FT: “For airlines, loyalty schemes — and in particular air miles programmes — do more than drive repeat custom. They have grown into multibillion-dollar businesses that can be more profitable than the flights themselves. By selling points or air miles to third parties, such as banks or credit card companies, airlines forged a hugely valuable source of revenue. The loyalty programmes of the big three US airlines alone were worth $73.8bn in 2023, according to calculations from On Point Loyalty, a consultancy.”
NYTimes: “Today’s surge of sports betting — supercharged by technology and unfettered industry practices — shows how everyone can struggle with self-control to varying degrees. No longer a simple matter of putting money down on which competitor will win, modern technology has transformed sports betting into a high-speed, continuous stream of wagers throughout the game.”
Daren Acemoglu: “American economic success in the era after the second world war depended on innovation, which in turn relied on strong institutions that encouraged people to invest in new technologies, trusting that their inventiveness would be rewarded. This meant a court system that functioned, so that the fruits of their investments could not be taken away from them by expropriation, corruption or chicanery; a financial system that would enable them to scale up their new technologies; and a competitive environment to ensure that incumbents or rivals couldn’t block their superior offerings. These kinds of institutions matter under all circumstances, but they are especially critical for economies that rely heavily on innovation.”
Johan Norberg: “Free market capitalism is not really about capital, it is about handing control of the economy from the top to billions of independent consumers, entrepreneurs and workers, and allowing them to make their own decisions about what they think will improve their lives.” [via CafeHayek]
TechCrunch: “[Mike] Ghaffary says the biggest gap he sees is startups using AI to create high-paying jobs. “I’ll tell you one company I’m looking for, too, that I haven’t found: vocational training.” He wants to see founders building startups that use AI to help people learn high-paying trades like industrial electricians or commercial plumbers, or to level up their skills in other such industries. “That’s where AI could come in,” he says. He’d like to see an affordable plan that would offer virtual or otherwise AI-enhanced training, “almost like flight simulation” but for the “millions of people” at risk of being left behind. “I think there’s a big opportunity,” he says. “And it’s for the sake of our country and our world. Otherwise we have this big underemployed society and it’s not good for anybody.””
