markets exist as this way for us to effectively create some form of impersonal trust-based mechanisms so that you can trade goods with each other. It incentivizes the front end where you have to have people figuring out what the purpose needs to be. And it could be things like the Watts engine, where like, I created something super cool and I think I can build a business around it. So there is a way in which we can use natural kind of language or concepts to try and understand why it spreads in some places but dies out in others.
Rohit is a VC and essayist who writes fascinating, thought-provoking essays on complexity, progress, innovation and technology over at Strange Loop Canon. He joins the show for a second time to discuss the lessons learned from the FTX meltdown, why there isn’t a philosophy of business, creating an AI picture book, and a whole lot more. Important Links:
Show Notes:
- What can VCs learn from FTX?
- FTX, hubris and good manners
- “Don’t let anyone push you into a decision that you don’t want to make”
- Signing up to the right narratives
- Why you can’t beat the market
- Why isn’t there a philosophy of business?
- Markets, desire and innovation
- How AI allows us to talk to machines in our language
- The complexities of the AI sentience debate
- How AI unlocks new outlets for creativity
- The need for positive stories
- The three components of innovation
- “Curiosity is a shit starter”
- Finding new ways to create community
- Openness and experimentation
- MUCH more!
Books Mentioned:
- What Works on Wall Street: A Guide to the Best-Performing Investment Strategies of All Time; by Jim O’Shaughnessy
- The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom
- Unflattening; by Nick Sousanis
- Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the 20th Century; by Brad DeLong
- American Gods; by Neil Gaiman
- Lessons: A Novel; by Ian McEwan