Think: This article, How to Fine-tune AI for prosperity, offers an interesting look into the issue of how artificial intelligence will impact productivity growth in the near future. The short answer is that economists don’t yet know the full extent but they are cautiously optimistic that AI will soon begin to speed up the development of new materials and new drugs.
Think Different: While AI continues to be all the rage, this post by Akeem Azhar suggests that anti-obesity drugs might be today’s most important technology. The reason is because these drugs are doing a lot more than just helping people lose weight. Many users are drinking less alcohol and are seeing a dramatically lower risk of diabetes. (Interestingly, the drugs also seem to help chronic shoppers buy fewer things but researchers don’t yet understand the cause of this effect).
Think More: In September, the FAA is poised to revise its regulations regarding drone operations. The net effect is that we are about to see a lot more drones in the sky.
Think the Unthinkable: As a former intelligence officer, I found this look back how Soviet Union spies often disrupted western political, military, economic and social institutions highly informative with regard to the future. This is because Putin and his thugs still use these techniques and, if the war against Ukraine continues to grow worse for Russia, we can expect Putin to double down on these old tricks and techniques.
Think Smaller: Personalized brain pacemakers for people suffering from Parkinson’s are already here. Soon, the technology may be used to combat everything from depression and chronic pain to obsessive compulsive disorder.
Afterthought: “Poets are the mirrors of the gigantic shadows which futurity casts upon the future.” — Percy Bussey Shelley
