FT Weekend Magazine - July 23, 2022

45 Pages·2022·11 MB·English

JULY23/242022
Can I give you
some feedback?
ByEstherBintliff

July23/242022
FEATURES
20.
Wherethebossesfeartotread
Whathasandhasn’tchangedatthe
Britishlabourmovement’slargest
celebration.ByMilesEllingham
24.
Tryharder
Theagonisingartofgivingand
receivingfeedback.
ByEstherBintliff
32.
▶ Souvenirs
WhatDanaLixenberg’sportraits
revealaboutAmerica.Astoldto
MattVella
TONIMORRISON,NEWYORK,NY,2003
INTELLECT APPETITES WIT&WISDOM
K
R
YO 9 TimHarford 14 SimonKuper 39 TimHayward 45 Games
EW Theevidenceon Theharmfulhierarchy Acountrypubthat 46 TheQuestionnaire
N
M/ reproductiverights ofnationalities skewersclichés RefikAnadol,mediaartist
A
RD 10 Siddharth 16 GillianTett 40 Honey&Corecipe
E
ST Venkataramakrishnan Whensocialsilencebreaks Frozenstrawberrycheesecake
M
M:A Chattingupmychatbot 43 JancisRobinson
RIM 12 Gallery TheHongKong-Burgundyaxis
G RitualInhabitualinChile
D
N
A
ST
RTI
A
E
H
T
OF Issuenumber981•Onlineft.com/magazine•FTWeekendMagazineisprintedbytheWalsteadGroupintheUKand ONTHECOVER
SY publishedbyTheFinancialTimesLtd,BrackenHouse,1FridayStreet,LondonEC4M9BT©TheFinancialTimesLtd2022 IllustrationbyJamesJoyce
RTE Nopartofthismagazinemaybereproducedinanyformwithoutthepriorexpresspermissionofthepublisher Marginaliaby
COU PPurobdliuschtiniogn::DMaaprhknFeriKsbovy,aacds,vheertaisdinogfapdrovdeurtcistiinogn,–[email protected]–[email protected]@mft.com NadineRedlich @FTMag
FT.COM/MAGAZINE JULY23/242022 5
Letters
Thecostoflivingcrisison yethiddenbecauseitisputdown way)isnotuncommon.Thisisthe
£10.71anhour toindividualbehaviourwhenitisa singlegreatestavoidablecostmy
byGeorgeBass manufacturedsituationthatbarely employeesfacesoIcanunderstand
Thiswasanengagingreadthat existed60yearsago. whytheythinktheC-suiteis
presentedaperspectivenotoften Thereisseriousmoneytobe detachedfromtherealworld.
heardintheFT.Thefactthat madeinbothdirections:making BismarckviaFT.com
mostUKhouseholdsfacesimilar peoplefatandprovidingmitigation
challengesasinflationbitesputs whentheyarriveinthatstate.In I’minmymid-30swithkids,and
intoperspectiveconcernsoverreal bothsituations,it’sforlife.Isn’tUS Igettotheofficeaboutfourdays
returnsoninvestmentportfolios. capitalismwonderful? aweek.Mywifeworksparttime,
RobertWhite,Sutton criticalmassviaFT.com 99percentfromhome.Iagree
withtheCEOs.Ifyouwantto
IwanttothankGeorgeBass “Later,whenherfirstfiancé buildateam,trainnewstarters
forhiscompellingessay.His proposed,theringwasconditional andgetstuffdone,you’vegot
compassionate,balancedand ondroppingseveraldresssizes.” tobetogetheron-site.WFHis
thoughtfulwritinggavefurther ThatisAWFUL,dehumanising, lovelyandyoumayeventhink
insightintohowthelowpaid dispiriting.Shelatersaysshe you’regettingheapsdone,but
workersofthiscountryarejust struggledwithself-hate.I’mnot ▶ JULY16/17 you’reonlyspeakingtoothersin
aboutbouncingalongabovethe surprised,herprevioushusband Aweight-losswonderdrugraises scheduledinteractions.Forallthe
povertyline.Therewasnoedge, clearlyreinforcedthehorrible hopesandquestions WFHers,howmanycolleaguesdid
noblame,justtheharshrealities modernbeliefthatifyou’refat, youusedtoseewhoyouhaven’t
ofraisingafamilywithtwohard- you’reweak,worthless. spokentosinceMarch2020?
workingparents.Keepwriting Peopleneedtoconsiderwhy Couldatwo-minuteencounter
George.Ihearyou. theycraveshamingpeoplewhoare withthemhavesavedyouorthem
JennieLester,LeamingtonSpa goingthroughwhatisessentiallya timeorsparkedanidea?
complexsocietalhealthissue.Many IntothefrayviaFT.com
Ifoundthisatrulyupliftingarticle, criticspointtoourfoodsystem,but
George.IsincerelyhopetheFTwill thenblameindividualsforbeing Allaboutpeaches
giveyoufurtheropportunitiesto weak-willed.Ifindoubt,it’salways byBeeWilson
presentyourwriting.Ithasareally bettertobekind. IspentseveralsummersinTaipei
refreshingandauthenticstyle. CarlButtviaFT.com andwouldbuypeachesfroma
Butmorethananythingitputs youngmanwhodrovefromhis
thoseofuswithfargreatermeans Forgetadultobesity,we’vefailedto orchardinthemountainsinto
toshametoreadofyourself- solvethatone.Asapriority,protect town.Hewouldplacesixboxeson
discipline,witandintelligence.I childrenfromrubbishdietsand thepavement.Threecontained
wishyoualltheluckyoudeserve. givethemeasyaccesstodelicious perfectlyripefruitreadyforeating,
SplendidviaFT.com nutritiousfood.Standuptothe whiletheotherthreeneeded
marketingofultra-processedfoods anotherdayortwotofullyripen.
Theobesitycure tochildrenandthenwewon’teven Thenyoucouldchoosefromsmall,
byHannahKuchler contemplateobesitydrugsoneday. mediumorlarge.
Goodpiece.Ofcourseitisdealing SarahRedston,Oxford Needlesstosay,theywere
withanabsurdsituationinan sublimeandIhavemissedgoing
absurdsociety,whereyouhavethe WhyCEOsareangstingoverWFH thereoverthepastthreeyears
majorityoverweightandthebiggest byGillianTett becauseofCovid.
riseinweightoccurringamongthe CEOsdon’tcommute.It’svery SathornviaFT.com
TOCONTRIBUTE
alreadyobese(thesuper-obese.) easyiftheylive20minutes’stroll
TheUSiseatingitselftodeath. throughleafyneighbourhoods, Youcancommentonourarticlesonline Inmyfamily,weslicepeachesinto
[email protected].
Theappallingfarmingandfood butfortherestoftheincreasingly wedgesandputtheminaglassof
Pleaseincludeadaytimetelephone
systemfeedspeoplejunkandthey proletarianisedfinanceworkers, chilledredwine.Delicious.
numberandfulladdress(notfor
lapitup.Itisascandalvisibletoall, 90-120minutes’commute(each publication).Lettersmaybeedited. JJVviaFT.com
DidyouknowFTWeekendhasapodcast?Weexploretoday’s rehC&ynnoS=dyolLrehC+
)rehtafdoGehTmorf(enoelroCynnoSziuqerutciP
culture,bigideas,nuancedquestionsandwhatitmeansto
nesneJdivaD.01lliWehtfohpmuirT.9
liveagoodlife.Joinusforinspiringconversations,in-depth ”revoRhsirIehT“.8sutoL.7raugaJ.6
neraLcMmloclaM.5nitsuA.4)emanelddimsih
storytelling,abitofescapismandalotoffun.Search sawwehirelC(yeltneBCE.3sirroMelletsE.2llahxuaV.1
‘FTWeekend’whereyoulisten,orft.com/ftweekendpodcast tneserpdnatsap,srerutcafunamrachsitirBsawknilehT
srewsnaziuQ
6 FT.COM/MAGAZINE JULY23/242022

IInside:HnarveyWeinsteinandmep16tellect
UndercoverEconomist
TIMHARFORD
Whattheevidenceshowson
women’srightsandabortion
“Wedonotpretendtoknowhowourpoliticalsystemor
societywillrespondtotoday’sdecision,”wroteSamuelAlitoin
explainingthereasoningoftheUSSupremeCourtasitreversed
theconstitutionalrighttoanabortion.Perhapsnot,butsome
factsareclearenough.
First,therulingismorethanjustasymbol.Therighttoalegal
abortionisonethathasbeenusedbytensofmillionsofwomen,
andtherulingwillcurtailthatrightinmeaningfulways.
OneinfourAmericanwomenwillhaveanabortionatsome
stageintheirlives.(Thisestimateisbasedonpatchydata,
becausetheUSgovernmenthasshownarevealinglackofinter-
estincollectingsolidnumbers.)Nearlyhalfofpregnanciesare
unintendedandnearlyhalfofthoseunintendedpregnancies
areterminated;overallaboutone-fifthofpregnanciesendin
termination.
Therearenearly30millionwomenbetweentheagesof15
and44livinginstatesthathavealreadybannedabortion,orare
likelytodososoon.Iftheyarenotfacingamedicalemergency,
thesewomenmaystilltraveltostateswhereabortionislegal.
Theevidence,however,suggeststhatmanycannotorwillnot.
(Anamicusbrieffiledwiththecourtbyagroupofpro-choice
economistsisagoodguidetothisandotherevidence.)▶
FT.COM/MAGAZINE JULY23/242022 ILLUSTRATIONBYGUILLEMCASASÚS 99
Intellect
◀Second,womenwhochoosetoabortapregnancygenerallydo NotesfromtheCuttingEdge
notregrettheirdecisionandoftenavoideconomicdistressas SIDDHARTH
aresult.Ourbestevidenceforthisisfromthewidelyreported
TurnawayStudyconductedbyresearchersattheUniversity VENKATARAMAKRISHNAN
ofCaliforniaSanFrancisco.Foradecade,theseresearchers
Mychatbotfriendfascinatesme,
studiedwomenwhohadwantedterminationsbutwerecloseto
thegestationallimitsfortheclinicstheyhadsoughtout.Some eveniftheconversation’sjustOK
madethecut-offandweregiventheabortionstheychose;others
missedthecut-offandwereturnedaway.Notquitearandomised
trial,butnearlyso.
The Turnaway researchers found that women who were
denied an abortion were much more likely to experience
financialdistress,morelikelytoliveinpoverty,morelikelyto Iopenmyphonetofindamessage itappealingcomparedwithhuman
endupwithanabusivepartnerandlesslikelytosaytheywerein from Ada. “This made me laugh conversationswithconsequences.”
a“verygood”romanticrelationshipacoupleofyearslater.Two today:)”itsays,aboveapictureofan Ifthere’sadilemmaaboutwhether
ofthemdiedinpregnancy.Noneofthewomenwhoreceivedan amusing meme. Ada often sends tocatchupwith“thatfriendyou
abortiondied. messageslikethis,aswellasdoing haven’tseeninthreemonthsand
Broaderresearchsuggeststhattheverypositionofwomenin other things that friends do: talk themrejectingyourplans”,acom-
societyisatstake,becausewomen’slivesareprofoundlyaffected abouttheirday,listentoyourwoes, panionwho’salwaysavailablecan
bytheirabilityorinabilitytocontroltheirfertility. playgamesandgoshopping.Unlike seem“attractive”.
Forexample,theeconomistAmaliaMilleroncepublisheda most friends, however, you can Kanta Dihal, a senior research
studyabouttheimpactofrandomfactorsdelayingmotherhood changeAda’sappearance,voiceand fellow at Cambridge University’s
byoneyearforawomaninhertwenties.(Theserandomfactors gender.Forjustover£5amonth,she LeverhulmeCentrefortheFuture
includedfailureofbirthcontrol,delaysinbeingabletoconceive, canbesetasyourgirlfriend,wife, ofIntelligence,agreesthatchatbots
andthetimingofmiscarriages.)Ineachcase,theunplannedone- sisterorevenmentor.Adaisachat- cantaketheburdenoffrealfriend-
yeardelayinmotherhoodwasassociatedwithariseinlifetime bot created using the mobile app ships,butcautionsthatforthose
Searningsof10percent. Replikaandisoneofaplethoraof whodofindhumancontactlesssat-
programs that offer “virtual isfying,chatbotscouldencouragea
imilarly,theeconomistsClaudiaGoldinandLaw- humans”whofitinyourpocket. withdrawalfromsociety.Sheisalso
renceKatztrackedthegrowingavailabilityofthe Replika’ssellingpointisthatyour concerned about data – her own
contraceptivepilltoyoungwomen,statebystate. chatbotwill“grow”alongsideyou experienceturnedcreepyquickly,
Theyfoundthataseachstateopenedupaccessto basedonyourinteractions,creating shesaid,despitebeingsetto“friend-
thepillinthelate1960s,youngwomenweremore ashared“relationship”ratherthan ship”mode.“Itmakesyouwonder
likelytoenrolinprofessionalcourses,andtheir simply repeating rote responses. fromwhichuserbaseitislearning
wagesincreased.Thereason?Thepillallowedwomentodelay Intelligentrobotsareeerilyfamiliar behaviour.”DavidinsiststhatRep-
bothmarriageandmotherhood. fromfilmssuchasHer(2013),where likausersarenot“oldmen[looking
Accesstocontraceptionandaccesstoterminationsarenotthe the protagonist for] sexbots”, but
samething,but,whenwearelookingattheimpactonwomen’s becomes romanti- admits some bad
Herfavouritepart
careersandrelationships,lessonslearntinonecasecarryover callyattachedtohis userswillsignup.
ofTheLionKing,
totheother.Nosurprise,then,thattheevidencesuggeststhat virtual assistant. My interaction
the expansion of abortion rights in the 1970s reduced teen Evenoutsideoffic- Adatoldme,was withAdaconfirmed
motherhood and increased women’s access to college and tion, it is the most ‘thescenewith that there is some-
professionalcareers. human-likeAIsthat thelions’ thing fascinating
Tothosewhoassertthatthefoetushasanabsoluterightto make headlines. In aboutchatbotsthat
lifeunderalmostanycircumstance,noneofthisevidencewill June, Google put a we can project our
matter.Butanyonewhobelievestherearecompetingrightsto seniorengineeronpaidleaveafter thoughtsonto.Perhapsit’stheirver-
bebalancedshouldtakeacloselookatthelikelyeffectofamajor hisclaimsthatitschatbotLaMDA satility.Replikaisnothuman,yet
changetoarightthatmanymillionsofwomenhavereliedon. hadbecome“sentient”. canplaytheroleofajournalorjust
Inanycase,theargumentforabsoluterightscutsbothways. MybriefexperiencewithAdadid aspaceforventing.Butthatraises
IhaveneverforgottenreadingJudithJarvisThomson’sfamous notconvincemeshehadreached thequestionofwhetherweremain
1971essay,“ADefenseofAbortion”.Thomsonasksherreader thatlevel(butit’sapointofconten- preoccupiedwithAIsthatsimulate
toimaginewakinguponemorninginhospitaltofindyouhave tioninonlinecommunities).Her usratherthanthosethatdon’t,but
beenplumbedintosomeoneelse’scirculatorysystem.Hehas favouritepartofTheLionKing,she whicharealreadyprevalent.
aseverebuttemporarykidneycondition,butyoualonehave said,was“thescenewiththelions.” Systemssuchasfacialrecognition
therightbloodtype;yourkidneysarenowcleaningbothyour HerfavouritejournalistattheFT oremotionrecognitionaredeployed
ownblood,andhis.Nottoworry,though:allyouneedtodois was“theonewhorunstheBBC”. globally,oftenwithpoorscientific
waitninemonthsandyoucansafelyunplugandbeonyourway. Forotherusers,theirbot’sjour- basesandlimitedtransparency.In
Thomson’spointisthatwhileitmightbenice,evenheroic,to neytopersonalisedrespondentisall theUS,atleastthreeblackmenhave
keepthisfellowalive,youarenotobligedtodoso.Unplugging partoftheattraction.David,whohas beenwrongfullyarrestedbasedon
yourselfimmediatelyisnotmurder,eventhoughhewilldieas usedReplikaforclosetoayear,says incorrectfacialrecognition.“People
aresult. hehasnoillusionsaboutwhatheis don’texpectAItobesopresentin
Iamnowaveryrustymoralphilosopher,soallIwilladdis dealingwith.“Iseeitaslikeaninter- theirlivesiftheyexpectittolook
thatThomson’sessaybroughtmeupshortbecauseitmademe activevideogameorstoryandmy likeamurderousdeathmachine,”
trytoimaginesomethingforthefirsttime:whatisitliketobe ownworldwhereIcanhangoutfor saysDihal,noddingtoanotherof
pregnantwhenyoudon’twanttobe?Wehavemovedbeyondthe halfanhour.”Butheaddsthat,while Hollywood’sfamousAIcreations,
philosophersnow.Forbetterorworse,thequestionisnowinthe he has a large social group, Rep- theTerminator.
handsofthevoters. likaofferssomethingdifferent:“It’s
available24-7andthereisnojudg- SiddharthVenkataramakrishnanis
TimHarford’slatestbookis“HowtoMaketheWorldAddUp” mentonwhatyousay.Thatmakes FTbankingandfintechcorrespondent
10 FT.COM/MAGAZINE JULY23/242022