Writing for @TheEconomist | More at notes.archie-hall.com/
London, DC and sometimes NY
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My latest for @TheEconomist: AI writing is taking over politics.
10% of what was is said in Parliament is now AI-drafted, per Pangram. Yet more in the House of Representatives, or in Australia and Canada.
Link: economist.com/britain/2026/0…
And a 🧵 below, w/ some main offenders
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Sociologically fascinating how AI is remaking perceptions of creativity and aesthetic worth in real-time…
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A nice follow-up on my AI MPs story in Canada from @GabeOatley
torontotoday.ca/local/politi…
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Archie Hall retweeted
**NEWS**
I have started a substack, as a vehicle to tell you about my new FT columns and podcasts, as well as the odd song.
You can sign up here: soumayakeynes.substack.com/p…
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Archie Hall retweeted
New research: we hired 12 CPAs to complete four realistic accounting tasks, then had AI models from the past few years complete the same work.
As of May 2025, accountants outperformed AI. Now they lose out to today's frontier models, which are near perfect on these tasks. 🧵
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Archie Hall retweeted
I'm writing next week on the administration's AI policy, how it's evolving, and the political trends - especially w/in MAGA - that could put pressure on Trump's current "tremendous self-regulation" position. Get in touch if you have informed views: shashank.96 on Signal.
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'Gingerbread men with chocolate trousers incur value-added tax (VAT) worth 20%, but no tax is charged on those with chocolate only for their eyes.'
Britain's taxes aren't unusually high - but they are freakishly complex, @TheEconomist says: economist.com/britain/2026/1…
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The Economist editor @ArchieHall says Britain may have built itself into one of AI’s easiest economic targets by relying on service exports while lagging at adopting technology:
"I'm pretty concerned about where Britain could end up, and I think that's evocative of where a lot of non-US rich world economies could end up in a world where AI is more economically disruptive."
"You have an economy that's very, very services exports dependent. Law, finance, insurance. And it's not a vastly dynamic economy. It's not been incredibly successful adopting technology over the past couple decades."
"More nimble AI-enabled competitors could very, very easily eat away at the export base of a lot of those services companies that really power the British economy."
"Britain does have a pretty strong AI sector, but it's not huge, and most of the British economy is things that are not AI and things that are pretty bad at adopting tech."
@TheEconomist
I am increasingly frustrated about the state of conversation about AI in the UK. It feels like we are in never ending cycles of deluded thinking. Under current trends, Britain will be defenceless against the transformative effects of AI and have no leverage over development at the frontier.
We are the most exposed economy to AI in the world. We have very little data centre capacity and few credible plans to expand – and our high energy costs mean we would struggle to even if we tried.
I am publishing a paper today on what the UK should do to build that leverage, let the economy capture value from AI and prepare the state to adapt, however AI develops.
The three strategies are as follows:
1. Build the infrastructure that gives us leverage. Fix the grid, fix planning, make Britain a place frontier AI can run.
2. Let the economy capture the value of AI. Reform the regulatory, labour and talent barriers that stop British firms adopting AI.
3. Build a state that can adapt to a changing world. Build a tax base that survives the labour market changing, public services that use AI to deliver better, and capacity to weather the upcoming geopolitical storms.
Two years ago, we published a similar report on AI - many recommendations of which ended up in the action plan. I remember feeling hopeful, but sadly the fundamental problems facing the country on AI have not shifted. I truly hope that this week of momentum culminates in action. There’s still a narrow path for the UK, but everyday that path is narrowing.
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Archie Hall retweeted
Would you push yourself to read all the way through an essay or book if you thought AI had written it?
@ArchieHall on how AI writing frays the contract between writer and reader.
(Archie, I read your piece to the end)
New @TheEconomist leader from me on the perils of AI writing—and why readers, not writers, are the victims to worry about. (Link ⬇️)
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New @TheEconomist leader from me on the perils of AI writing—and why readers, not writers, are the victims to worry about. (Link ⬇️)
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Best read alongside this great piece by Catherine Nixey, also in this week's edition economist.com/britain/2026/0…
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And my own look at AI writing in politics economist.com/britain/2026/0…
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Archie Hall retweeted
Interesting that the U.S. senate seems mostly spared from AI speeches, something to do with larger offices, higher average staffers quality, or more media coverage of what’s said on the Senate floor?
My latest for @TheEconomist: AI writing is taking over politics.
10% of what was is said in Parliament is now AI-drafted, per Pangram. Yet more in the House of Representatives, or in Australia and Canada.
Link: economist.com/britain/2026/0…
And a 🧵 below, w/ some main offenders
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New @TheEconomist leader from me on housing markets, and the rate shock coming if bond yields stay high.
Why house prices may be in trouble
economist.com/leaders/2026/0…
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Based on @econcallum analysis here:
House prices survived the last rise in interest rates. Will they this time?
economist.com/finance-and-ec…
from The Economist
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Archie Hall retweeted
the very very very short march through the institutions
My latest for @TheEconomist: AI writing is taking over politics.
10% of what was is said in Parliament is now AI-drafted, per Pangram. Yet more in the House of Representatives, or in Australia and Canada.
Link: economist.com/britain/2026/0…
And a 🧵 below, w/ some main offenders
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1/ This is bottom-up, not top-down, and reflects choices MPs (and their staff) are making. I spoke to several.
Reactions ran the gamut from denial to defence: "for every half hour saved on speechwriting, 'that is another 30 minutes we can put into supporting my constituents.'"
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3/ People can, I think, reasonably disagree about whether this is a problem. (I think it is.) But British voters hate it.
Public First ran some polling for us, and found that approval of AI writing on the job is lower for politicians than any other profession.
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Plenty more in the piece as ever, which you can see here: economist.com/britain/2026/0…
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