This week, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg explore the impact of technological advancements on markets and businesses, covering topics like global trade tariffs, political populism, AI's evolving role, open-source vs. proprietary models, stock market trends, and Meta’s investments in the metaverse and AR.

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Highlights from the Episode:

• Trump's tariff approach (particularly the proposed 25% on Canadian goods) makes sense as a negotiating bluff but is problematic as long-term strategy.
• Unlike the US dollar system, China's currency has limited international circulation, affecting their global economic influence.
• The market reaction to DeepSeek's developments affected both direct AI companies and adjacent sectors.
• Meta's transition to being more capital-intensive (through AI investments) may actually strengthen their competitive position.
• Companies like Meta have incentives to commoditize some AI capabilities while maintaining proprietary advantages in others.

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LINKS:

Byrne’s writing: https://thediff.co

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https://twitter.com/ByrneHobart (Byrne)

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