Marvin’s Best Weekly Reads April 2nd, 2023
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” -Walt Disney
This is a worthwhile discussion on the role of AI in global competition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kJSUlC2MQM
2. Not sure what I think about this. Extreme other side of complacent & coddling weak management.
"Elon Musk is a cruel business leader who has been looking for someone who is harsher than him to take over Twitter, and I believe he found a person who is a hardcore version of himself.
His name is Steve Davis, and he is a brutal, brilliant entrepreneur who values money before anything. He is a relentless man whose main goal is to make money, and he will destroy anyone or anything that stands between him and his goal. Davis will do whatever it takes to get ahead, including exploiting workers."
3. "And speaking of the historic moments, Gordon Moore, member of the Traitorous Eight, co-founder of Intel, and most famously, the formulator of Moore’s Law, just passed away. So there is a very real sense of a generation shift in the air in tech at the moment. Gordon Moore is gone, just a couple weeks after a somewhat less venerable institution, the Silicon Valley Bank, exited the stage. But at the same time, there are interesting signs of genuine renewal, and the launch of Atomic Semi feels like one of them.
It is news to a lot of people, but there hasn’t been much actual silicon manufacturing in Silicon Valley for decades. The fabs mostly moved to Asia, and the few significant manufacturing facilities left in the US are not actually in Silicon Valley.
While there is of course a ton of design work and specialized laboratory work that happens on the campuses of Intel, AMD, and other chip majors and minors in the region (mostly concentrated around the southern tip of Silicon Valley), actually making the chips has been a business for other geographies."
https://studio.ribbonfarm.com/p/silicon-valley-generation-shift
4. "Awards are fun and exciting.
Awards are not success.
Startup success is only bestowed by customers — not by mentors, investors or media. Customers decide where to spend their budget and whether or not a product is useful. The market decides, not the media.
Accept startup awards with a smile and stay focused on the customer."
https://davidcummings.org/2023/03/25/startup-awards-dont-equal-success/
5. "I'm writing this mostly as a warning. I know a lot of indie founders are hopeful that AI is the next big platform that will produce the next wave of bootstrapped startups (similar to the iOS store, Shopify store, etc).
I believe there will be opportunities for established bootstrapped startups, who already have a strong customer base, to incorporate AI into their products.
And everyone can benefit from AI-assisted coding, problem-solving, and outline writing.
But it seems, with AI, I think most of the upside will go to big companies (especially to OpenAI), not new AI-driven startups."
https://justinjackson.ca/chatgpt-business
6. "I spent eight years building my last company. And I made a lot of mistakes.
One key mistake I made was not aligning my work with a purpose I cared about. Another was approaching the work with a finish line in mind.
I hold ambition quite differently now."
https://www.mattmunson.me/rethinking-ambition/
7. Net net: we are behind in hypersonic weapons and really have alot of work to do to catch up.
8. Not just a bit curious about this event.
"The Big Sandy Shoot, “the largest machine-gun shoot in the world . . . a uniquely American event,” is held two weekends a year, in March and October, outside Wikieup, Arizona, a remote census-designated place halfway between Vegas and Phoenix on the edge of the Mojave Desert. Shooters pay $325 for a spot on the firing line; observers who aren’t local pay thirty-five dollars at the gate.
Shooters, staff, and observers come here from all over the world. At the fall shoot, I talked with folks from Belgium, Russia, Mexico, the UK, and Australia, to name just a few countries, and nearly every part of America. Many have come for decades; at least one guy I talked to had been to every single event over the shoot’s thirty-five-year history.
I was glad to have come to this weird, beautiful, fucked-up weekend in America. And I was glad to leave, even if I never got to see the guy shoot the machine gun off the back of the disco boat or ask him why. I don’t know that there’s a satisfying answer to that question anyhow, except for “Because we can.”
Because America. Because men. Because freedom. Because it feels better than anger. Because fun. Because obsession. Because history. Because friendship. Because family. Because batshittery. Because joy."
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a43271740/big-sandy-machine-guns/
9. This is a good discussion on making non-consensus investments as VC.
Looking back: All my best investments were initially disregarded by most investors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nTlf-d9yzE&t=2s
10. "Emerging markets are one area that could provide investors with a wide variety of opportunities that are relatively, but not exclusively, less correlated with developed markets."
https://www.thelykeion.com/finding-relative-value-in-emerging-markets
11. "As millions of Americans stream “Sex and the City” and other old sitcoms, warm nostalgia has been accompanied by a cold dose of skepticism about the characters’ apartments and houses.
Were they paying far beyond their means, or are we judging with a 2020s perspective?
The Hustle analyzed the salaries and living situations of several famous sitcom characters over the past few decades as a lens on today’s housing market."
https://thehustle.co/what-old-sitcoms-reveal-about-americas-rising-cost-of-housing/
12. "So in summation this is why I have given the Ukrainians the clear benefit of the doubt. The Ukrainians, who have the best intelligence, have decided to fight for Bakhmut. They have had a admirable track record in this war of making the right strategic call, and they have articulated a clear strategic vision of what they are trying to accomplish.
The same goes for Ukrainian commanders. Their track record is such that it would unusual that they all of a sudden became stupid. Meanwhile, it is the Russian attacks on Bakhmut were the runs that ran out of steam before Ukrainian forces failed, indeed the Russians are now stuck in a terrible position with lots of exposed bulges in their lines.
If the Ukrainians had withdrawn, they would have given this depleted, exhausted force to claim a political victory and at the same time dig-in and rest for a coming Ukrainian counteroffensive."
https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-update-21-a-defense-of-the
13. "Of course, some of the American politicians who are providing the political impetus for TSMC to move production to the U.S. may not be so enamored of the Canada solution; they’re hoping that TSMC’s investments will create jobs for Americans, after all, not for Canadians.
But the central imperative of national security and supply chain security would be fully satisfied by TSMC fabs in Canada. And if American politicians really want to boost local industry, they should consider reforming their onerous permitting processes, opening up their country to skilled immigration, and not using industrial policy as a vehicle for giveaways to local nonprofits, care industries, and domestic metal producers.
So if I were TSMC or Samsung, I would be taking a look at Canada as a place to diversify into. And if I were the government of Canada, I would think about bolstering these natural advantages with a vigorous industrial policy to cultivate foreign investment — and, eventually, domestic investment — in the chip fab industry.
So far, Canada has mostly ignored this possibility, but if there was any moment to try to move into semiconductor manufacturing, that moment is now."
https://noahpinion.substack.com/p/why-not-put-tsmc-and-samsung-fabs
14. One more important front in the new Cold War.
“When we talk about U.S.-China tech competition, when we talk about espionage and the capture of data, submarine cables are involved in every aspect of those rising geopolitical tensions,” Sherman said."
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/us-china-tech-cables/
15. "Corporations are responding to the housing crisis on their own since in many regions market and political forces seem incapable of getting housing built. Binyamin Appelbaum writes about the trend of corporations building housing for their workers, a move that reminds him of the old company towns of the 1800s."
https://www.workfutures.io/p/the-return-of-company-towns
16. Enjoyed this interview with Fitness Influencer Mike Thurston.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Ci0ucV3qg
17. "He’s the world-famous singer of a dozen club anthems and a dozen more crooning, desirous ballads, but tonight the superstar is politely waiting at the door. Across eight studio albums, Usher is one of the defining artists of the ’90s and the aughts. His music is for house parties, clubs, breakups, grind trains, and affairs. From his sophomore album, My Way, on, he has become almost synonymous with a good lay or a good time.
He performed at both of Obama’s inauguration concerts and introduced the world to a shy Canadian teen named Justin Bieber. But in the 2010s his output mellowed, and he seemed to disappear from the spotlight. At least before he found himself again, here, in Sin City.
You see, Usher believes in Las Vegas, like someone who saw the glamorous first hour of Casino but not the subsequent stressful two hours of Casino. For Usher, Vegas is a place of renewal, a place of rebirth. The healing powers of Vegas have baptized him and made him anew. “Las Vegas is very important because it actually speaks to my career, to be in a place where I can dream, where I can incubate ideas,” he says. “A place where I can be creative.” Onstage, that means that he’s putting on the biggest, most brazen show of his life.
Offstage, nothing is off-limits: He’s riding his Vegas high and wants to pursue brand collaborations, restaurants, fashion, jewelry, skin care, makeup. Me, dumb, thinks it’s depressing to make every part of yourself consumable. Usher, smart, doesn’t see it that way. “You can do so much!” he says optimistically. “The question is: Is it aspirational? That’s the thing.”
https://www.gq.com/story/gq-hype-usher
18. "Six months on again none of these measures have advanced Russia’s cause one whit. Ukraine has been badly hurt but its relative military position is improving as more Western supplies come in (albeit not as fast as it would like). Putin’s strategic choices have narrowed. Perhaps he will persevere in a Micawberish sort of way, hoping that something will turn up. The arguments against conceding that this venture has been disastrous remain profound and there is no evidence that his position in the Kremlin is under threat.
Yet he and his generals must have some misgivings about the consequences of a successful Ukrainian offensive with so little to show for their own. The best bet is that he will insist that his generals continue on their current course, perhaps taking even more risks to get a victory of some sort.
I would still, however, not be wholly surprised if at some point he put in an anxious call to his friend XI Jinping to ask about how he is getting on with his peace initiative."
https://samf.substack.com/p/still-bakhmut
19. "But while home usage of 3D printers has not taken off, stealthily the technology has been inveigling its way into our lives in other ways. Almost all – 99% plus – custom hearing aids are now 3D printed in acrylic resin, and have been for years.
Additive manufacturing is widely used in dentistry: teeth aligners, which are increasingly taking the place of traditional wire braces, would be almost impossible without 3D printing. Adidas and Nike use the technology in their shoes. There are 3D-printed parts on all new aircraft and in a growing number of cars.
We’ve been here before, of course: 3D printing will save the world! So why believe it now? There is growing evidence that the hype, this time round, might not be overstated. Not all of these developments will touch our lives immediately. Nasa and all space-exploration companies already use additive processes to make parts for their rockets.
But they are also investigating the challenges that will arise once they land on the Moon or Mars. They will not be able to carry all the resources with them, so they have to find methods for construction and providing food: perhaps using the directed energy from the sun and the materials they will find on the ground. Nasa funds one project that is looking into recycling the urine, faeces and breath of astronauts on long journeys to make food and plastics for 3D printing."
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/12/3d-printing-the-new-technology-comes-into-its-own
20. I do like this important discussion on how the world is getting harder.
So the best people need to get tougher themselves. Worth listening to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nvM0n7pWc
21. This is such a great fount of wisdom and real practical framework to deal with the amount of crazy in the world now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmiRTbIcLrA
22. This is a very cold view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Very different from the narrative being pushed right now in the USA.
I am pro-Ukraine but geopolitically this is important to understand the situation in Europe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYT75nQE4uI&t=4366s
23. This is a wake up call for all Americans by a former US military officer.
We are at war so we better prepare. Recommend the books as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-LL_zml8sg
24. "Obtaining rich proprietary training datasets will be the key challenge for startups looking to create AI models for industry verticals. Crowdsourcing this data from the professionals who work in these industries may be an excellent approach to solve this problem.
Moreover, crowdsourcing should create a flywheel: as users contribute data to the model, the model gets smarter and more capable, which draws in the next set of users, who provide the next set of data. This data network effect should create a strong moat around the business.
That said, potential risks or downsides related to the give-to-get model, such as data quality, privacy, and intellectual property concerns, must be addressed proactively by startups in order to ensure the long-term success of their AI models."
https://sacks.substack.com/p/the-give-to-get-model-for-ai-startups
25. "His fan base lived all over the English-speaking world, and it seemed to defy race, class, and religion. Tate appealed to the rural American pro-gun constituencies and to the anti-vaxx, anti-mask communities; he appealed to schoolboys in Sydney and working-class immigrants in the U.K., to young rideshare drivers and to jet-setting tech bros.
Tate’s saturation was so complete that he reached into the blue villages of New York City, where many boys in their bedrooms found his rude and ruthless evisceration of every sacred liberal value hilarious. Feminism, environmentalism, gluten intolerance, literature, Harry Styles, Lil Nas X — Tate assaulted all of these with pejoratives the boys themselves knew not to use.
Outside of school, they took pictures posing like him, their fingers laced together with their index fingers pointed like steeples; they made machete jokes in the group thread and listened to Tate in the gym; in private, they said, “He’s my guy. I love him. He’s so smart; he’s so relevant.” But when girls were around, the boys knew to keep quiet. Girls hate Tate."
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/andrew-tate-jail-investigation.html
26. Love to see this. Solo GPs growing in Europe. It's a good thing although this also shows how the EU lags tech trends in USA by a few years.
https://sifted.eu/articles/europe-first-female-solo-gp-fund-news/
27. "U.S. early-stage hardware startups are seriously disadvantaged by a persistent lack of financing. Meanwhile, China has been pouring money into Chinese—as well as U.S. and European—tech startups.
Recognizing this problem, Congress authorized the U.S. Department of Defense to spend $75 million to invest in dual-use hardware startups. However, the Pentagon has proven reticent to embrace a venture capital–style approach, even though research has demonstrated it is optimal for driving innovation."
https://www.rand.org/blog/2023/03/venture-capital-gives-america-a-strategic-edge-in-the.html
28. Excellent discussion on creativity in the age of AI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfvPVmcBd7Q
29. This is a masterclass for those who love businesses, dissecting them and creating them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IKyi9gfxqw
30. Wowza! That’s alot of moolah.
https://www.dmarge.com/unidentified-multibillionaire-tax-payment
31. There is a great discussion on tech and AI here. Well worth listening to. AI is the next great platform.