Wall Street Week Fed on Iran War, AI Expectations, US-Canada Trade War, Australia’s Social Media Restrictions
27 snips
Mar 20, 2026 
Arvind Narayanan, Princeton CS professor and AI skeptic who urges viewing AI as a gradual technology. Randy Quarles, former Fed vice chair and regulator who explains data-driven monetary choices. They discuss the Fed’s stance amid Iran war uncertainty. They debate AI’s real-world limits and labor effects. They cover U.S.-Canada trade strains from tariffs and Australia’s teen social media age limits.
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Judge AI By Reliability Not Benchmarks
- Evaluate AI by reliability and integration, not just capability benchmarks.
- Narayanan urges businesses to assess if AI actually increases worker productivity or simply shifts tasks before assuming layoffs.
Doctor Warns Against AI Replacing Physicians
- Samyukta Malanji, an oncologist at Open Evidence, rejects claims AI will replace physicians while endorsing clinical assistance.
- She warns companies touting outperforming physicians avoid liability and stresses responsibility when clinicians use AI recommendations.
Treat AI Risks Separately For Practical Solutions
- Long-term catastrophic AI scenarios conflate distinct risks and obscure tractable solutions like cybersecurity fixes.
- Narayanan argues alignment as a single basket is brittle and impossible to universally enforce as models decentralize.