What we’re reading (7/13)
“Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Says AI Could Lead To Job Losses ‘If The World Runs Out Of Ideas’” (CNN Business). “‘If the world runs out of ideas, then productivity gains translates to job loss,’ said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria when asked about comments made by fellow tech leader Dario Amodei, who suggested AI will cause mass employment disruptions. Amodei, the head of Anthropic, warned last month that the technology could cause a dramatic spike in unemployment in the very near future. He told Axios that AI could eliminate half of entry-level, white-collar jobs and spike unemployment to as much as 20% in the next five years.”
“Steel Is Booming In Arkansas — So Why Are So Many People Still Struggling To Get By?” (NBC News). “For Mississippi County, Arkansas, the booming steel industry is an economic lifeline. In the last decade, billions of dollars have flowed in to expand mills or open new ones, and it’s often hailed as the top steel-producing county in the country. Last year, a $3 billion mill came online, employing hundreds, the largest private investment in Arkansas history…[b]ut for many residents in this county of roughly 38,000, the promise of the steel boom is still out of reach. In the shadow of the new steel plants, a quarter of residents live in poverty, more than double the national average.”
“The Gray Area At The Center Of Microsoft’s Battle With OpenAI” (Business Insider). “In this case, Microsoft had access to frequent updates of the core model at the time, but not the voice technology OpenAI built on top of it. Microsoft found out about the demo, and pressured OpenAI executives, including then-technology boss Mira Murati, to get access to the code so Microsoft could do its own announcement, the people said. The company did not want to appear flat-footed to investors, to whom the company has to justify its $13 billion investment in OpenAI, they said. The example illustrates the ongoing complexity of Microsoft's relationship with OpenAI, and why access to the AI startup's technology is a core issue as the companies renegotiate their agreement.”
“Jamie Dimon Says Private Credit Is Dangerous—And He Wants JPMorgan To Get In On It” (Wall Street Journal). “Jamie Dimon says Wall Street’s hottest trend is a recipe for a financial crisis, but he’s investing billions to get in on it anyway. His plan: swoop in strategically and profit if there’s a meltdown.”
“Crypto Companies Race To Secure Banking Foothold In US” (Financial Times). “Cryptocurrency companies are racing to expand into traditional banking in the US, as they seek to capitalise on a friendlier regulatory environment under President Donald Trump and become more embedded in the financial system. Crypto payments group Ripple, stablecoin company Circle and custodian BitGo have applied for national trust bank charters that will allow them to offer some banking services, while crypto exchange Kraken plans to launch bank cards in the next month. ‘It’s a natural convergence,’ Arjun Sethi, co-chief executive of Kraken, told the Financial Times, adding the company plans to launch debit and credit cards by roughly the end of the month.”
