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Book Review. "How Progress Ends" by Carl Benedikt Frey
China's 14th five-year plan makes quantum a priority sector, while American investments mobilize numerous agencies and 14 centers within a coordinated federal framework. American entities cooperate within a federal coordination structure, even if industrial coordination can remain incomplete. Carl B
The electrical grid becomes the new arena for global energy power
On January 14, 2025, the United Arab Emirates announced a 5.2-gigawatt solar project backed by 19 gigawatt-hours of battery storage. This technical choice reflects the strategy of certain Gulf States: controlling locally produced electricity to reduce domestic consumption of fossil fuels, which can
The Culture of Managers Can Become the Culture of Everyone: Bet on Mediation, Not Subsidies
France spends more than twenty billion euros in public funds each year on cultural policy. Yet a manual worker has three to four times fewer chances than a senior manager of attending a live performance in a year [6]. The choice to be made in 2027 is clear: redirect part of this budget toward human
AI Reduces Drug Development Cost from 150 to 6 Million Dollars
Rentosertib, a candidate against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, reached the preclinical candidate stage in approximately 18 months. The comparison published by Insilico addresses approximately 4.5 to 6 years required to nominate a preclinical candidate through the traditional pathway, without establ
Pensions in Europe: 100 working-age people for 55 pensioners, the social contract must be renegotiated
- In 2022, the EU had 36 people aged 65 or older for every 100 people aged 20 to 64; by 2050, this ratio will reach 55.2. - Many European pay-as-you-go pension systems were built or expanded in the second half of the twentieth century in a different demographic context. - Each country has several le
Protecting Sensitive Areas from Renewables Can Destroy More Nature
Approximately 85% of Australian plant species are endemic. In 2026, IRENA, CREEI, and the IUCN published a report on the local environmental effects of large-scale photovoltaic plants, documenting a counterintuitive effect: in certain scenarios and for certain technologies, notably wind energy studi
American Social Security Will Lock In Inequality for Thirty Years
In 2034, American Social Security's reserves will be depleted. Continued revenue would cover only approximately 83% of scheduled benefits in 2034 according to the 2026 report. The decisions Congress makes in the years ahead will determine who bears the adjustment: workers or retirees, affluent house
China Faces Shortage of 30 Million Skilled Workers Despite Accelerated Automation
Robots advance in Chinese factories while positions for skilled technicians remain empty. China projects a significant talent deficit in ten priority manufacturing sectors, at the very moment its government targets 12 million new urban jobs in 2026. The architecture of training systems will determin
France Has Lost Half Its Share of World Exports
In twenty-five years, France has seen its share of global merchandise exports fall from 5% to 2.6% [3]. The trade balance has improved in recent years, but mainly because the country is importing less energy, not because its industry is exporting more. In 2025, industry represents less than 10% of G
The value of our personal data flows to platforms: regulate it or accept its loss
In 2025, the French digital advertising market reached 12.4 billion euros [9]. A 11 % increase compared to 2024. This market has been growing for seven years at approximately 13 % per year. But growth is not evenly distributed. Google, Meta, Amazon, TikTok and four other global players capture 76 %
France Makes Decisions on Machines It Does Not Control
Three American companies today host more than 70% of the computing data of European businesses [5]. Several French ministries entrust their sensitive systems to actors subject to American law. AI is becoming the central infrastructure for all economic and public decision-making. The trade-off posed
Europe's Missing Infrastructure
The European Union has transport ambitions and construction site realities. Between the two, there are decades. The European Court of Auditors has just confirmed it once more: the five major transport infrastructure projects for which data are available have recorded on average four additional years
Public Universities: Inflation Erodes Budgets and Closes Laboratories
In Colombia, public universities have continued to operate, but budgetary pressures intensified between 2015 and 2025. This mechanism destroys without deciding: allocations increase on paper, follow the consumer price index, and generally fail to cover the actual increase in laboratory operating cos
Robotization Creates or Destroys Jobs Depending on the Pace of Economic Growth
Between 2018 and 2022, in five ASEAN countries, estimates attribute to robotization more creation of formal skilled jobs than displacement of formal low-skilled jobs, while results for developed economies varied by country and period, reflecting robotic deployments whose exposure, sectoral structure
Europe Takes Over From the US as Guarantor of the Liberal Order
The Trump administration has launched a review and suspension of portions of American foreign aid, marking a significant shift in the modalities of American engagement. This observation opens a strategic debate that Europe can no longer postpone. Ivan Krastev described Trump in 2025 as the engine of
The State Pays Electricity Bills Without Solving Energy-Inefficient Housing
In France, 72 billion euros have been paid since 2021 to cushion energy bills [11], without touching the walls. MaPrimeRénov' helped 340,801 homes in 2024, but fewer than 13% underwent truly transformative renovation [17]. The choice for 2027 is clear: reserve renovation aid for global overhauls tar
Doctors in France: Eight Times More Specialists in Paris Than in Eure
France trains fewer medical graduates per capita than the European Union average. France seeks to steer physician placement through targeted incentives and commitments, without organizing a mandatory general distribution. Paris has 702 specialists per 100,000 inhabitants as of January 1, 2025, compa
Large Language Models and Representation Imbalances
The planet has approximately 7,000 living languages. The large language models that power today's voice assistants, translation tools, educational platforms, and search engines handle only a handful of them properly. This is not a technical accident. It is the result of a precise, documented mechani
Labor Force in Europe: Employment Policies Matter More Than Demographics
In Europe, the population aged 20 to 64 is projected to decline by 49 million by 2050 compared to 2015, according to demographic projections cross-referenced with Eurostat data and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. The JRC estimates that convergence toward Swedish participation rates
French electricity is decarbonized, but the economy is not electrified
Each kilowatt-hour produced in France emits 19.6 grams of CO2 equivalent [1]. In Europe, the average exceeds 178 grams [1]. Nine times less. Meanwhile, the share of electricity in final energy consumption stagnates, transport shows an electrification rate of 2 % [3], and 3.2 million households spend
The United States Is Deliberately Reducing Its Health Coverage
In 2026, ACA plan selections declined 5% compared to 2025. This period saw the expiration of subsidy enhancements introduced in 2021 and the removal of improper enrollments, accompanied by changes to state platforms. The Commonwealth Fund reports a CBO projection showing that the number of uninsured
Europe Falls Behind on Robots
In 2024, Asia absorbed 74% of new industrial robots installed worldwide. Europe, which accounted for 16% of installations in 2024, has seen its share decline, and the trend is not reversing. Europe's existing stock remains substantial, but new installation flows are concentrating increasingly in Asi
Erasmus+: Effective for Those Who Access It, Captured 60% by Affluent Families
Five years after graduation, the unemployment rate of participants with international experience is reported to be 23% lower than that of non-mobile students. The problem lies in this "those who": in several Southern European countries, notably Greece, Portugal, and Spain, participants more often de
Energy Transition Displaces Indigenous Peoples from Their Lands
Significant reserves of minerals without which no battery, no solar panel, no wind turbine can be made lie beneath lands inhabited for centuries by indigenous peoples. In many Latin American states that have ratified convention no. 169, standards require consultation with indigenous peoples for meas