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.…
For many senior executives, leaving your last C-level position means entering uncharted territory. As he neared the end of a rewarding corporate career that culminated in being chief marketing officer at United Airlines, Tom O’Toole resolved to design the “post-corporate” stage that followed. O’Toole uses the term “portfolio life” to describe the set of activities…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Democracy is in decline across the world. More countries are experiencing erosion of political rights and civil liberties than gains, according to Freedom House. As of 2025, 92 countries, representing 74% of the world’s population, were classified as autocracies by the V-Dem Institute. Democratic backsliding is a primary concern…
In this episode of the Me, Myself, and AI podcast, host Sam Ransbotham talks with Peter Koerte, a member of the managing board and chief strategy and technology officer of Siemens, about how industrial AI is quietly transforming the infrastructure that powers everyday life. While consumer AI grabs headlines, Peter explains how artificial intelligence is…