In Europe, over a fifth of the population is at least 65 years old. In Japan, the figure is nearly 30 percent. And the World Health Organization projects the percentage of people across the globe who are over 60 years old will reach 22 percent by 2050, just about double what it was in 2015. …
Over a century ago, the economist Thorstein Veblen popularized the age-old idea that by purchasing luxury goods, and displaying them, people can communicate their elevated reputation—such as their wealth, success, or competence. This practice, which he referred to as “conspicuous consumption,” has been going on for millennia. Studies of Neolithic societies, for example, show evidence…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images More than a year into using generative AI daily, I wondered whether I was getting the most out of my AI use. There was no benchmark or feedback loop, and no one was grading my sessions with ChatGPT and Claude — until I created a self-audit. I did what…
Biotech companies face the same dilemma as businesses in other industries: Innovation drops off dramatically with scale. European biotech Argenx has reached a market value of more than $40 billion, having so far escaped that innovation trap. How has it done this? The company shuns hierarchy and instead organizes into small teams, each dedicated to…
The most important economic question in the AI era is not how many jobs will be replaced. It is whether AI is expanding human capacity: what we can imagine, do, and want. Youngjin Yoo argues that the demand frontier of human capacity — the outer limit of what people want, attempt, and are willing to…
Chris Gash/theispot.com The international order is undergoing structural transformation. War in the Middle East, the prolonged conflict in Ukraine, and major shifts in U.S. trade and foreign policy that have altered the country’s traditional alliances are manifestations of a broader reconfiguration of power. Tariffs, export controls, sanctions, and the vulnerability of strategic choke points as…
Emma Hanquist/Ikon Images In my ongoing exploration about the patterns and changes in how people approach their working lives, I’ve found myself looking back at my own memories from over five decades of work. What stands out is not simply the steady progression of roles and achievements but the disproportionate impact of recurring moments of…
To be sustainable these days, at least in America, can feel like a full-time job. You’re supposed to buy the right things, avoid the wrong ones, recycle perfectly, waste nothing, think about every decision … and even then, it’s hard to know if any of it is actually making a difference. So the question is,…
For better or worse, social media is now just … media. Scrolling through the feeds has become a daily—if not hourly—ritual for people around the world, and it’s the primary way most of us get our news, stay connected with friends, and find our next big purchase. The ubiquity of social-media apps makes them fertile…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images In my first job out of college, I had a frenetic boss whom we’ll call Don. Don was all over the place in a quite literal sense: running from desk to desk across the office, talking to people here and there, dashing in and out for cigarettes all day.…