EMQs: Will the AI bubble burst?
3/2/202634 min
On the heels of the AI Impact Summit, former advisor to Nick Clegg and author Verity Harding asks how Ed Balls and George Osborne’s experiences of the dot com bubble and rise of social media can inform the current government’s approach to AI. They also discuss whether AI is heading for its own Dot Com crash.
And, what’s in a Department Name? More than you’d think apparently. The pair get surprisingly passionate about the joys of a government department rebrand - reminiscing on the coalitions unpicking of the Whitehall reorganisation done by New Labour. Ed is still bitterly disappointed at the abandonment of the DCSF.
And, turning to the appointment of Antonia Romeo as Cabinet Secretary - and the wave of misogynistic commentary that followed - Ed and George ask, given her obvious qualifications, why didn’t Keir Starmer appoint her sooner?
Finally, former civil servant Tamara Finkelstein asks why investment into UK deep tech startups is so lacking, and what can be done to close the gap with the US? Ed and George pose a challenge to the government to address this issue sooner rather than later.
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Credits:
Research: Sam Burton
Production: Caillin McDaid, Caitlin Hanrahan & Eve Jones
Video Editor: Avi Asher
Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford
Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsEd Balls· Host0:00
The Chancellor of the Exchequer.
George Osborne· Host0:02
[cheering] Getting a lesson from the Shadow Chancellor on how to balance the books is like getting a lesson from Dracula on how to look after a blood bank. [laughing] Ed Balls, a steady as she goes budget. What kind of ship does he think he's on? The Titanic? The Marie Celeste?
Ed Balls· Host0:17
Welcome to EMQ's from Political Currency.
George Osborne· Host0:20
With Ed Balls and George Osborne.
Ed Balls· Host0:21
[upbeat music] So hello and welcome to EMQ's Ex-Ministers Questions. This is the first time back in our studio since we won our Political Podcast of the Year award. I finally- Did we win? We did actually.
George Osborne· Host0:39
Oh, good.
Ed Balls· Host0:40
I actually also brought into the, um, studio to go onto our mantelpiece here, Ellie Clifford's Political Producer of the Year- Mm. -award as well. So that's also very exciting.
George Osborne· Host0:51
Where's mine? I f- I forgot to bring the trophy in.
Ed Balls· Host0:54
Did you?
George Osborne· Host0:54
Yes.
Ed Balls· Host0:55
Oh, forgo- Anyway. Oh, okay.
George Osborne· Host0:57
I've got it at home. Don't worry, I'll get it next time.
Ed Balls· Host0:58
In that case, look, we'll look forward to getting it in May then.
George Osborne· Host1:01
Yeah. Now, look, we have got on the table in front of us, we've got all sorts of treats in boxes, and these all come from our friends at Amazon. Uh, I think you've heard of them.
Ed Balls· Host1:12
OMG congrats, it says.
George Osborne· Host1:13
And, uh, we've got a little card here with a big love heart on it, and it goes, "Dear Dino," He's the founder of Persephonica, our production company. "Ellie," our producer of the year. Not our producer, the producer of the year, according to those important awards. "George and Ed, congratulations