This section of Imminent Readings offers a variety of insights into how AI, politics, and economics intersect in a constantly evolving world.
Updated weekly (last update 25/03/2025)
AI Thinks Differently Than People Do. Here’s Why That Matters. Artificial intelligence is transforming industries, but its real promise lies in partnership with human intuition. While generative AI excels at processing data, it doesn’t create groundbreaking innovations on its own. The magic happens when AI’s analytical power merges with human creativity, enabling organizations to break away from convention and pioneer new directions. Read the full article on Harvard Business Review
As Gen Z job applicants balloon, companies are turning to AI agent recruiters As Gen Z enters the workforce, companies are turning to AI-driven recruitment tools to keep up with the growing demand for talent. Maki, a startup founded in 2022, has raised $28.6 million in Series A funding to expand its platform that automates up to 80% of the hiring process. With major clients like H&M and BNP Paribas, Maki aims to reduce bias and enhance the candidate experience. Explore how AI is reshaping recruitment and what it means for the future of hiring. Read the full article on TechCrunch
Donald Trump Isn’t the Only Chaos Agent In this editorial, the author argues that Donald Trump’s possible 2024 reelection, while politically significant, pales in comparison to the long-term impact of AI on humanity. Reflecting on how technology often eclipses politics, the piece explores concerns over AI regulation under new leadership and the growing influence of tech moguls like Elon Musk. The real question isn’t who leads, but how disruptive innovations like AI will reshape our future. Read the full article on Wired
Big Tech Wants You Back in the Office Tech giants like Amazon, Apple, and Google, once champions of remote work, are now pushing for employees to return to the office. This shift is sparking debate: Does in-person work truly boost productivity, or is it about reclaiming control over the workforce and leveraging expensive office spaces? While some companies, like Airbnb, still embrace flexibility, others are embracing the power of physical presence. As the trend grows, it raises key questions: What’s the future of work in tech, and who really holds the power? Listen to the podcast on Wired
Collaborating with AI. How humans and machines can best work together The concept of working with artificial intelligence (AI) is explored through a series of articles and sponsored content, all focused on how organizations can effectively integrate AI into their operations. This involves leveraging AI to improve budgeting, enhance skills, foster communication, and drive growth. Researchers emphasize that while AI excels at specific tasks like budgeting, it faces challenges in others, urging companies to strike a balance in harnessing AI’s potential. Read the full article on Harvard Business Review
GenAI suffers from data overload, so companies should focus on smaller, specific goals Generative AI faces a critical challenge: managing data overload. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, experts like Chet Kapoor, Vanessa Larco, and George Fraser argued for a shift toward small-scale, focused goals over ambitious scaling. Their insights reveal why companies must prioritize solving current problems with targeted strategies, embracing what Kapoor calls the “Angry Birds era” of AI—an experimental phase laying the groundwork for future breakthroughs. Read the full article on TechCrunch
How the Next President Will Determine the Future of AI The 2024 U.S. presidential election could shape AI policy, with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both backing innovation but differing on regulatory approaches. Harris advocates safeguards, while Trump focuses on innovation without clear regulations. Discover how their AI stances may impact America’s tech future. Read the full article on Scientific American
How To Use AI to Build Your Company Collective Intelligence In his Harvard Business Review article, Christoph Riedl explores how AI can enhance a company’s collective intelligence, leading to improved long-term performance. He emphasizes the importance of collective memory, attention, and reasoning, highlighting the synergy between humans and AI. This insight offers valuable strategies for fostering collaboration and learning in digital transformation. Read the full article on Harvard Business Review
Gen AI: The Democratization Dilemma Generative AI is becoming a powerful tool for democratization, empowering everyone to create texts, images, and even songs. While this availability opens up opportunities for many, it also seems to diminish the product’s value due to three major contradictions. Discover these contradictions and learn how to safeguard your brand. Read the full article on ET Brand Equity
‘Side job, self-employed, high-paid’: behind the AI slop flooding TikTok and Facebook The ‘AI slop’ phenomenon, which is flooding Facebook and Instagram with AI-generated content, is hiding a gold mine. Creators of these products are making a fortune by going viral. But why are platforms like TikTok interested in the proliferation of these contents? Read the full article on The Conversation
AI anxiety afflicts 90% of consumers and businesses – see what worries them most The article highlights the dual anxiety surrounding data security amid rising AI adoption. Consumers worry about businesses mishandling their personal data, while cybersecurity leaders fear that AI will be exploited by hackers. Both groups emphasize the urgent need for improved data governance and protection measures. Read the full article on ZDNet
The Wired AI Elections Project 2024 is a crucial year for global democracy, with over 2 billion people expected to vote, the largest turnout ever recorded. The WIRED AI Elections Project will monitor how generative AI, such as deepfakes and chatbots, is influencing elections by spreading disinformation and targeted messaging, raising concerns over AI’s impact on public opinion and electoral integrity. Explore the project on WIRED
How AI-generated memes are changing the 2024 election The elections next November in the US are highlighting the emergence of a great contradiction: the memes generated by AI. From the most discussed case, Trump’s claim that Taylor Swift and her fandom support him, more and more people have started to debate the topic. Read the full article on NPR
Artificial intelligence and modern planned economies: a discussion on methods and institutions This Spyridon Samothrakis’ article surveys the possible uses of AI in the construction of “computerized central economic planning.” It argues that the implementation of such principles would need to have a very different outlook from current market practices, with a focus on producing basic “interlinking” commodities (e.g. tools, processed materials, instruction videos) that consumers can use as a form of collective R&D. Article by Springer Link
India’s IT industry is paving the way for its AI future The Indian IT sector is a global powerhouse, accounting for 7% of the country’s GDP and employing nearly 5.5 million people. It is increasingly becoming a crucial component of the country’s economy. Therefore, it’s crucial to invest in workers with AI skills and foster a strong connection with academia. By pursuing this path, India will retain its international leadership in AI application. Read the full article on Business Standard
In Venezuela, AI news Anchors aren’t Replacing Journalists. They’re Protecting Them Following the July elections, Venezuela has been plagued by a climate of terror and censorship. This situation has caused many journalists to take a step back, but Venezuela Retweets has stood out as an exception. While maintaining the high-profile information created by human journalists, it has chosen to communicate this news through AI-generated presenters and solely through social media. This approach safeguards the identities of journalists while ensuring the necessary flow of information remains uninterrupted. Read the full article on CNN
Open source AI now has a definition. This it what it means and why it’s still tricky In the last two years, many high-tech companies have been promoting their AI systems as ‘open source’ leading models. However, Open Source Initiative (OSI) gave a new definition of ‘open source’ making the big companies’ models close source. Read the full article on Euronews
Robots sacked, screening shut down: a new movement of luddites is rising against AI As generative AI is more and more present in our lives and industry, a new movement “anti AI” is rising. They define themselves as “luddites” but they’re not rebelling, they’re looking for a compromise where AI is regulated. More and more industries, such as Lego or Nintendo, are walkbacking from their most innovative AI projects due to these protests. Read the full article on The Guardian
La Corsa al Ribasso del Commercio Online Shein and Temu are changing the way ecommerce is done internationally. Amazon is trying its best to face this competition, focusing on the fact that the asiatic competitors can afford these low prices thanks to the little respect of the environment and the workers. Is this the right answer to make ecommerce sustainable? How much longer will we be able to play on the downside? Read the full article on Internazionale
China deploys censors to create socialist AI The Beijing government is testing artificial intelligence companies’ LLM to ensure their systems “embody socialist core values”. The effort involves batch-testing an LLM’s responses to a litany of questions with many of them related to China’s political sensitivities and its President Xi Jinping. Read the full article on Financial Times
Do you really need a chief artificial intelligence officer? This article discusses how companies should adjust their internal organization to optimize the potential of artificial intelligence. Specifically, a new professional role is emerging, the Chief AI Officer, and it’s well suited to our business target. Read the full article on Forbes
Interviews with ChatGPT Photographer Barbara Zanon is experimenting with a series of conversations with AI software. The first is with ChatGPT and delves into a major theme: creativity. Read the full article on Talks about AI
Reskilling in the age of AI The upcoming changes will affect not only data scientists but all areas of business. Learn how to lead the entire company through this process, introducing five new paradigms for leaders and those who want to reposition themselves. Read the full article on the Harvard Business Review
What the hell is Elon Musk doing at X? 5 theories of the case In October 2022 Elon Musk acquired Twitter and turned it into X. Since then the social media platform has been in chaos. In this article, author John Hermann tries to make sense of what Musk is seeking to achieve. Read the full article on The Intelligencer
Open (for business): Big tech, concentrated power and the political economy of OpenAI This paper discusses the ambiguity surrounding “open” and “open source” in AI, emphasizing that true openness often falls short, limiting democratic access and competition. Read the full paper on Social Science Research Network
Paying ourselves to decarbonize When decarbonization occurs, will petrostates be left alone to face an inevitable crisis? This article analyzes the current global structure of the world economy and tells us why it is necessary to support the petrostates in this transition. Read the full article on Noēma Magazine
Is generative AI really ready for the enterprise? An interesting piece that dives into the uses of generative AI as a tool for enterprises. A matter of time with some adjustments, according to author Ron Miller. Read the full article on TechCrunch