Are AI models running out of power? | The Economist

2026-03-28

Immigration agents have detained hundreds of thousands and killed at least three American citizens. Thanks to artificial intelligence, agents can now access an unprecedented amount of information about people in America.

#trump #ice #ai

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2026-03-24

How will the Iran war affect inflation? The Economist’s Capital markets correspondent Josh Roberts and Co-host of The Intelligence podcast discuss how rising oil prices feed into broader inflation, the role of expectations and wage-price spirals, and the difficult choices facing central banks.

00:00 – How will the war in Iran affect the cost of living?
01:42 – What role do inflation expectations play in driving price increases?
03:03 – How do central banks respond to rising inflation, and what are the trade-offs?
04:02 – What lessons can we learn from past economic shocks like the 1970s and COVID?
05:33 – What challenges are central banks facing right now?
07:02 – Can talking about inflation actually make it worse?

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/4t9kE1O
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2026-02-06

Donald Trump has tapped Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve. But what does Warsh really stand for? So far markets have reacted positively to his nomination, but some fear he is in the pocket of the president and could do some serious damage to the economy. Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Edward Carr, deputy editor, and a panel of our economics editors unpack ‘Warshanomics’, and ask how it would work in practice.

#US #Economics #Trump #Warsh #FederalReserve

00:00 – What is ‘Warshanomics’?
01:09 – Kevin Warsh’s shifting monetary-policy stance
03:51 – How does the Fed’s rate-setting committee work?
04:59 – Could Warsh’s intellectual gambit pay off?

Watch the full show: https://econ.st/3NY7nd3
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2026-01-29

The killing of two American citizens by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis has triggered outrage and a climbdown from Donald Trump. But this is a tactical retreat and Trump will continue to test the limits of presidential power.

2025-12-19

Cryptocurrencies have gone mainstream this year, with more people than ever owning digital assets. The Trump administration created the first legal framework for stablecoins; a move widely welcomed by the industry. However, concerns about money laundering, the evasion of sanctions and what this all means for monetary policy persist. Our top economics and finance editors dissect what’s been happening.

00:00 – How crypto went mainstream
00:40 – What’s happened to the price of crypto
03:04 – Donald Trump has embraced crypto
05:37 – How crypto was accepted institutionally
07:13 – What are the benefits of crypto?

Watch the full show to learn what crypto going mainstream could mean for financial markets: https://econ.st/4oVZmSB

Crypto got everything it wanted. Now it’s sinking:

2025-12-13

Could geothermal soon overtake nuclear power? Vijay Vaitheeswaran, our Global energy & climate innovation editor and winner of the Energy Writer of the Year Award 2025, speaks to Alok Jha, host of the Babbage podcast, about long-neglected geothermal energy and the new suite of technologies that could finally see it rolled out across the world.

00:00 — Why Has Geothermal Energy Been So Limited Until Now?
01:25 — What Is Geothermal Energy and Where Does the Heat Come From?
03:10 — What’s Driving the New Optimism Around Geothermal Power?
05:42 — Which New Technologies Could Make Geothermal Work Everywhere?
08:53 — How Close Are We to Commercial-Scale Geothermal Power?
10:27 — What Are the Remaining Risks and Roadblocks to Global Adoption?

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2025-12-08

Is an insurgency brewing in Syria? Gareth Browne, our Middle East correspondent, joins Rosie Blau, co-host of The Intelligence podcast, to discuss Syria’s fraught transition one year after Assad’s fall and whether another uprising might be on the horizon.

00:00 – Could Syria face a new insurgency?
00:28 – What fault lines are emerging in Syria?
02:27 – How is the transition feeling on the ground?
03:25 – What are the economic and political challenges?
05:23 – What kind of state is being built?
06:47 – Is Syria heading toward a new authoritarian structure?

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/48KC4t3
An insurgency may be brewing against Syria’s new leaders: https://econ.st/3YkID0h
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#TheEconomist #Syria #Assad

2025-12-05

The Labour party stormed to victory in last year’s UK general election, following a long period in the political wilderness, but their popularity has collapsed since they took office. Like their European counterparts, they are facing pressure from the left and right. Our editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes sat down with Keir Starmer, the prime minister, to discuss his plans to address the country’s problems and what he makes of the rise of the insurgent Reform UK party.

Watch the full interview to hear how he hopes to meet the moment.

00:00 The fate of centrist politics
00:50 Reform UK’s policies
04:40 Britain’s relationship with the European Union
07:24 How Keir Starmer would sum up his politics on a bumper sticker

Watch the full interview: