This is work in progress
Automate Work, Amplify Life.
East/West AI research, education and investing.
The West is loud. The East is quiet. You get both stories.
East/West AIpha Daily · Thursday 5 November 2026
Today's East and West AI news and trends relevant to builders and allocators. Lands every weekday at 5 am Silicon Valley time and 8 am Wall Street time.
By the way, please take our poll. One question, one tap. Your answer goes into our free 8 Nov report on what the midterms mean for AI.
After the midterms, the real brake on US AI is...
The US midterms, read through AI. Preview of our 8 Nov report. Americans voted on many things on 3 November. We read the result through one lens, AI, for builders and allocators, East and West.
Source: Reuters, 4 Nov
Our view
AI needs scale and top-down support. Trump gave big tech both. Voters pushed back. Democrats took both chambers of Congress (projected, not certified) in what Reuters called a sweeping "repudiation" of Trump (Reuters). Only 38% of voters approve of him (NBC exit poll).
We at WorkOptional read it as a vote against the rapid growth of untethered big tech AI, run by an oligopoly of billionaires. Elon Musk spent at least $474 million, and both his Texas statewide picks lost (CNBC). His reply on X: "Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now" (CNBC). James Talarico, who beat Ken Paxton: "Texas is not for sale" (TheWrap). Gina Hinojosa, Texas governor-elect: "Does Texas belong to the people of Texas, or is this the billionaires' world and we just live in it?" (Hinojosa campaign).
The evidence
Harm. 57% of voters say AI will hurt society more than help (NBC exit poll).
Backyards. 76% oppose a data center in their community (NBC/SSRS poll, as reported).
Texas flipped. Hinojosa beat Gov. Greg Abbott, about 53% to 46% (not certified), on a pledge to pause new data center approvals (NBC).
The counterweight. The economy was the top issue at 39%. AI and data centers ranked 19th on what mattered most to voters (Adam Kovacevich, Chamber of Progress).
Three open questions
The midterms hit Big Tech AI. What slows first? For: Dan Ives says data center construction slows nationwide. Against: Goldman's Rich Privorotsky says capex gets pulled forward into 2027 (Yicai). Nothing yet shows the models slowing.
If US AI build-out stalls, who gains most? For a shift: Google committed another $15 billion to Malaysian data centers the next day (Malay Mail). Against: Trump keeps the veto, so hearings are near certain but a broad federal AI law is unlikely.
Builders, will politics push you to open-weight models? For: Chinese models ran about 4.8x the tokens of US models last week, 99.55 trillion against 20.68 trillion in the week of 26 Oct to 1 Nov, the 27th straight week ahead (Guandian via Sina). Against: White House AI adviser David Sacks reportedly called open source an "endangered species" (POLITICO Pro, headline only).
The East
Beijing. Xinhua called this the first US election where AI's impact stood out (Xinhua, 31 Oct). Officially, it's "a US domestic affair," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning (MFA).
The limit. Chip controls stay bipartisan, and DHS banned DeepSeek from civilian agencies (BBC Chinese, 20 Oct). China's opening is commercial, not political.
Southeast Asia. In our view, US friction could favour hosting in Vietnam and its neighbours, if power and the grid allow.
Builders and allocators (opinion, not recommendations)
Builders: if politics raises the price of US compute, could you switch models in a week? Test one open-weight model on one workflow this week, and keep the stack switchable.
Allocators: price the permit, not just the model. Texas holds about 27% of planned US data center gigawatts (Wells Fargo via Yicai). SpaceX's Texas Terafab and its 10GW AI compute plan sit there (Motley Fool), and a Democratic Congress may slow a Tesla and SpaceX deal (Investopedia).
East market move
Chip selloff: the Philadelphia Semiconductor index fell 3.13% to a six-month low on 4 Nov, and Asian chipmakers slid (Yicai).
鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利
yù bàng xiāng zhēng, yú wēng dé lì
"While the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman takes both."
In our view, big tech and US voters are locked in a fight. Who is the fisherman? We answer in our free 10 to 15 page report on 8 Nov.
A midterm wave is a cycle, not the end of the race.
At the time of writing, WorkOptional owns a position in SpaceX and holds no direct positions in the other companies named in this edition. Results are projected, not certified. Research and opinion, not investment advice. Views are those of WorkOptional.
East/West AIpha Daily is free every weekday, and if you subscribe now, the premium edition is free too. Paid plans start soon. Know a builder or investor still betting on one side? Forward this. Get it free: www.workoptional.ai/subscribe?utm_source=ewd_261105
The West is loud. The East is quiet. You get both stories.