I sat down with Paul Kedrosky - investor, researcher and one of the smartest voices out there on the economics of AI and the risks of a bubble.

Here are a few of the questions we talked about:

• What is a bubble?
• Is AI a bubble?
• How does it compare to past bubbles?
• What would cause the bubble to burst?
• Why should the average person care?
• Will we see a bull market in laser tag in all the abandoned data centres?
• What needs to be true for AI to NOT be a bubble?

More info about Paul

Paul Kedrosky is an investor, writer, and researcher. He has been a regular on-air contributor at CNBC and Bloomberg, and has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and publications around the world.

Paul started as an engineer, became a quota-carrying salesperson, then a technology equity analyst on Wall Street, and eventually a venture capitalist. He has started companies, held academic positions in the U.S. and Canada, has a popular newsletter, and is a research fellow at MIT's Institute for the Digital Economy. His Ph.D. research focused on risk, adoption, and path dependence in finance and technology.

Where else you can listen

⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠ - https://www.youtube.com/@HumansintheLoopPod

Apple podcasts⁠⁠ - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humans-in-the-loop/id1831285114

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4BbslJR0KA5bfqrcYRhJER?si=b5a46211098b4f3e

Or wherever you get your podcasts!

Chapters

00:00 The AI Bubble Debate

06:44 Understanding Bubbles and Their Characteristics

12:04 Historical Context: Railroads and AI

17:51 The Call Option on AI's Future

19:29 The Necessity of Bubbles for Progress

25:31 Consequences of Stranded Assets

26:51 The Dilemma of Data Centers

28:46 The AI Bubble Dynamics

31:20 The Impact of Economic Bubbles on Society

34:06 The Interconnectedness of Global Financial Systems

36:17 Public Sentiment Towards AI and Job Security

38:18 The Fallacy of Technological Inevitability

40:20 Regulatory Challenges in a Globalized Economy

42:50 Predicting the Burst of the AI Bubble

45:37 Market Sentiment and AI Valuations

49:21 The Token Economy and Its Implications

52:28 Possibilities of Change in the Current Landscape

54:57 The Future of Work and Economic Stability

Links

https://paulkedrosky.com/

Get in touch

⁠Instagram⁠ - https://www.instagram.com/humansinthelooppod/

Email: ⁠seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com

How do ideas, however crazy they might seem, spread?

Who's a true believer vs. a grifter following the money?

Can you talk about Epstein and QAnon without losing your rational mind?

How can investigative journalism move with the times?

These are just some of the questions I sat down to discuss with award-winning journalist and author James R Ball.

He has worked as the global editor of TBIJ, a special correspondent at BuzzFeed UK and special projects editor at The Guardian, where he played a key role in the Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the NSA leaks by Edward Snowden, as well as the offshore leaks, HSBC Files, Reading the Riots and Keep it in the Ground projects. At WikiLeaks he was closely involved in Cablegate – the publication of 250,000 classified US embassy cables in 2010 – as well as working on two documentaries based on the Iraq War Logs.

James is the author of multiple books, including Post-Truth: How Bullshit Conquered The World and The Tangled Web We Weave: Inside The Shadow System That Shapes the Internet. His most recent book, The Other Pandemic: How Qanon Contaminated The World, was published by Bloomsbury in July 2023.

Where else you can listen

⁠Youtube⁠

⁠Apple podcasts⁠

Or wherever you get your podcasts!

Chapters

00:00 The Evolution of Information Sharing

08:41 Understanding QAnon: Origins and Impact

28:37 The Social Dynamics of Conspiracy Theories

29:34 Navigating Adolescence and Online Radicalization

34:20 The Manosphere and Young Men's Perspectives

37:01 Moral Panics and Information Overload

40:04 The Epstein Connection and Conspiracy Theories

52:37 The Future of Information in the Digital Age

Links

https://bsky.app/profile/jamesrball.com

https://www.jamesrball.com/about

Get in touch

Instagram

Email: ⁠seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com

Many of us have a sense that even well-meaning companies and institutions lose their way, sometimes becoming downright evil.Eric Ries is a legend when it comes to building tech companies and his new book is written from the perspective of someone whose been 'on the frontlines in the battle for the soul of our economy'.Incorruptible is a new blueprint for companies that will prosper and endure without losing their soul. Now more than ever we need great organisations, institutions and companies. Things that bring us together, not that tear us apart. That we can trust in to put shared human interests and values at the heart of what they do.If you're going to listen to one Humans in the Loop episode, make it this one.

Buy the book now.

Where else you can listen

Youtube

Apple podcastsOr wherever you get your podcasts!

Chapters

00:00 The Core Thesis of 'Incorruptible'

02:52 The Urgency of the Moment

07:13 Understanding Financial Gravity

12:21 The Concept of Shareholder Primacy

17:54 The Misconception of Capitalism

23:13 Examples of Resilient Companies

26:59 The Value of Innovative Corporate Structures

28:59 AI Governance and Corporate Responsibility

30:35 The Role of Governance in AI Companies

32:50 Integrity and Mission in Corporate Governance

35:45 The Importance of Principles in Business Decisions

38:30 The Role of Integrity in Governance

40:49 The Consequences of Corporate Mission Statements

43:28 Balancing Lean Startup Principles with Governance

46:35 The Right Time for Founders to Implement Governance

49:23 An Optimistic Vision for the Future of BusinessLinks

https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/

https://x.com/ericries

https://www.instagram.com/ericriesactual/

https://www.tiktok.com/@ericriesactual

https://news.theleanstartup.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow

Get in touch

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/humansinthelooppod⁠

Email: ⁠seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com

How to lift an entire country out of poverty?

Does philanthropy make a difference?

What if wealthy tech founders gave away their money?

Will AI make poor countries even poorer?

How does technology help a country to develop?

Those are some of the questions discussed into today's episode of Humans in the Loop featuring Nick Allardice, CEO of GiveDirectly, a non-profit that's sent over $1 billion in cash, directly to those living in poverty.

Where else you can watch/listenYoutube - youtube.com/channel/UC1KEYtwPKr5yUv86f7YDB7g/Apple podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humans-in-the-loop/id1831285114Or wherever you get your podcasts!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to GiveDirectly and Philanthropy

02:35 Identifying Communities in Need

06:18 Technology and Cash Transfers

12:10 Empowering Recipients: No Strings Attached

17:45 Community Impact and Economic Growth

23:46 Limitations of Cash Transfers

27:15 Conclusion and Future of Philanthropy

27:33 Skepticism of Central Planning in Local Economies

28:40 The Ineffectiveness of Traditional Teaching Methods

30:38 The Role of Wealthy Individuals in Alleviating Poverty

32:52 The Potential of Cash Transfers to Lift Living Standards

35:37 The Importance of Urgency in Philanthropy

39:26 The Impact of AI on Job Markets in Developing Countries

42:46 Balancing Optimism and Fear in the Age of AI

47:49 Innovative Approaches to Education and Healthcare

50:06 Leveraging AI for Disaster Preparedness

54:05 A Call to Action for the Wealthy to Invest in ChangeLinksGiveDirectly

The experiment in Malawi

Rutger Bregman's call for the world's billionaires to pick up the phone to NickGet in touch

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/humansinthelooppod⁠

Email: ⁠seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com

China is shaping the world.In direct ways, like innovation, foreign policy, investment.And indirectly, by provoking a response from countries such as the US who see it as a competitor.China's transformation into one of the world's superpowers is the most remarkable transformation of a single country in the history of the world.And yet it's still poorly understood (including by me).Selina Xu is a writer, researcher and AI & China policy lead in the office of former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt and is here to shed light on China and its technology industry, dispelling some myths along the way.Where else you can listen:

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4BbslJR0KA5bfqrcYRhJER?si=d0edc1049eac4f39

Apple podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humans-in-the-loop/id1831285114Or wherever you get your podcasts!

Chapters

00:00 The Evolution of China's Tech Industry

03:38 Debunking the Copycat Narrative

06:16 The Role of the State in Innovation

09:51 Xi Jinping's Vision for Technology

12:44 The Return of Jack Ma

15:35 China's Perspective on Global Competition

19:28 Defining Winning in the Superpower Race

22:40 China's Unique Approach to Technology Deployment

26:50 The Role of the State in AI Development

30:03 DeepSeek and the Evolution of Chinese AI

34:19 Agentic AI: Trends and Trajectories

36:57 Emerging Frontiers in AI Research

40:12 Infrastructure and Support for Tech Industries

43:44 Geopolitical Implications of Taiwan and Semiconductors

46:03 Cultural Perspectives on China and Tech

48:53 Optimistic Visions for the Future of AILinks:

Selina's website

China's AI+ initiative

Involution

Suspension of ANT's IPO

Common prosperity

Deepseek moment

Chin AI substack - Jeffrey Ding

Get in touch

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/humansinthelooppod⁠

Email: ⁠seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com

Henry Shukman is a Zen Master, a meditation teacher, and co-founder of The Way meditation app.As AI poses some hard questions about what it means to be human, I thought Henry might help make some sense of things.

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Zen: A Personal Journey

03:52 The Need for Spirituality: A Personal Crisis

10:07 Living Zen in the Modern World

13:36 Navigating Modern Existence: Technology and Spirituality

18:38 The Motivations Behind Meditation

23:15 Technology's Role in Meditation: The Way App

32:06 Ambition and Spirituality: Finding Balance

39:47 AI and the Nature of Consciousness

45:04 Optimism for the Future: Meditation's Impact

Links⁠

The Way App⁠ - https://www.thewayapp.com/

Get in touch

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/humansinthelooppod⁠

Email: ⁠seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com

My guests today are artists, film makers, educators, technologists and founders of Fuser, a company building an AI workspace for creatives.

With so much noise around what AI should or shouldn’t be used for, and where human creativity starts and ends, I wanted to get Dalena and Hirad on to talk more about the creative process in this technological moment.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Fuser and Its Founders

03:40 The Vision Behind Fuser

06:12 Creative Applications of Fuser

08:35 The Role of AI in Creative Processes

11:24 Navigating the Challenges of AI in Art

13:29 The Future of Creativity with AI

15:48 Investor Relations and Company Integrity

19:00 The Evolving Landscape of Art and Technology

20:52 Conclusion and Future Aspirations

Links

Fuser

Brand video

Get in touch

⁠Instagram⁠

⁠⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com⁠

seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠

Mike Masnick wrote the paper that helped inspire Bluesky and now he sits on the Bluesky board.A long-time advocate of decentralised tech, Mike's paper 'Protocols not platforms' outlined how a more open protocol-based system to social media would create a healthier social media ecosystem in which people were free to vote with their feet (or their mouse) and go elsewhere, without losing access to the community they'd built.In this wide ranging conversation, Mike and I discuss the future of social media, the internet's trajectory from an open to a closed ecosystem, whether decentralisation can be a winning strategy in a capitalist economy, and much more.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Mike Masnick and Tech Perspectives

05:53 The Evolution of TechDirt and Innovation

11:03 Understanding Free Speech in the Digital Age

15:53 Protocols vs. Platforms: A New Approach to Free Speech

20:50 The Shift from Protocol-Centric to Platform-Centric Internet

28:48 The Evolution of Patents and Competition

31:10 Understanding the Problems with Big Tech

32:23 Moving Towards Decentralization

33:23 The Role of Decentralized Protocols

35:11 Generative AI: Empowerment vs. Control

37:55 Building Personalized Tools for Empowerment

41:35 Decentralization in Social Media: Blue Sky Explained

49:12 The Future of Decentralized Systems

53:04 Mainstream Adoption of Decentralized Technologies

Links

Protocols not platforms

Bluesky

Get in touch

Instagram

⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com

seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠