DURING a recent summit in Paris, J.D. Vance, America’s vice-president, declared that the world’s most powerful artificial-intelligence (AI) systems would be developed in America with “American-designed and manufactured chips”. That is a lofty ambition, for although America leads the world when it comes to designing AI chips, it long ago ceded its position as the global centre of chip manufacturing to Taiwan. More
One honourable exception to the roster of tech billionaires standing behind Donald Trump at the president’s inauguration on January 20th was Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia. He took a quieter approach, instead meeting Mr Trump at the White House just over ten days later. Earlier that week his company, the dominant supplier of artificial-intelligence (AI) chips, had lost $600bn in market value during a sell-off precipitated by the release of the latest AI models from DeepSeek, a Chinese firm. Mr Trump’s plans to respond to the upstart model-maker may have been as much on Mr Huang’s mind as DeepSeek itself. More
One honourable exception to the roster of tech billionaires standing behind Donald Trump at the president’s inauguration on January 20th was Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia. He took a quieter approach, meeting Mr Trump at the White House just over ten days later. Earlier that week his firm, the dominant supplier of artificial-intelligence (AI) chips, had lost $600bn in market value during a sell-off precipitated by the release of the latest AI models from DeepSeek, a Chinese firm. Mr Trump’s plans to respond to the upstart model-maker may have been as much on Mr Huang’s mind as DeepSeek itself. More
In 1881 American customs officials stopped a suspicious shipment of sugar, believing its colour had been altered. Under the prevailing tariff code, the darker the colour, the lower the grade and the lighter the levy. A chemical test confirmed the officials were correct. The case went all the way to America’s Supreme Court, which determined that the importer could in fact alter merchandise so as to lower the duty rate, and therefore had done nothing wrong. More
In 1881 American customs officials stopped a suspicious shipment of sugar, believing its colour had been deliberately altered. Under the prevailing tariff code, the darker the colour, the lower the grade and the lighter the levy. A chemical test confirmed the officials were correct. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which determined that the importer could in fact alter merchandise so as to lower the duty rate, and therefore had done nothing wrong. More
The arc of management bends towards sitting on your arse. You may intend to get away from your desk, but it holds you there nonetheless. There are always more emails to clear; there is always more work to get done. When you do leave your desk you are probably off to sit down somewhere else, in a meeting room. And you will probably share that room with your closest colleagues, people who sit behind desks that are located extremely near to yours. Domestic cats have larger territories than some bosses. More
If red tape could be said to have a spiritual home, it would be the corridors of the European Commission in Brussels. The beating heart of the “regulatory superpower” that is the EU, it is there that the rules which guide how business is done in the 27 member states are made. The EU produced nearly 14,000 legal acts between 2019 and 2024. Perhaps not coincidentally the bloc’s economy has stalled. Bosses gripe about spending more time filling forms than filing patents. A plan to lessen their burden is expected to be released on February 26th. Hopes for radical deregulation, however, will have to wait. More
Donald Trump’s election marked a “cultural tipping point”, Mark Zuckerberg declared as he hastily reorganised his company last month. After abolishing fact-checking and promising to move staff from California to Texas, Meta’s boss donned a gold chain and went on Joe Rogan’s podcast to talk about his love of martial arts. Meta is not the only Silicon Valley firm to have undergone a MAGA-friendly makeover. Elon Musk, who says he adores Mr Trump “as much as a straight man can love another man”, has rewired liberal Twitter as right-wing X. TikTok, whose users skew young and Democratic, thanked Mr Trump for postponing its national-security ban and sent its chief executive to his inauguration. Nearly every big-tech boss showed up; several made a personal donation to the festivities. More
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