Weekend Digest — 12/26/25
A pep talk for your sanity
In the 18th century, Parliament began placing taxes on luxuries like cakes and cookies (‘biscuits’ in the U.K.), so to avoid this, Scottish bakers started calling their buttery little biscuits “shortbread.”
Guess that helps explain why they’re not called ‘longbutter’ cookies. 🧈
Today we have highlights decanted and ready to serve from an amazing conversation about China and AI. But first, some good stuff to get us started.
📰 From the ‘Not Everything is a Dumpster Fire’ department:
Look up! There’s no hole up there! 40 years after the world signed the Montreal Protocol to phase out ozone-eating chemicals, the ozone layer is on the mend. In 2025, the Antarctic ozone hole was the smallest since 2019 and the fifth smallest since 1992. It could be fully recovered by 2066. When we work together as a global community, we can even repair the friggin’ sky!
EVs are getting cheaper and better. While 2025 saw the end of EV subsidies, 2026 will see the launch of over 20 new EV models in the US with next-gen improvements like longer range and faster charging.
Cost parity is one emerging trend: a BMW iX3, for example, will be priced the same as its gas-fueled equivalent. Kia’s sharp EV3 is $35k, the refreshed Chevy Bolt starts at $29k, the new Slate truck is around “$25k-ish.” The subsidies were never a long-term answer — but the flywheel effect is working.
A Texas doctor spins vinyl to give patients relief. Dr. Tyler Jorgensen brings a record player to the bedside of patients dealing with difficult diagnoses and treatments, finding the music lifts the spirits of even the most intractable cases.
In the constant rush of life, it’s easy to forget the restorative power that listening to music has. Take a few moments to give yourself a dose of musical medicine — no prescription is necessary.
Music Spotlight: Jacob Banks
💡 Say Again? Quotable and Notable
🎙️ China and AI
This is an excerpt from a piece published on Wednesday drawn from a timely discussion unpacking the unique shape of AI development in China. There’s no agenda here — I just found it incredibly informative and it filled in many blanks I had wondered about. Hope you enjoy it.
Much of the AI news flow tends to coalesce into doomerism or fandom, but the best AI reporting is just deeply interesting.
One of the biggest stories of the year was the DeepSeek model launch, initially hailed as a ‘Sputnik moment’. But news coverage of AI in China has largely fizzled out in the mainstream media, mainly focusing upon export controls. China is much more aware of what is going on in the USA than visa-versa, and finding reliable and unbiased reporting is a challenge.
That’s why a recent YouTube/podcast featuring the analysis of Matt Sheehan, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, and Selina Xu, a technology analyst specializing in China, was so fascinating. Hosted by Tristan Harris from the Center for Humane Technology, the trio discussed what trends can be discerned — and what the conventional wisdom may be getting wrong.
Here are some of the most interesting highlights unearthed in the discussion:
AI in China is heavily emphasizing vertical applications of AI versus broad general intelligence. Manufacturing, robotics, transportation — AI-plus existing industries.
The people of China have a much more positive view of technology generally, largely because the rise of China as an economic superpower coincided with the visibly broad adoption of technologies such as cellular.
But while AI was initially seen as a productivity booster, concerns over employment displacement are rising. Youth unemployment is already estimated to be 20-25%, so AI may see rising resistance.
At the same time, there is a demographic collapse going on in China: by 2035, there is expected to be one retiree for every two earners. AI (and robotics) might be one long-term solution — but executing that transition is tricky.
While hundreds of billions of dollars of investment are chasing AI development in the USA, there is not a comparable scenario in China for AI. China is remarkably cash-strapped right now — government debt has doubled in the last four years, and price wars have drained profits from many large industries.
It is not impossible that China is hiding a huge Manhattan Project-type AI development project, but most evidence is that AI development in the country is making due with far fewer resources than are being applied in the US.
Ultimately, while China is clearly a tough competitor in every way, their goals are quite different than the AGI ambition being pursued in the US. Nonetheless, mutual suspicion makes coordination over safety protocols and guidelines unlikely. Our own reckless rush to make AGI may have consequences we see too late.
Those are some brief thoughts and takeaways. The whole interview is worth hearing at your usual podcast outlet (look under Your Undivided Attention) or on YouTube.
You can read the full piece from Wednesday here.
👋 Until Next Time
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed today’s issue, consider sharing it with a friend. I’d love to hear about ideas for future issues — just hit reply to this email. — cw