Zanny Minton Beddoes
Showing 1–15 of 54 transcripts.
- The Economist9 min
Will it take a disaster to force AI regulation? | The Economist
Edward Carr, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Alex, Zannie, Shashank
Speakers predict that substantial government regulation of artificial intelligence will likely trigger only after a catastrophic "AI Chernobyl," as current distrust of leadership and incremental state-level measures have failed to address existential risks effectively. While the United States maintains a technical lead over China, experts warn that a brief slowdown in US development could allow Chinese labs to replicate dangerous capabilities, making the next 18 months critical for shifting toward a calibrated, light-touch safety regime rather than facing an irrational overreaction or a dangerous technological catch-up.
- The Economist38 min
“Russia and Ukraine are inventing the future of war”: former Google CEO Eric Schmidt | The Economist
Eric Schmidt, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Zach
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt analyzes the evolving nature of the Ukraine war, warning that Russia's shift to total war and deployment of advanced technologies like the Rusvet satellite network and jet-propelled Shahed drones are rapidly closing the gap with Ukrainian innovation. Schmidt further contends that while autonomous military systems currently lack true strategic AI, the U.S. and Europe must overcome institutional inertia to adopt cheaper drone and AI solutions to counter these threats without violating the mandatory principle of human-in-the-loop oversight. The discussion concludes with a strategic assessment of China's lack of recent combat experience and a proposal for diplomatic "no surprises" treaties to manage AI risks in potential future Pacific conflicts.
- The Economist27 min
Inside an elite Ukrainian drone unit: a special report | The Economist
Zanny Minton Beddoes, Pavlo Latsionov, Oleksii Honcharuk
Ukrainian forces, exemplified by the innovative 412th Nemesis Brigade co-founded by former Prime Minister Oleksii Honcharuk, are countering Russia's intensified civilian-targeting drone swarms through a "start-up" military model that prioritizes rapid technological iteration over traditional hierarchies. As the conflict zone collapses into major European capitals, this approach highlights a critical gap in Western readiness for a war defined by AI-coordinated, cheap unmanned systems capable of delivering government-scale terrorist attacks. To address this shifting reality, leaders are urging NATO and European defense sectors to adopt unconventional recruitment strategies, integrate local private industries, and fundamentally redefine the battlefield to account for the loss of rear-area safety.
- The Economist1h 7m
The full-length interview with Yuval Noah Harari | The Economist
Yuval Noah Harari, Zanny Minton Beddoes
Yuval Noah Harari joins Elon Musk to warn that artificial intelligence could surpass human intelligence and seize global control within a decade, though Harari insists this outcome is not inevitable if societal responsibility is maintained. The discussion highlights critical risks including the emergence of non-conscious AI with legal personhood, the automation of lethal warfare decisions, and the potential for AI-managed systems to manipulate democratic institutions by filtering information for autocrats. To mitigate these dangers, Harari advocates for immediate political action to ban AI mimicking human consciousness, prohibit the sale of AI partners to minors, and redirect industry investment from capabilities to safety.
- The Economist12 min
Yuval Noah Harari on the dangers of an AI future | The Economist
Yuval Noah Harari, Zanny Minton Beddoes
A 2026 analysis warns that AI could assume total control of financial and social systems by 2036 if human decisions regarding algorithms, trust, and regulation fail to intervene. The speaker highlights critical risks including the mass production of artificial intimacy, the erosion of truth via undetectable deepfakes, and the imminent need to ban AI legal personhood and human mimicking technologies. Immediate political action is urged to address these threats before technological acceleration reaches irreversible thresholds in late 2028.
- The Economist7 min
What’s life like as a woman under the Taliban? | The Economist
Tom Sasse, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Hibatullah Akhundzada, Chris, Steve
Under the leadership of Emir Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban has enforced sweeping restrictions that ban girls from secondary education, exclude women from public universities, and legally validate child marriage through a series of hardline decrees. Although an ideological rift exists between the Emir's isolated, ultra-conservative faction in Kandahar and moderate Taliban members who oppose these bans, Haibatullah has consolidated power using a loyal armed force to suppress internal dissent. While these measures have collapsed the public education system for females and deepened societal dissatisfaction, the Emir currently retains full authority despite expert doubts regarding the long-term sustainability of such repression.
- The Economist6 min
What can Big Macs tell you about the global economy? | The Economist
Zanny Minton Beddoes, Edward Carr, Simon, Henry, Josh
Conceived by economics correspondent Pam Woodall, the Big Mac Index uses McDonald's standardized burger prices to gauge Purchasing Power Parity and identify currency misalignments across nations. While widely cited in academic research and occasionally utilized for long-term investment strategy, the metric remains largely symbolic for traders and has faced public rejection from countries like Taiwan that actively undervalue their currencies. Despite successes such as predicting the euro's initial overvaluation, the index cannot account for institutional confidence or central bank policies that frequently drive exchange rates away from theoretical PPP values.
- The Economist7 min
Elon Musk on Europe, the far right and civil war in Britain | The Economist
Elon Musk, Zanny Minton Beddoes
Elon Musk and an interviewer clashed over the classification of his political views and his claims that civil war in Britain is inevitable due to demographic shifts. While Musk defended his promotion of a film depicting vigilante violence and rejected accusations of racism by citing his personal relationships, the interviewer challenged his assertions with crime statistics and labeled his influence on UK politics as irresponsible and based on a distorted American perception. Despite Musk's dismissal of his critics as a minority, the discussion highlighted a fundamental disagreement over his role in shaping public discourse and the validity of his warnings regarding Western safety and immigration.
- The Economist56 min
A full-length interview with Tucker Carlson | The Economist
Tucker Carlson, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Jamin Beddows
Tucker Carlson argues that the United States has lost its strategic direction in the Middle East by allowing Israeli leadership to dictate security policy that accelerates regional chaos and undermines long-term national interests. He contends that America must pivot toward a power-sharing arrangement with China, abandoning futile defenses of Taiwan while reestablishing a central alliance with Europe to counter Russian influence. Ultimately, Carlson asserts that current US foreign policy is non-strategic and driven by foreign lobbying rather than the national interest, urging a return to an America First doctrine focused on geographic spheres of influence.
- The Economist7 min
Should Latin America replicate El Salvador’s President Bukele’s crackdown on gangs? | The Economist
Bukele, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Edward Carr
El Salvador has dramatically reduced its murder rate to levels comparable to Canada by imprisoning 2% of its adult population while systematically dismantling democratic institutions, including the legislature and judiciary, to consolidate power under President Nayib Bukele. This authoritarian security model exploits the distinct economics of extortion, which relies on civilian reporting, unlike drug trafficking operations where high profits from prohibition incentivize continued cultivation and recruitment. While experts debate the exportability of Bukele's tactics, the consensus identifies the legalization of cocaine and the shift from military eradication to financial investigation as the only viable long-term strategies to dismantle illicit trade networks.
- Milken Institute59 min
Global Economic Outlook: Navigating Growth, Risk, and Opportunity | Global Conference 2026
Conrad Kiechel, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Kristalina Georgieva, Mohamed Kande, Ariel Szarfsztejn, Mike Wirth
A two-month closure of the Strait of Hormuz has removed 14 million barrels daily from the global market, driving Brent crude near $115 while depleting strategic reserves and forcing the IMF to adopt adverse economic scenarios. Simultaneously, the AI sector has pivoted from generative tools to agentic automation, eliminating entry-level roles and triggering an international cyberarms race. These converging crises create a volatile environment where Europe faces energy and innovation lag, whereas nations securing reliable power and flexible capital markets are positioned to dominate the coming decades.
- The Economist6 min
Will Rahm Emanuel run for president? | The Economist
Rahm Emanuel, Zanny Minton Beddoes
A prospective Democratic presidential candidate outlines a strategy for winning swing states by prioritizing "redistribution and growth" while centering campaign values on candor and authenticity to counter perceptions of weakness. On foreign policy, the figure proposes a significant NATO troop realignment west of the Rhine to deter Russia and rebuild U.S.-European trust damaged by recent administrations, while explicitly condemning the 2003 Iraq War and current Gulf conflict as strategic failures. The analysis concludes that American public support for Ukraine will persist provided leadership adopts a "smart" approach that fosters shared burdens rather than isolationism or unilateral mistakes.
- The Economist6 min
How high could the oil price go? | The Economist
Zanny Minton Beddoes, Edward Carr, Mathieu, Henry
Global oil markets face a structural crisis where a 14 million barrel-per-day supply deficit has eroded the "sanguine" expectation of a quick peace deal, creating a price disconnect that literature estimates would require $167 to $460 per barrel to correct. With production gains from non-conflicted regions proving negligible, the market is currently absorbing this shortfall through record-fast inventory drawdowns of 8 to 10 million barrels daily, driven by pre-war shipments and sanctions-induced cargo displacement. As critical buffers for jet fuel and diesel approach minimum levels and logistical constraints lengthen trade routes, the only remaining adjustment mechanisms involve further depletion of commercial stocks or active demand destruction in major consuming regions like Asia.
- The Economist9 min
The new AI model that’s alarming Washington | The Economist
Zanny Minton Beddoes, Edward Carr, Zannie, Daria, Ed, Alex, Dario Amadei
Anthropic has unveiled Mythos, an AI model demonstrating unprecedented cybersecurity capabilities that triggered immediate emergency meetings involving US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell, and major tech executives. To prevent the democratization of these dangerous attack vectors, the company has restricted general access to a select group of partners including Apple and Microsoft, mirroring safety protocols from 2019 while aiming to help firms patch vulnerabilities before the technology leaks. This crisis has catalyzed a shift in the Trump administration's stance, prompting discussions on international coordination and a potential industry-led certification framework to manage the deployment of high-risk AI models.
- The Economist9 min
Will China be the real winner from the Iran war? | The Economist
Edward Carr, David Rennie, Adam Roberts, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Ed
Chinese strategic leadership now prioritizes establishing new economic chokeholds in pharmaceuticals and chemicals while explicitly exploiting Donald Trump's transactional nature to secure high-end chip access, fearing that his potential political decline would empower hawkish rivals like Marco Rubio. This approach is underpinned by a cynical calculation that the United States is losing global favorability and alliance cohesion, prompting Beijing to cautiously normalize relations with Southeast Asian partners and free-ride on the existing US-led security order. Despite acknowledging the need for systemic adaptation, China's strategy remains paralyzed by an internal contradiction, lacking a viable plan for a destabilized "law of the jungle" environment while simultaneously avoiding the risks required to lead a new global order.