Must-read for anyone in charge of AI deployment. "When we ask how they define success for an agentic system, they stare at us blankly". Don't be one of them! bit.ly/4ch9thf
Great article which UK needs to pay attention to (tinyurl.com/37epkk3x ). According to the OECD, UK is among the highest industrial-strategy spenders (3.2% of GDP), and spend is dominated by support to the self-employed and SMEs, not strategic sectors (tinyurl.com/2vm3ybd8).
What if technology and policy got us to a point where you didn’t have to work for money? Would you choose a life of leisure, learning, or service? And how might society evolve? Some big questions before heading off for a summer break... open.substack.com/pub/teraalla... #dataisbeautiful
AI and humanity: what if you didn't have to work?
If AI eliminated the need for paid work, what kind of life would people choose?
open.substack.com
A really important new paper from The Productivity Institute: the UK's public sector investment has historically been a whopping 40% below its optimum. So don't believe marginal tweaks are the answer. #dataisbeautiful www.productivity.ac.uk/research/pub...
Interesting data from the ONS on AI in UK businesses. "Over two-fifths of businesses report no barriers" and yet "The proportion of using AI of has increased to [only] 35% of businesses ". If there are no barriers, why are businesses not adopting? Here's why: open.substack.com/pub/teraalla...
AI adoption: the obstacle you can't see
Most non-adopting businesses haven't even considered using AI
open.substack.com
Good to see this excellent summary and good to be quoted. But I would not call keeping public sector gross investment flat as share of total managed expenditure "prioritising" it. Better than cutting it, but not a real prioritisation towards growth-enhancing capital. observer.co.uk/news/politic...
AI adoption may be rising, but belief in its benefits is falling. New ONS data show a sharp deterioration in public attitudes to AI across age and gender groups in Great Britain. These attitudes matter for purposeful, beneficial adoption. open.substack.com/pub/teraalla... #dataisbeautiful
AI adoption may be rising—but belief in its benefits is falling
New data suggest a sharp deterioration in whether people think AI will benefit them
open.substack.com
Loved this article! At first glance, the theme, "AI first movers" may sound like consultant jargon. But read the whole thing and there are profound, data-driven, insights for leaders to pay attention to.
What do The Phantom of the Opera and AIDA have to do with AI adoption? There's a 'phantom' obstacle that's stopping firms from adopting AI. It is the first 'A' of the mnemonic AIDA: attention. Without it, other adoption barriers are irrelevant. #dataisbeautiful open.substack.com/pub/teraalla...
AI adoption: the obstacle you can't see
Most non-adopting businesses haven't even considered using AI
open.substack.com
Another hilarious moment with Claude.ai. I asked it to criticise a piece I'd written and a) it thought the bits I wrote myself (albeit while being somewhat distracted) were "the most AI-sounding"; and b) the bits I'd asked ChatGPT to draft were "the strongest writing". Some rather brutal feedback!
Great reporting by FT's Tej Parikh on a great new report by McKinsey Global Institute. One of the reasons investment in the UK (and other countries) is so low is that it's just really expensive. #dataisbeautiful giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
The AI adoption gap has its roots in capabilities built—or not built—well before the latest AI wave. Pre-existing management practices, organisational and human capital, and data and software assets, all help explain which businesses have adopted AI. substack.com/@teraallas/n... #dataisbeautiful
AI and productivity: what enables adoption?
AI adoption is not constrained by models; it is constrained by complementary assets
substack.com
UK #AI adoption remains surprisingly low (see updated chart with June 2026 data). Read about the barriers, the productivity paradox, and the 'ladder of leakage', in our recent article: mck.co/4b8w4wh #dataisbeautiful
Interesting data on the UK's infrastructure investment and capital stocks. Higher than I had expected - but highly concentrated in electricity. #dataisbeautiful bit.ly/44FgHHH
Really pleased to see this published. The UK’s underinvestment puzzle needs solving if we want to build a prosperous and resilient future.
The Productivity Institute@productivity.bsky.social · last mo.Ambitious but risk averse UK managers aim high, but are more risk averse than peers abroad. They place more weight on potential losses than gains, holding back investment over time. By @teraallas.bsky.social and Stephen Roper: www.productivity.ac.uk/research/amb... 3/4
Why do Brits fail to invest for the future (incl. climate adaptation)? This international comparison is striking and, while descriptive rather than causal, suggests more short-termism than comparator countries. Full paper here: bit.ly/4atmsvu #dataisbeautiful
🎙️ New Productivity Puzzles episode! Why do UK firms not invest? @bartvanark.bsky.social talks with @teraallas.bsky.social, Stephen Roper & Catherine Mann about why firms hesitate to invest and how management decisions shape productivity. Listen: www.productivity.ac.uk/podcast/why-...
The increased frequency of hot weather events has been predictable for decades. Why do Brits find it so hard to invest for the future (in this case, climate adaptation)? #dataisbeautiful
Is AI stealing jobs? Is it boosting productivity? Those are the two biggest economic questions about AI. Remarkably, the UK's official statistics are struggling to answer either of them. A look at what the data can — and can't — tell us: open.substack.com/pub/teraalla... #dataisbeautiful
AI and productivity: what the statistics (won't) tell us
The UK lacks timely and granular data on a critical economic variable
open.substack.com
Oh dear. Slightly depressing answer from Claude.ai on (the hugely important question of) how UK investment returns compare to other countries’. I wouldn’t be asking the question if we had already proved it in our previous paper…
The UK has ranked near the bottom of the investment league table at least since the 1950s, with serious consequences for our productivity and prosperity. Could this reflect cultural attitudes and dispositions among UK decision makers? Yes! Read our research here: bit.ly/4atmsvu #dataisbeautiful
Only 11% of UK businesses intend to increase investment in the near term. Yet, few firms cite access to finance or inadequate returns as a reason. Read our @productivity.bsky.social research on how UK managers' attitudes may be constraining profitable investment: bit.ly/4atmsvu #dataisbeautiful
How should governments respond when AI’s economic impacts remain deeply uncertain? A new piece on “strategy under uncertainty”: no-regrets moves, optionality, and why policy should avoid overcommitting to any single AI future: teraallas.substack.com/p/ai-and-the... #dataisbeautiful
What is holding back the #investment that we so desperately need for #productivity growth? One reason could be that the UK population, and its managers, are consistently more risk averse than comparator countries'. Read our new research: bit.ly/4atmsvu
New UK job-ad data suggests the labour market for young graduates is weakening significantly. But the story is more complicated than “AI is replacing graduates”. #dataisbeautiful open.substack.com/pub/teraalla...
AI and young graduates: some worrying patterns
The labour market for new graduates is undoubtedly tough - but it's not all down to AI
open.substack.com
Enjoyed contributing to this balanced piece by Sam Fleming, Valentina Romei and Philip Stafford in the FT (link below). We might be entering another cycle of differential inflation for households. Latest ONS data on this published today (see chart). giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
New UK job-ad data suggests AI exposure is not affecting all jobs equally. AI seems to be displacing routine office and service work—not graduate occupations. So far, this looks like an acceleration of a much older labour-market trend. #dataisbeautiful open.substack.com/pub/teraalla...
AI and jobs: exposure may be starting to bite—but not everywhere
New data on UK online job ads shows weaker demand for routine office and service work
open.substack.com
It was great to contribute to this article on UK #productivity by Ben Zaranko, alongside Gregory Thwaites, Peter Dixon and others. The retail and wholesale story is consistent with capital deepening; does not apply to all other sectors... observer.co.uk/news/busines...
Why Labour is making labour more costly | The Observer
As unemployment hits a decade high, early signs of a productivity rebound suggest that government plans may be working
observer.co.uk
Really enjoyed contributing to this excellent article on UK #productivity!
Ben Zaranko@benzaranko.bsky.social · 2mo agoIn Finland, @teraallas.bsky.social tells me that it’s common to see unmanned petrol stations and automated pizza vending machines – that’s what proper capital deepening in response to high labour costs looks like.
The UK's investment problem is well known (Y-axis). What surprised me was the X-axis. We complain about the "nanny state", but when global energy or food prices rise, the conversation quickly shifts to what the government should do. #dataisbeautiful
