4 ms·
> the UK is now a lot more like Poland than it is like the United States in terms of the kinds of growth it needs to do – driven by improved use of existing tec
by barry-cotter 3y ago
> the UK is now a lot more like Poland than it is like the United States in terms of the kinds of growth it needs to do – driven by improved use of existing technology and inputs, and accumulation of capital, rather than driven primarily by technological advancement. With the exception of a few sectors like AI, we are so far behind the frontier in terms of economic development that worrying about technological progress doesn’t make much sense, and at worst is a serious distraction.
- ReptileMan 3y agoThat is quite the exception... The thing that is supposed to be the next big thing
- NikkiA 3y agoIt might be the next big thing, but there's pretty much a 100% guarantee that the UK will not be the driving force for it.
- twixfel 3y agoWe might even be, but rest assured that in any case, we will ultimately fail to capitalise on it. It's the British way.
- dbspin 3y agoIs it? By its nature AI might add to Britain's GDP but seems unlikely to positively affect poverty or employment.
- rsynnott 3y agoThe trouble with things that are supposed to be the next big thing is that, statistically, they are usually not. Even if it is, the UK has a history of fumbling such things. There was a time when the UK was fairly clearly the world leader in civil nuclear energy (MAGNOX, AGR), airliners (in particular the Comet), and civilian computers (LEO-1), more or less all at the same time. This... didn't last.
- mhh__ 3y agoBritish businesses are not very productive, technology is not a bad way to improve that.
- osullivj 3y agoOne of the reasons for the UK productivity gap is our oversize services sector. In services businesses meet demand by adding headcount, and falling demand is met with layoffs. Since UK hire and fire rules are more flexible than eg FR/DE that works for secs biz. We do still have a manufacturing sector, but much of it is invisible as its the arms industry, where Britain is still a big player. That's OK because the arms industry is less price sensitive than consumer manufacturing like cars, white goods etc. In those sectors strict rules on hire and fire has forced FR and DE industry to figure out how to scale by means other than headcount.