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Artificial intelligence could boost the value of trade in goods and services by nearly 40% by 2040, but without adequate policies it could also exacerbate economic divides, a new World Trade Organization report warned on Wednesday. Lower trade costs and enhanced productivity could drive substantial increases in trade and GDP by 2040, with global trade projected to rise by 34-37% under various scenarios, according to the WTO’s World Trade Report. Global GDP could also increase by 12-13%, it said. “AI could be a bright spot for trade in an increasingly complex trading environment,” said the Deputy Director General of the WTO, Johanna Hill, commenting on the annual report that analyses trends in the multilateral trading system. Acknowledging current turbulence in the world trading system, Hill noted that AI was reshaping the future of the global economy and international trade, with the potential to reduce trade costs and boost productivity. Global trade rules, governed by the Geneva-based watchdog, have faced major disruption this year following a slew of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. The report highlighted how businesses could reduce costs in logistics, regulatory compliance and communications. “AI-driven translation technologies can make communication faster and more cost-effective, particularly benefiting small producers and retailers by enabling them to expand into global markets,” the report said. Such advancements could help increase export growth in low-income countries by as much as 11%, provided they improved their digital infrastructure. However, the report cautioned that without targeted investment and inclusive policies, AI could deepen existing divides. “The effects of the development and deployment of AI are raising concerns that many workers, and even entire economies, could be left behind,” the report said. WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said policy makers needed to carefully manage the transition to AI. “AI could upend labor markets, transforming some jobs whilst displacing others. Managing these shifts demands investment in domestic policies to enhance education, skills, retraining and social safety nets,” she said during the launch event for the report in Geneva. To ensure the benefits of AI were shared widely, predictable trade supported by WTO rules and lower tariffs on raw materials essential for AI technologies, including semiconductors, were crucial, the WTO added. Olivia Le Poidevin, Reuters
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When Whitney Houston died in 2012, she was just 48 years old. Now, 13 years later, one of the most iconic voices in music is making a return. And, as you might expect, artificial intelligence is involved. A concert experience, called The Voice of Whitney: A Symphonic Celebrationblending isolated vocal tracks, video performance footage, and a live symphony orchestraopens a limited series of shows across the country starting September 20. While the estates of other artists who have died have had similar tribute shows before, in Houston’s case, it wasn’t just a matter of putting together footage and tracks. Many of the original multitrack recordings of Houston’s music (those that combine vocals, instruments, drums, etc.) had been lost. Park Avenue Artists, which is collaborating with Houstons estate to produce the shows, tapped Moises, an AI-powered music platform, to assist. That company’s AI is designed to isolate vocals and instruments from songs in near-studio quality. “This project demanded exceptionally high-caliber stem separation, Moises cofounder and CEO Geraldo Ramos said in a statement. We had to isolate Whitneys vocals from fully mixed recordings without compromising the emotional power of her performance. A concert like this simply wouldnt have been possible five years ago.” The concert tour is timed to honor the 40th anniversary of Houston’s career launch (her self-titled debut album was released in February 1985). The show previewed in Nashville in June; now it heads to seven other cities. September 20 and 21: with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Cincinnati Music Hall October 11: Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College, Wilmington, North Carolina October 25: Bank of America Performing Arts Center, Thousand Oaks, California November 8: Palladium at Allied Solutions Center, Carmel, Indiana November 15: Genesee Theatre, Waukegan, Illinois November 21: McCallum Theatre, Palm Desert, California November 22: Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, Arizona Fans can expect to hear “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “I Will Always Love You, “Higher Love,” and other Houston classics. Moises has developed 45 proprietary AI models, which it says can process 2.5 million minutes of audio daily. The company’s app has proven popular with musicians, and its team members have worked at Spotify, Pandora, and TikTok, among other music-centric businesses. This may not be the company’s last work with a so-called legacy artist tour, either. Other collaborations with Park Avenue Artists are underway. This project demonstrates how legacy artists and their estates can create meaningful experiences for music lovers through the thoughtful use of AI technology, said Ross Michaels, copresident of Park Avenue Artists. “The Voice of Whitney is the first of several planned collaborations that will use AI to illuminate new dimensions of an artists work. Its a powerful example of how AI can honor artists legacies while enriching the audience experience in beautiful and respectful ways.” This isn’t the first time Houston’s estate has signed off on a posthumous tour. In 2020, right before the pandemic virtually shut down the world, a tour kicked off featuring a hologram of Houston performing her greatest hits accompanied by a live band. That production was overseen by Base Hologram, which has a proven track record of bringing legacy acts back to life, with successful concert tours of Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, and opera diva Maria Callas. The practice of posthumous performances has been a controversial one for years. Most artists did not have a say in the matter. Then again, they also generally did not have a say in unreleased music being unearthed years after their death. Despite the debate, the shows have largely gone on, and are seemingly becoming more prevalent.
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E-Commerce
Are you looking ahead to retirement? If you’re an entrepreneur, you may be focused on building your company right now. But experts say you should be making retirement plans at every age throughout your working life. And when the time comes to retire, there’s a big question you’ll need to answer: Where will you want to live? With that question in mind, the personal finance site Bankrate has done a detailed analysis of all 50 U.S. states, using criteria that Americans say are most important to them in retirement. The results are likely to surprise you. They just might change your views about where you’d like to retire. Top of the list? New Hampshire. How the heck did Bankrate come up with that? It’s a surprising result, but the analysis is very well thought out. First, researchers reviewed a YouGov poll of 2,260 Americans that asked what three factors were most important to them in a retirement location. Respondents’ top priorities were: Affordability Weather Neighborhood safety Healthcare Local taxes Arts, entertainment, and recreation People of a similar age Bankrate analyzed each state in relation to those criteria, giving more weight to those that more survey respondents considered most important. It created detailed results for all 50 states, ranking them from best to worst on those combined criteria. The rest of the top five, after New Hampshire, are just as surprising. They are: Maine, Wyoming, Vermont, and Idaho. Most came in toward the bottom of the ranking for weather specifically. But they outshone other states on factors like affordability, neighborhood safety, and healthcare. They also ranked strongly in having a large cohort of similar-aged people, which can help create the kind of community that is a known contributor to both longevity and well-being. And, they ranked high in the arts, entertainment, and recreation categoryin other words, enjoyable things to do. Ideally, retirement should be all about enjoyment, so this seems like an important category to me. Of course, in your own analysis, weather might outweigh all other considerations. You may dream of spending your retirement years strolling on the beach rather than slogging through the snow. States that are further south offer more sunlight, and more opportunities to be outdoors in that sunlight, both of which are known to improve your mood and well-being. If that’s a deciding factor for you, consider Virginia, West Virginia, or Utah, all of which ranked within the top 10 overall and ranked high for weather, too. Florida ranks 41st as a retirement state. Weather is a complicated question, especially in these days of climate change. That’s why Florida, favored by so many retirees that it’s a cliché, ranked near the bottom in Bankrate’s analysis. It scored 41st place overall and 45th for weather specifically. If you’ve ever lived through hurricane season in that state, or you know anyone who has, you’ll understand why. Not only that, warmer states are more at risk for droughts, fires, and extreme heat. Extreme heat is deadlier than any other weather, and it’s particularly dangerous for older people. It’s worth noting that several analyses of the best and worst states for climate change also found the Northeast is the best place to be. They rank New Hampshire and Vermont, two of Bankrate’s top-five states, as the top two states in that category. Deciding where to live in retirement is a complex question. Proximity to family and personal preferences make this an individual decision for each of us. Maybe you would never consider New Hampshire as a place to spend your golden years. But Bankrate’s ranking, and the factors they used to compile it, might get you thinking about what the best place for your retirement and what’s most important to you. Theres a growing audience of Inc.com readers who receive a daily text from me with a self-care or motivational micro-challenge or tip. Often, they text me back and we wind up in a conversation. (Want to know more? Its easy to try it out and you can easily cancel anytime. Heres some information about the texts and a special invitation to a two-month free trial.) Many of my subscribers are thinking ahead to retirement and considering where and how they would like to spend those years. These rankings are a great starting point for making the right choice. By Minda Zetlin This article originally appeared on Fast Company’s sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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