Weekend Reading
In case you missed it…
Our pick of industry shaping news from the past week that we think you need to see. Compiled by Rosely Group’s Global Head of Content, Liam Thompson.
As AI replaces jobs, blue collar workers will become ever more important. Joel Kotkin
Friday 22nd September
Inflation figures from the UK this week confounded expectations, coming in lower than expected at 6.7%. The news preceded (just) the latest meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, who, sensing that inflation may have peaked, held the base rate steady. This follows 14 consecutive rate rises from the MPC, and will be welcome news for borrowers and for the government. This article for CapX goes behind the scenes at the Bank of England, to investigate the thought processes behind rate decisions.
https://capx.co/on-interest-rates-the-bank-of-englands-goldilocksers-have-won-the-day/
With seemingly weekly advances in the capabilities of artificial intelligence, a future which might once have felt like a sci-fi movie, seems ever closer to being realised. While it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement around AI however, there are many out there who have warned about the impacts this technology might have. One of those is Joel Kotkin who claims we’re entering an age of ‘digital feudalism’. In this article for UnHerd, Joel says that as AI replaces jobs, blue collar workers will become ever more important.
https://unherd.com/2023/09/blue-collar-workers-are-our-only-hope/
This article in City AM focuses on an oft overlooked aspect of former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s notorious mini-budget which was an increase in business funding available via the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). While this increase is welcomed, the article argues that the glacial pace of the British state means that, despite the SEIS, high-growth start-ups will be looking beyond the UK’s shores for places to turn their start-up into a unicorn.
https://www.cityam.com/fast-growth-tech-firms-wont-wait-for-the-glacial-pace-of-british-politics/
The ‘next Republican revolution’? This time, the focus of the revolution is the ‘deep state’, a term popularised during the Presidency of Donald Trump
In the US, while much of the focus on Elon Musk these days is on his politics and his tinkering with the site formally known as Twitter, this week saw interesting news on another of the entrepreneur’s projects, Neuralink. The Verge reports how people are now being sought for a clinical trial of the brain-computer interface. Time will tell what Neuralink might deliver, but with the potential to be a cure for a whole range of physical debilitations, as well as being a means of insuring against runaway AI - something Elon Musk has publicly expressed fears about - the eyes of the world will be on this clinical trial like few others.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/19/23880861/neuralink-human-clinical-trial-n1-implant
This article in Politico takes a look behind the scenes of the ‘next Republican revolution’. This time, the focus of the revolution is the ‘deep state’, a term popularised during the Presidency of Donald Trump. So, what is the deep state and does it really exist (the same question might be asked by UK readers about ‘the blob’)? This article is food for thought on this interesting topic, a topic which could become a salient issue in next year’s US elections.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/09/19/project-2025-trump-reagan-00115811
This article from the Financial Times takes a look at escalating geopolitical tensions between China and the US. With many commentators saying that the era of globalisation and free trade is over as the rhetoric between the two countries cranks up, the article takes a cooler look at the trading patterns between the world’s two biggest economies. The conclusion? Tech remains central in ‘hot peace’ between China and US.
https://www.ft.com/content/4dda44db-1795-4c1c-8e77-bd7fcaba3a71