Tippets #183
Hollywood, China, ChatGPT + Education, and more. Enjoy!
A warm welcome to new readers getting this for the first time. Thank you for letting me be a small part of your week. As a reminder, Tippets are tidbits and snippets (aka. tippets!) from my reading around the web.
Tippets from Around the Web:
Hollywood on Strike
The inimitable Ben Thompson on the writers/actors Hollywood strike.
The broader issue is that the video industry finally seems to be facing what happened to the print and music industry before them: the Internet comes bearing gifts like infinite capacity and free distribution, but those gifts are a poisoned chalice for industries predicated on scarcity….
For the video industry the first step to survival must be to retreat to what they are good at — producing content that isn’t available anywhere else — and getting away from what they are not, i.e. running undifferentiated streaming services with massive direct costs and even larger opportunity ones. Talent, meanwhile, has to realize that they and the studios are not divided by this new paradigm, but jointly threatened: the Internet is bad news for content producers with outsized costs, and long-term sustainability will be that much harder to achieve if the focus is on increasing them.
(12-minutes - Stratechery)
China notes, July '23: on technological momentum
Dan Wang, technology analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics, is one of the pre-eminent experts on China. In his latest piece, he digs in on the impact of the Chinese leadership on technology development, the ongoing clash between the US and China, and whether technological momentum can sustain. A must-read.
China’s tech sector is being weighed down by slower economic growth and blows from both the US and Chinese governments. But these are not the whole story, for technology can be carried by a momentum of its own. I see China’s tech development to be, as usual, a mixed bag: some parts going poorly, other parts quite splendidly.
(12-minute read - Dan Wang)
Michael Moritz moves on, book-ending a long chapter at Sequoia Capital
If it was possible to look up the definition of Successful Venture Capitalist in the dictionary, Michael Moritz would most certainly be one of the names and pictures listed. With investments that included Google, PayPal, and Yahoo, he helped build Sequoia Capital into, arguably, the world’s best venture firm. And while he stepped back from day-to-day duties a decade ago, as of this week he is no longer involved with the fund. A big hat tip to a legend.
(6-minute read - Techcrunch)
ChatGPT goes to Harvard
A. A. A. A-. B. B-. C. Pass. Grades on essays written exclusively by ChatGPT-4 in various Harvard University humanities courses. AI is already a major part of education going forward. Some are embracing it, including Harvard. Others are not. This essay by
in to some of the implications of AI in the classroom, and what can be done.(8-minute read - Slow Boring)
What a Commerical
Innovation Over Time
Innovation sometimes feels like it happens overnight. One day a new, innovative product doesn’t exist. The next day, it does. I’m here to tell you that nothing innovative happens overnight. As amazing depicted in the below video, innovation is a slow and steady process of trial and error.
Quote I'm thinking about: “Get a move on—if you have it in you—and don’t worry whether anyone will give you credit for it.” - Marcus Aurelius
If you enjoyed this issue, please share it with a friend! And if you’re not already subscribed, click below!
Please share what you’re reading! If you have insight on anything mentioned above or have any interesting links/papers/books that you think would be worth sharing in future issues of Tippets, please reach out! Click here, reply to this email, or DM me on Twitter at @taps.
How did you like this week’s Tippets? Your feedback helps me make every issue better.