Dispatch from Digital Planet: April 2026

Dispatches

Dispatch from Digital Planet: April 2026

April 28, 2026

Digital Planet > Dispatches > Dispatch from the Digital Planet: April 2026

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Will Wired Belts Become the New Rust Belts?

The rise of AI has deep implications for the employment landscape across America. Innovation hotspots, IT and tech hubs and university towns are among the most vulnerable sections of the nation. Our latest flagship report decodes how AI can impact the same people that are aiding its development.

PERSPECTIVES

America's coming revolt is in the 'wired belt': Bhaskar Chakravorti

Financial Times

The rise of AI across America and its impact on jobs will have a cascading effect on the nation's political fabric. Bhaskar Chakravorti highlights how those impacted by AI job loss are likely to contribute to the political narrative and the implications of their involvement for the political fortunes of state and national leaders.

The American AI Jobs Risk Index: How Wired Belts Could Become the Next Rust Belts: Bhaskar Chakravorti

Bhaskar Chakravorti highlights how AI-driven job disruption is set to hit specific professions, cities, and states hardest, making early intervention and targeted workforce planning essential before the tipping point arrives.

As an AI Scholar, I am Now Putting a High Probability on an AI Doomsday: Bhaskar Chakravorti

Foreign Policy

From battlefield deployments to job cuts and volatile markets, a pattern is emerging: AI risks are converging. In this sharp take, Bhaskar Chakravorti connects the dots across sectors, arguing that together, they could tip AI from transformative to destabilising.

Keynote: Digital Economy for Inclusive Global Growth

NewsX World

Speaking at the NXT Summit in New Delhi, Bhaskar Chakravorti showcased how a thriving digital economy that's based on 'Small AI' can bring in exponential improvements to the rural economies, small businesses and micro enterprises. He pointed out how the incremental benefits of these interventions can snowball into macroeconomic ripples and solve real-world challenges.

Skilling and Education in AI: Keynote by Bhaskar Chakravorti

IndiaAI

India is among the major nations that are effectively placed to spearhead 'small AI' initiatives for public governance, welfare, administration, skilling and growth. In his remarks at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Bhaskar Chakravorti highlighted the need for these initiatives and went on to explain how they could position India as an innovation leader for the world.

IN CONVERSATION

From Delhi to Bell Labs: The Game Theorist Who Decoded the World: Interview with Bhaskar Chakravorti

The Indianness Podcast

In a candid chat with the Indianness Podcast, Bhaskar Chakravorti recounts his academic journey, reflects on his learnings from global leaders and delves into his take on how Artificial Intelligence can be harnessed to drive real-world change for every citizen.

PAST EVENT

How will Jobs be Affected by AI Where You Live and Work?

Understanding what’s ahead for America’s workforce—and how policymakers, educators, and business leaders can reinvent the future of work.

ANALYST OF THE MONTH

I'VE BEEN WORKING ON

How AI is reshaping and will reshape the American economy across occupational, industrial, and geographic levels.

AN INSIGHT I DISCOVERED

AI's effects will be uneven across industries, affecting high- and low-paying jobs differently depending on the sector.

I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT

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IN THE NEWS

Massachusetts tops U.S. in AI job loss risk, Tufts report says | Boston.com

The jobs most vulnerable to AI — as new study predicts 9 million American workers to be displaced by bots in 5 years | New York Post

The Wired Belts are the new Rust Belts: Report ranks which jobs are most vulnerable | Phys.org

The jobs most vulnerable to AI — as new study predicts 9 million American workers to be displaced by bots in 5 years | Network Today

First-ever American AI Jobs Risk Index released by Tufts University | Brighter Side of News

India's economy is booming, but uneven growth clouds ascent | Manila Standard

ABOUT DIGITAL PLANET

Digital Planet is an interdisciplinary research initiative of The Fletcher School's Institute for Business in the Global Context (IBGC) dedicated to understanding the impact of digital innovation on the world and providing actionable insights for policymakers, businesses, investors, and innovators.

AI and jobs, AI data center boom, AI economic impact, AI Jobs Risk Index, Artificial Intelligence, artificial intelligence policy, Bhaskar Chakravorti, digital economy, digital innovation research, Dispatches from the Digital Planet, future of work, global digital transformation, inclusive digital policy, Inclusive Policy, India AI, Job Disruption, Skilling and Education, Small AI, Technology Policy, United States, US Workforce, Wired Belts

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