The ubiquitous challenge of AI and how to meet it. The worsening fate of democracy in Africa. The impact of AI on the future of work. What’s happening at Goldman Sachs? The now indisputable link between food and inflammation.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Ian Bremmer and Mustafa Suleyman, The AI Power Paradox
(Foreign Affairs, 16 August 2023)
This article takes us to 2035, when the world-changing technological revolution triggered by generative AI will have remade politics, economies, and societies. Simply put: “AI will pair extraordinary growth and opportunity with immense disruption and risk.” More fundamentally, and unlike previous waves, “it will also initiate a seismic shift in the structure and balance of global power as it threatens the status of nation-states as the world’s primary geopolitical actors.” Read on to grasp how policymakers around the world have just begun to wake up to the challenges posed by AI and wrestle with how to govern it. A tall order as AI is too powerful to pause (metered paywall that may require prior registration – reads in 9-11 min).
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Alex de Waal, The Deluge Facing Africa’s Leaders Is Going to Get Worse
(The New York Times, 14 August 2023)
An uninterrupted swath of African countries from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea (mostly in an area south of the Sahara known as the Sahel) is now under military rule – a sign that a large part of the continent has fallen off the path of building functioning states. This raises an unsettling question with global ramifications: how can poor and insecure countries forge political order and give their citizens the confidence that democratic government can deliver what they need? The response is far from straightforward (gifted article – reads in 7-9 min).
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Mark Rayner, AI: 3 ways artificial intelligence is changing the future of work
(World Economic Forum, 16 August 2023)
A simple, digestible primer on how AI, which has dominated the business agenda since ChatGPT burst on to the scene in late 2022, will affect the future of work. Most experts agree that Generative AI will eventually automate millions of jobs. However, its employment benefits are harder to quantify. Three ‘reasonable’ convictions: (1) AI will drive job creation; (2) Businesses will prioritize AI skills; (3) Tasks will be augmented, not automated by AI (free access – reads in 4-5 min).
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Jen Wieczner, Is David Solomon Too Big a Jerk to Run Goldman Sachs?
(New York Magazine, 11 August 2023)
The inside story of a mutiny in one of the world’s most famous banks – a good read and fun! The context: “You don’t need to be popular to be the CEO of Goldman Sachs. You can even be an asshole. The only real nonnegotiable is that you be skilled at making money.” But under Solomon’s leadership, Goldman is no longer the “secretive and exclusive club of elites who were admired as the most talented operatives in the game, guaranteed to earn more money than their peers at less exalted institutions. Read on to understand why (metered paywall – reads in 15-20 min).
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Lauren Ball and Emily Burch, 9 signs you have inflammation in your body. Could an anti-inflammatory diet help?
(The Conversation, 15 August 2023)
Practical and to the point! Inflammation and “inflammaging” (an age-related increase in persistent, low-grade inflammation in blood and tissue,) constitute a strong risk factor for many health conditions and diseases. Now that the relationship between food and inflammation is increasingly well understood. the two academics explain how an anti-inflammatory diet helps reduce inflammation, and conversely how a pro-inflammatory diet can exacerbate it. Favour (1) antioxidants (lots of fruits and vegetables), (2) unsaturated fatty acids found in fish, seeds, nuts, and plant-based oils, and (3) fibre and prebiotics. Avoid processed foods (free access – reads in 6-8 min).
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