Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Thursday May 7th 2015

Our cover outside Britain is devoted to Artificial Intelligence. AI has immeasurable promise to enhance everything from medical diagnosis, to simultaneous translation and scientific research. But some warn that rogue AI will one day become humanity’s biggest existential threat. We look at how to worry wisely. In Britain we are holding back publication to take in our analysis of voting in Thursday’s general election. This updated issue will also be available in our app, if you download it after 10am London time on Friday. (If you have already downloaded this week’s issue, delete it and re-download it to receive the update.) Full coverage of the results, including reports on the night and on the post-election battle as it unfolds over the weekend, are on our UK election hub Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief

A blind alley in Jakarta Indonesia is being held back by bad policy, as much as bad infrastructure. Joko Widodo, Indonesia’s president, needs to ditch his economic nationalism READ MORE » The bribery business The prosecution of big-business corruption cases takes an average of seven years and can cost billions of dollars. Governments are right to take a hard line, but the system has got out of hand READ MORE » The rise of fintech A generation of startups, fuelled by venture capital and designed by geeks, is taking on traditional finance—and changing it for the better. We analyse the trend in a 14-page special report READ MORE » Politics this week Binyamin Netanyahu just about met the deadline to form a new government in Israel, after his victory in March’s election. The foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, resigned and his group of six in the Knesset declined to join Mr Netanyahu’s new coalition, which as a consequence will have a bloc of only 61 in the 120-seat parliament SEE ARTICLE » MORE FROM: POLITICS THIS WEEK » Business this week The European Union outlined its strategy to create a digital single market. The thrust of the proposals include establishing standard rules for buying goods online, pruning cross-border regulations on telecoms and reducing the tax burden on businesses. But the plan also calls for a “comprehensive assessment” of whether Google, Facebook and other internet platforms distort competition. Still, the strategy was broadly welcomed. The EU expects it will generate €415 billion ($468 billion) a year for the economy and produce 3.8m new jobs SEE ARTICLE » MORE FROM: BUSINESS THIS WEEK »