Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?
My friends: Alistair Croll (Just Evil Enough, Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”
Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another:
- You Are Witnessing The Death Of American Capitalism – Benn Jordan – YouTube. “I am really impressed with Benn Jordan. He’s a musician, but he makes really, really good content across a wide range of topics. I recently shared another video of his about how many bots are actually online. This one is a fascinating explanation of how capitalism works, how wealth is distributed, and what might be happening in the US (and, by association, many other countries.) ‘In the early 2000s, Capitalism got so complicated that investors didn’t fully understand what they were buying.’ Yikes. Really worth your time.” (Alistair for Hugh).
- Why You’re So Angry At Work (And What To Do About It) – Natalie Rothfels – Lenny’s Newsletter. “Natalie Rothfels wrote a guest piece for Lenny Rachitsky that really spoke to me. My inner monologue has become increasingly angry over the last few years, likely in response to humans not being able to get their shit together in all kinds of ways. I don’t usually share ‘touchy feely’ stuff, but this one was worth it (and with good reason; she’s a facilitator for Stanford‘s Interpersonal Dynamics course, which is often referred to by its other name – Touchy Feely. Now, if Lenny can just get someone to explain active listening, I’ll be all set.” (Alistair for Mitch).
- Black Holes: Not Endings, But Beginnings? Theoretical Study Delves Into ‘White Holes’ – MSN. “I remember sitting at lunch in Grade 5 with the science teacher, Mr. Kringle, at our table (private school, lunch was a table of ten with a teacher at the head). I don’t remember anything else about the conversation, but I do remember him saying that a cubic centimeter of a black hole would weigh two billion metric tonnes. It’s my first memory of grappling with an adult-level scientific understanding of how weird the world is, and my first introduction to black holes. ‘You’d never be able to weigh it though because you would be sucked in along with everything else because the pull of gravity would be so huge,’ said Mr. Krindle. Until today, I hadn’t heard of white holes.” (Hugh for Alistair).
- Unitree Humanoid Robot Malfunctions And Attacks Woman, Strikes Others At Event In China – DeepNewz. “Nothing to see here, just move along.” (Hugh for Mitch).
- Is AI Really Thinking And Reasoning — Or Just Pretending To? – Sigal Samuel – Vox. “AI just levelled up and – while we are talking about it – we are not talking about it enough. When I read this article, I had one thought: AI just grew a brain. We all know that these new models can reason, but have we thought enough about what this means? These new engines are not just spitting out answers – they’re thinking through problems, step by step, like a human would. And that changes everything (and I never like writing that phrase out). Think of it this way: AI has always been a whiz at pattern-matching and predicting what we might expect, but now it’s learning how to connect the dots in a way that looks a lot like critical thinking. That means better medical breakthroughs, stronger cybersecurity, and even AI that can tackle complex scientific questions. The potential upside is massive. But (and it’s a big but)… smarter AI doesn’t just mean better solutions – it also means bigger risks (which we also know). These reasoning models could be used to crack encryption, manipulate markets, or even accelerate the development of bioweapons. OpenAI and DeepSeek know this, which is why they’re putting safety measures in place (we hope?). History tells us that once a technology like this exists, it’s almost impossible to control where it goes next. So the real question isn’t what AI can do. It’s who gets to use it, how it’s used, and whether we’re thinking ahead fast enough. And, there’s a bigger thought here: Who cares if this is AGI or not? If it’s already smarter/equal to most Phds… does it really matter if it’s faking it or not?” (Mitch for Alistair).
- Something Is Rotten In The State Of Cupertino – John Gruber – Daring Fireball. “Earlier this week, I did my regular radio hit about what’s going on (or, more accurately, what is NOT going on) with Apple and artificial intelligence (aka Apple Intelligence). As someone who knows, likes and loves my Apple gear (including a lot of their software and services on top of the hardware), it’s a bit of a head-scratch (you can take a listen to my thoughts over here: Think Different? The AI Race Apple Might Be Losing). Elias Makos (the radio host who interviews me every week) sent me this article the other night as a follow-up, and it’s a scathing take down of the trillion-dollar-plus empire that is Apple… and their opporunity in the near-future. John is clearly stating that everything can’t be ‘marketing’… there needs to be actual substance, programs, initiatives and releases that are driving Apple forward. Candidly, I’m hopeful that we’re all wrong and that Apple is smarter and better than all of this.” (Mitch for Hugh).
Feel free to share these links and add your picks on X, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.
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