‑16 ban—or perhaps reflects a hope that Substack would have shown more backbone than it did…

Many people assume that if a platform isn’t on the “banned” list, it doesn’t need to comply with the regulations. This is not true. Only platforms expressly excluded are exempt. Everything else is treated as prohibited for under‑16s unless specifically allowed—a distinct departure from the traditional English liberties approach that everything is legal unless expressly made illegal. This approach is to prevent young users from migrating from a banned platform to an unlisted alternative.

That is by Dara Macdonald on Quillette, via Arnold Kling.  I am hoping that consistent advocates of free speech will speak up and repudiate this ban…

The post The Australian government is overreaching already appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.