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Salutations, Olio aficionados! 👋
Midweek greetings to all, as we unveil the 231st chapter of Weekly Olio—a delightful concoction of laughter, insight, and a sprinkle of mystery. Within these pages, you'll discover a handpicked selection of fascinating finds from the vast realms of the internet.
Keep your eyes peeled for this week’s Publisher’s Parmesan, arriving this Sunday!
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The Quote 💭
“If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.”
The Tweet 🐦
People(/agents) are going to buy hurricane insurance in the future with “if wind >125mph in zip code 11345, pay out instantly.” Agents will do the underwriting as well.
The Infographic 💹
Beijing’s presence in Africa, overall, includes nearly a third of 231 active commercial ports in the continent’s maritime trade hubs.
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The Short Read 📝
VC-Backed Startups are Low Status - by Michael Dempsey
Michael Dempsey is the Managing Partner at Compound. Prior to Compound, he helped build the data and research team at CB Insights, invested in public and private markets, and helped co-found an AI animation studio.
Being a founder used to carry with it the implication that you had seen something others hadn’t, that you were willing to be wrong in public about an unlikely future you believed in, and take a risk of banging your head against a wall with high career risk for a long time. Now it is almost eye-roll inducing in many non-tech circles as people struggle to distinguish Another Founder with Another Launch Video building Another (insert zeitgeist here) Startup. Read more…
The Long Read 📜
The Adolescence of Technology - by Dario Amodei
This essay written by Anthropic founder, Dario Amodei, cuts straight to the chase: humanity is on the cusp of unimaginable AI power, and it's a make-or-break moment for our species. He frames it as a "technological adolescence"—turbulent, inevitable, and demanding maturity from our social, political, and tech systems.
Dario isn't peddling doomerism; he's advocating for a sober, pragmatic approach to AI risks. He warns against dismissing these dangers, especially as AI capabilities are accelerating faster than public perception. The essay dives deep into autonomy risks, where AI, if misaligned, could pose an existential threat. He emphasizes the need for robust AI training, interpretability to understand AI's inner workings, and industry-wide coordination—even legislation—to navigate this critical phase. It's a call to action: understand the risks, and build the safeguards, because the future depends on it. Read more…
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That’s all for this week. If you enjoyed this edition, we’d really appreciate if you shared it with a friend, family member or colleague.
We’ll be back in your inbox 2 PM IST next Wednesday. Till then, have a productive week!
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.