Weekly Selection

How war-induced food inflation disproportionately impacts the poor. How IT handed a disproportionate military advantage to a small Ukrainian assault force. How tech could help in the ever-worsening supply chain crisis.  Should we be wary of Twitter experts? Why less really can be more when it comes to ‘stuff’.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

Erhan Artuc, Guillermo Falcone, Guido Porto, Bob Rijkers, War-induced food price inflation imperils the poor
(VOXeu, 1 April 2022)
The war in Ukraine is triggering a surge in food prices that will push into poverty millions of people far-removed and who have nothing to do with the conflict. This article analyses the impact of food price inflation on households in developing countries, where it will exacerbate issues of poverty and inequality. The economists conclude that average household welfare will decrease in 43 of the 53 countries that compose the sample, experiencing an average real income loss of -1.5%. Protracted price increases will have long-term consequences for prosperity in many of these countries (free access – reads in 8-10 min).
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Julian Borger, The drone operators who halted Russian convoy headed for Kyiv
(The Guardian, 28 March 2022)
The fact that a special IT force of 30 Ukrainian soldiers and drone operators on quad bikes brought to a halt a 40-mile Russian mechanized convoy is a testament to the changing nature of war and to the power of asymmetry. This article documents how a team composed by ex-soldiers, investment bankers and other professionals managed to put together a unit resorting to crowdfunding and dependent on a global network of friends and supporters to find on eBay or other websites the technology and devices they need. This is the future of warfare: swarms of small teams networked together by mutual trust and advanced communications can overwhelm a bigger and more heavily armed adversary (free access – reads in 6-7 min).
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Will Knight, The Supply Chain Crisis Is About to Get a Lot Worse
(Wired, 28 March 2022)
The pandemic and the war have made it plain that the supply chain is so complex, interconnected, and fragile that it can’t be made completely immune to shocks. This article provides plenty of evidence why it is in chaos and the reasons why it’s getting worse. The new ‘normal’ of backlogs and breakdowns is forcing companies to adopt new strategies to keep goods moving. Getting ahead of disruptions as early as possible is more important than ever, and tech is here to help, with hints that it will soon be able to track problems or predict where new ones might occur (metered paywall – reads in 7-9 min).
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Chris Stokel-Walker, Inside the Rise of the Niche Twitter Expert
(Vice, 24 March 2022)
The pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine have brought to the fore the issue of what it means to be considered as an expert in the modern social media environment, and how easily people are elevated to the status of expert. “There are a lot of ‘TED talk’ intellectuals floating around online” and many concerns about the influence of online expertise. Twitter crystallizes the issue: how can we learn about hundreds of years of geopolitics and military history, or the immense complexity of a respiratory virus in the form of 280-character posts? (metered paywall- reads in about 10 min).
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Melissa Norberg, How to have less stuff
(Psyche, 30 March 2022)
Whether it’s buying new stuff we don’t need or can’t afford, or holding on to things for way too long, our possessions often hold too much power over us. In this very practical and outcome-oriented (less stuff!) article, the professor of cognitive and behaviour therapy explains how we can learn to regain control in a way that benefits both ourselves and the planet. We don’t have to experience symptoms of compulsive buying-shopping disorder and hoarding disorder to improve self-control (metered paywall – reads in 10min+).
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