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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award
Supremacy, Parmy Olson’s timely and in-depth exploration of the rivalry between the founders of artificial intelligence companies OpenAI and Google DeepMind, has won the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award.
About the Book
The book is the fourth winner in the past five years of the prize to focus on technology and the business, economic, social and geopolitical implications of the sector’s rapid expansion.
Olson received the £30,000 prize at a dinner in London on Thursday, which also celebrated 20 years of the prestigious award.
The Judging Panel
Thomas Friedman’s paean to globalisation, The World is Flat, was the first winner in 2005. Since then, FT editor Roula Khalaf told invited guests, “much has changed . . . From globalisation to de-globalisation, from the first digital revolution to the AI age. Our understanding of capitalism and markets has evolved too, and our attention to the political economy has intensified [but] the book award marches on.”
In Supremacy, Bloomberg columnist Olson focuses on the competition between Demis Hassabis, co-founder of DeepMind, and Sam Altman, his counterpart at OpenAI. Khalaf, who chaired the judging panel, said Olson “brilliantly frames the development of artificial intelligence as a thrilling race to master the technology, build a business, and dominate the technological future”.
Other Finalists
The other 2024 finalists were: The Corporation in the Twenty-First Century, by John Kay, about the impact on the corporation of the shareholder value obsession, the knowledge economy and the digital and services revolution; Tribal, by Michael Morris, on tribalism as a potentially positive force; Andrew Scott’s The Longevity Imperative, which proposes an “evergreen agenda” to help us make the most of healthier, longer lives; Unit X, in which Raj Shah and Christopher Kirchhoff examine how technology is changing modern warfare; and Growth, Daniel Susskind’s analysis of the tension between the world’s obsession with growth and other societal priorities. Each shortlisted book receives £10,000.
Conclusion
The Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award continues to recognize excellence in business and economics writing. The award celebrates the best books that explore the impact of technology, globalization, and other significant trends on our world.
FAQs
Q: What is the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award?
A: The award recognizes the best books that explore the impact of technology, globalization, and other significant trends on our world.
Q: Who are the judges of the award?
A: The judges of this year’s award were Mimi Alemayehou, founder and managing partner, Semai Ventures; Daisuke Arakawa, managing director, Nikkei; Mitchell Baker, executive chair, Mozilla Corporation; entrepreneur and angel investor Sherry Coutu; Mohamed El-Erian, president, Queens’ College, Cambridge and adviser, Allianz, and Gramercy chair; James Kondo, chair, International House of Japan; Randall Kroszner, economics professor at University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business; and Shriti Vadera, chair of Prudential and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Q: What is the prize money for the winner?
A: The winner of the award receives £30,000, and each shortlisted book receives £10,000.
Q: How can I learn more about the award and its winners?
A: You can visit the Financial Times website at www.ft.com/bookaward for more information on this year’s award and previous winners.
