Max Bodach

@AlecStapp @rSanti97 sir yes sir

@maxb____ @rSanti97 all non-resident senior fellows have purple headshots :)

Some professional news: I'm joining Anthropic's editorial team! I'll be leading the team's work on economics and policy, and working closely with the Anthropic Institute (about which more here: x.com/AnthropicAI/st…). Dramatic AI progress is coming in the next two years, and researchers+policymakers+the public alike will need the best information available about that shift. It's a big new challenge, and I can’t wait to get started. [Some important housekeeping: I’ll keep running Statecraft at @IFP as a Nonresident Senior Fellow! And will remain on the board at Recoding America/ as a journalist-in-residence at @johnshopkins School of Government and Policy. I start at Anthropic in a few weeks.] The move from frontier think tank to frontier lab is bittersweet. I’ve been at IFP for three years, and it’s been the most formative professional experience of my life. In a short period of time, IFP has become one of the most effective institutions in DC, generating a truly shocking amount of counterfactual policy impact (not all of it public). Being on this team has permanently raised my ambitions. I'm very grateful.

this one is really fun!

The White House’s proposal for a nationwide AI law is a thoughtful document that will serve as an excellent foundation for the legislative work ahead. I would be happy to see these principles, if translated well into statute, become law. Congratulations to those involved!

New post w/ @amelia__michael! Companies will increasingly cite AI in layoffs, but these announcements are a misleading signal of AI’s impact on jobs. We explain why, and why it’s important to assess AI’s labor market impacts accurately.

America's ability to deter our enemies is dependent on our ability to revitalize our industrial base. @ssankar understands that. It was an honor to hold a fireside chat last night on his new book, "Mobilize." This is a must-read.

@SeanJCooksey x.com/maxb____/statu…

This Playbook story is embarrassing. James Danly earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart in Iraq, and he has forgotten more about energy policy than these pipsqueak anonymous staffers will ever know. I wish I could work like this. I stand with the Dep Sec! Let him cook!

@AlmostMedia @jpeaterman simonandschuster.com/books/Mobilize… it’s up!

@maxb____ @jpeaterman Gotta get a copy when it releases to the public

Shyam and Rep. Moore are great Americans, it was an honor to host them for this timely conversation. M-Day was yesterday!

"Data centers are draining our water" is the new "plastic straws are destroying the ocean." It's a hoax, and many people pushing it know it's not true. At AFPI (@A1policy) we wrote a piece breaking down the numbers: 1) Data centers use very little water > Somewhere between 0.2% and 0.5% of U.S. freshwater consumption > 15x less water than we lose each year to leaky pipes > The biggest data center of 2024 uses less water than 3 square miles of farmland (America has 1.3 million) 2) Local water impacts are small, too > In one of the country’s most “water stressed” counties, data centers are 0.12% of its water use (golf courses are 3.8%) 3) This hasn’t stopped lawmakers from fearmongering about data centers > 5 senators, including Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey, wrote a letter to the admin complaining about data center water use > Lawmakers have introduced legislation and called for data center moratoriums because of fake water use claims. Denver might enact one soon 4) Data centers are one of America’s greatest strengths > Huge local tax revenues > The AI data center boom has created tremendous economic growth > Wages in construction and the trades have skyrocketed (construction up >30% because of data centers) We end by suggesting some ways to accelerate the data center buildout, while protecting local communities' interests. Full piece here: americafirstpolicy.com/issues/the-dat…

@nukebarbarian you need to be papermaxxing. you need to be on the horn. you need to avoid pseudoproductivity at all cost.

“You’ve met me at a very Japanese time in my life”

@zdch @JoinFAI @ShopFloorNAM It's Time To Build

@maxb____ @JoinFAI @ShopFloorNAM Yeah this was awesome (and nice Axios s/o earlier). I follow this pretty actively and was still surprised at the sheer anticompetitive magnitude of the costs!

This is a cool new project w/@JoinFAI & @ShopFloorNAM that gets at the on-the-ground reality for U.S. manufacturing. TLDR: our permitting regime imposes massive costs for no good reason, streamlining it will be good for workers, good for business, and good for America.

@ThomasHochman tapping the sign x.com/maxb____/statu…

Thanks Commissioner @LaCerteDA for featuring this dashboard and data in the FERC committee hearing today!

With the famed JWCC contract rearing its head again soon, we have a new piece that explores how one of the most consequential interactions between the government and tech works, how it has evolved, and what policymakers and private firms can learn from this arrangement.

@austinbishop @americanmoment 🫡

@americanmoment @maxb____ 10/10 tie knot

Silicon Valley and the United States government have plenty of shared interests, explains @maxb____. After all, who built the internet in the first place?

@deanwball their dashboard slop, our critical business insights for key stakeholders

It’s interesting how coding agents enable these whole new genres of consumer software, e.g. DashboardSlop

@arenamagdotcom i love it when sand thinks

Announcing our first book: Silicon A beautiful coffee table book about the world of transistors, chips, and the greatest technology revolution of all time. 384 pages. Almost five pounds. Preorders open now, shipping in May: arenamag.com/silicon

@nukebarbarian thank you sir

Everyone should at least listen to this interview with @maxb____, but I recommend watching because, as ever, his drip is insane.