A Tale of Two Economies

For anyone working on AI, it’s the best of times, but for others, it’s the worst of times.

Speaking to a Senate subcommittee on May 16, 2023, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, IBM chief privacy officer Christina Montgomery and NYU professor emeritus Gary Marcus gave suggestions for regulating the AI industry—and highlighted the associated perils. Images: AFP/Getty Images/Reuters Composite: Mark Kelly

Did you see the latest jobs numbers? Employment increased 339,000 in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Woo-hoo! But the same report showed that the number of unemployed persons increased by 440,000. Weird. Tech layoffs are continuing, but so are shortages of cashiers and cooks. Also, last week saw the largest money inflow into technology equity funds ever. The S&P 500 is up 12% for the year, but it’s down if you exclude seven top tech names. We’re living in a Dickensian tale of two economies—the best and worst of times.

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