In a July 21, 2026 essay for Noema, E. Glen Weyl, James Evans, and Chris White argue that AI development has outpaced institutional adaptation, creating risks they term “productivity without prosperity,” “execution without verification,” and “capacity without constraint.” They propose “reverse alignment”: deliberately redesigning institutions, governance, and social infrastructure to safely integrate AI and broadly distribute its benefits. The authors identify twelve sociotechnical challenges requiring coordinated investment, including identity systems, data valuation, democratic participation, and labor transition support.
