More News from IWER
We may be entering a second Axial age
Senior lecturer Otto Scharmer wrote: "Being alive on this planet at this Axial juncture, where we can see the potential for both civilizational collapse and profound civilizational regeneration, and thus being part of a generation that has the opportunity to tip the balance in one direction or another, is perhaps the most meaningful gift anyone could hope for."
Bloomberg Talks: Simon Johnson & Elisabeth Reynolds
Professor Simon Johnson discussed how six sectors may determine the future of America's technology leadership in this "Bloomberg Talks" podcast episode.
Three things in AI to watch, according to a Nobel-winning economist
Institute Professor Daron Acemoglu acknowledged that for a while, we're going to see all sorts of conflicting evidence about AI: anecdotes that college grads are finding the job market worse and worse, but no noticeable effect of AI on productivity, for example. "There's a huge amount of uncertainty," he said.
Bloomberg This Weekend 5/9/2026
Professor of the practice Gary Gensler joined "Bloomberg This Weekend" to discuss the SEC's move to end the quarterly reporting requirement. "Economic study after economic study has shown that quarterly reporting is a good thing. It creates a market environment where you can get a little higher price earnings ratio and a little less cost of capital because your investor base knows what's going on," Gensler said. (1:09:34)
The price of silence is high
In recent years, one of the most talked-about concepts in the business world has been "quiet quitting," an employee consciously refraining from doing more than what is required. Many employees feel a lack of open communication within the organization. This creates an "invisible silence" within the organization. While managers think everything is fine, a different reality prevails on the ground. Professor of the practice Zeynep Ton emphasized that this situation is directly related to performance: "Companies that don't listen to their employees' voices also lose operational efficiency."
More people are using AI for retirement planning, but how accurate is it? Here's what experts say.
Professor Andrew W. Lo said that AI struggles with tax optimization, doesn't understand regulatory nuance and — unlike a human financial adviser — isn't subject to legal requirements, such as acting in a client's best interest. He stressed that it's important to ask critical questions when using AI for retirement advice, such as prompting an AI to say where it might be wrong and to list its assumptions and uncertainties.
Checking in on demand destruction, 9 weeks into the war
In this interview, Professor Catherine Wolfram explained how demand destruction driven by a surge in oil prices since the start of the conflict has impacted consumers. "The longer the supply shock goes on, the more it's not a shock. It's just the new normal," she said.
I asked ChatGPT to manage a stock portfolio. Here's how it did.
Professor Andrew W. Lo expects AI models to quickly advance and be able to serve as fiduciaries in coming years. As of now, he cautioned, they aren't ready for prime time."We believe that it is possible to train an LLM, just like we train humans, to provide fiduciary duty," Lo said. "But they don't have it right now, and the guardrails aren't there to protect individuals."
RIP Spirit Airlines
In this episode of Vox's "Today, Explained" podcast, professor Deborah Lucas said: "It never makes economic sense to bail out a small, chronically unprofitable enterprise. There's a lot of talk that it would've helped the employees of Spirit Airlines, but a typical bailout really doesn't just help the employees. The main beneficiaries are the debt holders of the company. A lot of bailouts are subsidies to the rich, if you will. They don't necessarily reach the people you're hoping to when you think about bailing out a company in order to save jobs."
Most negotiations fail before they start
"If you keep negotiating, and keep getting just a little more every time, the effect grows and grows," lecturer John Richardson said. It can be uncomfortable for many people to ask for more. "Your body thinks it's life or death. But it isn't. Two things help you calm down. Experience, and preparation. And those are things you can start working on today," he said.