[DDIntel] Code Red, Design Thinking and Shaping Life Science

Jan 28

Here we are, at the end of the first month of 2023, a year that we hope will be much better and maybe less chaotic than the last 2 years. We hope for peace in Europe, we hope that inflation will fall like an airplane from the sky and that the planet will “cool down” just a little, since even Putin can’t rely on the “Russian winter” anymore, because of global warming. Of course, some people still believe that global warming doesn’t exist, but everyone has the freedom to think whatever they want, even that the Earth is flat.

Let us explore the important moves that have happened over the last few weeks.

Over 46 000 people were fired from big companies like Google and Microsoft only in the first few weeks of this year - a trend that will most likely keep up. The sad thing is that there were multiple accounts of people that were fired over an e-mail, after loyally working in these companies for years or even decades. This should be a lesson to all employees who think the company or corporation cares about them and builds up statues for them since they work hard and are loyal. They don’t care and will lay you off in an e-mail so that they can increase their next quarter’s net profits. Save yourself the heartache and shock and be loyal to yourself and your professional progress.

These layoffs may be highly accentuated in the future, as AI tools and bots are getting more powerful each year. Even Google’s CEO, Satya Nadela, has recently called an emergency meeting with Google’s co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to discuss their AI strategy for the future (as you will see in the first article of this newsletter). This comes in response to claims that ChatGPT will make google almost obsolete. These claims may be exaggerated, but one thing is for certain - ChatGPT has the power to highly reduce Google’s use and profits in the near future since it can answer questions (that you would otherwise “google” for answers), in a matter of seconds. This translates into fewer google searches, less user data “eaten up” by google, meaning less “ad” revenue. It may also translate into fewer YouTube videos watched. All of this will drastically reduce Google’s revenue.

However, some good news is on the horizon, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is adamant that inflation will fall drastically before the end of this year, unless, as she states, we won’t be hit by an “unanticipated shock” (war?). The Fed board projects that the core PCE inflation will reach 3.5% by the end of 2023. Quite an optimistic view (read the second article in the newsletter, for a different view on this), don’t you think? Let’s hope that is true, but stick to one of the best stoic proverbs “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst”. That being said, in the previous recessions, few people talked about a big fall happening, while most people were adamant that the economy won’t fall. However, it did. So, whatever the FED or anyone else may say, you need to do your own research and prepare for worst-case scenarios. And after you do that, you can start hoping for the best!

You'll find more information on the issues mentioned above in this week's DDIntel. You'll also learn about investing for retirement, AI technologies, teamwork, and much more - from reading some of the best articles on DataDrivenInvestor and our medium publication.