Sign in Subscribe
1 min read iteration

When AI Becomes a Policy Advisor (And That's Not a Compliment)

Three economic advisers sit in a boardroom labeled "Department of Economic Advisers" as one suggests, "Why not ask the black-box chatbot for a tariff formula?"

Because every product even policy deserves a proper strategy.

The Verge just published some interesting findings: The administration's proposed tariff math may have been inspired by AI chatbots.

That's right. Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Grok were asked how to calculate tariffs, and they returned a clean, simple (and completely wrong) formula:

Tariff = (Trade deficit ÷ Exports) ÷ 2

It turns out that exact same formula showed up in the administration's proposed tariff logic. Economists are calling it "extraordinary nonsense."

I call it a cautionary tale.

This post is for subscribers only


Published by:

Elmer Ramos

You might also like...

20
Nov
Mr. Monopoly dancing joyfully on a tilted Monopoly board.

New Podcast Episode: Taking the Monopoly Iteration Story Off the Page

A while back I broke down what Monopoly and Hugh Grant can teach us about iteration. The article sparked a
1 min read
15
Oct
A dim 1980s office with an empty chair and a glowing monitor reading ‘Shall we play a game?’

The Product War Game: Shall We Play?

In WarGames (1983), Matthew Broderick plays a young hacker who accidentally accesses a military supercomputer named Joshua, capable of simulating
4 min read
29
Jul
The Feedback Flywheel: Why Customer Success Is a Critical Strategic Input for Product

The Feedback Flywheel: Why Customer Success Is a Critical Strategic Input for Product

Customer Success isn’t just about support - it’s one of Product’s most valuable strategic partners. In many
2 min read
15
Jul
Speaking the Same Language: How Product and Customer Success Align on Delivering Customer Value

Speaking the Same Language: How Product and Customer Success Align on Delivering Customer Value

I once had a boss – a VP of Product – share an adage he picked up from one of his mentors.
3 min read
22
May
A roboti Pinocchio, jumping up in the air with a German village in the background. yelling “I’m a real boy”

From Prompt to Puppet: Why OpenAI's Jony Ive Deal Is Giving Pinocchio Vibes

The New York Times reported that OpenAI is buying IO, a start-up founded by Jony Ive (the guy behind the
2 min read

© 2025 Tales of Product. All rights reserved.