Christoph Schweizer (BCG newsletter): “AI is more likely to amplify the roles of software engineers than eliminate them. Human judgment still matters in system design, architectural tradeoffs, quality assurance, and integration. And, as the cost of building software falls, demand can expand to meet unmet needs for digital products, automation, and new features. Obviously, this dynamic could change as AI models mature. Much of the work of call center representatives is structured and repeatable, while demand is largely fixed. The volume of incoming calls is unlikely to increase sharply because wait times go down. In those settings, AI is more likely to substitute directly for labor in all but the most complex cases.”
FT: “The rise of Taiwan’s chip industry is one of the most remarkable industrial stories of our century. But the island of 23mn people lies on a geostrategic — as well as a seismological — faultline, roughly 100 miles off the coast of China. Beijing has long trumpeted its “national rejuvenation” mission to incorporate the island. It has also significantly boosted its military capabilities to help achieve that end. Any serious disruption to the global supply of the world’s most valuable semiconductors would surely bring the current AI investment boom in the US screeching to a halt. It would also rattle global stock markets that are heavily leveraged on Big Tech’s colossal AI bet. The over-reliance of the US on Taiwan’s manufacturing output has been belatedly recognised by Washington, but overcoming that challenge is an altogether different proposition.”
The Generalist: “Confidential is a wildly entertaining and impressively insightful book. In studying it closely these last few months, I’ve also come to believe it’s an important one. Though [Jeff] Nolan is ostensibly writing for the professional intelligence gatherer, his conversational techniques are useful to anyone, in any context. They are liable to make you more engaging and persuasive, as well as a better conversationalist. It is also worth knowing when someone else is using them. Why did that salesperson seem to purposefully misspeak? Was I imagining it, or did that headhunter seem to disbelieve everything I said? What is it about this person that makes me want to open up so much? For founders working in sectors of national interest, Confidential will help you protect what you know. If you are building almost anything of note, there is a good chance that someone out there — whether in a bland concrete building, a glassy office tower, or a grassy tech campus — would love to understand it better than you’d like them to.”
Adrian Wooldridge: “There is one thing you can do to ward off existential despair. Go to your local coffee shop and order a cup of coffee. Not only is relaxing over a cup of coffee a perfect therapy in troubled times. The world’s booming coffee culture is a sign of the health of the liberal order.”
