Debashis Basu: “While India has wasted three decades in muddling along, even after the so-called economic liberalisation of 1991, under the Modi government, there is a faint element of economic nationalism in schemes such as production-linked incentives (PLI) and Make in India. But for these schemes to be effective, it has to use the playbook of export champions. The incentive has to be linked to export, not just import substitution or higher production. Initially it will be hard, which will automatically reveal what needs to be done to make each of the sectors export-competitive. In each of the four countries that have recorded extraordinary growth, the government worked with the manufacturers to help them import technology, arranged cheap finance, culled the weaker players, and relentlessly imposed export discipline. India should learn from this and adapt.”
FT: “[Brain-computer interface (BCI)] devices use a variety of methods to collect signals from the brain, which are then interpreted using artificial intelligence and used to control computers. Neuralink, whose electrodes have been implanted in two people, says its devices have been used to play video games and manipulate computer-aided design software. The first brain implants in humans date back two decades, but recent advances in the electronics used to collect and transmit brain signals, as well as the machine learning needed to analyse and make sense of the data, have raised hopes that the devices could soon be medically useful.”
Cass Sunstein: “Could AI predict the outcome of a coin flip? Could AI have predicted in (say) 2006 that Barack Hussein Obama would be elected president of the United States in 2008? Could AI have predicted in (say) 2014 that Donald Trump would be elected president of the United States in both 2016 and 2024? Could AI have predicted in (say) 2005 that Taylor Swift would become a worldwide sensation? The answer to all of these questions is “No.” AI could not have predicted those things (and no human being could have predicted those things, either). There are some prediction problems on which AI will not do well; the reason lies not in randomness, but in an absence of adequate data. There are disparate challenges here, but all of them are closely connected to the knowledge problem, and in particular to the unfathomably large number of factors that account for some kinds of outcomes and the critical importance of social interactions. In important respects, the Socialist Calculation Debate and the AI Calculation Debate are the same thing.”
Andy Kessler: “How do you debunk conspiracy theories? It’s hard. First, they must pass the smell test. Most don’t. Then ask if someone can hold a secret for that long. Don’t believe movies, podcasters or even politicians. Find some real science. Most important, figure out who benefits from spreading the story. The trick is not to let your emotions get the better of you. Question authority.”
WSJ reviews Tae Kim’s book on Nvidia: “Artificial intelligence without Nvidia is impossible to imagine. Its chips are the building blocks for the AI infrastructure being developed by both entrenched technology giants and well-funded newcomers. Its software, called Compute Unified Device Architecture, or CUDA, lets developers take full advantage of Nvidia’s hardware: It’s the paraffin you toss on the dry tinder of Nvidia’s ever more potent and multiplying GPUs (graphics processing units).”
