Issue #89

AI fails to kill jobs, gold reaches $4,000 an ounce, UK loses a year’s worth of bread, and more.

‍News from 2 October - 9 October 2025

‍AI Fails to Kill Jobs

A Yale University study found that AI has had essentially zero impact on American jobs since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, contradicting widespread predictions of mass unemployment.

The Budget Lab research team analysed 33 months of employment data and found that workers with high, middle, and low exposure to AI maintained stable workforce shares. The rate of labour market change since AI's arrival matches the pace seen when computers and the internet first emerged, suggesting AI is no more disruptive than those technologies were initially.

The study also found that recent college graduates' job patterns closely mirror older workers at similar career stages, with only a small recent deviation possibly linked to higher interest rates rather than AI adoption.

Yale Budget Lab: “It is too soon to tell how disruptive the technology will be to jobs.”

‍Source

‍Britain Dumps Plastic on Poorer Nations

Britain's plastic waste exports to developing countries surged 84% in the first half of 2025 compared to last year, with most shipments going to Malaysia and Indonesia.

The UK exported 20% of its plastic waste to non-OECD countries in 2025, up from 11% in 2024. This comes as the EU prepares to ban such exports in November 2026, while Britain has set no similar deadline despite being part of a "high ambition coalition" at UN plastics talks.

Campaigners say the increase represents a shift after China banned waste imports in 2018, with plastic traders moving to countries with weaker environmental controls and enforcement.

Last Beach Cleanup founder Jan Dell: “It is unethical and irresponsible waste imperialism.”

Source

OpenAI's Sora 2 Burns Cash

OpenAI's video generator Sora 2 is haemorrhaging money as users create far more AI videos than the company anticipated, with most content reaching tiny audiences.

The app topped Apple's App Store within days of launch but quickly filled with copyright-infringing content, including SpongeBob drug labs and unlicensed South Park episodes. Researchers found that energy demands for AI video generation quadruple when video length doubles, creating massive compute costs for OpenAI.

CEO Sam Altman admitted the company must find a way to monetise the service, potentially through revenue-sharing with rightsholders. However, major studios are already suing AI companies for copyright infringement, making partnerships unlikely. Copyright lawyer Aaron Moss: "When thousands of GPU-intensive ten-second 'South Park' clips also risk copyright lawsuits, the math gets ugly fast."

Source

Bulletin Board

• Gold Hits $4,000 an Ounce. Gold surged past $4,000 an ounce this week, its biggest rally since the 1970s, as investors fled to safe havens amid tariff disputes and a US government shutdown. The price has risen a third since April, when Trump announced tariffs. Central banks have been buying over 1,000 tonnes annually since 2022, shifting away from US treasuries. Silver Bullion founder Gregor Gregerson: "Gold is often seen as a hedge against uncertainty, but the hedge can be unwound." Source
• Teen Raises Millions for AI Memory Tool. Nineteen-year-old Dhravya Shah secured $2.6 million in seed funding for Supermemory, an AI memory API that extracts insights from unstructured data. Investors include Google AI chief Jeff Dean and Cloudflare CTO Dane Knecht. The startup helps AI apps retain context across sessions by building knowledge graphs from files, chats, and emails. DoNotPay founder Joshua Browder: "More and more AI companies will need a memory layer.” Source
• UK Loses Year's Worth of Bread. Extreme weather has destroyed enough British wheat since 2020 to bake 4 billion loaves, a year's supply. Droughts and floods created a 7-million-tonne wheat deficit, with two of the three worst harvests this decade. UK wheat self-sufficiency dropped from 96% in 2023 to 79% in 2024 as millers imported record amounts. ECIU analyst Tom Lancaster: "Extreme weather is making our bread less British." Source
• BYD Conquers British Market. Chinese car giant BYD saw UK sales soar 880% in September compared to last year, making Britain its biggest market outside China with 11,271 cars sold. The company now holds 3.6% of the UK market, benefiting from the country's lack of tariffs on Chinese EVs unlike the EU and US. Source
• AI Startups Dominate Venture Capital. AI startups captured 62.7% of US venture capital in the latest quarter, with 2025 on track to become the first year AI accounts for over half of all VC investment globally. VCs invested $192.7 billion in AI out of $366.8 billion total, while the number of funds raised hit the lowest level in years at 823 globally. PitchBook director Kyle Sanford: "You're in AI, or you're not." Source

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