WSJ: “Founded in 2013 in Oulu, Finland’s fifth-largest city, the rise of Oura shows how a new wave of health-monitoring gadgets are appealing to everyone from self-tracking die-hards to those casually interested in improving their health, in part by doing things smartwatches cannot. The Oura ring’s focus on living a balanced life—the ring will tell you when to rest, rather than chastising you for failing to exercise—comes directly from the Finnish culture of its founders, says head of human resources Marjut Uusitalo. She joined the company in 2016, but has known the three co-founders of the company since they first gathered friends to brainstorm the then-novel idea of a health-tracking ring several years before…The Oura ring’s focus on living a balanced life—the ring will tell you when to rest, rather than chastising you for failing to exercise—comes directly from the Finnish culture of its founders, says head of human resources Marjut Uusitalo. She joined the company in 2016, but has known the three co-founders of the company since they first gathered friends to brainstorm the then-novel idea of a health-tracking ring several years before.”
Tyler Cowen: “One motive for writing for the AIs is to try to teach them things. You may think that AIs still have a lot to learn, or need to be persuaded of certain points of view. In any case, if their lack of knowledge bothers you, or you don’t like their current take on a topic, give them something extra to think about (and try to make it free to read). I already use large language models at least 10 times more than I use Google. I might use Google to book a hotel room, but not so much for information. So persuading the LLMs, even a smidgen, boosts your influence — because in the future, many more people will be going the same route. Another reason to write for the LLMs is to convince them that you are important. Admittedly this is conjecture, but it might make them more likely to convey your ideas in the future. Think of how this works with humans. If you cite a scholar or public intellectual, that person is more likely to cite you back. Much as we like to pretend science is objective, no one really denies the presence of some favoritism based on personal considerations.”
CNBC: “The advent of so-called physical artificial intelligence is believed by many to be the next frontier of the AI investing cycle, opening up opportunities to get behind robotics makers, auto suppliers and specialty semiconductor companies. Investors are looking for another way to play AI after huge runs in Nvidia and the other stocks powering and producing digital bots like ChatGPT. Search bots were the start and the technology has now moved into “agentic AI” like customer service representatives and research assistants. Now the focus for investors analyzing the leading edge of this technology is becoming interaction in the physical world with devices acting independently through artificial intelligence, like robot nurses and self-driving drones and cars. And analysts believe this is where the big money will be. “As you go into 2025, agentic AI is that next inflection point here before you hit that physical AI moment … like with everything else in the world, you have to crawl before you can walk and then run,” said CFRA senior equity analyst Angelo Zino. “Gen AI hasn’t really seen much monetization thus far. So when you start thinking about agentic AI and robotics and what have you, there’s a real kind of belief out there — and expectation. You’ll see those use cases start to come about this year.””
The Daily Economy: “Economics should be considered a core high school subject, alongside US history and government. Failure to teach it robs American students of knowledge they need for responsible adult citizenship – and life in general. Economics is destiny. We shortchange America’s children, and our future, if we don’t teach students the most valuable lesson of all: everything has a cost.”
