Sarah O'Connor
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com
FT columnist, writing about work, technology & economics.
Ahhh this writing. @stephenkb.bsky.social is so good!
February 6, 2026 at 12:23 PM
Ahhh this writing. @stephenkb.bsky.social is so good!
The FT's live Ask an Expert finally getting onto the good stuff... www.ft.com/content/c330...
February 5, 2026 at 2:38 PM
The FT's live Ask an Expert finally getting onto the good stuff... www.ft.com/content/c330...
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
What a drive-by from @chrisgiles.ft.com! "In his first term, Trump thought the then 47-year-old former Fed governor was too youthful and good looking to command respect. Eight years on, that has all changed." www.ft.com/content/167c...
Kevin Warsh will pivot Fed to conviction economics
Trump’s choice of chair will shift from Powell’s data-dependent approach to policy
www.ft.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:05 PM
What a drive-by from @chrisgiles.ft.com! "In his first term, Trump thought the then 47-year-old former Fed governor was too youthful and good looking to command respect. Eight years on, that has all changed." www.ft.com/content/167c...
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
🚨NEW PODCAST🚨
Why are so many graduates struggling to find a job?
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com and @stish.bsky.social join me to discuss why young people leaving university are having a tough time in the labour market.
Listen here: insideyoured.com
Why are so many graduates struggling to find a job?
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com and @stish.bsky.social join me to discuss why young people leaving university are having a tough time in the labour market.
Listen here: insideyoured.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:09 AM
🚨NEW PODCAST🚨
Why are so many graduates struggling to find a job?
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com and @stish.bsky.social join me to discuss why young people leaving university are having a tough time in the labour market.
Listen here: insideyoured.com
Why are so many graduates struggling to find a job?
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com and @stish.bsky.social join me to discuss why young people leaving university are having a tough time in the labour market.
Listen here: insideyoured.com
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
‘Our analysis of job postings data from the US, UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands shows no clear evidence that AI is behind the slowdown in early-career employment across much of the west’ @jburnmurdoch.ft.com @sarahoconnorft.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/7fbc...
www.ft.com/content/7fbc...
January 22, 2026 at 8:33 PM
‘Our analysis of job postings data from the US, UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands shows no clear evidence that AI is behind the slowdown in early-career employment across much of the west’ @jburnmurdoch.ft.com @sarahoconnorft.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/7fbc...
www.ft.com/content/7fbc...
Once upon a time, a President of the United States saying "fuck you" and raising his middle finger to an American factory worker would be front page news around the world. Now it's a "colour lede" on a business analysis. www.ft.com/content/36ab...
January 16, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Once upon a time, a President of the United States saying "fuck you" and raising his middle finger to an American factory worker would be front page news around the world. Now it's a "colour lede" on a business analysis. www.ft.com/content/36ab...
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
In which @jburnmurdoch.ft.com and @sarahoconnorft.ft.com discuss how social scientists have been using AI to write code for data analysis, and what this means for other professionals who do similar work … like data journalists: www.ft.com/content/9183...
The AI Shift: Agentic AI is coming for quantitative research
The real value of an analyst now lies in the quality and quantity of their ideas
www.ft.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:58 PM
In which @jburnmurdoch.ft.com and @sarahoconnorft.ft.com discuss how social scientists have been using AI to write code for data analysis, and what this means for other professionals who do similar work … like data journalists: www.ft.com/content/9183...
I'm not really one for lengthy "what I read this year" lists, so here's a super short one. The best fiction book I read was Venomous Lumpsuckers by Ned Beauman. The best non-fiction book I read was Private Revolutions by @yuanfenyang.bsky.social. I recommend them both heartily!!
December 31, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I'm not really one for lengthy "what I read this year" lists, so here's a super short one. The best fiction book I read was Venomous Lumpsuckers by Ned Beauman. The best non-fiction book I read was Private Revolutions by @yuanfenyang.bsky.social. I recommend them both heartily!!
If AI is coming for junior lawyers’ jobs, why does their pay keep going up? Our latest AI Shift newsletter... www.ft.com/content/1d85...
The AI Shift: If AI is coming for junior lawyers’ jobs, why does their pay keep going up?
Automation may be freeing up their time to do more valuable work
www.ft.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:40 PM
If AI is coming for junior lawyers’ jobs, why does their pay keep going up? Our latest AI Shift newsletter... www.ft.com/content/1d85...
Isn't it funny how your brain just knows when you've left one gulp of tea in a cup, somewhere in the house. Like, somehow you just know you're one gulp short of having drunk a whole cup. Is this a uniquely British skill, I wonder?
December 18, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Isn't it funny how your brain just knows when you've left one gulp of tea in a cup, somewhere in the house. Like, somehow you just know you're one gulp short of having drunk a whole cup. Is this a uniquely British skill, I wonder?
Are "Made by Humans" labels going to be the new Fairtrade? On why transparency about how AI is used in creative endeavours is trickier than it sounds, but better than just giving up www.ft.com/content/bab5...
December 16, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Are "Made by Humans" labels going to be the new Fairtrade? On why transparency about how AI is used in creative endeavours is trickier than it sounds, but better than just giving up www.ft.com/content/bab5...
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
It's so important to read splashy findings about the impact of AI on jobs with a critical eye 🤔
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com and John Burn-Murdoch are spot on here - highlighting issues I see in these studies time and time again.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... #EconSky
3 of the big ones... [1/5]
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com and John Burn-Murdoch are spot on here - highlighting issues I see in these studies time and time again.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... #EconSky
3 of the big ones... [1/5]
The AI Shift: How to read the news
Questions to keep in mind when you come across splashy AI stories
giftarticle.ft.com
December 12, 2025 at 10:05 AM
It's so important to read splashy findings about the impact of AI on jobs with a critical eye 🤔
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com and John Burn-Murdoch are spot on here - highlighting issues I see in these studies time and time again.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... #EconSky
3 of the big ones... [1/5]
@sarahoconnorft.ft.com and John Burn-Murdoch are spot on here - highlighting issues I see in these studies time and time again.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... #EconSky
3 of the big ones... [1/5]
Sure, we're the weak and decaying ones...
December 9, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Sure, we're the weak and decaying ones...
Welcome to Britain, a country so short of dentists that an MP's 87-year-old mum pulled her teeth out with pliers. Also a country with thousands of foreign-qualified dentists who can’t work until they pass an exam so oversubscribed it’s like trying to book Glasto tickets. www.ft.com/content/f4e5...
December 9, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Welcome to Britain, a country so short of dentists that an MP's 87-year-old mum pulled her teeth out with pliers. Also a country with thousands of foreign-qualified dentists who can’t work until they pass an exam so oversubscribed it’s like trying to book Glasto tickets. www.ft.com/content/f4e5...
In 2016, godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton said: "People should stop training radiologists now." In this week's The AI Shift newsletter, we ask: why are there still so many radiologists?? www.ft.com/content/f2e0...
December 4, 2025 at 1:54 PM
In 2016, godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton said: "People should stop training radiologists now." In this week's The AI Shift newsletter, we ask: why are there still so many radiologists?? www.ft.com/content/f2e0...
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
This week's FT AI shift newsletter is so far up my street, it's practically parked on my drive - On how, despite AI leaders predictions of doom, there are now growing numbers of radiologists and how those professionals are working with AI @sarahoconnorft.ft.com @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:04 PM
This week's FT AI shift newsletter is so far up my street, it's practically parked on my drive - On how, despite AI leaders predictions of doom, there are now growing numbers of radiologists and how those professionals are working with AI @sarahoconnorft.ft.com @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
December 2, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
If you're lucky enough to be able to read the @financialtimes.com these evidence-based conversations between @jburnmurdoch.ft.com and @sarahoconnorft.ft.com are particularly fascinating. Here's the latest.
The AI Shift: Is AI about to break polling?
Online surveys are susceptible to bogus respondents and synthetic samples warrant scepticism
www.ft.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:59 AM
If you're lucky enough to be able to read the @financialtimes.com these evidence-based conversations between @jburnmurdoch.ft.com and @sarahoconnorft.ft.com are particularly fascinating. Here's the latest.
Out of interest, I just checked my Facebook feed. I had to scroll through 86 posts before I saw one from someone I know. (shout out to @groomb.bsky.social whose post it was!)
My Facebook feed no longer has anything from people I know. Instead it's 99% AI slop videos of "trains floating on canal boats having accidents in which someone falls into the water". It's horrible, mainly because I can't stop watching them on repeat and the algorithm knows the darkness of my soul.
November 25, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Out of interest, I just checked my Facebook feed. I had to scroll through 86 posts before I saw one from someone I know. (shout out to @groomb.bsky.social whose post it was!)
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
"What is certain, and felt instinctively by almost everybody, is that things cannot go on in their present way" – The Times, May 1975
“It is difficult to imagine a previous period when such an all-pervasive hopelessness was exhibited at all levels of British life” – Professor Stephen Haseler, 1975
“It is difficult to imagine a previous period when such an all-pervasive hopelessness was exhibited at all levels of British life” – Professor Stephen Haseler, 1975
November 14, 2025 at 9:13 AM
"What is certain, and felt instinctively by almost everybody, is that things cannot go on in their present way" – The Times, May 1975
“It is difficult to imagine a previous period when such an all-pervasive hopelessness was exhibited at all levels of British life” – Professor Stephen Haseler, 1975
“It is difficult to imagine a previous period when such an all-pervasive hopelessness was exhibited at all levels of British life” – Professor Stephen Haseler, 1975
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
I was on hiring teams in 2012/13 where we would routinely go from applications closing to making offers within 3 weeks, sometimes 2! Because our team prioritised an efficient process.
These days, as an employee, anything faster than 3 months is basically unheard of.
These days, as an employee, anything faster than 3 months is basically unheard of.
November 14, 2025 at 12:26 PM
I was on hiring teams in 2012/13 where we would routinely go from applications closing to making offers within 3 weeks, sometimes 2! Because our team prioritised an efficient process.
These days, as an employee, anything faster than 3 months is basically unheard of.
These days, as an employee, anything faster than 3 months is basically unheard of.
Another one for you, @dlknowles.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Another one for you, @dlknowles.bsky.social