Stranded Technologies Podcast

Bob is the world’s greatest expert on special economic zones or "opportunity zones" as he likes to call them, having worked in setting them up in 174 countries.Max Borders said about Bob: “I would argue no living human being is responsible for helping lift more people out of poverty than Bob Haywood:”Bob is notoriously low-key about his work.This podcast episode together with Max' written 2-part series (part 1, part 2) is a rare look behind the scenes of a trend little understood or noticed in the developed world, but enormously important in the developing world to lift billions out of poverty.In this episode you'll learn that ...- Zone developers and governments need to start by defining the problem - why are we not getting the investment we want right now?- You need a young, energetic local lawyer who knows existing regulations in a country and deeply understands the "code base" to find elegant solutions- You need to build a coalition of local "second-tier" elites, i.e. not the ones that already are on top who benefit from the existing order- The keys to a successful zone are predictability, productivity and profitability (3 P's)- International multilaterals are a problem more than a solution This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitacitytimes.com

Sam Peltzman is professor emeritus at the University of Chicago.Sam is was a graduate student to Milton Friedman and a contemporary to George Stigler, the famous economist who coined the term "regulatory capture".Regulatory capture is an important concept. AI and crypto is under fire by regulators.The legendary venture capitalist Bill Gurley gave a talk at the All-In Summit 2023 that went viral. He quoted Stigler's adage that "as a rule regulation is acquired by the industry and is designed and operated primarily for its benefit."The problem is that it's not true.Stigler asked the right question, but didn't give the correct answer.Sam Peltzman has thought and written extensively about this question for 50+ years since Stigler's famous article. The truth is simpler, but more sinister.In fact, we learn in this episode that it's not industry that seeks to be regulated. Even the pharma industry did not proactively lobby for more regulations - they resisted the landmark Kefeuver-Harris amendments (1963) that shaped the modern FDA.It's regulators who seek to regulate for their benefit.Bill Gurley might be on the right track commenting on Elizabeth Warren's behaviour towards tech: "You attack 'em they have to come to you.” This is a very nuanced episode on what might be the most important but least understood problem for greater progress in technology.Sam Peltzman's legacy helps us to understand what's coming at us.Yet his message is deeply optimistic: technology is still unstoppable. It can only be temporarily slowed down, not eliminated. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitacitytimes.com

Sebastian Brunemeier and Robin Hanson discuss the disappointing outcomes of the healthcare market and the hidden motives behind it. They explore the misallocation of capital in the pharma-industrial complex and regulatory monopoly. The podcast also highlights the potential of special jurisdictions and medical tourism. They propose implementing groundbreaking ideas such as life insurance coupled with healthcare. The chapters cover topics like the limitations of medicine, misaligned incentives in healthcare, trust in doctors, starting a new insurance company, putting control in the hands of the patient, and advancements in society, healthcare, and longevity biotech.

Olivier is an entrepreneur, investor, and independent author. He wrote “The Way of the Intelligent Rebel” and blogs at Disruptive Horizons.The blog is about the disruption of the nation states by the internet and globalization and how to transform from a mono country to a netizen without borders.Olivier's journey started with Tim Ferriss' book "The 4-Hour Work Week", as a way to unbundle his life through entrepreneurship and digital nomadism.As a digital nomad, Olivier recommends the "Six Flag Theory" to become a mobile and sovereign individual protected from the overreach of extractive states.Olivier is also a history buff and started a 2-part series with ten principles from history about the disruption of large institutions by new technology. We also talk about AML-KYC financial regulations: they started with a noble goal, but have become an inefficient bureaucratic nightmare. It is estimated that the global compliance cost is $304bn per year but only managed to seize $3bn criminal funds.This episode is full of practical insights into how to start unbundling your life and join the movement towards the decentralization of governance. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitacitytimes.com

David Friedman is an economist, physicist, legal scholar, and author.His father is the legendary economist Milton Friedman, and his son is the founder of the Seasteading Institute and Pronomos Capital, Patri Friedman (appeared on episode 32).His most popular book is The Machinery of Freedom, and he’s written books on microeconomics and the economics of law, such as Law's Order, Hidden Order, and Legal Systems Very Different from Ours.In this interview, we talk about the legacy of the Friedman family: a commitment to the search for truth, and a little trick to express uncomfortable things with numbers.We talk about economic rationality, efficient law and the problem of public goods or why so-called "market failures" aren't an argument for government intervention.These are important terms to understand what the "competitive governance" space is about: civilizations all throughout history have come up with different ways to solve coordination problems. Legal systems are much more different than you'd think. We can learn a lot from Islamic law, Romany law or Saga period Icelandic law.These differing legal norms and mechanisms have an impact on the economic development of a civilization. They explain why some societies flourish or stagnate.Yet there has been little innovation in probably the most important industry in the world. Governments and nation-states are monopoly providers of their products. It is very costly and hard to switch your provider, which is why they are slow to change.David Friedman's work provides frameworks for thinking about how to change it, and to develop better ways to live together, to prosper, and to advance human progress. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitacitytimes.com

Jackson Steger, host of the Campfire by Cabin podcast, discusses different models of co-living and the use of technology to enable highly aligned groups to find each other. He also explores the connection between co-living and the concept of the network state, and dives into exciting new co-living and living space concepts. The podcast also explores the history and evolution of passports, and discusses the future of living, new forms of governance, and innovative city design.

This is a double-feature episode about the past, present and future of living.In the first episode, Thibault Serlet gives a historical view of migration patterns and labor mobility. In the second episode, Jackson Stegers gives an overview of modern-day co-living business models and practical learnings - we use both to think about a future where people have more choices, a more mobile and unbundled territory.Thibault Serlet is the Director of Research at the Adrianopole Group, a special economic zone intelligence firm. In this episode, Thibault starts with a surprising insight: many people probably traveled more in the past than now. That is, if you compare traveling as a share of time and not miles traveled (this is higher today with airplanes). Traveling for work and leisure was common for commercial, religious, and military reasons. Borders were much more open because it was much harder to enforce them, and it was in some ways easier to move to another place for opportunity.After World War I, nation-states have become more powerful. They increasingly kept stricter border controls and required passports for passage. Passports have a long history, but the way we know them now is mostly a result of the past 100 years.While Thibault can foresee a dystopian future where governments use technology to enforce even stricter within-country border controls, he reminds us of the struggle of many people against massive oppression such as the Sephardic Jews.There is always hope. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitacitytimes.com

Dwarkesh Patel & Niklas debate the existential risk of AI and its technical possibilities. They discuss the influence of political authority and the challenges of regulating AI. They also explore the hardware component and human-level models in AI. The podcast covers the risks and benefits of AI, the spread of nuclear weapons, and plans for podcast growth.

Adam is one of the most experienced technology policy analysts in the world - he was writing about the internet on day 1 in the 1990s. Now, Adam is an innovation policy analyst at the R Street Institute, and the author of several books, including Permissionless Innovation (2016) & Evasive Entrepreneurs (2020).Isn't it striking - almost all popular sci-fi movies about technology are dystopian? Not only does that warp the public perception of technology as something dangerous, but it also influences policy. Supposedly serious policymakers make arguments for increased regulation like "we don't want the Terminator, don't we?" all the time.Adam takes us through the quagmire of Washington D.C. policy through the lens of one message: permissionless innovation is key to unlock a better future.He introduces the term "evasive entrepreneurs" through case studies of Uber, Lyft and biohackers that used 3D printing for making prosthetics. These cases of "technology liberation have a few things in common: a) they operate at the borderline of legality, and b) they succeed by making consumers advocates for them.Evasive entrepreneurship describes the premise of this podcast and of Infinita VC. Special jurisdictions like Prospera in Honduras, the Catawba DEZ in North Carolina or other free zones in Africa or Latin America can be regulatory sandboxes.However, evasive entrepreneurs have moral obligations. It is also a tactic used by bad actors, such as Sam Bankman-Fried, who used an offshore jurisdiction (Bahamas) as a launchpad for a move to do regulatory capture in the United States.We concede that evasive entrepreneurship can be done for good and bad.Recently, Adam has been writing about the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. He brings bad news: Washington D.C. policymakers want to use it as an excuse to control the internet. Adam has been in the business for three decades and he's never seen more extreme proposals in a short amount of time.This should be alarming to entrepreneurs. Technology is a force for good in the world, and we need permissionless environments to thrive. The good news is that we don't need to advocate for policy in Washington, we can criticize by creating.Adam's book on Evasive Entrepreneurship contains several chapters to navigate ethical questions, and it's available for free (here). Let's build!Adam blogs at techliberation.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitacitytimes.com

Dr. Simon Whitney is a family physician and ethicist. He taught at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas for twenty-two years. He is retired from medical practice but continues to publish and teach about medical ethics.He wrote the book From Oversight to Overkill: Inside the Broken System That Blocks Medical Breakthroughs—And How We Can Fix It (Rivertowns Books, 2023).What Simon is talking about is not the behemoth U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), one of the largest public agencies in the world.The subject of his book is the Institutional Review Board (IRB) system, an institution responsible for preventing abuse of research subjects. It is run by the Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP), a small office within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).It is an obscure and little-known bureaucracy.Simon uncovers how a fear-driven bureaucracy frustrates scientists by delaying research from anything between months to years and sometimes preventing important research with no harm to patients, but failing to benefit untold millions.The medical history behind IRBs is fascinating and parallels many other stranded technologies stories.It starts with a flexible system and lots of innovation. Medical self-experimentation was more common. It can be gut-wrenching, but it led to heroic feats of progress.It was public health disasters that led to its demise.Most of all the Tuskegee Syphilis Study became a widely know scandal where the United States Public Health Service (PHS) withheld life-saving treatment from 400 poor African Americans with syphilis to study its effect over 40 years.A gross incidence of ethical misconduct.Yet what followed was an overcorrection. The National Research Act of 1974 led to federal oversight of IRBs, leading to frivolous lawsuits and a bureaucracy stifled in fear of not doing the wrong thing, even at the cost of doing the right thing.The incentives are again stacked against progress.The anatomy of the IRB system going awry is instructive.It teaches us again the need for regulatory innovation and for bold action to correct the excesses of bureaucratic overreach - ideas for inside reform seem feasible, and external inspiration by special jurisdictions can help accelerate this movement. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitacitytimes.com