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Nicholas Agar

Nicholas Agar

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Nicholas Agar is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, and the author of How to Be Human in the Digital Economy (MIT Press, 2019). 

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  1. Should Humanities Professors Be Automated?
    agar7_Getty Images_ai teacher Getty Images

    Should Humanities Professors Be Automated?

    Sep 22, 2022 Nicholas Agar considers the implications of recent successes with AI-generated academic research and writing.

  2. Finding Purpose in the Humanities
    agar6_Bernd Weißbrodpicture alliance via Getty Images_university Bernd Weißbrodpicture alliance via Getty Images

    Finding Purpose in the Humanities

    Dec 9, 2021 Nicholas Agar calls for educators to adapt to post-millennial reality by abolishing the traditional term paper.

  3. An Interview with Nicholas Agar
    A man looks at a smartphone Thanasak Wanichpan/Getty Images

    An Interview with Nicholas Agar

    May 26, 2020 Nicholas Agar emphasizes the importance of unchosen social interactions, warns that technology cannot replace them, and wonders whether COVID-19 is enough of a shock to improve the lives of poor people in the long term.

  4. The Horizon Bias in Human Innovation
    agar4_MARK RALSTONAFP via Getty Images_jeffbezosspace Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

    The Horizon Bias in Human Innovation

    May 1, 2020 Nicholas Agar warns against allowing technological advances to inflate our expectations of forthcoming breakthroughs.

  5. Automating Segregation
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    Automating Segregation

    Oct 28, 2019 Nicholas Agar worries that involuntary social interactions will be one of the casualties of the digital economy.

  1. gaffney4_Leonardo MunozVIEWpress_tax Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress

    Tax the Rich to Save the Planet

    Owen Gaffney argues that reducing economic inequality is the key to strengthening democracy and mitigating climate change.
  2. nye240_Yuichiro ChinoGetty Images_worldtechnologyconnection Yuichiro Chino/Getty Images

    Is Globalization Over?

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr. explains why reports of the death of humanity's interdependence are greatly exaggerated.
  3. goldsmith3_LEONARDO MUNOZAFP via Getty Images_trumpindictment Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images

    Putin and Trump in the Dock?

    Jack Goldsmith explains the risks associated with pursuing criminal prosecutions against high-profile political figures.
  4. fischer202_JULIEN DE ROSAAFP via Getty Images_ukraine JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images

    The Great Revision

    Joschka Fischer examines the broader geopolitical restructuring that was triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
  5. op_feld2_Mike KempIn Pictures via Getty Images_inflation Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images

    Why Inflation Persists

    Lars P. Feld

    What "Team Transitory" has missed in the inflation debate is that inflation tends to become persistent because of second-round effects. Not only have producer prices risen over the past year or so, but they also have not yet been fully passed through the value chain.

    navigates the complex array of factors that give rise to one of the biggest problems in macroeconomics.
  6. haldar19_ Beata ZawrzelNurPhoto via Getty Images_wanted putin Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    Wanted: Vladimir Putin

    Antara Haldar explains why the International Criminal Court’s indictment is more than just a symbolic victory.
  7. BP financial crisis Anadolu Agency / Contributor via Getty Images

    Here We Go Again?

    Fifteen years after the collapse of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers triggered a devastating global financial crisis, the banking system is in trouble again. Central bankers and financial regulators each seem to bear some of the blame for the recent tumult, but there is significant disagreement over how much – and what, if anything, can be done to avoid a deeper crisis.

  8. roubini175_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_debt crisis Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    The Coming Doom Loop

    Nouriel Roubini warns that liquidity support will not be enough to prevent a deeper financial crisis and economic downturn.
  9. james202_FABRICE COFFRINIAFP via Getty Images_ubs credit suisse FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

    Crises of Uncertainty

    Harold James fears the consequences of policymakers’ continual revision of economic and financial governance rules.

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