We build powerful AI systems to manage the complexity of our economies, and these systems make our economies more complex. This recursive loop holds important opportunities and risks. Economic debates about Artificial Intelligence resemble the science-fiction battlefield in James Cameron’s Terminator saga. They are dominated by robots. Some economists believe…

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) are being described as a ‘general purpose technology’ that could transform whole industries and even re-invent the process of invention itself. …

Algorithmic fails Dig below the surface of some of today’s biggest tech controversies and you are likely to find an algorithm misfiring:[1] YouTube advertising controversy: The algorithm placed adverts from some of the biggest global brands on videos with hate speech Facebook video controversy: The algorithm posted violent videos in its users’…

“Our job is to create new connections, but how do we prove their value?” “Measurements are short-term but out impacts are long-term” “The way we are measured discourages us from taking risks” These are some of the things you are likely to hear if you spend time talking to people…

“I just have a feeling in my bones. There’s something odd going on, and I explore it by writing a novel, by trying to find the unconscious logic that runs below the surface and looking for the hidden wiring. …

Unlike people, organisations reproduce by dying. This is how they generate spin-outs, small, modified versions of themselves that expand into new areas. Industrial clusters like Silicon Valley, Hollywood or the City of London are basins of economic activity that capture the benefits of company death. …