Saturday 1st June, 2024 - Vibes, the Economy, Blogging and Freedom (Issue #166)
BTC for the oppressed, AI security & dystopia, iPadOS vs MacOS, fake gov phone companies, Saylor, webdevs & the economy, Indian prosperity, human memory, Argentina inflation, science societal issues
Hello and welcome to my newsletter!
Another season 2 instalment…
Something feels different about this week’s selection. There’s less overtly geeky tech, and more things related to tech. The real world things that are on the periphery of tech. It’s not to say it’s not interesting, I very much enjoyed all the podcasts, but it somehow has a different vibe going on. I think it’s perhaps a sign of the times.
Lots of folks concerned about AI, the economy and freedom. It sort of feels like this week’s shows are all inspired by the humanities, and tech has taken a back seat for a bit. I guess that’s where we are at. Big Tech has given way, at least temporarily, to Big Thought.
My build minutes on Github got reset, so I’m able to publish content again. There are loads of new blog posts on the website from the past several weeks. The advantage of running a static site locally using git, is that you can still write even when you get pushed offline.
The pieces I’m most happy about are a blog series about my static site generator that I’ve been building the past few years, and I also put together a strategic vision about where I think the project could go.
My static site generator series https://markjgsmith.com/blog/2024/05/29/my-static-site-generator-series
Development strategy ideas https://markjgsmith.com/blog/2024/05/24/development-strategy-ideas
I dare say that any of you that enjoy reading some of the stuff I write about my dev work, will likely find both these pieces an interesting read. Neither are particularly long winded.
The rest of the recent blog posts are here:
https://markjgsmith.com/blog
I’ve been pushing myself hard the past week to update the everything page with the ability to separate off the links into a footer section on each article. Should make it easier to skim when you are just interested in finding links, but also should help bring focus to the ramblings in my blog post and notes. Hoping to have that operational over the weekend.
https://markjgsmith.com/everything
Woah, that’s quite a lot of stuff about me.
Now on with the podcasts…
Podcasts
Freedom Money: Jewher Ilham - China (Citadel Dispatch Podcast) - Part of a series that interviews people, often from developing / authoritarian countries that have been able to use bitcoin as freedom money, often in very difficult situations. Jewher, who’s english is near perfect by the way, is of a persecuted minority in China that have repeatedly been victimised and repressed in recent times. She tells her story, the details are very interesting. Worth listening to get a sense of how things are in this very different world. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9zZXJ2ZS5wb2Rob21lLmZtL3Jzcy9jOTBlNjA5YS1kZjFlLTU5NmEtYmQ1ZS01N2JjYzhhYWQ2Y2M/episode/MGQzZTI5MTYtZjk5Zi00MGExLTg3ODEtOGYyYmRmYjcwZGM5?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahgKEwjQnbfXprmGAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQ2QM
Jeremiah & Edouard Harris Ep#2156 (Joe Rogan Experience Podcast) - These two are brothers, founders and CEO & CTO of an AI security company called GladstoneAI. They tell the story of the AI boom from right inside it, with a focus on dystopian use cases of these systems. It’s mindboggling. Mass manipulation of populations. The risks of not controlling systems smarter than ourselves. Nuclear reactors. Relationship with government. AGI. Malicious actors. Unemployed people working for Skynet. Other weird shit. An insane world wide race. I found these guys were really eloquent, full of incredibly good analysis and phenomenal descriptions of the problem space. Great listen. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9qb2Vyb2dhbmV4cC5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw/episode/Yjk4YjMzNDItMWEzMC0xMWVmLTg3YjQtYjczYmJlM2VkMjk1?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahgKEwjQnbfXprmGAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQsQ0
‘Canadian Girlfriend Vibes’ with M.G. Siegler (Talk Show Podcast) - Starts off with some fun banter about blogging back in the ‘olden days’ and how that whole scene has evolved to the present day. The bulk of the show covers a topic which I find really quite interesting. The dynamics between and evolution of iPadOS vs MacOS. How will these two very different OSs evolve? It’s interesting because both are very successful and useful products that are great to use in their own way. How will they integrate into our lives going forward? The subject is full of nuance, and that’s Gruber’s forte. It’s technical but it’s very user focussed. https://daringfireball.net/thetalkshow/2024/05/24/ep-400
How the FBI built it’s own smartphone company to hack the criminal underworld(Decoder Podcast) - Extremely bizarre story that seems like it’s right out of the movies. In order to pull this off they actually had to create a full blown startup and make it successful in a very odd market that was already quite established, while spying on their customers, and generally deceiving everyone, with the greater good goal of fighting crime. I keep wondering what the future of this type of activity will be like in the age of pervasive AGI. Bonkers. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vcmVjb2RlZGVjb2Rl/episode/MmVkYjg5MTgtOTljZi0xMWVlLWI2NmQtYmIzNTViODhhMzk0?sa=X&ved=0CAYQkfYCahgKEwjQnbfXprmGAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQiAk
Bitcoin is Forever Money with Michael Saylor (What Bitcoin Did Podcast) - Classic Michael Saylor interview. They get into some of the modern topics that are interesting especially around ossification, but more generally he’s kind of a wise sage type character at this stage, and has some very good anecdotes and analogies to help you think about Bitcoin in a level headed and clear manor. He goes into his backstory and company journey which is very enlightening. Why Bitcoin became a necessity in order to keep his company alive long term, in an environment that eventually destroys most ventures that aren’t Big Tech. Saylor remains a must listen for anyone interested in the space. https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/bitcoin-is-forever-money
Economic & AI Vibes With Jason Grigsby Ep#617 (Shop Talk Show Podcast) - I thought this was an interesting choice of topic for these guys. It’s one of those sign-of-the-times type episodes, because they never venture into these topics, almost always remaining in web development tech. If even these guys are talking about the economy and AI, then there’s definitely some serious worries about the industry. https://shoptalkshow.com/617
Raghuram Rajan: Why India must break the mould if it is to become a prosperous 21st century economy Ep#2074 (Keen On Podcast) - This wasn’t specifically about tech, but it’s fascinating because India is increasingly a very big player in the tech scene, so it makes sense to have an understanding about the most prominent dynamics happening there. It’s an enormous country, where some provinces have populations on the same order as the entire US, that is insanely diverse, with hundreds of languages and dialects. Their society is changing quickly and they are getting into tech in a big way. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcGkuc3Vic3RhY2suY29tL2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdC8zMDk0OTQucnNz/episode/c3Vic3RhY2s6cG9zdDoxNDQ4NTU5NjQ?sa=X&ved=0CAYQkfYCahgKEwjQnbfXprmGAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQsQU
Charan Ranganath: Human Memory, Imagination, Deja Vu, and False MemoriesEp#430 (Lex Fridman Podcast) - I found this really interesting, and it’s a topic that anyone who predominantly uses their brain for a living should have a good understanding of. Unfortunately I was heavily sleep deprived when I listened to this and fell asleep, so missed much of it. What I did hear was fascinating though. Hoping to get the chance to listen to it again in full. https://lexfridman.com/charan-ranganath
Freedom Money: Dario Sneidermanis - Argentina (Citadel Dispatch Podcast) - I’m finding the stories coming out of Argentina recently to be super interesting. Dario gets into the details of what it’s like on the ground when your currency is inflated 60%-100% per year. Somehow people find a way, by buying hard assets like televisions, and by using bitcoin and crypto tech. Very eye opening. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9zZXJ2ZS5wb2Rob21lLmZtL3Jzcy9jOTBlNjA5YS1kZjFlLTU5NmEtYmQ1ZS01N2JjYzhhYWQ2Y2M/episode/ODVmZTY0MTAtN2MzYi00NjEzLWIxMzMtZTEwNmNmY2I4NTdm?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahgKEwjQnbfXprmGAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQ2QM
Eric Weinstein: Don’t call it a conspiracy! (Into the Impossible Podcast) - I find myself agreeing with many of Weinstein’s observations. He doesn’t beat around the bush. He’s disappointed in experts, in institutions, in society not valuing those that spend their lives in the pursuit of science. He’s worried that people are forced down paths they wouldn’t normally go down just to stay afloat. Lying, corruption, conflicts of interest. The end result is the erosion of trust across the board. People are questioning everything right down to the fundamental axioms of mathematics. Interesting to hear them talking about Terrence Howard and Brian’s recent attempts to debunk the moon landing disbelievers, which were IMO mostly personal attacks rather than rigorous scientific analysis. Weinstein is a bit too much into the importance of elites for my liking, but he makes very good points worth considering, great food for thought as we try to think long term about how we want our societies to be in the future. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vaW50b3RoZWltcG9zc2libGU/episode/MTJiMGI3YmMtMWNlZC0xMWVmLWFjNDUtZGY2MjMzZDFkZDQ4?sa=X&ved=0CAQQ8qgGahgKEwjQnbfXprmGAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQlQU
Duncan Trussell Ep#2157 (Joe Rogan Experience Podcast) - I find the dynamic between these two super interesting. They are good friends but also in a sense competitors, not only in the world of podcasting but also in the world of out there ideas. They are both in a real way the best in the world at what they do, and are actually very similar, yet they come at the subject matter at somewhat different angles, and that makes for an incredible multi-dimensional show, once their egos fade into the background. When they get going unencumbered they turn into a sort of spiritual Webb telescope, with the ability to explore the distant past, present and future. It’s really quite something. This time it’s all about AI and our mad tech future, topics including the wi and scary Tiktok algorithm, AGI and comedians, psychedelics, the 60s & the CIA, religion, Christianity, Buddhism, God, egos, on being the last generation to experience life before the internet. Genuinely a real treat of an episode. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9qb2Vyb2dhbmV4cC5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw/episode/N2MxNzE3MmUtMWQ3OC0xMWVmLThiMmUtZDNkZDdlMzViNmIy?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahgKEwjQnbfXprmGAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQsQ0
That’s all from me…
Best reguards,
Mark
Consider becoming a patreon, any support would be very much appreciated
Thanks for reading!
If you liked this newsletter you might like my blog, daily linkblog or experimental podcast :)
I’m a freelance web developer, consultant and automation engineer, consider hiring me!
Have a great weekend and a fantastic next week!