Not the bit where my job is replaced by AI (artificial intelligence) obviously, that existential threat still fills me with appropriate levels of dread.<\/p>\n
\n But The Nasdaq-listed stock that best encapsulates the current fervour for AI revolution reported its revenue for the quarter rose 78%. Its full fiscal-year revenue rose 114% to $130.5 billion.<\/p>\n That result beat market expectations, which means the giant tech bubble on Wall St will live to fight another day.<\/p>\n So I cheered for the survival of my KiwiSaver<\/a> balance.<\/p>\n More importantly, I cheered because I\u2019m very keen to see New Zealand\u2019s fledgling economic recovery gather some steam before the world has to deal with the next major financial crisis.<\/p>\n The result wasn\u2019t enough to stop Nvidia shares from falling 8% in the next day\u2019s trading \u2013 a rough result but not as bad as the 17% and $600b wipeout in January.<\/p>\n That level of investor sensitivity is a salient reminder of just how precarious tech stock valuations remain.<\/p>\n There is a lot riding on AI actually delivering some tangible results for business this year.<\/p>\n Corporations are moving at speed to put AI into action and expect to see both cost savings and productivity gains.<\/p>\n Paradoxically that puts many workers in a position where we lose if the great AI experiment fails and we lose if it wins.<\/p>\n One presumes that the grand schemes of the tech company bosses include a place for humans somewhere in their new world order.<\/p>\n The capitalist system doesn\u2019t work without consumers. And consumers need cashflow … which means they need jobs.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t matter how many zeros you add to the price of an Auckland villa, that kind of wealth can\u2019t keep the wheels of commerce spinning.<\/p>\n For all the focus on inflation and interest rates and economic recovery, it strikes me that concerns about the rapid rise of AI have dominated the conversations I\u2019m having with friends and colleagues this year.<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s business people, economists or journalists, the debate about the AI revolution<\/a> is running neck and neck with Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s wild policy onslaught for top topic in 2025.<\/p>\n Everything else \u2013 including domestic politics \u2013 seems to be a distant third.<\/p>\n I try not to come across like a Luddite in the debate. I\u2019ve traditionally embraced new technology.<\/p>\n But I\u2019m starting to empathise with old Ned Ludd.<\/p>\n One of the most famous examples of tech panic, the 19th-century English weaver (real name possibly Edward Luddlum), seems as relevant as ever.<\/p>\n Ned got very upset about the threat that mechanical knitting frames posed to his industry.<\/p>\n With his followers \u2013 known as Luddites \u2013 he took to rioting and smashing up textile factories all over the UK between 1811 and 1816.<\/p>\n In the early 19th century Britain was suffering from an economic downturn with high inflation and high unemployment \u2013 largely due to the expense of the Napoleonic wars.<\/p>\n The new technology was an easy target.<\/p>\n If the economy had been booming, then the weavers might have had better options.<\/p>\n But when times are already tough rapid technology change amplifies the economic uncertainty.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t help but think New Zealand\u2019s tough recessionary cycle and rising unemployment have increased the anxiety many are feeling as the AI wave hits.<\/p>\n Anyway, the Luddites were spectacularly unsuccessful.<\/p>\n Their name is now synonymous with the kind of backward angry people who can\u2019t set up a new digital TV.<\/p>\n Although frankly, having already bought the telly, I don\u2019t see why we should have to download a special app just for the privilege of making it work.<\/p>\n I think we all have a little Luddite in us, but these days we are painfully aware of how futile it is to try to push back against the tide of technological change.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t see much enthusiasm brewing for storming the numerous data centres popping up around the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n But a little over 200 years after Ned and his followers tried to do something about it all, here we all are dealing with a tech revolution and worrying about losing our jobs and what our children will do for a living.<\/p>\n Is all we\u2019ve learned that we have no show of stopping it?<\/p>\n What\u2019s the path forward then?<\/p>\n Well, it\u2019s 55 years since futurist Alvin Toffler hit the nail on the head with his advice for surviving future shock:<\/p>\n \u201cThe illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.\u201d<\/p>\n Investing legend Warren Buffett offers another useful angle on continuing to learn: \u201cThe best investment by far is anything that develops yourself, and it\u2019s not taxed at all.\u201d<\/p>\n That does raise questions about what we should be relearning.<\/p>\n A successful international businessperson recently reassured me there were just three things I needed to instil in my children: how to get on with people, how to work hard and an understanding of money.<\/p>\n I\u2019m good with that.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve given up worrying about what my children will do for a living in the coming decades.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t pick what the jobs of the future will look like but I\u2019m hopeful that with the right human attributes, they\u2019ll work it out.<\/p>\n Leaning into our humanity makes sense to me.<\/p>\n In the face of an increasingly powerful, machine-driven world, it\u2019s our only competitive advantage.<\/p>\n Liam Dann is business editor-at-large for the New Zealand Herald. He is a senior writer and columnist, and also presents and produces videos and podcasts. He joined the Herald in 2003. To sign up for his weekly newsletter, click on your user profile at nzherald.co.nz <\/a>and select \u201cMy newsletters\u201d. For a step-by-step guide, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Not the bit where my job is replaced by AI (artificial intelligence) obviously, that existential threat still fills…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[836,365,95,363,364,16424,67206,40922,2082,30689,31989,702,20409,111,139,1042,69,6182,53883,145,223,1961,3765,4276],"class_list":["post-218660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-836","tag-ai","tag-and","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-boom","tag-cheering","tag-dann","tag-for","tag-heralds","tag-im","tag-it","tag-liam","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nvidia","tag-nz","tag-stories","tag-surviving","tag-technology","tag-the","tag-this","tag-tips","tag-why"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n I was pleased to see AI chip maker Nvidia deliver another record earnings result<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n