I agree with Ezra Klein on the urgency of stopping recursive self-improving AI at the frontier. This is humanity’s last chance. But The Question Is: How do we enforce a ban on RSI — even if (a big “if”) China and the U.S. agree on the terms of such a ban?
nytimes.com/2026/09/20/opi…

Should have been their mission all along.

Here are my monthly reading suggestions. Topics include AI's reshaping of research and publishing, end-to-end automation of scientific inquiry, the economics of AI talent in universities, using AI to audit EU regulation, economic growth and the rise of large firms, and more

Seeing this coordinated pile-on against the EU on X, a bit of perspective helps. Yes, Brussels overregulates, drifts in its mission and has democratic gaps, but none of that is unique to the EU and many Member States score worse.

What is unique is the counterfactual. Europe’s core powers fought 3 major wars in 70 years — 180k dead in 1870, 20M in WWI, 40M+ in Europe in WWII. Since integration the number is 0. The project was built on Kant’s idea of perpetual peace and it delivered.

And the economic upside is often forgotten or treated as if it would have happened anyway. The Single Market —i.e., the removal of internal trade barriers and the creation of a shared legal framework — has driven 4× growth in intra-EU trade since 1993, bringing more jobs, more investment and more prosperity across the continent.

As much as I enjoy memes, critiques should be grounded in facts and try to see the whole story.

🎙️Listen to the latest #OurCuriousAmalgam #341 How Should Killer Acquisitions Be Assessed? A Discussion With Professor Nicolas Petit: lnkd.in/gDHdYHic

Merger control regulators in the EU and around the world continue to focus on killer acquisitions. But is this concern l sector? Professor Nicolas Petit, a leading competition law academic and founder of the @fordynamism, joins Matthew Hall and Blair West Matthews to discuss the Antitrust Law Journal article on the subject he co-authored and killer acquisitions generally. Listen to this episode to learn more about the methodology behind and findings in the paper and why the concerns on this issue may not be justified.

Listen: lnkd.in/gDHdYHic
Apple: lnkd.in/guwuve3H
Amazon: lnkd.in/gWX9wUvu
Audible: lnkd.in/g-S8bUQQ
Spotify: lnkd.in/gedVFCVD
YouTube Music: lnkd.in/g7_HJHDb

Our special @fordynamism issue is now fully published: networklawreview.org/category/dynam… #dynamiccompetition

NEXT WEEK ⚡️⚡️

Register for our upcoming DCI Webinar on "The DMA & Digital Advertisement" with @CompetitionProf, @eric_seufert, i Zukowska, and @CarmeloCennamo.

🔹 Thursday, June 19 at 17:00 CEST

eui-eu.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

Can the US win the "trade war" with Canada?
Is economics a science about life or death?

These are two of many questions Galbraith and Chen answer from an entropy-oriented perspective in their new book.

Check my review to learn their way of reasoning:
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

Irrespective of whether you like Zoom more, the choice of commitments to end the EC case against Microsoft in relation to Teams is the right procedure 1/n

❗Don't miss your LAST CHANCE to register...
sites-cornerstone.vuture.net/96/850/landing…
...for:

❇️ EXPERT FORUM: Brussels, 19th May ❇️
@Cornerstone_Res ➕ @fordynamism
Dynamic Competition in Market Definition and Merger Review

Next week, I will participate in the Expert Forum I had the pleasure of co-organizing.

EXPERT FORUM: Dynamic Competition in Market Definition and Merger Review

(Brussels, 19 May)
Register: sites-cornerstone.vuture.net/96/850/landing…

❇️ EXPERT FORUM: Brussels, 19th May ❇️
@Cornerstone_Res ➕ @fordynamism
✳️ Dynamic Competition in Market Definition and Merger Review ✳️

✅ REGISTER: sites-cornerstone.vuture.net/96/850/landing… (before 15th May)

1/2
Some time ago, I got asked to prepare two short (3k words) "popular science" essays on antitrust and complexity. Here comes the second one.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

✳️ NEW EVENT ALERT ✳️

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✅ REGISTER:
sites-cornerstone.vuture.net/96/850/landing…

Yes, I should be doing something else than tweet today. 😟But there are so many important things to say that I cannot resist.

Tentative advice to the European Union:

Take your time to respond. Let cool heads prevail.

If you think that Trump will not back down (likely in my opinion), best economic (not necessarily political) response: Do not retaliate. Ignore it. Not because the Trump administration shot the US in the foot that there is any reason to do the same to the EU.

If you think you can get Trump to change his mind, then go for choke points. Make life harder for the GAFA using the anti coercion instrument. They have the phone numbers of the White House, and, if they hurt, they will call and explain the facts of life to the boss. (But realize that this is not without costs to the EU consumer)

Kill two birds at once. Shift as much of defense spending from the US to Europe. Have a major reallocation plan. This will take years but is high priority. Spend the EU money you need to help.

Be constructive rather than only defensive. Form coalitions of the willing with the countries still willing to play by some rules, going beyond Europe to Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Do it for multinational corporate taxation, global warming, health, even tariff rules.

Have a major negotiation with China, in particular on automobiles (tariffs, but with attractive inward FDI/joint venture conditions)

2/2

However, it might be of good use to those looking for a general overview of the topic and may bring comments that will be helpful in my further work.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

1/2
Recently, I prepared two short (3k words) "popular science" essays on antitrust & complexity.

DISCLAIMER: Due to its form, the text simplifies (oh, the irony) aspects of the ongoing discussion and needs intense development to give complete justice to the presented research.

Registrations for April 4th in Washington DC.: forms.gle/aZSgzmdymjLMrp…

Join us at the Marriott Marquis for a Lunch Seminar on Dynamic Competition with Frederic Jenny, Keith Hylton, Julie Carlson, Nicolas Petit, and Doug Melamed, moderated by Aleksandra Boutin.

Registrations: forms.gle/hvNL9TcMczXag7…

Join us at the Marriott Marquis for a Lunch Seminar on Dynamic Competition with Frederic Jenny, Keith Hylton, Julie Carlson, Nicolas Petit, and Doug Melamed, moderated by Aleksandra Boutin 🇺🇦

🔹🔹April 4th in Washington DC 🔹🔹

Check @filip_lubinski reviewing two most recent publications by @CambridgeUP on complexity economics & agent-based modeling 🚻🚮🚹