The AI sector is increasingly characterised by interwoven financial and operational relationships, where companies act simultaneously as suppliers, customers, and investors. This has led to what analysts call a “circular economy” in AI infrastructure: At the centre of this digital ouroboros is OpenAI, the once non-profit darling turned corporate juggernaut, now entangled in a web […]
Author: Grumpy Old Man
London Underground Drivers: A Comfortable Ride?
In early September, London Underground drivers and staff staged another strike, this time calling for a reduction in working hours—from 35 to 32 per week. Among their demands was a four-day workweek, citing concerns over pay and working conditions. While such requests might seem reasonable at first glance (never mind the fact that many workers […]
Crypto is back – or is it?
Recently President Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, a historic piece of legislation that will pave the way for the United States to lead the global digital currency revolution. In its statement the White House writes that ‘the GENIUS Act will make America the undisputed leader in digital assets, bringing massive investment and innovation […]
Technology’s Role in Deepening Socioeconomic Disparities
Social disparity is much more prevalent nowadays than it was say 50 years ago: CEOs in the USA in 1970 made 30 times what the typical worker earned, some 50 years later it’s up to 350 times. Most of the wealth which was created in recent decades has flown upwards to the very top. In […]
Can AI Make Us Smarter or Just Lazier?
Artificial intelligence is fantastic! It’s like having a personal assistant 24/7 at my disposal be that for work or personal purposes! Personally I use AI mostly for work, analysing and reworking large data sets in Excel where AI proposes me code to help me make complex calculations using the Python programming language rather than writing […]
Loyal Customer? Don’t Overpay—Time to Reassess Deals
If, for example, you have been with your phone and/or internet provider (and you could substitute phone and/or internet with insurance, mortgage or bank) for a very long time you know what I am going to talk about: After many years of loyal custom you decide for some obscure reason to ‘go to market’ again […]
Are Customer Satisfaction Surveys Worth Your Time?
What have the following activities in common: You book a flight, you buy something online, you are a subscriber to a newspaper or magazine, you change your broadband and / or phone service provider, or have you complained to an organisation (and I could give you more examples, trust me!): At first glance not much […]
The Rise of Paying Hosts: A New Swiss Trend
A new trend is apparently taking on in Switzerland: Making your friends pay, like in a restaurant, when they visit you. Hosts apparently charge for food and drink, but also for use of the bathroom. And in another example a woman invited her sister with partner to attend a Christmas dinner at her place, then […]
The Evolution of Coolness: Tech and Social Trends
Do you consider yourself cool (or cooler) because you have an iPhone rather than another make of smartphone? And how much is that ‘coolness’ worth to you? According to a study by the University of Chicago it takes a payment of $31 a month. That is how much college students had to be paid to […]
Glitter, Gimmicks, and Geopolitics: My Annual Eurovision Eye-Roll
For some people it is an annual musical highlight (not for me though): the Eurovision Song Contest which, since Switzerland won last year’s event, took place in Basel last week. Don’t get me wrong, some of the songs are quite catchy and the visuals and technical wizardry are absolutely spectacular, it’s just that overall it’s […]
The grumpy older man 