The Unintended Consequences of Censoring Digital Technology -- Evidence from Italy's ChatGPT Ban

We analyse the effects of the ban of ChatGPT, a generative pre-trained transformer chatbot, on individual productivity. We first compile data on the hourly coding output of over 8,000 professional GitHub users in Italy and other European countries to analyse the impact of the ban on individual productivity. Combining the high-frequency data with the sudden announcement of the ban in a difference-in-differences framework, we find that the output of Italian developers decreased by around 50% in the first two business days after the ban and recovered after that. Applying a synthetic control approach to daily Google search and Tor usage data shows that the ban led to a significant increase in the use of censorship bypassing tools. Our findings show that users swiftly implement strategies to bypass Internet restrictions but this adaptation activity creates short-term disruptions and hampers productivity

Long range interactions in nanoscale science

Our understanding of the “long range” electrodynamic, electrostatic, and polar interactions that dominate the organization of small objects at separations beyond an interatomic bond length is reviewed. From this basic-forces perspective, a large number of systems are described from which one can learn about these organizing forces and how to modulate them. The many practical systems that harness these nanoscale forces are then surveyed. The survey reveals not only the promise of new devices and materials, but also the possibility of designing them more effectively.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (CAREER award Grant No. DMR 0448879)United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR Young Investigator award Grant No. FA9550-07-1-0125)United States. Dept. of Energy (DOE-BES grant Grant No. DEFG02- 08ER46511)Sandia National LaboratoriesSandia National Laboratories (Truman Program LDRD under Project No. 120209)European Commission (Contract No. NMP3-CT-2005-013862 (INCEMS)