John Thornhill

Is the U.S.-China AI rivalry a zero-sum game? @caiwei.bsky.social @johnthornhill.bsky.social and @djrothkopf.bsky.social explore where China currently holds the edge—and why "us versus them" fails to capture the complexity of the AI landscape. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

youtu.be/s7I9rE2192c

Want to solve deepfakes? Ask citizens what to do Assemblies can bridge the gap between people being treated as voters and consumers

Interesting piece from @johnthornhill.bsky.social, with some thoughts from me

Can’t wait for this amazing evening of conversation on 11 Feb at @technomoralfutures.bsky.social, on AI Narratives & Counternarratives with @abeba.bsky.social @amoorelouise.bsky.social, FT’s @johnthornhill.bsky.social & our own Alex Taylor. Join online or in Edinburgh - register to hold your space!

FT Person of the Year: Jensen Huang [FREE TO READ] The Nvidia chief executive has been the driving force behind the massive AI boom that has the capacity to reshape the global economy

The @financialtimes.com Person of the Year: Jensen Huang

as.ft.com/r/37f152d2-a...

Nick Clegg takes on venture capital role alongside Meta AI scientist Yann LeCun Former lobbyist and UK deputy prime minister joins London-based Hiro Capital

Nick Clegg takes on venture capital role alongside Meta AI scientist Yann LeCun-Clegg told the FT conference that Europe had a “very, very profound dilemma, which is that we’re not only completely dependent on…
www.ft.com/content/98cf... @melissahei.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Interesting take from @kaifulee.bsky.social

The US closed AI ecosystem = Apple iOS
The Chinese open system = Google Android

Both can win in different ways

as.ft.com/r/079d7dc7-3...

An exciting day ahead!

#SiftedSummit

"America has become one big bet on AI," writes Ruchir Sharma.

Better not go wrong....

on.ft.com/3KUg7z8

In space, nobody can hear you budget SpaceX and Blue Origin are no more efficient at building spacecraft than NASA. But that’s not the point of them

Terrific piece on @alphaville.ft.com by Sinead O'Sullivan:

"Winners emerge from redundancy, not efficiency."

on.ft.com/4gTUz1M

America’s top companies keep talking about AI — but can’t explain the upsides [FREE TO READ] FT analysis of hundreds of filings suggest the S&P 500 businesses are clearer about the risks than benefits

Is AI revolutionising the workplace? Maybe not (yet).

“When we spoke to executives, they would often say the internal tool was very successful... But when we spoke to employees, we found zero usage.” @melissahei.bsky.social @chriscook.news @claradoodle.bsky.social

on.ft.com/4pBm97R

Investment in European defence tech is surging

on.ft.com/4mOJ5yz

More here from the @financialtimes.com Tech Tonic podcast:

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/f...

Kicking off the Tech Tent with Sarah Wynn-Williams interviewed by Murad Ahmed at FT weekend festival

Punchy interview with LocalGlobe's Saul Klein on the meh-ness of unicorns, the importance of ARR and the need for UK institutional investors to get serious about tech (see below)

sifted.eu/articles/sau...
@amyrlewin.bsky.social @sifted.eu

Brace for a crash before the golden age of AI [FREE TO READ] History teaches that tech revolutions follow a predictable cycle of installation followed by creative destruction

The most read column in the @financialtimes.com over the past month was my piece on the coming AI crash channeling the thoughts of @carlotaperez.bsky.social

As always, there are some great - and varied - comments from FT readers 👀 😵‍💫

on.ft.com/45SXanu

Interesting Nick Clegg comments on the conformity of Silicon Valley

www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

And the best Google killer in AI search is… Google (according to this @washingtonpost.com study)

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Trump’s attack on the Fed threatens US credibility History teaches us that chaos follows when leaders undermine the independence of central banks

Janet Yellen: "The independence of the Federal Reserve is not some technocratic nicety. It is the bedrock of US economic stability and global leadership. Trump’s effort to tear it down for personal gain is reckless, corrosive, and profoundly un-American." www.ft.com/content/d2ea...

Interesting reading from @dealroom.bsky.social on the top performing VCs in Europe

dealroom.co/power-law-in...

Shocking. Someone bet big on Taylor Swift's big news.
h/t @johnauthers.bsky.social

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/news...

Breakneck — why China’s engineers beat America’s lawyers [FREE TO READ] Dan Wang’s compelling and provocative book explores both the merits and the madness of China’s engineering state

Who has the better model - China's engineering state or America's lawyerly society? Both have their strengths and weaknesses as Dan Wang explores in his provocative new book Breakneck. My @financialtimes.com review below

on.ft.com/45p1Q5w

Synthesia CEO Victor Riparbelli: ‘I'm very good at slapping stuff together’ The boss of one of Britain’s hottest AI startups on hype cycles, EU red tape and his passion for electronic music.

Victor Riparbelli CEO of @synthesia.io speaks for many European founders: “I love Europe and I want Europe to succeed. I could have moved my company to the US. We’ve kept it here, and we want to keep it here but man, they’re not making it easy.” @martincoulter.bsky.social

sifted.eu/articles/syn...

The US US discovered debt as a natural resource around 2000, and has been exporting it ever since.

Excellent article by @bhgreeley.bsky.social

on.ft.com/40NNZmt

Excellent essay by @peterfrankopan.bsky.social

Extraordinary graphic showing the distributional impact of the “big, beautiful bill.”

on.ft.com/46mGdn6

Pay inflation in the AI sector

on.ft.com/44hZhjK

Several of Europe's leading entrepreneurs and investors urge the EU to 'stop the clock' on sweeping new rules on AI in an open letter published by @sifted.eu

sifted.eu/articles/ai-...

What the UK’s industrial strategy means for startups The government plans to support and invest in homegrown companies over the next decade

Bit of a stretch for the British govt to call its industrial strategy a "turning point". But it might be useful nonetheless

The plan will see an extra £6.6bn invested in VC funds and startups by 2030 and a £54m AI talent scheme

@kainicolschwarz.bsky.social @sifted.eu

sifted.eu/articles/uk-...

Best summer books of 2025: Environment, Science and Technology Pilita Clark, Clive Cookson and John Thornhill select their best mid-year reads

For your summer reading...

Here are some of the liveliest environment, science and technology books picked by @pilitaclark.bsky.social @clivecookson.bsky.social and me

on.ft.com/4k6znFJ

Spotify’s Daniel Ek leads €600mn investment in German drone maker Helsing Defence start-up valued at €12bn to become one of Europe’s most valuable tech groups

Spotify founder Daniel Ek’s investment company is leading a €600mn investment in Helsing, valuing the German defence tech group at €12bn @tim.fo @ivanlevingston.bsky.social
on.ft.com/45qSTsX

Had fun interviewing Daniel Ek at Founders Forum. Europe has what it takes in tech. Statement (not a question)