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Is life better than ever for the human race?
Is life better than ever? Measuring human progress today | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Is life better than ever for the human race?

Was the Beatles' Paul McCartney right - is it getting better all the time? On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer and Harvard psychologist Stephen Pinker talk about human progress and how we define it. Sure, it's great that we're not currently being chased by saber-toothed tigers. Life is better than death. Health is preferable to sickness. Freedom? We'll take it over tyranny any day of the week. In short, we know life is better today than it was for most of our ancestors, but how do we measure that progress? And at what point does the technology that has improved our lives come back to bite us? We're looking at you, AI.
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AI governance: Cultivating responsibility
AI governance: Cultivating responsibility | GZERO World

AI governance: Cultivating responsibility

Mustafa Suleyman, a prominent voice in the AI landscape and CEO & co-founder of Inflection AI, contends that effective regulation transcends legal frameworks—it encompasses a culture of self-regulation and informed regulatory comprehension. Today's AI leaders exhibit a unique blend of optimism and caution, recognizing both the transformative potential and potential pitfalls of AI technologies. Suleyman underscores the paradigm shift compared to the era of social media dominance.

This time, AI leaders have been proactive in raising concerns and questions about the technology's impact. Balancing innovation's pace with prudent safeguards is the goal, acknowledging that through collective efforts, the benefits of AI can far outweigh its drawbacks. Suleyman highlights that advanced AI models are increasingly controllable and capable of producing desired, safe outputs. He encourages external oversight and welcomes regulation as a proactive and thoughtful measure. The message is clear: the path to harnessing AI's power lies in fostering a culture of responsible development and collaborative regulatory action.

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The (political) power of alcohol
The Political Power of Alcohol | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The (political) power of alcohol

Alcohol. It's a dangerous drug that has ruined countless lives and derailed many a global summit. But it's also humanity's oldest social lubricant, a magical elixir that can fuel diplomatic breakthroughs, well into the wee hours of the night. As Winston Churchill once quipped, "I've taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me." On GZERO World, we take a deep dive down the bottle and examine the role alcohol has played in society, politics, and global summitry—from the earliest hunter-gatherer days to that memorable Obama Beer Summit in 2009. Joining Ian Bremmer is philosopher Edward Slingerland, whose new book Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way Into Civilization makes a compelling, if nuanced, case for alcohol's place in the world.

Also: since alcohol isn't the only social drug, a look at the state of marijuana legalization across the US and around the world.

What does “build back better” even mean (and can we do it)?
Ian Bremmer Explains: What Does “Build Back Better” Even Mean (and Can We Do It)? | GZERO World

What does “build back better” even mean (and can we do it)?

What does President Biden's "build back better" slogan really mean? Well, it implies the world before the pandemic already needed some fixing. In fact, it's kind of like "Make America Great Again." And there's a reason why those phrases hit home. A lot of people DO think the system is broken. But beyond catchy slogans, how do we actually fix it?

Watch the episode: Is modern society broken?

Women have borne the economic brunt of the pandemic
Why Women Have Borne the Economic Brunt of the Pandemic | GZERO World

Women have borne the economic brunt of the pandemic

It's no secret that women around the world have shouldered much of the burden brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when it comes to unpaid labor. As London School of Economics director Minouche Shafik points out in this week's episode of GZERO World, on average in the world women do two hours more unpaid work per day than men. And whether we're talking Norway or Pakistan, women have been doing more than their fair share for a long time before COVID hit. So how do women come back from what Shafik calls "the biggest change in the social contract in decades?" That's a major focus of this week's show.

Watch the episode: Is modern society broken?

How the social contract broke
When Did Society Stop Working for the People in It? | GZERO World

How the social contract broke

Anyone who's seen an episode of "Leave it to Beaver" or "The Wonder Years" knows how the American dream is supposed to work: the white picket fence, the suburban home and the 2.5 handsome young children playing in the backyard. It's a sort of social contract, one that this country has built its identify around for the last half century. But is that dream dead? Or at the very least, far outdated? Few young people today can expect a stable career without an expensive college education and many older people are spending far more years in retirement than past generations. So what do we do when the social contract breaks down? And how do we patch up all the holes in the social safety net? London School of Economics Director Minouche Shafik shares some solutions (hint: "free money" isn't one of them).

Watch the episode: Is modern society broken?

Is modern society broken?
Is Modern Society Broken? | Economist Minouche Shafik | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Is modern society broken?

What does President Biden's "build back better" slogan really mean? If you asked him, he'd likely say that life after the pandemic shouldn't just be as good as it was before COVID hit…it should be better. Who would disagree with that? But beyond the sloganeering, the need to create a much improved "new normal" has never been greater. With global inequality on and extreme poverty on the rise, how do we patch up the many holes in the world's social safety nets? Renowned economist and London School of Economics director Minouche Shafik has some ideas, which she shared with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

Podcast: The LSE’s Minouche Shafik on how to fix our broken society

Transcript

Listen: It was an ongoing question before the pandemic, but coronavirus has made it all the more urgent. With global inequality and extreme poverty on the rise, how do we patch up the many holes in the world's social safety nets? The idea of governments providing all adults with a set amount of cash on a regular basis, no strings attached, is gaining attention worldwide — especially given the need to expand post-pandemic social safety nets. But for London School of Economics Director Minouche Shafik, universal basic income "is like giving up on people." Shafik speaks with Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast.

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