WSJ: “Artificial intelligence is entering what might be known as its “Cheers” era, when every chatbot will know your name. “Cheers,” the long-running sitcom, was based on the premise that bartenders and bar regulars get to know each other, their history, their preferences and their strengths and weaknesses as they spend time together. When Norm Peterson—played by George Wendt, who died last week—walked through the door, he was greeted by name. AI so far has generally been more like the rom-com “50 First Dates,” in which Lucy Whitmore portrayed by Drew Barrymore forgets every day that she spends with Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) by the time she wakes up the next morning. Most AI models were trained to be “stateless,” meaning that each interaction is independent, according to Benjamin Drury, co-founder and chief technology officer of early-stage startup DearFlow…The acquisition of memory brings growing context, awareness and relevance to AI chatbots and agents, even as such personalization ramps up the need for data privacy, security and responsible use.”
Economist: “Air-conditioning, a century-old technology, offers a solution. Indians who can afford it are buying it in droves. Annual sales more than doubled in the five years to 2024, to 14m units. Angshuman Bhattacharya of EY Parthenon, a consultancy, says 2024 was “one of the most blockbuster years, and most companies ran out of stocks”. Samsung, a manufacturer, expects sales to rise by another 20-25% this year. India is treading a well-worn path. As hot countries get richer, air-conditioners, once luxuries, become necessities. But in India extreme heat and high levels of humidity that make fans less effective have made them essential long before average incomes have risen to a level where they are widely affordable. Just 10% of households boasted an air-conditioner in 2023…Inevitably, air-conditioner penetration in India will soar. That will cause problems of its own. The biggest is a tremendous surge in energy demand.”
Arnold Kling (and Claude): “The Problem: Distance learning lacks engagement and human connection. Traditional MOOCs have 90%+ dropout rates. Students crave the interactive, discussion-based learning of elite seminars, but these don’t scale. The Solution: Immersive AI seminar education that puts learners in a virtual classroom with AI-generated classmates who have distinct personalities and learning styles.”
Bloomberg: “Private equity has lost its way in the last three years with its leaders becoming too concerned about macroeconomics instead of looking at the fundamentals of companies, according to Orlando Bravo, co-founder and managing partner of buyout giant Thoma Bravo. Firms are holding onto assets for longer as exits have become more challenging with a muted initial public offering market. Private equity firms are increasingly dependent on financial engineering such as continuation vehicles, where firms dispose of stakes in their companies to new funds they’ve created — effectively selling to themselves. “I want to talk to all the private equity funds about this: In our business, you always have to be selling and you always have to be buying,” Bravo said…“It is actually not a buy and hold forever business. That may be a great strategy but if you want to do that, you go to the public markets.””
