Reader Q&A: How can we radically change the way we live? Ask Aditya Chakrabortty

Guardian columnist, senior economics commentator and host of the new Radical Thinking podcast Aditya Chakrabortty is answering your questions on the big ideas around economics, society and democracy, and his new podcast

Send your questions to [email protected] or join the discussion on Friday from 8am

Marija asks: How do you maintain peace of mind in your daily life during the unsettling times we live in?

Aditya says: What a nice question, Marija. I try to read a lot and write a diary. Unfortunately, I have the handwriting of a GP so I can’t read old entries. The other thing is I try to shirk my mobile phone.

Aditya says: In their book When Nothing Works, the Foundational Economy collective of economists and analysts point out that after decades of successive governments in the UK talking up the ‘knowledge economy’, technology accounted for less than 5% of GDP. That wasn’t just a British failure – the story is same across much of Europe. This is before we get intot who benefits from AI.

I find the slavering of the UK’s politicians and press before America’s AI oligarchy vulgar and idiotic, especially when all the indications are that these trade deals work against the interest of Britons.