Andy Kessler: “Unlike other political systems, democracy and capitalism are magnets for capital. Monarchy failed. National socialism, fascism, communism, even lighter forms of Marxism have all failed. Socialism is on its last legs in India and much of Europe. And whatever you want to call China’s political system—perhaps authoritarian crony capitalism—is circling. In 2022, China’s purchasing power parity GDP per capita at $21,476 was 72nd in the world, right behind Mexico. The U.S. was eighth at $76,399. Wake me up when they get closer. So whine all you want about America’s decline as you drive your Tesla to Whole Foods to buy overpriced free-range strawberries whimpering about corporate greed. You’re wrong. Warts and all, the U.S. is stronger than ever…Fortunately, it’s the innovation sandboxes hidden in the shadows, where entrepreneurs are perfecting cool new technologies, that drive progress. AI is only the latest. Watch for them to rise from between the cracks, like fireworks. And better than last year.”
WSJ: “Now, tech giants and startups are thinking smaller as they slim down AI software to make it cheaper, faster and more specialized. This category of AI software—called small or medium language models—is trained on less data and often designed for specific tasks…The small-model moment speaks to the evolution of AI from science-fiction-like demos to the less exciting reality of making it a business.”
McKinsey on India. “India is a place of superlatives. It’s home to the world’s fifth-largest economy. Its population, at over 1.4 billion people, has surpassed China’s to become the largest in the world. And that population is young: at a median age of 27.6, Indians are on average more than ten years younger than the citizens of most other major economies.” Martin Wolf: “The nation can play a big part in shaping the world’s future but its internal challenges are formidable.”
FT: “Traditional weapons programmes take years, sometimes decades, to develop and rely on substantial government budgets as well as large research and testing facilities. By contrast, drones are cheap, lethal and quick to make, helping to level the field between smaller players and established industry giants. Ukraine shows that “time to market and a more agile development are important”, says Micael Johansson, chief executive of Sweden’s defence champion Saab. “Instead of developing a perfect product that may take many years, building products fast that can be tested, modified and tested again is important. Speed is crucial.” It is not just the industry that needs to change. Government defence departments will have to transform how they buy weapons to keep up with the much faster development cycles of increasingly software-defined weapons and autonomous systems driven by artificial intelligence.”
