Mark Simpson

Product Specialist, Turnkey

Prior to joining the team at Turnkey as a Product Specialist in 2022, Mark spent over 20 years working within the insolvency industry, garnering a greater understanding of the systems, processes and challenges facing the industry.

Jeavon Lolay

Head of Economics & Market Insight, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking

Jeavon leads the Economics & Market Insight team, primarily focusing on the UK and global developments that impact major financial markets. His team communicates the views of Lloyds Bank externally, both through regular written commentary and formal presentations. Jeavon regularly presents at events across the UK and internationally.

Opening the discussion, Mark recalls an area that was touched upon lightly in Episode 1 of the series that he would like to explore with Jeavon in more detail – Artificial Intelligence (AI).

But is AI a help or a hindrance?

Jeavon shares his enthusiasm for AI as he reveals it to be one of his favourite topics right now, and one that has been frequently discussed at client meetings over the past year. Armed with a Microsoft Copilot (an AI companion) licence, he has been amazed by some of the things he can see and do when testing its functionality, despite not being a ‘techie’. Jeavon describes AI as a very important development that he predicts will be a differentiator for companies that adopt it sooner and is keen to embrace the technology himself as much as possible to help increase productivity and foster innovation.

With so many potential applications of this technology across multiple industries, Mark raises a concern shared by many – is AI a threat to the workforce?

Jeavon acknowledges that we’re still in the very early stages with AI, and although difficult to make any definitive observations, presents an interesting calculator analogy to better illustrate his current view on the adoption of AI in the workplace.

As the global pandemic accelerated the adoption of technology on an unprecedented scale, Mark notes that some of the most valuable companies in the world right now are operating within the tech space, with demand for their services not receding. Mark questions whether the world’s resources will be in the hands of a few, as the wealthy become wealthier and the poorer, starved of investment, become poorer. Jeavon highlights that the consequence of inequality is often seen reflected in political disharmony and social backlash, as we’ve seen plenty of examples of recently around the globe. And with quite a few elections due to take place this year, that will be one of the key drivers.

Wrapping up the episode, Mark asks Jeavon what areas he thinks he’ll be talking about most over the coming months when visiting businesses and speaking at events, and if there are any that haven’t been touched on in this Economic Outlook podcast series. Jeavon summarises the key areas which he has covered in Episode 1 and Episode 2, and looking ahead anticipates another interesting year for economists.

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