Hollywood writers are currently staging a strike in protest at the disruptive way AI is being used, mostly because it threatens to upend their livelihoods. However, a closer look reveals that this issue has implications far beyond the movie and entertainment industry.

Social media comes under fire for its business model that generates profits by promoting extreme content. Steps like introducing taxes or other regulations to change these incentives, or training algorithms to stop promoting such harmful content will help to redress this problem.

ChatGPT wins high praise, but few talk of its downsides and those who may lose out as a result of it. Part of this is fear of jobs automated out of existence, though a bigger issue is that AI chatbots can be eloquent but utterly useless in solving problems that need customer aid.

Social networks and social media have evolved from platforms to connect with friends and acquaintances into those more geared to advertising and the consumption of information. This becomes problematic as people get sorted into ‘bubbles’ by algorithms that feed them more content they want to see, thus reinforcing existing biases, a problem worsened by the speed at which falsehoods and disinformation spread. Unlike previous new forms of media, social media is fundamentally changing how societies work and humans interact. MIT Economics Prof Daron Acemoglu explains.

The world is facing multiple challenges at once, from heightened inflation to fragile economic growth, the COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, and threats to democracy. Economics professor Daron Acemoglu takes a look at each of these challenges, and what might be done to mitigate them.

As climate change devastates the environment, all mitigating means must be considered. Some countries have turned to carbon taxes, but not the world’s biggest emitters the US, China, and India, where political barriers prevent this. Environmental tariffs, however, could circumvent such obstacles and even more effectively achieve their aim via incentives.

The sway of the dinosaurs ended 66 million years ago when an asteroid crashed into Chicxulub in Mexico. If a similar asteroid were to crash into Earth today, it would cause another mass-extinction event. This should concern us now and in the coming century.