Latest news with #KevinBrady
Forbes
16-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Steam To Silicon: Comparing The Industrial Revolution And The AI Age
Kevin Brady, founder of Gnomon, LLC, venture studio behind AutoFame, QRMapper & tech, story & innovation platforms. Some periods in our history are so transformative that they create a clear divide between the world before and after. We attribute the 18th and 19th centuries to such a period. Named the Industrial Revolution, this period ushered in an era of machines, mass production and urban expansion, forever altering how we live and work. Today, as artificial intelligence (AI) begins to shape everything from how we communicate to how we create and make decisions, we find ourselves at a similar inflection point. Make no mistake: The AI Revolution has already begun. Looking back at the sweeping changes of the industrial era, can we anticipate challenges and opportunities created by this new age of AI? History may not repeat itself exactly, but it often leaves us clues. Let's study our history in preparation for what is to come. Impact Of The Industrial Revolution There were a number of major changes introduced by the Industrial Revolution. The harnessing of steam and later electricity enabled labor automation, scaled production and reduced costs. This led to a migration from rural farms to industrial cities, creating the urban centers that still anchor our economies today. Transformative innovations in engineering, metallurgy, chemistry and transportation were developed, leading to a growth in national wealth and the emergence of a consumer culture as goods became more affordable and accessible. Yet these gains also came with consequences: child labor, exploitative working conditions, environmental degradation and social dislocation. For example, one of the most difficult challenges of the Industrial Revolution was the widespread displacement of traditional labor. Skilled artisans saw their trades replaced by machines. Farmers lost their livelihoods as machines took over agricultural tasks. In the short term, resistance was fierce. Famously, the Luddites destroyed machinery in protest. However, over time, societies responded by combining policy and progress. Public education expanded to prepare future workers for industrial jobs. Labor unions emerged to protect workers' rights and push for fair wages and safer conditions. Governments began to regulate factory practices and, eventually, invested in infrastructure projects that created new employment opportunities. The shift wasn't smooth or universally fair, but it laid the groundwork for a modern economy where adaptability became a survival trait. Parallels With The AI Revolution As we get deeper into the AI Revolution, I've noticed a number of similar traits. One is that when new industries emerge, old crafts often fade. Machines replaced muscle, and now AI is being used to replace decision-making and analysis, from chatbots and recommendation engines to autonomous vehicles and predictive modeling. Clerical jobs, coding, design and even art face disruption. Yet AI also creates new demands, such as prompt engineering, AI ethics and human-in-the-loop systems. Cloud computing, 5G, edge computing and massive data centers could be considered the new railroads and factories. In both revolutions, labor laws, environmental protections and workplace standards have needed to evolve, often following public outcry that forced change. However, while innovation can drive progress, it doesn't guarantee equity. In the Industrial Revolution, wealth became concentrated in the hands of industrial barons before eventually trickling down through reforms and systemic change. In a similar fashion, a number of today's tech giants wield disproportionate influence. These "data barons" may soon rival the steel magnates of yore. Ultimately, economic growth and prosperity benefited most, but not all. With AI, efficiency gains and improved robotics will likely replace a number of tasks traditionally requiring human dexterity, and some products may become very cheap, resulting in an era of abundance. But it's important that we balance this by ensuring there is prosperity for the masses in order to ensure demand. Where The Revolutions Differ There are several notable differences between these two eras. Where the Industrial Revolution played out over decades and spread unevenly, AI is evolving at digital speed and has proliferated nearly instantly across many borders, enabled by a globally connected digital infrastructure and the new race for dominance. According to 2024 research by Epoch AI, the amount of compute used to train notable machine learning models has been growing at a rate of approximately 4.6 times per year since 2010. And where industrialization redefined how we built and challenged social roles, AI challenges how we think. Some believe its trajectory could even eclipse human intelligence and border on consciousness, raising deeper philosophical and ethical questions about intelligence, creativity and what it means to be human. Predictions: Where We Are Headed In The AI Era I believe history suggests that revolutions come in four phases: disruption, adaptation, integration and, finally, normalization. Based on what we've seen in the past, here is what I believe we can anticipate in the future: 1. Massive Reskilling: Just as agrarian workers learned factory work, much of today's workforce will need AI fluency, for both using these tools and coexisting with them. 2. New Social Contracts: Debates about universal basic income, data ownership and algorithmic fairness may force new political and economic paradigms. 3. Rise Of Hybrid Work: I believe more and more humans will work in tandem with AI, using it to amplify human abilities rather than simply replacing them. 4. Digital Ethics As A New Frontier: Where labor laws once reined in factory abuse, tomorrow's rules should center on algorithmic transparency, surveillance boundaries and bias mitigation. 5. Cultural Renaissance Or Crisis: AI-generated content challenges originality, copyright and artistic identity. Will it usher in a new golden age or dilute human expression? Conclusion: Stewarding This Revolution The steam engine changed the world, but not without disruption. As we build the capabilities of the AI age, we should reflect on the balance between progress and purpose, innovation and humanity. The future is not only what we invent; it's also what we accept, resist and reform. The past doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. If we heed the lessons of the Industrial Revolution, I believe we can not only navigate the age of AI but also guide it wisely. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Time Out
14-07-2025
- Time Out
A margarita-filled missed-flight lounge is popping up at JFK this week to soothe your travel woes
Flight delayed? Canceled? Missed your connection? Step away from that $17 airport wine—there's a better way to ride out your travel disaster this week and it comes with salt on the rim. Cayman Jack, America's top-selling margarita brand, is launching a cheeky, first-of-its-kind Missed Flight Lounge at JFK's retro-chic TWA Hotel, open exclusively to travelers whose plans have taken a nosedive. Dubbed The Cayman Club, the pop-up lounge will be serving up complimentary margaritas, elevated bites and spa-style services to weary wanderers on Wednesday, July 17 (3–8 pm) and Thursday, July 18 (9 am–5 pm). There's only one requirement for entry: Your day must have gone sideways. Just show proof that your flight didn't go as planned—RSVPs are recommended, but entry is free and available while supplies last. First-class ticket? Not needed. Just a boarding pass and a bad break. "You know how the things you don't plan end up becoming some of your best memories?' said Kevin Brady, vice-president of marketing at Cayman Jack. 'That's the idea behind The Cayman Club.' And while most airport lounges aim to make you feel important, this one's here to make you feel relaxed, like you've already landed somewhere sandy. It's a fitting response to a chaotic travel season: More than two-thirds of major U.S. airports see their worst delays from June to August and JFK is no exception. The Cayman Club is designed to turn gate-side gloom into an impromptu escape, complete with chilled cocktails made from real lime juice and agave nectar, no mixology required. If you can't make it to JFK, Cayman Jack is also running a nationwide 'virtual lounge' through Sept. 1. Travelers stuck anywhere in the country can visit to share their travel misfortune and receive a Cayman Jack Margarita, plus a shot at perks like spa vouchers and gift cards. In a season of delays and detours, the Cayman Club just might be the best thing to come out of a missed flight. So next time you find yourself stuck at the gate, don't panic—sip.
CNBC
09-07-2025
- Politics
- CNBC
'Big beautiful bill' concerns are the dramatic cuts to Medicaid, social safety net: Harvard's Furman
Jason Furman, Harvard professor and former CEA chair, and Kevin Brady, former Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the tax impact of the budget bill, any issues with Medicaid and much more.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How 2 business-world changes to Trump's megabill helped push the price tag $1 trillion higher
Amendments in recent weeks to President Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' that made business tax credits permanent and removed plans for a "revenge tax" are being loudly cheered by the business community as tweaks that could help spur new economic growth. But those changes also — a new analysis confirms — provided the lion's share of a more than $1 trillion price tag increase to the overall bill in recent weeks. The top driver of these increased projected costs were amendments around corporate tax credits — things like depreciation, factory expensing, and more — that were in the House version on a temporary basis but were made permanent by the Senate. That change is likely a more honest accounting (an old Washington trick is to implement a tax cut temporarily to limit the costs but then extend it later) and it's also central to the GOP case as to why this bill will spur growth. "This bill is really about locking in pro-growth reforms," noted former House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady in a Yahoo Finance Live appearance Thursday morning. He added that these are key provisions for innovation that 'I think are going to be very helpful to the economy.' But it pushed the projected price tag upward, with this swath of business-world provisions moving from a cost of about $519 billion in the House bill to over $1 trillion in the Senate product, according to a new comprehensive look at how the two bills compare from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The Senate version of the bill is now what appears to be on cusp of being signed into law with House Republicans likely to approve the bill in the coming hours. A second change removed a provision that would have allowed the president to levy new duties on multinational businesses in what became known as a "revenge tax." It was removed after Wall Street objections. Those two changes — representing a $600 billion increase over the next decade — dwarfed an array of other changes that were made to the now 870-page bill at least from an accounting perspective. Other changes — including apparently shallower cuts to things like food assistance and student loans in the Senate version — increased the price tag further. All of those remaining provisions added about $300 billion in increased costs, according to the analysis. The wave of increased borrowing is set to cost the government another $713 billion in additional interest costs, pushing the increased tally above $1 trillion. But even as the changes that made business tax credits permanent and removed plans for a "revenge tax" drove up the costs, they were hailed by both Republicans and some business leaders as providing certainty for business. They also fueled ambitious projections from the White House of "very big" economic growth it says the bill will spur. Business owners are already focused on the amended provisions that will reinstate and make permanent an array of tax deductions for corporations for things like property depreciation, capital investments, interest expenses, and research and development costs. There are also wholly new credits — such as one for new factory construction. On Thursday Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touted the business provisions, especially the factory provisions he has long championed, telling Fox Business that once the bill passes "business will have great certainty." He added a prediction that "I would expect in the third-fourth quarter, you are going to see factory announcements like we haven't seen." The removal of the so-called revenge tax came at Bessent's request, taking away a potential revenue raiser after the secretary said it was no longer necessary and also after many companies raised concerns that new taxes could dampen investment in the US. How much revenue that specific provision would have brought in is debatable as it was up to the president's discretion — but economists put the potential tax revenue there at another $116 billion. The bill also makes permanent the pass-through deduction at a rate of 20%. That deduction — formally known as the 199A deduction — is focused on often smaller businesses organized as S corporations or partnerships. That was a change that is projected to save money in the Senate version and net out to about $83 billion in additional money in Treasury coffers in the years ahead. The Business Roundtable hailed the overall bill earlier this week, saying it will be "a swift, decisive signal that America will remain a premier destination for businesses to invest, hire and grow." The price tag of the bill is likely to keep these provisions in political focus long after the bill is enacted with Democrats promising to make the legislation a central midterm election issue and often focused on the price tag. "Don't ever lecture us about fiscal responsibility: Not now, not ever," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries during the final debate Thursday morning as he also called out corporate giveaways. He added a charge that the GOP is "the party of fiscal irresponsibility over and over and over again and now with this bill, you've taken it to another level." Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock prices
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How 2 business-world changes to Trump's megabill helped push the price tag $1 trillion higher
Amendments in recent weeks to President Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' that made business tax credits permanent and removed plans for a "revenge tax" are being loudly cheered by the business community as tweaks that could help spur new economic growth. But those changes also — a new analysis confirms — provided the lion's share of a more than $1 trillion price tag increase to the overall bill in recent weeks. The top driver of these increased projected costs were amendments around corporate tax credits — things like depreciation, factory expensing, and more — that were in the House version on a temporary basis but were made permanent by the Senate. That change is likely a more honest accounting (an old Washington trick is to implement a tax cut temporarily to limit the costs but then extend it later) and it's also central to the GOP case as to why this bill will spur growth. "This bill is really about locking in pro-growth reforms," noted former House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady in a Yahoo Finance Live appearance Thursday morning. He added that these are key provisions for innovation that 'I think are going to be very helpful to the economy.' But it pushed the projected price tag upward, with this swath of business-world provisions moving from a cost of about $519 billion in the House bill to over $1 trillion in the Senate product, according to a new comprehensive look at how the two bills compare from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The Senate version of the bill is now what appears to be on cusp of being signed into law with House Republicans likely to approve the bill in the coming hours. A second change removed a provision that would have allowed the president to levy new duties on multinational businesses in what became known as a "revenge tax." It was removed after Wall Street objections. Those two changes — representing a $600 billion increase over the next decade — dwarfed an array of other changes that were made to the now 870-page bill at least from an accounting perspective. Other changes — including apparently shallower cuts to things like food assistance and student loans in the Senate version — increased the price tag further. All of those remaining provisions added about $300 billion in increased costs, according to the analysis. The wave of increased borrowing is set to cost the government another $713 billion in additional interest costs, pushing the increased tally above $1 trillion. But even as the changes that made business tax credits permanent and removed plans for a "revenge tax" drove up the costs, they were hailed by both Republicans and some business leaders as providing certainty for business. They also fueled ambitious projections from the White House of "very big" economic growth it says the bill will spur. Business owners are already focused on the amended provisions that will reinstate and make permanent an array of tax deductions for corporations for things like property depreciation, capital investments, interest expenses, and research and development costs. There are also wholly new credits — such as one for new factory construction. On Thursday Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touted the business provisions, especially the factory provisions he has long championed, telling Fox Business that once the bill passes "business will have great certainty." He added a prediction that "I would expect in the third-fourth quarter, you are going to see factory announcements like we haven't seen." The removal of the so-called revenge tax came at Bessent's request, taking away a potential revenue raiser after the secretary said it was no longer necessary and also after many companies raised concerns that new taxes could dampen investment in the US. How much revenue that specific provision would have brought in is debatable as it was up to the president's discretion — but economists put the potential tax revenue there at another $116 billion. The bill also makes permanent the pass-through deduction at a rate of 20%. That deduction — formally known as the 199A deduction — is focused on often smaller businesses organized as S corporations or partnerships. That was a change that is projected to save money in the Senate version and net out to about $83 billion in additional money in Treasury coffers in the years ahead. The Business Roundtable hailed the overall bill earlier this week, saying it will be "a swift, decisive signal that America will remain a premier destination for businesses to invest, hire and grow." The price tag of the bill is likely to keep these provisions in political focus long after the bill is enacted with Democrats promising to make the legislation a central midterm election issue and often focused on the price tag. "Don't ever lecture us about fiscal responsibility: Not now, not ever," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries during the final debate Thursday morning as he also called out corporate giveaways. He added a charge that the GOP is "the party of fiscal irresponsibility over and over and over again and now with this bill, you've taken it to another level." Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock prices Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
