Karen Jeffrey

This week's @nature.com cover highlights a report of A.I.- mediated distortion
When #ChatGPT was asked to rate 40,000 résumés, it ranked the older male candidates as better quality than the younger female applicants nature.com/articles/s41...

Scripps Research scientists launch new digital clinical trial to test repurposed drug for long COVID symptom relief

We've just launched the first large, site-less (home, direct to participant) randomized trial for treatment of #LongCovid, testing tirzepatide (a GLP-1 drug) vs placebo. Please help spread the word
www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

We need more at-home clinical trials for Long COVID. Here’s how we designed the largest one yet. - The Sick Times We are now recruiting for the Long COVID Treatment Trial-Tirzepatide (LoCITT-T), which participants can complete entirely from bed.

On our #LongCovid clinical trial launched today!
thesicktimes.org/2025/10/30/w... @julialmv.bsky.social @scripps.edu

🤖 SOCbot uses an LLM to classify occupations into SOC codes, using job titles entered by survey respondents. It can even do so on-the-fly, asking follow up questions where needed. Love! 😍 osf.io/preprints/so... @patricksturg.bsky.social et al @lsemethodology.bsky.social

Blackstone says Wall Street is complacent about AI disruption Jonathan Gray says private capital group has put risks from the technology ‘top of our list’ when evaluating deals

Refreshing to see an open-minded take on the possibility of major economic disruption from AI (including a winner takes all economy) on.ft.com/3WdB0I7 via @FT @antoinegara.bsky.social @arashmassoudi.ft.com

The Coming AI Backlash How the anger economy will supercharge populism.

New in @foreignaffairs.com w/ @sborwein.bsky.social @rmichaelalvarez.bsky.social @bartbonikowski.bsky.social and Peter Loewen.

AI is already transforming labor markets, and governments risk repeating the mistakes they made with globalization

www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Investors are betting big bucks on the idea that AI will create an explosion of leisure time...e.g. it was a key part of the public rationale for the massive $55bn takeover of video games maker Electronic Arts. But are they right?? (short thread linked to my column today www.ft.com/content/4011...)

How AI became our personal assistant New data shows the ways millions have integrated the technology into their everyday lives

Fascinating piece on usage of different AI assistants + a warning: ⚠️ "If you slip into just asking it to do [all your thinking] every time, it’s going to be very hard to get out of.” ⚠️ ig.ft.com/ai-personal-... @data.ft.com @financialtimes.com

🧠 New analysis of LinkedIn posts finds junior workers are feeling the brunt of generative AI's impact on the labour markets. Fascinating work by @bkleinteeselink.bsky.social

📄 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

🔬Radiology looks like THE job #AI should replace - involving image recognition, standardised tasks, & huge salaries ($520k avg).

But human radiologists are busier than ever due to messy training data, liability risk, and elastic demand.

Does the same apply to other occupations, and will it last?

Is biology necessary for consciousness? A response to Seth's paper on biological naturalism In this post, I explain why I think that Anil Seth’s recent paper does not make a convincing argument that phenomenal consciousness is inherently biological and that therefore artificial intelligence ...

Can only biological organisms ever be conscious?

Yes, argues @anilseth.bsky.social in a recent paper on biological naturalism.

I'm less convinced, and have written an in-depth response in a blog post here:

davidpreichert.substack.com/p/is-biology-necessary-for-consciousness

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

More than a hint of irony here? The FT pessimistic about the potential business benefits of AI, based on analysis by the FT... done using AI.

Seems hasty to write off AI due to little impact on the bottom line so far. Chat GPT was released less than 3 years ago. Change takes time on.ft.com/4ngEbKW

Zoom’s CEO agrees with Bill Gates, Jensen Huang, and Jamie Dimon: A 3-day workweek is coming soon thanks to AI | Fortune Zoom leader Eric Yuan admits that the technology will erase some human jobs—but those who keep their jobs will enjoy fewer working days.

Zoom's CEOs predicts a 3-day work week is coming, thanks to AI.

I’d love to see it, but it’s hard to imagine such a dramatic shift.

Though the CEO of Zoom must know a thing or two about radical and unexpected changes in the way we work... 😜

fortune.com/2025/09/15/z...

💭When AI automates, firms may prefer to avoid hiring new entrants than to let existing staff go 🤔

My take on @erikbryn.bsky.social & @stanfordhai.bsky.social's finding that younger workers are hit hardest by AI

#AIandWork #FutureOfWork
🔗 bit.ly/4nl6G9W

Student Scholarships in Scotland | The Data Lab We provide student scholarships in a range of approved MSc courses at scottish universities with a focus in data and AI.

🎓 Fully-funded master’s scholarships are still available for October 2025 start dates at top universities!

Check the full list of supported courses here: thedatalab.com/students/sch...

Computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton: ‘AI will make a few people much richer and most people poorer’ The ‘godfather of artificial intelligence’ on ‘the only hope’ for humanity, why China has an advantage — and when machines will outstrip us

The ever candid, Geoff Hinton "...people are going to use AI to replace workers. It’s going to create massive unemployment and a huge rise in profits. It will make a few people much richer and most people poorer. That’s not AI’s fault, that is the capitalist system.” on.ft.com/4niqU4h

Large Language Models, Small Labor Market Effects Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

Agree - it's a fiendishly tough puzzle. Diff-in-diff on outcomes for workers more and less exposed to automation seems like a promising approach (assuming parallel trends hold) as per Humlum & Vestergaard www.nber.org/papers/w33777 Would love to hear any thoughts on this.

Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of Artificial Intelligence This paper examines changes in the labor market for occupations exposed to generative artificial intelligence using high-frequency administrative data from ADP, the largest payroll software provider i...

Early signs that AI is beginning to affect employment, with (unsurprisingly) new entrants being affected first. Important new research from @stanfordhai.bsky.social‬ digitaleconomy.stanford.edu/publications...

The Dutch are quietly shifting towards a four-day work week The Netherlands serves as a case study for the advantages and trade-offs of reduced hours in the workplace

4-day week is often suggested as a response to AI-induced disruption. Great to get an indication of how it works in actuality.

"The experience of the Netherlands suggests that a 4-day week isn’t nirvana. But nor is it a fast-track ticket to economic ruin." on.ft.com/47fRruq @sarahoconnorft.ft.com

“Under an agreement between employers, unions and the government, workers can take time off from their jobs to train in something new, while being paid 80% of their salary…
The policy is in keeping with the Swedish approach to labour market disruption, which is to “protect people, not jobs”.

This is a crucial point that researchers must consider when using metrics that show 'how amenable a task is to AI' to estimate AI's economic implications.

AI Killed My Job: Tech workers Tech workers at TikTok, Google, and across the industry share stories about how AI is changing, ruining, or replacing their jobs.

Fascinating tales from the coalface about how AI is disrupting jobs in the tech sector. Looking forward to reading more from @bcmerchant.bsky.social on the impact in other sectors www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/how-ai-is-...

Head of EU and Global AI Governance The Ada Lovelace Institute is recruiting a Head of EU and Global AI Governance to lead our EU and international policy work.

📣Job alert (no. 2)!

We are looking for a strategic, curious and well-connected Head of EU and Global AI Governance to lead our international policy work from our Brussels base.

Closing: 9:30am BST, Monday 8 September 2025.

www.adalovelaceinstitute.org/job/head-of-...

MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing There’s a stark difference in success rates between companies that purchase AI tools from vendors and those that build them internally.

Just because a task *can* be performed by #AI, doesn't mean firms *will* use AI for that task (at least, not imminently). Many firms are struggling to integrate AI tools into workflows fortune.com/2025/08/18/m... @fortune.com @technologyreview.com

Does HR still need humans? AI can perform many of the duties of human resources staff, a symbol of how it is changing companies and the nature of work

Key question from @laszlobock.bsky.social: "whether AI’s productivity benefits [will be] claimed by capital — feeding through to bigger profits or higher executive pay — or shared with labour, in the form, say, of shorter working hours or higher salaries" on.ft.com/41cuDrw @andrewtghill.ft.com

The AI job cuts are accelerating Companies are preparing for a time where there might be less work for their employees

Governments need to wake up to the oncoming disruption that AI poses. We must be prepared with policies to stem a wave of inequality on.ft.com/4fjyngy @financialtimes.com @anjli.bsky.social

Pity the policymakers in the AI jobs tsunami Instead of retraining those who lose work, politicians could help people take matters into their own hands

Sweden leading the charge with a well thought out policy response to labour market disruption from #AI 🇸🇪💪(of course!) on.ft.com/3GNKc1H @financialtimes.com @sarahoconnorft.ft.com #FutureOfWork