Economist editor-in-chief takes on “completely impossible task” of global economic outlook
While the mayor focused on the city’s busy calendar, a leader for one of the world’s largest news outlets was asked to look into the future of global economics, which she deemed “a completely impossible task.”
Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief at The Economist, said the reason the future may seem murky is due to recent actions taken by the U.S. government, specifically the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and President Donald Trump’s growing interest in acquiring Greenland.
“Just as I woke up this morning, I heard that the president of the Federal Reserve is under criminal investigation,” Beddoes said. “Frankly, it feels like watching a crazy movie right now. It is now a cliché to say that the old world is dead. The old world is dead and the completely new world is being created at dizzying speed.”
Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor-in-chief for The Economist, told attendees at the 2026 Convening Leaders conference that “the old world is dead” while discussing the United States’ geopolitical moves, such as tariffs, and the emergence of AI, which she deemed “the biggest technology revolution since the Industrial Revolution.” (Cory Sharber/WHYY)
She said the world is experiencing three simultaneous shocks, “each of which will deserve at least a chapter in our grandchildren’s history books.”
First, she discussed the geopolitical shock, saying, “We are in real time rewriting the rules of foreign policy and global power.”
Then, she said, comes the economic shock.
“We’re completely rewriting the rules of economic policy,” Beddoes said. “We’ve gone from a world of free trade to a world of tariffs. We’re in a world where governments own shares in companies … We’re going to a world where the most important thing for any CEO is to know the president of the United States.”
Lastly, she discussed the rise of artificial intelligence technology, what she deemed “the biggest technology revolution since the Industrial Revolution.”
“It is going to change the way we work, the way we live, the kind of people we are,” Beddoes said. “And each one of those is monumental. Each one of those is the biggest shock probably in our lifetimes. But collectively, they’re an incredibly big set of shocks for all of us around the world.”
Beddoes was one of the conference’s main speakers. On Tuesday, Emmy award-winning host and actress Tabitha Brown will take the main stage at the Pennsylvania Convention Center at 8:45 a.m. On Wednesday, Trevor Noah, a comedian and former host of “The Daily Show,” will deliver the closing keynote speech at 10:45 a.m. Registration for the in-person and online events is still active.