Innovation in The Monday Briefing
Some thoughts on artificial intelligence
The launch of the artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, has been a sensation. Two months after its launch it had over 100m subscribers, making it one of the fastest growing product launches in history. ChatGPT is getting the headlines, but there are numerous players in this sector, notably Google’s Bard and a new AI-powered version of Bing. Image-generating AI programs have been around slightly longer, including DALL-E-2 and MidJourney.
Going for growth
A personal view from Ian Stewart, Deloitte's Chief Economist in the UK. To subscribe or view past editions google 'Deloitte Monday Briefing'.
Christmas quiz
Our Christmas quiz covers an eclectic mix of topics, many related to economics and business. The answers and a brief explanation of the factors at work are below each question.
The ripple effects of electric vehicles
Mass adoption of new technologies creates ripple effects across economies and societies, often in unexpected ways. British time had to be standardised across the country in the early nineteenth century to create national timetables. The car paved the way for America’s population to shift from cities to the new suburbs. Standardised shipping containers collapsed freight costs and helped spur the globalisation of the last half century.
Summer quiz
Our summer quiz offers an eclectic test of knowledge, of pandemic-related developments, many in economics and business. The answers and a brief explanation of the factors at work are at the end of the quiz.
Summer reading list
You may not have been able to get to your preferred holiday haunt this year, but we hope that our summer reading list will offer a distraction wherever you spend your summer break. The eight articles are available free online, although some websites restrict the number of articles that can be accessed without charge each month.
The fourth energy transition – the lessons and limits of history
The world is moving into its fourth great energy transition, from fossil fuels to renewables. Previous transitions have marked new epochs. Fire gave hominids energy-rich food, with profound consequences for human evolution. Agriculture and animal power paved the way for settled societies and great cities. The industrial age, powered by fossil fuels, transformed the human condition – and created unimagined environmental damage.
Watch out for ‘moreflation’
Sentiment in financial markets changes quickly. The big worry for most of the last year has been about collapsing growth and falling prices. Now markets are fretting about inflation. Such fears were behind the sharp sell-off in US equities in the early part of last week.
CFO optimism reaches record levels
Our latest UK Chief Financial Officers Survey, released overnight, shines light on the plans of Britain’s largest corporates as the economy reopens. The full report is available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/finance/articles/deloitte-cfo-survey.html
Beyond Brexit
On Monday, 11 January, at 12:00 GMT I will be joined by Deloitte’s CEO for North and South Europe, Richard Houston, to discuss what 2021 holds for the global economy and for business. Register here: https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1407909&tp_key=ece03b000a