May I Have This Dance
w.272 | AI Charts, Asia's US bet, Abundance, and Homebuying
Dear Friends,
Another week down. Time marches on as AI progress bounds ahead. This week, as many weeks of late, includes a series of breakthroughs, setbacks, doors closing, and new possibilities.
As long as the long-term trend line is up and to the right, we are all good.
Today's Contents:
Sensible Investing: Trends
Song of the Week: May I Have This Dance
Sensible Investing: Trends
Trends - AI from Mary Meeker and Bond Capital. Everyone is saying this is a *must-read,* so it must be. With 300+ slides, it is on my to-do list.
AI Eats the World: Report from Ben Evans. He takes many important concepts and market trends and explains them in a remarkably simple way.
Asia’s $7.5 Trillion Bet on US Assets Is Suddenly Unraveling (link to PDF from Bloomberg). Trump’s policies are turning US markets from a haven into a source of volatility and pain.
Riches to Rags and Back Again: The Impact of China's Revolutions study in NBER. One of the most extreme attempts in history to eliminate advantages of the elite and eradicate economic and educational inequality succeeded only in the short term.
Fun Memes and Graphs
Indeed:
Trend worth tracking, especially as demographics may result in more seniors putting their homes on the market in years to come while mortgage rates remain high:
Song of the Week: May I Have This Dance
Here on YouTube.
This is a lovely song by Francis, whose music is characterized by a heavy use of electronically produced beats. During live performances, his vocals are backed by pre-produced tracks with the assistance of a DJ, while Francis uses a synthesizer at times. ‘And the Lights’ refers to his self-production.
Chance raps about his daughter Kensli, ending his verse with: “I love you more than your mother / More than you love yourself.”
As described in a review:
It’s easy for the listener to get lost in the song. With the use of “you,” it’s easy for a listener to feel as though Starlite and Chance are singing/rapping directly to them. This “you” also makes it easier for listeners to relate to the song, as any one person can be assigned to the “you” to whom Starlite is singing.
Though simple, the song is honest, and creates a sense of intimacy that so few artists are capable of creating when writing and performing.
“May I Have This Dance” Francis and the Lights - feat. Chance the Rapper
We are bound to inherit
The sins of our parents
And all the people we pass through
Now we're down to the last two
May I have this dance to make it up to you?
Can I say something crazy?
I love youSelfie of the Week
A week or so ago, I attended the inaugural policy summit and gala for The Abundance Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an environment that enables emerging technologies to grow, develop, and thrive.
The event featured entrepreneurs, policymakers, and thinkers who are active in building a coalition for permission-less progress across AI, energy, infrastructure, and digital governance.
To summarize the conference, Rep. Jay Obernolte, who has an engineering degree from Cal Tech and was a video game developer, said, “The number one risk to emerging technology is the government.”
I have a strong interest in supporting frontier technology and building robust infrastructure to power America's future. Enabling public policy is essential to create an investment environment that enables large-scale building. It’s exciting to see these pieces come together.
One note is that Abundance has become a trendy word recently. There is the Abundance Network, focused on delivering results through government (sound familiar?). Its core values include supply-side liberalism and state capacity. This is a left-coded organization primarily based in California. Jen Pahlka, a senior advisor to Abundance Network, was a speaker at the Abundance Summit, despite no affiliation between the two organizations.
Then there is Abundance, the book recently published by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Their thesis is that progress requires facing up to the institutions in life that are not functioning as they should. It means, for liberals, recognizing when the government is failing. It means, for conservatives, recognizing when the government is needed. The book explores how we can move from a liberalism that not only protects and preserves but also builds.
Admittedly, I have not read the book yet. However, I agree with Marc (below) that the merging of these agendas and the energy behind them is an exciting and powerful force - and makes me more optimistic about the future.
You can subscribe to the Abundance Institute newsletter here.
Thanks for reading, friends. Please always be in touch.
As always,
Katelyn