The Art of the Possible

We live longer than we’ve ever done, and it has become a cause for concern: previous generations would have rejoiced, and would look askance at our pessimism. But the labour-saving technologies unleashed by artificial intelligence (AI) make us worried we won’t have enough work to do. And humanity’s attempts at fixing the climatic damage from the first industrial revolution until today are the subject of debate as to whether they are too little, or misapplied in the course of a frantic investment ‘green rush’. 

The zeitgeist is distinctly dystopian. There are good reasons for this: climate change is an existential threat and the global fracture lines, both social and economic, are increasingly apparent as we exit a world-changing pandemic. However, there are also reasons for optimism. The technologies we sometimes treat with distrust have the potential to be liberatory. The question is how humanity applies them...

Invesco has partnered with The Economist to publish a series of articles bringing together experts in longevity, AI, sustainability and more. We examine the interface of these exciting areas with finance and explore the challenges we face and whether they can be transcended. In other words, whether the art of the possible could become the science of the actual.