Ten things takes the long view this week.
There’s a lot of handwringing about government spending in Canada. If you focus on indebtedness, credit rating, and head count, it’s a grim story. But government revenues as a percentage of GDP hasn’t moved much in 30 years. The Globe and Mail has a great piece unpacking it all suggesting the need for a “Big Bang” in Canada’s fiscal revolution. And if Carney’s proven anything, it’s that he’s not afraid of taking big swings.
Another area of handwringing: the impact of AI on jobs. Dire warnings from the frontier labs about job destruction were common a few months ago. Cynically, you could see these as fantastic marketing strategies in disguise. Now those claims are being walked back, as we realize the systems are wildly capable, but still a human in the loop. Dror Pelog offers a great framing of this:
Artificial intelligence promises to make intelligence cheap and abundant. This is a big deal. It will help us diagnose diseases, design materials, write code, manage logistics, tutor children, and automate many tasks that once required expensive human expertise.
But cheap intelligence does not solve humanity’s basic problem.
The basic problem is not a lack of intelligence. In many cases, we already know what to do. We know how to reduce traffic. We know how to improve public health. We know how to build more housing. We know how to make organizations more efficient. We know how to prevent many avoidable disasters.
The problem is that knowing what to do is not the same as getting people to do it.
Human civilization is not limited only by intelligence. It is limited by coordination, trust, legitimacy, incentives, and consent. AI may help with some of these. But in many cases, it will intensify the underlying challenge.
Maybe the builders making the most impact won’t be those building swarms, platforms, or apps. It will be those building communities, relationships and trust.
A useful perspective on aggregate Canadian government spending.
Source: The Globe and Mail
Personal income is doing the heavy lifting.Where should the burden shift?
Source: The Globe and Mail
Putting unaffordable rents in perspective(Canada is 13th on this chart).
Source: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
While Canada argues about the energy transition, the rest of the world is investing.
Source: Noah Brito
Time to move to Montreal?
Source: Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) via CTV
The impact of AI on jobs is playing out in curious ways.
Source: Bianco Research
BRB, checking in on my short positions onfast food companies...
Source: Semafor
A real sign of the times.
Source: Prof G Media
Maybe there’s some arbitrage play here…
Source: Bloomberg
Source: The Internet
Bonus: Jobs out there…
Since I argued that AI won’t in fact take your jobs, I’ve decided to start offering proof points. Every week I’ll be sharing a round-up of opportunities. If you have a posting, let me know and I’ll include it next time.
Board Director, Deshkan Ziibiing Investment Corporation.
Chief Financial Officer & Corporate Secretary, FPX Nickel Corp
Prime Minister’s Office Tour Team – Advance and Media Advance
Head of Entrepreneurship, Imperial Enterprise Lab
Carbon Marketing Manager, Weyerhaeuser
Senior Program Manager, Innovate BC
Senior Media Relations Specialist, UBC
Investor Relations, Nations Royalty