Drones are changing the way wars are fought, but they’re also changing the way we experience those wars. Television brought the brutality of war into the comfort of the living room. Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America — not on the battlefields of Vietnam. — Marshall McLuhan (1975) Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar … Read more
We’ve been poor about trying to predict the real, lasting impact of generative AI. It’s not through lack of trying: some have talked about rethinking the way our economies run and how we think about our lives, to treating it as an existential risk, to treating AI as a foundational, or general purpose, technology that will change everything. I’m … Read more
Artificial intelligence puts us in a bind that in some ways is quite new. It’s the first serious challenge to the ideas underpinning the modern state: governance, social and mental health, a balance between capitalism and protecting the individual, the extent of cooperation, collaboration and commerce with other states. How can we address and wrestle … Read more
Internal rate of return on VC investment, 1980-2008 (Source: The returns of venture capital investments) We seem to have approached a point where the existing guard has run out of ideas, and the internet community has run out of patience. I am probably wrong, but I would like to believe that the next few years will … Read more
There’s been a lot of talk about the removal of the iPhone’s audio jack, most of it knee-jerk, albeit sometimes amusing. A sampling: Apple Plug Fill in your archaic headphone connector with beautiful aluminium and plug yourself into the future. Apple just demonstrated why people hate the tech industry Link bait, but does quote some experts as … Read more