An unsettling story is being played out in the field of tech. It touches the boundaries of privacy and personal freedom—a bonsai version of China’s plan by 2021 to assign a grade to all 1.3 billion citizens on their “social behavior.” More and more, tech AI companies are selling recruitment technology to both large employers and individuals (to choose a babysitter for example) that assess…
Slow growth does not necessarily equate with low or lower wellbeing. Scandinavia is a case in point. It’s a slow-growing region with a GDP forecast for this year hovering around 2 percent (from a high of 2.5 percent in Sweden to a low of 1.1 percent in Norway). Yet northern Europe is a poster child in terms of wellbeing, and it offers what is probably…
The digital divide is going into reverse. Until recently, it was all about access to technology; but now, it’s about limiting access to technology. Among those who know most about tech, the worry about the impact that digital devices have on their children is such that they are moving toward a complete or partial ban. In Silicon Valley, elite schools now eschew most digital devices…
MONTHLY BAROMETER It is often said that technology destroys jobs but not work. True indeed. But many new jobs are being created beyond tech. “Pet wellness”—a fast-growing business—is one such example. Although why some of us (in increasing numbers) treat our animals as if they were humans is not easy to explain, the investment case of anthropomorphism is incontrovertible. This year, pet spending in the…
By Thierry Malleret, economist The Big Tech companies, such as Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook, are now using data and augmented reality to enter the retail beauty market, aiming to disrupt the bricks-and-mortar stores that currently dominate this massive industry. What’s happening? Amazon already owns 20 percent of the online retail beauty market but is aiming to expand further with the recent launch of a line…
MONTHLY BAROMETER The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on the current state of climate makes for grim reading. Its overarching conclusion is that every fraction of a degree of warming matters; and that if we want to limit global warming to 1.5˚ C (2.7˚ F) in the hope of averting catastrophe, we have as little as 12 years to act, which requires…
