Democracy Dies in DarknessThe $700 billion AI spending spree has few precedents. Good luck finding an electrician or a reasonably priced smartphone.February 7, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. ESTToday at 5:00 a.m. ESTAn Amazon Web Services data center in Boardman, Oregon. (Jenny Kane/AP)Electricians are getting harder to find, and some construction projects are on hold. Smartphones are expected to get pricier for potentially years to come. And promising innovations are being starved of investment funding.What...