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AI, Productivity and the Surprising Risk No One's Talking About - Merryn Talks Money
May 10, 2026 Merryn Talks Money
In this episode of Merryn Talks Money, Merryn Somerset Webb speaks to Tom Slater, manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and partner at Baillie Gifford, about his provocative paper, “AI Isn’t Coming for Your Job. It’s Coming for Your Mind,” and why the real risk may be a world that looks more productive while quietly losing the judgement, learning and expertise that make progress possible. They also discuss what that means for the future workforce and smart investing.
00:00 – Introduction: AI Isn’t Coming for Your Job
01:45 – Why the Real Risk Is Your Mind, Not Employment
03:10 – How Technology Rewires the Brain (The Reading Example)
05:30 – From Sat Nav to AI: Are We Losing Basic Skills?
08:15 – How AI Shapes Ideas: Variation, Transmission, Selection
11:10 – The MIT Study: What Happens When AI Writes for You
13:45 – The Learning Trap: Productivity vs Understanding
15:30 – The Death of Entry-Level Jobs — and Why It Matters
17:20 – AI as a ‘Force Multiplier’: Who Actually Benefits?
19:00 – Overtrusting AI: When Experts Get It Wrong
21:10 – The Confidence Problem: Why We Stop Questioning Machines
22:30 – Can AI Make Us Better? Lessons from Chess & Go
23:50 – The Hollowing Out of Skills and Professions
25:10 – Short-Term Gains vs Long-Term Damage
27:00 – What Should Young People Do Now?
28:30 – How to Use AI Without Losing Your Brain
30:00 – What Companies Are Getting Wrong About AI
32:00 – Inequality: The Winners and Losers of AI
34:30 – Is University Becoming Pointless?
36:30 – Final Thoughts: Will We Think for Ourselves?
In this episode of Merryn Talks Money, Merryn Somerset Webb speaks to Tom Slater, manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and partner at Baillie Gifford, about his provocative paper, “AI Isn’t Coming for Your Job. It’s Coming for Your Mind,” and why the real risk may be a world that looks more productive while quietly losing the judgement, learning and expertise that make progress possible. They also discuss what that means for the future workforce and smart investing.
00:00 – Introduction: AI Isn’t Coming for Your Job
01:45 – Why the Real Risk Is Your Mind, Not Employment
03:10 – How Technology Rewires the Brain (The Reading Example)
05:30 – From Sat Nav to AI: Are We Losing Basic Skills?
08:15 – How AI Shapes Ideas: Variation, Transmission, Selection
11:10 – The MIT Study: What Happens When AI Writes for You
13:45 – The Learning Trap: Productivity vs Understanding
15:30 – The Death of Entry-Level Jobs — and Why It Matters
17:20 – AI as a ‘Force Multiplier’: Who Actually Benefits?
19:00 – Overtrusting AI: When Experts Get It Wrong
21:10 – The Confidence Problem: Why We Stop Questioning Machines
22:30 – Can AI Make Us Better? Lessons from Chess & Go
23:50 – The Hollowing Out of Skills and Professions
25:10 – Short-Term Gains vs Long-Term Damage
27:00 – What Should Young People Do Now?
28:30 – How to Use AI Without Losing Your Brain
30:00 – What Companies Are Getting Wrong About AI
32:00 – Inequality: The Winners and Losers of AI
34:30 – Is University Becoming Pointless?
36:30 – Final Thoughts: Will We Think for Ourselves?