Sarah O'Connor
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
đ¤ 21535
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FT columnist, writing about work, technology & economics.
Ahhh this writing.
@stephenkb.bsky.social
is so good!
3 days ago
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The FT's live Ask an Expert finally getting onto the good stuff...
www.ft.com/content/c330...
4 days ago
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Emma Jacobs
4 days ago
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What a drive-by from
@chrisgiles.ft.com
! "In his first term, Trump thought the then 47-year-old former Fed governor was too youthful and good looking to command respect. Eight years on, that has all changed."
www.ft.com/content/167c...
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Kevin Warsh will pivot Fed to conviction economics
Trumpâs choice of chair will shift from Powellâs data-dependent approach to policy
https://www.ft.com/content/167c5c6b-97de-41da-911f-4f4f8193e620
10 days ago
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Tom Richmond
11 days ago
đ¨NEW PODCASTđ¨ Why are so many graduates struggling to find a job?
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
and
@stish.bsky.social
join me to discuss why young people leaving university are having a tough time in the labour market. Listen here:
insideyoured.com
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Sarah O'Connor
Hetan Shah
18 days ago
âOur analysis of job postings data from the US, UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands shows no clear evidence that AI is behind the slowdown in early-career employment across much of the westâ
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/7fbc...
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Once upon a time, a President of the United States saying "fuck you" and raising his middle finger to an American factory worker would be front page news around the world. Now it's a "colour lede" on a business analysis.
www.ft.com/content/36ab...
24 days ago
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Martin Stabe
about 1 month ago
In which
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
and
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
discuss how social scientists have been using AI to write code for data analysis, and what this means for other professionals who do similar work ⌠like data journalists:
www.ft.com/content/9183...
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The AI Shift: Agentic AI is coming for quantitative research
The real value of an analyst now lies in the quality and quantity of their ideas
https://www.ft.com/content/91836acb-ab0c-4680-9dcf-c4de9e9917c5
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I'm not really one for lengthy "what I read this year" lists, so here's a super short one. The best fiction book I read was Venomous Lumpsuckers by Ned Beauman. The best non-fiction book I read was Private Revolutions by
@yuanfenyang.bsky.social
. I recommend them both heartily!!
about 1 month ago
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If AI is coming for junior lawyersâ jobs, why does their pay keep going up? Our latest AI Shift newsletter...
www.ft.com/content/1d85...
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The AI Shift: If AI is coming for junior lawyersâ jobs, why does their pay keep going up?
Automation may be freeing up their time to do more valuable work
https://www.ft.com/content/1d859a36-6251-4caa-9f8c-aeb35f1d628e
about 2 months ago
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Isn't it funny how your brain just knows when you've left one gulp of tea in a cup, somewhere in the house. Like, somehow you just know you're one gulp short of having drunk a whole cup. Is this a uniquely British skill, I wonder?
about 2 months ago
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Are "Made by Humans" labels going to be the new Fairtrade? On why transparency about how AI is used in creative endeavours is trickier than it sounds, but better than just giving up
www.ft.com/content/bab5..
.
about 2 months ago
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add a skeleton here at some point
about 2 months ago
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Karen Jeffrey
about 2 months ago
It's so important to read splashy findings about the impact of AI on jobs with a critical eye đ¤
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
and John Burn-Murdoch are spot on here - highlighting issues I see in these studies time and time again.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
#EconSky
3 of the big ones... [1/5]
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The AI Shift: How to read the news
Questions to keep in mind when you come across splashy AI stories
https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/81d87c86-30f8-4cc7-89eb-3119c9b7c737
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Sure, we're the weak and decaying ones...
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2 months ago
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Welcome to Britain, a country so short of dentists that an MP's 87-year-old mum pulled her teeth out with pliers. Also a country with thousands of foreign-qualified dentists who canât work until they pass an exam so oversubscribed itâs like trying to book Glasto tickets.
www.ft.com/content/f4e5...
2 months ago
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In 2016, godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton said: "People should stop training radiologists now." In this week's The AI Shift newsletter, we ask: why are there still so many radiologists??
www.ft.com/content/f2e0...
2 months ago
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Russell George
2 months ago
This week's FT AI shift newsletter is so far up my street, it's practically parked on my drive - On how, despite AI leaders predictions of doom, there are now growing numbers of radiologists and how those professionals are working with AI
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Harry Wallop
2 months ago
Great culture can save lives. Literally. Amazing letter in todayâs
@thetimes.com
about Tom Stoppard
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Tim Bale
2 months ago
If you're lucky enough to be able to read the
@financialtimes.com
these evidence-based conversations between
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
and
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
are particularly fascinating. Here's the latest.
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The AI Shift: Is AI about to break polling?
Online surveys are susceptible to bogus respondents and synthetic samples warrant scepticism
https://www.ft.com/content/1298a2cd-5623-480c-b30e-ff81fc5c788d
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Out of interest, I just checked my Facebook feed. I had to scroll through 86 posts before I saw one from someone I know. (shout out to
@groomb.bsky.social
whose post it was!)
add a skeleton here at some point
3 months ago
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Dorian Lynskey
3 months ago
"What is certain, and felt instinctively by almost everybody, is that things cannot go on in their present way" â The Times, May 1975 âIt is difficult to imagine a previous period when such an all-pervasive hopelessness was exhibited at all levels of British lifeâ â Professor Stephen Haseler, 1975
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Dan
3 months ago
I was on hiring teams in 2012/13 where we would routinely go from applications closing to making offers within 3 weeks, sometimes 2! Because our team prioritised an efficient process. These days, as an employee, anything faster than 3 months is basically unheard of.
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Another one for you,
@dlknowles.bsky.social
add a skeleton here at some point
3 months ago
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Is AI making job recruitment less meritocratic? We're getting some v interesting research studies on this question now, and the news is... not good.
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
& I dive in, in the latest edition of our newsletter The AI Shift
www.ft.com/content/e5b7...
3 months ago
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Sarah O'Connor
Antony Carpen
3 months ago
Via
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
Am seeing similar in so many other settings. Eg planning applications: -> Firms now offering 'AI' solutions to opponents of big developments. So expect similar to emerge for those in favour, and even more for 'assessing' docs targeted at under-resourced
#Localgov
.
add a skeleton here at some point
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Hugh Pemberton
3 months ago
Depressing
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
and
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
newsletter today - general use of AI in crafting job applications now makes it impossible to identify the best candidates. So a probable return to "it's not what you know, it's who you know" recruitment? Top work everyone!
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Katy Morris
3 months ago
From the always interesting AI Shift newsletter by
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
and
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
: AI is maximising job applications and word counts, in vicious circle of doom kind of ways
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"If a country as rich as Norway canât afford to stick to principles, who can?" Great edition of the Free Lunch newsletter today by
@martinsandbu.ft.com
on Norway suspending its $2.1 trillion oil fund's ethics rules.
www.ft.com/content/f6b3...
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How Norway jeopardised its integrity overnight
Oslo abruptly changed the ethics rules for the worldâs largest sovereign wealth fund
https://www.ft.com/content/f6b34e71-2b3e-43ad-99a9-558a34f56853
3 months ago
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2nd edition of our The AI Shift newsletter is out. The question today: could AI be making us LESS productive?
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/2480...
At the individual level, it's clear we're not reliable witnesses on this Q. At an organisational level, it gets even more interesting...
3 months ago
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Ben Ansell
3 months ago
Somebody at HMRC needs to be canned for this idiotic âfraud-detectionâ idea. And I fear future use of AI in welfare cases might well produce this kind of story regularly (as they have in Nevada for example).
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UK woman who booked Oslo flight but did not fly loses child benefit âbecause she emigratedâ
Exclusive: HMRC told Lisa Morris-Almond there was no record of her return to UK, but she did not take the trip
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/oct/30/uk-woman-who-booked-oslo-flight-but-did-not-fly-loses-child-benefit-because-she-emigrated
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In news that will surprise no-one...
www.404media.co/metas-ray-ba...
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Meta's Ray-Ban Glasses Users Film and Harass Massage Parlor Workers
âThe shameless use of covert recording technology at massage parlours to gain likes, attention, and online notoriety is both disgusting and dangerous.â
https://www.404media.co/metas-ray-ban-glasses-users-film-and-harass-massage-parlor-workers/
3 months ago
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Does this description come from 2025, or 2006? Unnerving piece by
@brookeamasters.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/fddb...
3 months ago
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Beautiful paragraph juxtaposition!
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/26/t...
4 months ago
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Tim Bale
4 months ago
'Itâs worth raising an eyebrow when companies announcing lay-offs link them in vague terms to becoming âAI readyâ, but without any corroborating detail. Letâs face it, it sounds a lot more dynamic than just saying the business isnât doing very well.' đ
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
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The AI Shift: where are all the job losses?
A macroeconomic change isnât clear yet but payroll data shows some types of work are already being displaced
https://www.ft.com/content/3d2669e3-c05e-48c9-8bb3-893c1d66de2e
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reposted by
Sarah O'Connor
Joseph Cox
4 months ago
New: a $60 mod to Meta's Ray-Ban glasses disables the privacy LED light. This is supposed to light when people are filming with the glasses. We bought the mod, verified it works. Now you can never be sure whether someone wearing Meta Ray-Bans is filming you or not
www.404media.co/how-to-disab...
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A $60 Mod to Metaâs Ray-Bans Disables Its Privacy-Protecting Recording Light
Metaâs Ray-Ban glasses usually include an LED that lights up when the user is recording other people. One hobbyist is charging a small fee to disable that light, and has a growing list of customers ar...
https://www.404media.co/how-to-disable-meta-rayban-led-light/
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Sarah O'Connor
Financial Times
4 months ago
Read the headlines and youâll see wildly different conclusions about whether AI is taking jobs or not.
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
and
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
break down what the data actually shows in their new newsletter The AI Shift. It's free to read here:
on.ft.com/4niHdxo
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Exciting day: one of my fave colleagues
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
and I are teaming up on a weekly newsletter to track what's really happening with AI & the labour market. No hype, just spreadsheets & shoe-leather. You can sign up here to get the first edition at lunchtime today!
ft.com/AIshift
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Login
https://ft.com/AIshift
4 months ago
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This is going to be v v good
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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Have Your Say!
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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Sarah O'Connor
FT Edit
4 months ago
Why canât I buy a small smartphone?
on.ft.com/4nzyCqB
Are phones too big? Tell us what you think in today's
#FTEdit
poll đ
on.ft.com/47n8eKt
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Bring back small phones! This is my iphone 13 mini. It is a perfectly-sized phone. But it's going to die - in a few years, Apple will stop supporting it w/updates. Yet there are now NO new smartphones to buy on the market that fit the human hand.
www.ft.com/content/6332...
4 months ago
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This piece is so funny and also so good
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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This is such a good corrective by
@chrisgiles.ft.com
to the "working-age welfare spending is exploding/out-of-control" narrative that more & more people seem to see as an incontrovertible fact
www.ft.com/content/ee67...
4 months ago
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In which
@sheilahayman.bsky.social
enjoyably skewers Geoff Hinton's suggestion that we should engineer AI to be like a "mother" to us.
sheila-hayman.medium.com/mummy-knows-...
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Mummy Knows Best
Recently, the FT took Geoff Hinton to lunch, giving the event an entire page on September 5th. In it, he reveals that heâs had an epiphanyâŚ
https://sheila-hayman.medium.com/mummy-knows-best-2a30df505641
4 months ago
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In which
@stephenkb.bsky.social
absolutely nails the way the Tories are performing a "never-ending lobotomy" on themselves by requiring everyone to believe (or at least pretend) Brexit was a good idea.
www.ft.com/content/a65f...
4 months ago
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Investors are betting big bucks on the idea that AI will create an explosion of leisure time...e.g. it was a key part of the public rationale for the massive $55bn takeover of video games maker Electronic Arts. But are they right?? (short thread linked to my column today
www.ft.com/content/4011...
)
4 months ago
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Great piece from
@emmavj.bsky.social
who is calling Peak Vibe
www.ft.com/content/14ef...
4 months ago
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Those tall stools on that tiny raised platform are making me nervous... do you really want to be adding pints into the mix?
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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