Trump loves AI, and the MAGA world is getting worried
God, copyrights, labor and the human psyche — this story explores how populist conservatives are responding to the AI revolution.
Mohar Chatterjee
Journalist & Engineer.
Committed to building the future of the news industry.
About Me
I'm an Indian Bengali woman, raised in Bahrain, based in Washington DC. In July 2025, I became a U.S. citizen. I've previously lived in Pasadena, CA for undergrad (Caltech) and New York, NY for grad school (Columbia University).
I hold Master's degrees in Computer Science and Journalism, and Bachelor's degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Economics — suffice to say I'm interested in a lot of things. Most recently, I was Politico's national AI correspondent. Take a peek at my CV to see other things I've done.
I am deeply curious about the commercial and social impact of novel technologies. I also believe that we work best when we collaborate. Coming out on top of the latest wave of disruption is going to take all of us.
Get in touch with me at moharchat@gmail.com
Keep scrolling to see some of work. Follow me on X for updates.
Some Recent Publications
EXCLUSIVE: Trump AI Action Plan to slash regulations, streamline permits
Scooped the Trump administration's AI Action Plan and accompanying executive orders.
Pentagon’s ‘SWAT team of nerds’ resigns en masse
Scoop about the staff of the Defense Digital Service — the Pentagon’s fast-track tech development arm — choosing to leave under pressure from the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.
Inside the shadowy global battle to tame the world’s most dangerous technology
A story about the deal-making in backrooms between tech executives and world leaders that led to the AI policy landscape we have today.
Rise of the AI psychbots
Researchers in China built an AI chatbot based on Martin Seligman, the influential American psychologist — part of a broader wave of AI chatbots modeled on real humans.
Israel’s appetite for high-tech weapons highlights a Biden policy gap
How the IDF is able to get cutting edge AI platforms from American manufacturers and modify them to run custom mass surveillance software.
Sweeping new Biden order aims to alter the AI landscape
Scooped the Biden administration's mammoth AI executive order.
AI might have already set the stage for the next tech monopoly
One of the first articles to raise the alarm about monopoly conditions in the AI market. Cited in a Senate hearing.
Getting inside my Roomba’s head
A short piece that compares Amazon's data collection practices to pointillism.
The US is undercounting COVID deaths, researchers say. Now they have a tool to figure out why.
The US is undercounting COVID deaths, researchers say. Now they have a tool to figure out why.
Death rates among Native, Hispanic and Black Americans still outpace pre-pandemic figures, showing the hidden toll of COVID-19 on communities of color even as vaccines have become widely available, according to data released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Consider the impact to Hispanic residents: In the first 10 months of 2021, before the typically deadly winter months,
Death rates among Native, Hispanic and Black Americans still outpace pre-pandemic figures, showing the hidden toll of COVID-19 on communities of color even as vaccines have become widely available, according to data released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Consider the impact to Hispanic residents: In the first 10 months of 2021, before the typically deadly winter months,
Fentanyl Is Killing More People During the Pandemic. In Santa Clara County, Victims Are Getting Younger
In April, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office filed murder charges against one of those alleged dealers for selling fake pills that killed an 18-year-old woman.
Grace Bhardwaj and her 17-year-old boyfriend had purchased what they thought were Percocet pills on Snapchat on April 5, according to the county's District Attorney’s Office..
What the couple got instead, officials said, are known on the street as M-30s, little blue pills with an M inside a box on one side and the number
Grace Bhardwaj and her 17-year-old boyfriend had purchased what they thought were Percocet pills on Snapchat on April 5, according to the county's District Attorney’s Office..
What the couple got instead, officials said, are known on the street as M-30s, little blue pills with an M inside a box on one side and the number
How We Analyzed Death Records and Found Overdoses Rising
While reporting on infectious disease deaths is normally considered the purview of the medical examiner or coroner, most counties in California assigned the tracking and reporting of COVID-19-related deaths to local health departments.
In Santa Clara County, all COVID-19 deaths were reported to, and reviewed by, the Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, regardless of whether an individual lived in the county or elsewhere. This included deaths occurring at home, and in hospitals, long-term care fac
In Santa Clara County, all COVID-19 deaths were reported to, and reviewed by, the Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, regardless of whether an individual lived in the county or elsewhere. This included deaths occurring at home, and in hospitals, long-term care fac
California's Working-Age Latinos Are Disproportionately Dying of COVID-19
On Dec. 20, as many Bay Area families prepared to celebrate an unusual pandemic Christmas, Maribel Alvarado’s family confronted some shocking news. The vibrant 38-year-old had died suddenly from COVID-19 that day, at a Kaiser Hospital in San Jose. Alvarado had started feeling symptoms less than a week before, and her doctor had recommended bed rest, said her sister Carmen Bueno. Alvarado didn’t have any other illnesses or high-risk medical conditions. “She was perfectly healthy. So I’m just conf
Analysis & updates | Why Some States Won’t Share Race and Ethnicity Data on Vaccinations with the CDC—and Why That’s a Problem
This past fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked every US state and territory to , agreeing to share wide-ranging vaccine data and records with the federal government. raised concerns, but every one signed.
But it turns out that most states ended up withholding the names, addresses, ZIP codes, and dates of birth of those vaccinated, and at least seven states go a step further and redact race and ethnicity data from the federal government or don’t collect it in the first plac
But it turns out that most states ended up withholding the names, addresses, ZIP codes, and dates of birth of those vaccinated, and at least seven states go a step further and redact race and ethnicity data from the federal government or don’t collect it in the first plac
Michigan was warned about British COVID-19 variant, but many ignored it
Michigan was warned about British COVID-19 variant, but many ignored it
A deadlier coronavirus variant that had first ravaged Britain was now here — in metro Detroit, at the University of Michigan, a state prison in Ionia and rural counties in the Thumb region — with doctors, nurses and public health officials fully aware.
And yet Michiganders — from state prison employees to small business owners and local officials to parents of high school athletes — ignored medical experts' repeated warnin
A deadlier coronavirus variant that had first ravaged Britain was now here — in metro Detroit, at the University of Michigan, a state prison in Ionia and rural counties in the Thumb region — with doctors, nurses and public health officials fully aware.
And yet Michiganders — from state prison employees to small business owners and local officials to parents of high school athletes — ignored medical experts' repeated warnin
The Demise of White House Market Will Shake Up the Dark Web
You’ve probably never heard of White House Market. Google can't find it. Its vendors don't advertise much. The few public references to the website are on Reddit forums or specialty tech blogs. But among users of the dark web, WHM was, for years, the go-to online marketplace for illegal drugs and fraudulent credit cards.
Despite never reaching the peak trading volumes of its more-famous cousins Silk Road and AlphaBay, White House Market had established itself as one of the most popular—and secu
Despite never reaching the peak trading volumes of its more-famous cousins Silk Road and AlphaBay, White House Market had established itself as one of the most popular—and secu
Other projects
Master's Thesis: Tracing Patterns in International Synthetic Opioids Trafficking Through Activity on Online Platforms
Tracked precursor chemicals sold on dark net & clear web, revealing how global supply chains for deadly drugs respond nimbly to new regulations.
Smoke Point
A presentation to NPR-KQED going over all the data products relevant to mapping wildfire smoke exposure in the U.S. by census tract over 10 years using NOAA satellite data.
Digital Empowerment after Incarceration
Meet the team at Emergent Works, a nonprofit that trains and employs formerly incarcerated coders.
Vehicle Detection in Satellite Images with Deep Learning
Vehicle Detection in Overhead Satellite Images using One Shot Keras RetinaNet Model
By Mohar Chatterjee and Carrie Hay Kellar
By Mohar Chatterjee and Carrie Hay Kellar
Impossible to Beat - Body Standards in the Fashion Industry
An issue-based video profile featuring NYC-based model, Ingrid Medeiros.
Fossil Fuels and Natural Gas Extraction Map API Walkthrough
Basic, interactive 3D map to help users understand and visualize impact of oil and natural gas extraction on wildlands, water and air quality within USA. API supports user review system for local wildlife spotting, air, and water quality. Extraction sites, air and water quality databases were created using EPA, US Geological Survey, and FracTracker Alliance data. Developed by Mohar Chatterjee and John Daciuk for Columbia's Introduction to Databases class (Luis Gravano, Fall 2020), where it won best project.
Back-end: PostgreSQL, SQLAlchemy, Flask Python.
Front-end: Google Maps API, JavaScript.
Back-end: PostgreSQL, SQLAlchemy, Flask Python.
Front-end: Google Maps API, JavaScript.
A Sicilian Sommelier in New York City - Salvatore Augusta
One man's journey from Sicily to Harlem, told through food and wine.