DISCUSSION In the news this week September 17th 2018

Dear Readers,

Here are a few articles published in the last few days that address issues – such as corporate governance, leadership, the future of work, tech and AI, mental health – that Tomorrow’s Company thinks business should seek to fully engage with if it is truly to become a force for good in society.

Yours,

The TC team

• The biggest challenge facing leaders everywhere is how to deploy AI in such way as it truly benefits humanity. It’s a daunting prospect: have boards been equipped to think sufficiently deeply with enough discernment about how we put humanity first? https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-human-promise-of-the-ai-revolution-1536935115
• Britain’s insecure towns aren’t ‘left behind’. They hold the key to our future. The desire for community and stability should not be dismissed as nostalgia. It’s our politicians who need to get with the times https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/17/britains-insecure-towns-left-behind?CMP=twt_gu
• The surge in suicide rates is a massive concern. If we are going to find the right solutions to this crisis then we need to talk more openly about what’s really going on. https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/we-need-to-talk-about-suicide-responsibly/
• For many, organisational life gets busier and busier! Don’t we need to just stop doing some things? An article on how we desperately need to critically analyse and assess projects to prevent overload…with some ideas! Create the space for leaders to think (differently) https://hbr.org/2018/09/too-many-projects
• Luis Bettencourt, Director of Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, University of Chicago, makes the case for decoupling economic growth and human development from resource extraction and waste generation https://medium.com/world-economic-forum/the-circular-economy-could-save-life-on-earth-starting-with-cities-836c4c9a1335
• ‘Investors urged to seek rewards of sustainable development’ – an article that mentions how Danone’s efforts are rewarded by cheaper PIL borrowing costs https://www.ft.com/content/c1854168-bb23-11e8-94b2-17176fbf93f5
• IBM debuts tools to help prevent bias in artificial intelligence http://fortune.com/2018/09/19/ibm-artificial-intelligence-bias/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article
• ‘FTSE 350 companies have shown a marked improvement in reporting on stakeholder engagement ahead of implementation of the new Corporate Governance Code and related legislation next January’ https://economia.icaew.com/news/september-2018/ftse-350-putting-their-cg-ducks-in-a-row#.W6NuwJR9ZMk.twitter 
• ‘Bezos and his offensive, self-serving philanthropy – A $2 billion charitable fund won’t help Amazon’s exploited workers’ https://bit.ly/2DifXyp
• A conversation in the local library – mental health, eccentricity and conformity in the workplace https://wp.me/p7u80c-1hJ