In a world where accelerating global warming and worries of nuclear war fill the public daily with existential dread, infrastructure billionaire (and former L.A. Dodgers owner) Frank McCourt Jr. is here to warn us that one threat in particular dwarfs all others — the power of big technology companies, Felix writes.

Why it matters: McCourt doesn't just have a diagnosis of the problem, he also comes bearing a weirdly simple solution in the form of a new computer networking protocol.

• McCourt's book is a prime example of what scholar Evgeny Morozov has diagnosed as "solutionism" — the tendency among the rich and influential to convince themselves that for any problem, there's a technological solution.

The big picture: The most extreme form of solutionism can be found in Elon Musk's conviction that the best way to prevent a wipeout of humanity is to colonize Mars.

• Much of the crypto world is solutionist to a greater or lesser degree, and in fact, McCourt's DSNP protocol has deep connections to a blockchain project called Frequency.

Zoom out: McCourt says American life today is "well and truly on fire" and avers that everything from the fentanyl epidemic to rising youth suicide rates can be attributed to the problems with big technology companies.

• "Our humanity and, indeed, our very lives are at stake," he writes. Big Tech "has stripped us of what makes us human."
• Warning that we're slouching toward "dystopia" and an "era of digital feudalism that will make the Middle Ages pale by comparison," he adds: "This is not hyperbole."

Zoom in: McCourt's solution to this problem is to paint himself as a latter-day Thomas Paine, rallying the masses behind his revolutionary cause.

• His goal: To "generate similar buzz and enthusiasm" for his DSNP protocol to that seen at Snapchat and TikTok, with millions of Americans choosing to "download a self-sovereign wallet."

How it works: What is DSNP? That's not easy to pin down. McCourt calls it "a new credentials-proving layer that allows you to create and prove control over a self-identifier that functions as a kind of universal login."

• With DSNP, he says, "we must embed our rights directly into the technology, making them functionally executable."
• That would create a human-centered internet where big companies no longer have any incentive to sow division to maximize engagement and attention.
• The whole project feels quixotic, not least because the companies it seeks to disrupt would need to rearchitect their web browsers (Chrome, Safari, Edge) to work with the new protocol — or else all of us would have to move to different web browsers that support it.

Reality check: The most effective philanthropic interventions tend to be incremental rather than revolutionary. Consider two developments today:

• Bloomberg Philanthropies, a foundation that specializes in unsexy giving, announced another $200 million to help U.S. cities cut their carbon emissions.
• Similarly, an umbrella group called Stronger Foundations for Nutrition released a framework helping foundations to work together to tackle nutrition and gender equality at the same time.

The bottom line: The more apocalyptic a billionaire becomes, the less practical his prosocial interventions will likely be.

New home construction in the U.S. is at a more than 50-year high, but the Biden administration wants more, Emily writes.

• "The bottom line is that you have to build, build, build," the president said in a speech yesterday about the housing plans tucked into his 2025 budget. "That's how we bring housing costs down for good."

Why it matters: America's housing shortage, plus record-high mortgage rates, rising home prices and rents are a big worry for voters — and a key area for the president as he makes his pitch for a second term.

Zoom in: There's a big focus on housing in the 2025 budget President Biden just sent Congress.

• Finding ways to reduce housing costs is a "central concern" for the administration, White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden tells Axios. "There's a bipartisan interest in housing and in increasing housing supply."

Zoom out: Much of the growth in new construction in recent years has been from multi-family units like apartment buildings. And much of that is at the higher end where developers see the biggest returns.

• The White House is focused on housing for lower- and middle-income folks.
• Still, the administration is taking some credit for the surge in construction over the past two years, pointing to efforts to streamline certain practices around affordable housing to speed up building.
• "We're proud" of the record high construction rate, Tanden says. "But there's more to do."

Read more: Why Biden's so obsessed with housing policy

Unionized bus drivers in Ohio have negotiated an unprecedented labor deal with a local transit agency that gives them veto power over autonomous vehicles (AVs), Axios' Joann Muller writes.

Why it matters: It's one way labor unions hope to protect drivers' jobs — and part of a broader backlash against self-driving vehicles.

• It also comes at a time when bus driver shortages may be pushing localities to consider new options.

The big picture: Advancements in automation and AI have become a big issue in labor negotiations in recent years, as Emily recently reported.

• Provisions over AI were a major sticking point in resolving the Hollywood strikes last year.

Zoom in: The Transport Workers Union's new collective bargaining agreement with the Central Ohio Transit Authority includes first-of-its-kind language requiring the union's consent to implement any form of autonomous transportation.

• If such technology is deployed, a qualified union operator must be aboard.
• The contract also says bus operators and mechanics cannot be laid off or have their wages reduced because of new or modified technology.

What's next: Union leaders aim to negotiate similar protections in upcoming contract talks with transit agencies in other cities, including San Francisco, Philadelphia and Houston.