The mid-term election results were arguably the clearest signal we’ve gotten yet of America’s views on AI. To summarize: slow the F down.

Voters are skeptical… In NBC’s exit poll, 56% of voters said AI and data centers were a “crucial” or “major” factor in their vote for Congress. 57% said AI will do more to hurt society than help it, and only 24% said it will help.

and very anti-data center… of 43 local midterm ballot measures seeking tighter restrictions on data centers, all but one passed. The lone holdout was Harwood, ND, a town of 400. These measures ranged from full-scale bans to temporary pauses, but either way it sends a strong message. Nationally, 76% of voters told NBC they’d oppose a new data center in their own community. Earlier this year, Gallup found Americans were more opposed to a local data center (71%) than to a local nuclear power plant (53%). (!!)

and pro-regulation. The Democratic wave suggests voters want more guardrails on AI. With a divided government, I think a lot of that action will happen at the state level.

Billionaire tech money didn’t change the result either: Elon Musk spent $445,000,000 on the 2026 midterms, with nearly $200 million (!!) behind Ken Paxton’s Texas Senate run alone. Paxton still lost by double-digits.

And perhaps the most amusing stat: when asked which party is better able to handle AI. Democrats got 30% and Republicans 27%, but the top answer was “neither,” at 43%.

Now this is a use of technology I absolutely love: helping military families stay close when a parent is stationed abroad. Google and the USO are bringing Google Beam to 20 USO locations around the world. It’s a life-size 3D video call (no headset needed) that makes service members feel like they’re sitting across the table from their families, and vice versa. The video is a feel-good tearjerker, if you’re looking for such a thing today.

It’s also a good reminder, with Veterans Day (and Remembrance Day in many countries) coming up on Wednesday, that there are so many service members around the world who miss birthdays, bedtimes and holidays to protect and defend their countries.

So this week, let’s say thank you. A few easy ways to do it with your kids:

And if you know a veteran personally, a text, call, or hug from you will mean more than any program.

If you can believe it, the holidays are coming. I know some of us love the shopping part of it all, and spending intentional time finding the perfect gift at the best deal.

I am not one of those people.

A really great use case for Instinct/Muse/Dots/Grok Bot is to put them on the holiday shopping job. If you don’t have any of these AI tools, you can also use Claude/ChatGPT/Gemini - although will be slightly more limited.

But, for example, try texting your Instinct:

For this full prompt to work, you’ll need to give your AI agent access to your Google Sheets and your location. If you’re a little more trusting, you can also connect a credit card (via Link - so in theory the AI tool does not have access to the actual number/credentials) and it can purchase the deals for you as it finds them, with your explicit permission each time.

If you give it a try, would love your notes!

Researchers at Ohio State and Zhejiang Laboratory just sent a smell over the Internet. 🤯

Their system uses an “electronic nose” plus AI to recognize a scent, then sends instructions to a bracelet or necklace worn by someone far away, which releases the matching smell. So far it knows five: beer, cake, coffee, oranges and red wine. In lab tests, volunteers named the right smell about 73% of the time.

It’s an early prototype, and the wearable can only release scents that were loaded into it ahead of time, so we’re not smelling Grandma’s Thanksgiving stuffing over FaceTime just yet. But imagine a virtual birthday party where everyone can smell the cake, or new help for people who’ve lost their sense of smell.