Finished reading: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari 📚

Picked it up in the library. Skimmed rather than read.

Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter - Future of Life Institute

Can you close the Pandora’s box? I doubt it.

Seán Moncrieff: House-hunting in Dublin is like The Hunger Games. Many have simply given up – The Irish Times

This is 100% true.

We need a JFK level of ambition to sort this out. Instead of we choose to go to the moon, surely we can choose to build 500,000 affordable homes by 2030. Whatever it takes. It can’t be any harder than going to the moon in the sixties.

Rules of the DiscoverEU contest - European Youth Portal

In spring 2023, the European Commission and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), are going to select at least 35 000 young people meeting the eligibility criteria described below.

18? Go apply.

I spice with my little eye.. #mbmar

EV rollout must be accelerated to decarbonise transport

Ireland is also an ideal country for EVs in many ways: Distances are short (the distance between Cork and Donegal at 380 km, for example, is below the range of many standard EV models);

Agree with this.

John Lanchester · Putting the Silicon in Silicon Valley: Making the Microchip · LRB 16 March 2023

This is a great read. Definitely have to get a copy of Chip Wars.

Society’s Technical Debt and Software’s Gutenberg Moment

We could see millions of jobs replaced across a swath of occupations, and see it happen faster than in any previous wave of automation.

Google is defacing the web with their “sign in with Google” pop up’s appearing everywhere.

House Plants #mbmar

Barnes & Nobel is going back to its indie roots to compete with Amazon - The Verge

Fascinating interview with James Daunt, head of Barnes and Noble in the US and Waterstones in the UK.

Librarians are the real heroes.

Portico. #mbmar.

The Iraq War - The Rest Is Politics - Acast

If you have any interest in learning more about the disastrous decision to invade Iraq, this is a must listen.

The times in my life when I have felt a “disturbance in the force” technically speaking include:

• Being introduced to Visicalc on the first Apple Mackintosh
• The first time I saw the new Netscape browser.
• The launch of the first iPhone
• And now Open AI Chat GPT-4

Finished reading: Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis 📚

Finished reading: Red Notice by Bill Browder 📚

Eye opening.

Together. #mbmar

Asking ChatGPT to suggest ideas for a two day itinerary when visiting a city is a superior experience to doing a search on Google. But will OpenAi resist the siren song of ad tech? Google must be feeling squeezed between the rapid rise of Amazon ads and OpenAI.

Suspicion Machines - Lighthouse Reports

When opaque technologies are deployed in search of political scapegoats the potential for harm among some of the poorest and most marginalised communities is significant.

This is an important piece of work.

Taking a break on a 10 day walk along the Camino Primitivo in Asturias, Spain last May. A beautiful part of the world. #mbmar.

If you have any interest in luxury brands and strategy, I recommend listening to this Acquired Podcast on the complete history and strategy of LVMH. It’s long at just over 3 and a half hours but I found it fascinating.

LVMH: The Complete History and Strategy of LVMH

2022 letter - Dan Wang

Fascinating read.

Solitude. #mbmar

Logseq + Openai plug in = mind blown.

Some forms of retail really need good weather.