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David Ticoll

@david-ticoll.bsky.social
122 followers 161 following 14 posts

Post Munk School Fellow, University of Toronto. Theoretically retired. Still trying to move a tiny part of the needle re AI in Canada’s public interest. And: family, fotos, fitness.

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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Canada’s rising risk picture… @bobbyrae48.bsky.social @spaikin.bsky.social
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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
We're getting extremely close to the day when America spends more money to build data centers than office buildings Only 5 years ago, office construction spending was 7x data center spending
a graph of US data center construction spending versus US office spending
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Prof Dynarski @dynarski.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
Statement from the largest economics association about the BLS firing As context: AEA approximately never makes such public statements This is a big deal
August 1, 2025
AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
Committee on Economic Statistics and Committee on Government Relations


Statement from the American Economic Association on the
Dismissal of the BLS Commissioner

Leaders of the American Economic Association express their grave concern over the dismissal of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) earlier today.
The independence of the federal statistical agencies is essential to the proper functioning of a modern economy. Accurate, timely, and impartial statistics are the foundation upon which households, businesses, and policymakers make critical decisions. Undermining the independence or credibility of these agencies threatens the integrity of the information that markets, institutions, and the public rely on every day.
Measuring the vast and dynamic U.S. economy in real time is inherently challenging. It is standard practice for statistical estimates to be revised as more complete and higher-quality data become available. These revisions reflect the commitment of statistical agencies to accuracy, transparency, and methodological rigor-not failure or bias.
The BLS has long had a well-deserved reputation for professional excellence and nonpartisan integrity.
Safeguarding this tradition is vital for the continued health of the U.S. economy and public trust in our institutions.
We call upon elected officials to respect and preserve the independence of the nation's statistical infrastructure.

Lawrence Katz
President, American Economic Association
Katharine Abraham
President-Elect, American Economic Association
Karen Dynan
Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Economic Statistics
Kenneth Troske
Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Government Relations
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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
In other news, computer science applications were down about 27% Y-o-Y in Ontario univerities this spring.
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Yoshua Bengio @yoshuabengio.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
This report from the Joint California Policy Working Group on AI Frontier Models is an important step towards effective and balanced AI regulation. It builds meaningfully on the International AI Safety Report and offers a thoughtful framework for policymaking at the frontier of AI development. 🧵 1/4
cafrontieraigov.org
Joint California Policy Working Group on AI Frontier Models
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Kate Aronoff @katearonoff.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Wild how the Fed chair saying that *entire regions of the United States* won’t be able to get a mortgage in the next decade barely registered as a news event
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Treating tiny condos - that no one wants to live in - as an investment that will appreciate forever turned out to be a disastrous policy and market illusion. Though it was, for several years, a boon for developers.
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Ghouly Hoye 👻🇨🇦 @hollyhoye.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Fascinating and deeply unsettling trends. Is it any wonder why right-wing parties are bombarding young men with “the world is broken” messaging?
Chart showing elimination of the gap between incomes between young men and young women aged 21-27 since 1990. Chart showing the rise in young men holding sexist view (20%) compared to older men (5%). Data since 2000.
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Yoshua Bengio nonprofit startup aims to create safe AI systems that have intellectual distance from humans and act as more like a detached scientist than a personal companion or human agent.
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Europe greatly lags the US - as does Canada, for similar reasons…
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
Jaime Watt: www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
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Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
At a time when people are understandably focused on the daily chaos in Washington, these articles describe the rapidly accelerating impact that AI is going to have on jobs, the economy, and how we live.
axios.com
Behind the Curtain: Top AI CEO foresees white-collar bloodbath
Hardly anyone is paying attention.
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
I agree, but having trouble coming up with an alternative. Any ideas?
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ian bremmer @ianbremmer.com · 22/05/2025
number of fully electric cars sold in europe last month tesla: 7,165 byd: 7,231 the chinese ev maker passing tesla for the first time -ft/jato dynamics
ft.com
BYD sells more electric vehicles in Europe than Tesla for first time
Chinese car group has been pushing to expand into overseas markets for past few years
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
“Those familiar with early briefings say Carney’s mindset seems to be: ‘How quickly can we do this? How do we accelerate? How do we show action?’ There’s a rigor to the way he thinks, and the system will have to adapt to keep up.“ policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/ma...
policyoptions.irpp.org
Could ‘mission government’ solve Ottawa’s delivery problems?
Mark Carney’s government may adopt a focused “mission” model—but delivering results means reforming how Ottawa works.
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Marietje Schaake @marietjeschaake.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
!!
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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
US & EU GDP data are now in, which means another update to my G7 GDP chart Here's each country's cumulative increase in real GDP, since just before the pandemic: 🇺🇸 +12.9% 🇨🇦 +8.7% (thru Q4) 🇮🇹 +5.9% 🇫🇷 +3.7% 🇬🇧 +3.4% (thru Q4) 🇯🇵 +0.9% (thru Q4) 🇩🇪 +0.0%
a graph of G7 GDP growth, as described in the tweet
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
I think a lot about what Carl Sagan said in one of his final interviews.
"WE'VE ARRANGED A society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces. Who is running the science and technology in a democracy if the people don't know anything about it?"
"Science is more than a body of knowledge, it's a way of thinking. A way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility. If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then we're up for grabs for the next charlatan, political or religious, who comes ambling along."
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David Coletto @davidcoletto.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Advantage Liberal: What advanced modeling tells us about why the Liberals are winning abacusdata.ca/2025-federal...
abacusdata.ca
Advantage Liberal: What advanced modeling tells us about why the Liberals are winning - Abacus Data
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
I just signed the Pledge for Canada, initiated by @charlieangus104.bsky.social ! actionnetwork.org/petitions/pl...
actionnetwork.org
Sign the Pledge for Canada
This petition is intended as an invitation to Canadians to reflect on the current challenges Canada faces and what we can all do to respond to the risks and to contribute to building a more resilient ...
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Yes, let’s get it together Canada! 🇨🇦 www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Jean Chrétien: Canadians will never give up the best country in the world to join the U.S.
The former prime minister says it’s time to enact a Plan B to handle Donald Trump’s outrageous threats
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
@cathmckenna.bsky.social
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Daniel Rock @danielrock.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
my favorite new podcast. these guys are the best.
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Tragedy of the commons
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danah boyd @zephoria.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
Kudos to @henriksaetre.bsky.social & @evanselinger.bsky.social for a brilliant paper on techno-solutionism. Read this if only for zingers: "Like everyone else, people in the tech industry can have complex inner lives and act for mixed reasons." [::giggle:: to "can"] link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Technological Remedies for Social Problems: Defining and Demarcating Techno-Fixes and Techno-Solutionism - Science and Engineering Ethics
Can technology resolve social problems by reducing them to engineering challenges? In the 1960s, Alvin Weinberg answered yes, popularizing the term “techno-fix” in the process. The concept was immedia...
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
A spectacular - but not the only - example of Canada’s failures to harness socially relevant data in the public interest. Hopefully, as @picardonhealth.bsky.social suggests, we’ll get it right this time.
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Daron Acemoglu nets out the challenges of our time in this remarkably brief Nobel acceptance speech (🧵)
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Andrew Parkin @parkinac.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Great 🧵👌👇
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David Ticoll @david-ticoll.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
Bob Dylan’s final concert at Royal Albert Hall… Whatever his wrongs (and rights), hail a poetic voice of a generation. www.spectator.co.uk/article/so-l...
spectator.co.uk
So long, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan bids farewell to British audiences in a poignant performance at the Royal Albert Hall during his ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ tour.
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