Here’s some links, thoughts and recommendations collated whilst getting through Christmas leftovers. See you in 2024.
ChatGPT’s voice agent made a cameo at our family’s Christmas dinner table this year to answer some unanswered questions at the table. The voice delivery is now so smooth one family member who—after walking into the room midway—thought we were on the phone to someone real.
Writer and consultant Venkatesh Rao declares modern AI the discovery of the decade, likening it to a revolutionary camera. What I found most interesting is his definition of AI being a discovery and not an invention. Also what this discovery says about our current understanding of what’s defined as “intelligence”.
“Unlike traditional photography, which killed a whole world of tedious photorealistic painting, but like the Webb telescope, 'data photography' reveals worlds within worlds we’ve never even suspected existed, let alone been able to see, in piles of data too large for us to ever hold in our heads.” — Venkatesh Rao
A recent read, James Bridle’s “Ways of Being”, is a rather novel call-to-action for humanity to develop a more harmonious coexistence with both intelligent machines and the natural world. It’s definitely not what I expected (for better or worse) but runs an interesting thread around AI, environmental ethics, and philosophy. Similar to Rao (above) there is an interesting overlap of how we may now be looking to redefine our understanding of “intelligence”.
Paul Graham did his latest trend report entitled “AI & Everything Else”. It’s a great high level coverage of the space and the open questions we’re all facing as a result.
I’ll shut up about AI for now.
The Australian startup scene really feels like it’s grown leaps and bounds since I came back to its shores last year. Giving a big shoutout here to Cut Through Ventures and their launch of OnePitch VC.
Let’s talk about titles: Gokul Rajaram offers some advice on giving out titles, particularly during early company formation. Also a great recap of title fundamentals and what they can enable for company culture.
A colleague shared this article about cultivating effective teams which came out of an internal Google study. It’s focussed on engineering teams but I’d say we can all agree them to be universal.
“Google research found that psychological safety is the most important dynamic for an effective team. This was alongside other dynamics like dependability, role clarity, meaningful work and impact.” — Addy Osmani
L*ngu*ge W*rning
There’s been some great series coming out relating to street photography this year. Two major YouTube series, The Wrong Side of the Lens and Paulie B’s Walkie Talkie channels have shined a new light on the practice.
Wrong Side Of the Lens did a beautifully raw interview with Jill Freedman, a prominent New York based documentary and street photographer. It’s well worth a watch even just on a human level.
“I was honored to know Jill and flattered how generous she was with me and my camera. All she asked in return was a bottle single malt Irish scotch which, she said, would help me get the most out of her. She shared that bottle with me and forced her nurse to have a snifter as well. It’s apparent she’s always been equally as dynamic of a person as she was an artist and I was inspired to know her and tell her story.” — Josh Johnson
Street photography has a raw honesty to it due to the fundamental commitment of having to be physically present in the world you’re focussed on; to purposely put yourself in the right place, at the right time in order to specifically frame something that hopefully conveys a larger expression and meaning. Henri Cartier-Bresson coined this as chasing the “the decisive moment”. If you enjoyed Freedman’s, Daniel Arnold’s interview goes deeper into the murky ethics and day-to-day aspects.
Taika Waititi directed a beautiful short film for Apple as part of their launch of Personal Voice accessibility feature. Learn more here.
India surpassed China this year as being the most populous country. This deep dive with Pratap Bhanu Mehta on the Ezra Klein podcast covers the country’s latest developments and current political challenges.
Featured photo (top): In 2000, in Russia’s remote Altai Territory, Jonas Bendiksen captures two Russian villager farmers pulling copper wire from the hull of a crashed Soyuz spacecraft amongst a kaleidoscope of butterflies. Magnum interviewed him here.
Stripe Press’s republishing of Poor Charlie’s Almanack is a book I’m looking forward to reading in the new year. Its release shared an unfortunate timing with his recent passing. The book’s website offers a free online version of the book and worth a scroll through in itself.
“I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they are learning machines. They go to bed every night a little wiser than they were when they got up and boy does that help, particularly when you have a long run ahead of you.”
― Charles T. Munger