Universities now channel almost $14 million every hour into public cloud infrastructure, a spending line that already exceeds the combined global budgets for faculty development and student mental health programs. Data centers consume 415 terawatt-hours of electricity annually, a demand curve projected to surpass Japan’s national consumption before 2030. Conventional wisdom treats those figures as the inevitable price of artificial intelligence progress.

This article is based on ideas originally published by VoxEU – Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and has been independently rewritten and extended by The Economy editorial team. While inspired by the original analysis, the content presented here reflects a broader interpretation and additional commentary. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of VoxEU or CEPR.

This article is based on ideas originally published by VoxEU – Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and has been independently rewritten and extended by The Economy editorial team. While inspired by the original analysis, the content presented here reflects a broader interpretation and additional commentary. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of VoxEU or CEPR.

On a raw Tuesday morning this past April, two lines of data crossed in a way every curriculum committee should heed. First, Pew reported that 37% of American adults now begin a web search directly inside ChatGPT rather than using Google (Pew Research Center, 2025a). Second, a Vectara/Hugging Face leaderboard quietly showed that even the best model, GPT-4o-mini, still invents facts in 1.7% of answers—and in domain-specific writing, that figure can skyrocket past 40%.

This article was independently developed by The Economy editorial team and draws on original analysis published by East Asia Forum. The content has been substantially rewritten, expanded, and reframed for broader context and relevance. All views expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the official position of East Asia Forum or its contributors.

This article is based on ideas originally published by VoxEU – Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and has been independently rewritten and extended by The Economy editorial team. While inspired by the original analysis, the content presented here reflects a broader interpretation and additional commentary. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of VoxEU or CEPR.

This article is based on ideas originally published by VoxEU – Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and has been independently rewritten and extended by The Economy editorial team. While inspired by the original analysis, the content presented here reflects a broader interpretation and additional commentary. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of VoxEU or CEPR.

Every statistic about public trust in science reveals less a knowledge gap than an abyss of distrust, a chasm that reason alone cannot bridge. Despite decades of data, surveys, and outreach campaigns, roughly three-quarters of Americans—76% in the latest Pew Research Center poll—report having at least some confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interest; yet, more than one in four express little to no trust at all.

This article was independently developed by The Economy editorial team and draws on original analysis published by East Asia Forum. The content has been substantially rewritten, expanded, and reframed for broader context and relevance. All views expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the official position of East Asia Forum or its contributors.

This article was independently developed by The Economy editorial team and draws on original analysis published by East Asia Forum. The content has been substantially rewritten, expanded, and reframed for broader context and relevance. All views expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the official position of East Asia Forum or its contributors.