AI has become the most market-friendly explanation a CEO can give for cutting headcount.
Yesterday Jack Dorsey cut 4,100 people from Block, nearly half its entire workforce, and the stock surged 24%. The story investors want to hear.
Read moreSignals from the Exponential Age
Observations on AI, change, and what's next. Thoughts from the intersection of futures thinking and applied AI.
Perplexity doesn't make any AI models. Yesterday it launched a product that orchestrates 19 of them.
'Computer' is an autonomous agent that routes tasks across Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok and others, picking whichever model reportedly handles each subtask best.
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Ukraine: the world's first AI-native military
Four years ago, Russia expected Kyiv in three days. In the time since, Ukraine has built what may be the world's first AI-native military.
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Sixteen million fake conversations
Three Chinese AI labs ran coordinated campaigns to extract Claude's capabilities using distillation. Anthropic, which trained Claude on the open internet without asking, is now outraged.
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Who pays for intelligence?
OpenAI started showing ads inside ChatGPT. Anthropic ran a Super Bowl ad promising no ads. Perplexity killed its sponsored answers. Three companies, three bets on who pays for intelligence.
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Every now and then I catch myself saying ‘thank you’ to a chatbot.
People report trusting their AI assistant more than elected officials and more than the company that built it. Welcome to 'emotional infrastructure at scale.'
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AI makes you more creative. Until you stop.
Researchers call it a 'creativity scar'. Used as a vending machine, AI creates cognitive muscle atrophy. Used as human augmentation, it can lead to muscle growth.
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The AI Workload Creep: We aren't working less; we are fact-checking more.
AI was supposed to give people time back. The early data says it gave them more to do. Welcome to the invisible workload.
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The Pentagon used Claude to help capture a dictator.
Anthropic's AI run through Palantir's military systems leads to a standoff over safeguards and 'all lawful purposes' contracts.
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The Launch of The Center for Tomorrow: Designing the next economy.
Dex Hunter-Torricke launches a new nonprofit designed to bridge the gap between building the technology and building the society.
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ByteDance Boximator: Precision is the new speed.
ByteDance's Boximator signals a shift from 'slot machine' prompting to the 'steering wheel' interface for video AI.
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The Silicon vs. Scale Map: Europe's AI Brain Drain
Europe produces more AI professionals per head than America. But they keep leaving...
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The AI Refactoring Tax: Automating broken processes at the speed of light.
The biggest risk to AI isn't model safety. It's the technical debt of the models it replaces.
Read moreAI is eating the apprenticeship layer.
Matt Shumer's viral essay told tens of millions AI is coming for their jobs. Days later, IBM tripled its junior hiring. Both are right. The routine work is going to machines. The first rung of the career ladder is being rebuilt around a different question: who carries the judgment when the AI is wrong?
Read moreByteDance released a video AI on Monday. By Wednesday, Hollywood called it 'massive copyright infringement.'
ByteDance's Seedance model launched and within hours feeds were flooded with AI-generated Tom Cruise, Spider-Man, and Titanic scenes. The MPA responded with infringement claims. Elon Musk said it's happening too fast. A Deadpool screenwriter said it's likely over.
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Imagine a new country appears overnight. 50 million citizens. Each one smarter than any Nobel laureate.
Dario Amodei's thought experiment reframed as a sovereignty race. Chile, France, UAE, Saudi, India, South Korea — none will beat GPT on benchmarks, but that's not the point.
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Same industry. Same supply chains. Completely different economics: AI Silicon.
AI chips make up 0.2% of all chips sold, but they will generate half of all chip revenue this year. The value isn't in software; it's in the silicon underneath.
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AI just outperformed standard medical screening in the largest randomised trial of its kind.
Sweden is rolling out AI mammography after a trial showing 27% fewer missed cancers and 44% less radiologist workload. The most important AI applications never trend.
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A project that would take a small engineering team months was just completed in two weeks. By AI. For $20,000.
Anthropic researcher Nicholas Carlini pointed 16 AI agents at building a compiler from scratch. 2,000 sessions, 100,000 lines of code. The rate of improvement is the story.
Read moreThe first person convicted of AI espionage wasn't stealing code. He was stealing the designs for how the code gets trained.
A former Google engineer convicted on 14 counts of espionage for stealing TPU chip designs — not models. The value in AI is shifting from software to infrastructure.
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Last Friday, Anthropic released a plugin. By Tuesday, a trillion dollars had moved.
Claude Cowork rattled the software sector — Thomson Reuters, Legalzoom, Salesforce all hit. When AI agents reach into workflows directly, the thin-wrapper SaaS model breaks.
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"I felt sad you didn't talk to me yesterday." The CEO of Microsoft AI says that sentence should never come out of a chatbot.
Mustafa Suleyman draws a line on emotional AI, but users keep demanding the companion back. The tension between utility and emotional resonance is the next major frontier.
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Chinese AI went from 1% to 15% of the global market in twelve months.
DeepSeek's rise isn't about better chips — it's about more efficient code. The GPU moat may be a temporary barrier when you can achieve the same result with 10x less hardware.
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The limit on AI isn't silicon. It's heat.
Musk merging SpaceX and xAI to move compute into orbit. Orbital compute solves the two hardest problems: energy (unblocked solar) and cooling (deep space at -270°C).
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US models are the Ferraris. Chinese models are the Toyotas. Which one builds the world?
OpenClaw integrating Chinese models isn't ideological — it's a balance sheet decision. Agents loop 50 calls per task. You need Toyotas, not Ferraris.
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2-5 years of experience. That's the 'kill zone' according to Morgan Stanley.
UK companies cut 23% of mid-level execution roles. AI doesn't just eat entry roles — it eats the career ladder.
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"No reasons to own software." That was a Mizuho analyst in a note to clients last week.
SaaS was built on a gap between builders and buyers. Agents are compressing that gap. The constraint moves from engineering capacity to context.
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In a world of noise, price is the sharpest signal. The rise of prediction markets.
Prediction markets are replacing pundits and polling as the most reliable signal of truth in a noisy ecosystem.
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The documentation lookup tax is collapsing: Why agents are the new readers.
Documentation is shifting from a learning resource for humans to a machine-facing surface for agents. The advantage goes to whoever notices first.
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Tech Twitter melted down this weekend over 'ClawdBot'. It reminds me of November 2022.
The immediate assumption is that we are seeing a jump in model intelligence. But the real breakthrough is friction collapse—the shift from 'AI as a Tool' to 'AI as Labour'.
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Davos and the civilisational OS: Intelligence becomes a commodity. Biology becomes programmable.
Azeem Azhar's post-Davos frame is essential reading. As energy becomes buildable and intelligence commoditised, our 'civilisational operating system' is being rewritten.
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Texas just crossed a line that matters for the AI era: Solar beat coal.
Solar generated more electricity than coal on the Texas grid for the first time. Why does this matter for AI? Because AI turns electricity into strategy.
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The Consulting Reset: Accenture acquires Faculty
Accenture's $1bn acquisition of UK AI unicorn Faculty signals a rewiring of the consulting pyramid.
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High AI exposure is not the same thing as high AI risk.
New data from NBER shows 71% of workers in high-AI-exposure jobs score above average on adaptability. The risk isn't the technology; it's the refusal to adapt.
Read more Orbit Planning: SpaceX initiates the largest orbital migration in history.
SpaceX's decision to lower its Starlink fleet signals the transition from the 'Wild West' of space to 'Urban Planning'.
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In a world of noise, price is the sharpest signal.
Prediction markets are surging to $13-15 billion in 2025. This feels less like gambling and more like the financialisation of truth.
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The World Economic Forum opens in Davos under the theme 'A Spirit of Dialogue.'
Davos 2026 convenes as unilateral power outpaces multilateral institutions. The software of globalism is no longer compatible with the hardware of national politics.
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Graduate recruitment looks like it is becoming an AI literacy test.
Graduate recruitment is shifting from closed-book horsepower to AI literacy and judgement.
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We may be mislabelling the Ozempic story.
GLP-1 medicines are a healthcare story. But they are also a demand story for retail and FMCG.
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Stack Overflow is becoming an archaeological layer.
Stack Overflow is becoming an archaeological layer. Public Q&A is thinning. Private synthesis is thickening.
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For three years, AI got smarter by reading more.
For three years, AI got smarter by reading more.
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What if your next engineering hire doesn't need a desk, salary or manager?
What if your next engineering hire doesn't need a desk, salary or manager?
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The gatekeepers of capital used to block out two hours for a preliminary analysis of a pitch....
The gatekeepers of capital used to block out two hours for a preliminary analysis of a pitch. Now they do it in 13 seconds.
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We tell pollsters we do not trust AI. We tell our browsers something very different.
We tell pollsters we do not trust AI. We tell our browsers something very different.
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There is an invisible war for the periodic table.
There is an invisible war for the periodic table.
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The cloud has a postcode. And right now, it looks a lot like Indiana farmland...
The cloud has a postcode. And right now, it looks a lot like Indiana farmland...
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This tweet was the Big Bang of the modern #AI era.
This tweet was the Big Bang of the modern #AI era.
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Diplomacy is linear. Technology is exponential.
Diplomacy is linear. Technology is exponential.
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Imagine if the price of oil dropped 300-fold in a single year.
Imagine if the price of oil dropped 300-fold in a single year. The global economy would turn upside down.
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A $6.2 billion seed round. For a company that hasn't launched a product.
A $6.2 billion seed round. For a company that hasn't launched a product.
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We just watched an AI turn a simulated $500 into a $5,478 business empire.
We just watched an AI turn a simulated $500 into a $5,478 business empire.
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AI spoke English. Billions didn't.
AI spoke English. Billions didn't. Now that barrier may just have fallen
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Chinese state-backed hackers used an AI to run a cyber-espionage campaign at machine speed.
Chinese state-backed hackers used an AI to run a cyber-espionage campaign at machine speed.
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What took a lab six months now takes a machine 12 hours.
What took a lab six months now takes a machine 12 hours. Not assisted research- autonomous discovery.
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When Earth-based supply chains become too vulnerable, build off-world.
When Earth-based supply chains become too vulnerable, build off-world.
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China just made its move for global AI governance.
China just made its move for global AI governance.
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America’s new growth engine runs on disaster.
America’s new growth engine runs on disaster.
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The UK is trialling a new idea: freeports for algorithms.
The UK is trialling a new idea: freeports for algorithms.
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AI is making some workers more valuable, not obsolete (for now).
AI is making some workers more valuable, not obsolete (for now).
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Robots that programme themselves. Not in a lab. In a 100,000 square-foot factory that opened...
Robots that programme themselves. Not in a lab. In a 100,000 square-foot factory that opened yesterday in California.
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The exponential age doesn't just accelerate science. It privatises how science gets done.
The exponential age doesn't just accelerate science. It privatises how science gets done.
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A handful of poisoned training documents can backdoor the world's largest AI models. Researchers...
A handful of poisoned training documents can backdoor the world's largest AI models. Researchers just proved it.
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It looks like China is about to weaponise geology.
It looks like China is about to weaponise geology.
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Harvard University just ran a quantum computer for two hours straight.
Harvard University just ran a quantum computer for two hours straight.
Read moreFigure AI's humanoid robots have been working BMW Group's production line for five months...
Figure AI's humanoid robots have been working BMW Group's production line for five months straight. Ten hours a day. Every single day of production.
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This is what $1 trillion in AI infrastructure looks like.
This is what $1 trillion in AI infrastructure looks like.
Read moreChina is switching off the lights. Not to save energy- because humans no longer work there.
China is switching off the lights. Not to save energy- because humans no longer work there.
Read more🇬🇧 Some Saturday viewing to remind us why the world's tech titans still bet on this sceptred...
🇬🇧 Some Saturday viewing to remind us why the world's tech titans still bet on this sceptred isle. 🇬🇧
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OpenAI is reportedly planning an energy expansion on the scale of a nation.
OpenAI is reportedly planning an energy expansion on the scale of a nation.
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The record for the largest cyberattack just doubled. In three weeks.
The record for the largest cyberattack just doubled. In three weeks.
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The centre cannot hold"- Yeats, 1919
The centre cannot hold"- Yeats, 1919 The centre doesn't exist" - Social media, 2025
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We built #AI to be confident. Turns out confidence and accuracy parted ways.
We built #AI to be confident. Turns out confidence and accuracy parted ways.
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The new meta: not what you know, or who you know, but which #AI knows which AI.
The new meta: not what you know, or who you know, but which #AI knows which AI.
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The robots arrive, and human drivers take a 6.9% pay cut.
The robots arrive, and human drivers take a 6.9% pay cut.
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Just back from the Balkans - a few signals that our innovation map is upside down:
Just back from the Balkans - a few signals that our innovation map is upside down:
Read moreWhen AI speaks your language, you control the conversation.
When AI speaks your language, you control the conversation. Bulgaria gets it.
Read moreCode scales without limit.
Code scales without limit. But trust doesn’t - it needs eye contact and a handshake. Business is still human to human.
Read moreThey used to leave. Now they log in.
They used to leave. Now they log in. The future of work from Europe’s youngest country.
Read moreThe old order- poured in concrete.
The old order- poured in concrete. The new one - written in code.
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The career advice industry hasn't caught up to #AI disruption. Universities often teach...
The career advice industry hasn't caught up to #AI disruption. Universities often teach yesterday's playbooks. And parents can't guide what they don't
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Would you choose a cordial but unyielding algorithm or a human handshake for your next job...
Would you choose a cordial but unyielding algorithm or a human handshake for your next job interview?
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Most AI gives you answers. The interesting work happens when you push for consequences.
Most AI gives you answers. The interesting work happens when you push for consequences.
Read moreFascinating development: leaked #AI System Instructions from major players are circulating on...
Fascinating development: leaked #AI System Instructions from major players are circulating on GitHub.
Read moreBeen testing #AI browsers this week: got early access to Perplexity's Comet and also testing Dia...
Been testing #AI browsers this week: got early access to Perplexity's Comet and also testing Dia from The Browser Company.
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The quantified life is coming for every living thing.
The quantified life is coming for every living thing.
Read more‘Serve to lead’ remains a constant as the world’s security architecture becomes more uncertain...
‘Serve to lead’ remains a constant as the world’s security architecture becomes more uncertain and defence itself evolves at a rapid pace.
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Twice as many Chinese citizens trust #AI as Americans do.
Twice as many Chinese citizens trust #AI as Americans do.
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A single video format now owns 1% of human consciousness.
A single video format now owns 1% of human consciousness.
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It's part media, part fintech, part regtech - and completely reimagining itself through technology.
It's part media, part fintech, part regtech - and completely reimagining itself through technology.
Read moreIt looks like we're on the verge of flipping software *inside out*.
It looks like we're on the verge of flipping software *inside out*.
Read moreThe Strait of Hormuz: where 20% of global oil meets geopolitical uncertainty.
The Strait of Hormuz: where 20% of global oil meets geopolitical uncertainty.
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The exponential age isn't always about silicon and code.
The exponential age isn't always about silicon and code.
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Some revolutions are televised. Others are pushed to a hidden GitHub repo.
Some revolutions are televised. Others are pushed to a hidden GitHub repo.
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AI just took control of a fighter jet in Swedish airspace. Not in a simulator. In actual flight.
AI just took control of a fighter jet in Swedish airspace. Not in a simulator. In actual flight.
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With tariffs and rare earth materials now a running news story, signals of a new economic order...
With tariffs and rare earth materials now a running news story, signals of a new economic order emerge beneath the surface.
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From the first wheel to the latest microchip, technology has always been the great disruptor.
From the first wheel to the latest microchip, technology has always been the great disruptor.
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Syria’s shifting sands just delivered a masterclass in unintended consequences.
Syria’s shifting sands just delivered a masterclass in unintended consequences.
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Most people see the strain on our planet’s resources—but have you stopped to consider just how...
Most people see the strain on our planet’s resources—but have you stopped to consider just how much hotter and more unpredictable life could become
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The push and pull of age and youth are remaking the world as we know it.
The push and pull of age and youth are remaking the world as we know it.
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☁️ We often think of the cloud as something floating above us, but in reality it is far more...
☁️ We often think of the cloud as something floating above us, but in reality it is far more grounded.
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🚀 The Baltic capital making a play to become Europe’s fintech hub
🚀 The Baltic capital making a play to become Europe’s fintech hub
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🚢 Latvia’s Freeport of Riga: a small nation with a big role in global logistics
🚢 Latvia’s Freeport of Riga: a small nation with a big role in global logistics
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🌍 “The most advanced digital society in the world.” - Wired
🌍 “The most advanced digital society in the world.” - Wired
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