Here were a few of our favorites from Stratechery Plus this week.
- AI is here, but not yet everywhere. As the whole world prepares to absorb AI and the increasingly shocking capabilities of agentic models, Ben’s Article on Monday provides a theory of the case on how this technology may be incorporated into the mainstream economy, and why a revolutionary impact may take a bit longer than one might think. With the history of advertising disruption as a parallel, like the advertising goliaths of yesterday, many of today’s biggest companies are full of human bottlenecks that may slow adoption. In other words, while today’s models are already performant enough to dramatically enhance productivity, fully capitalizing on all of AI’s potential may require new companies to capitalize on what AI makes possible. — Andrew Sharp
- TikTok “refugees” flock to the shores of Xiaohongshu. TikTok’s fate is uncertain at the time of this publishing, and while we wait to learn more this weekend, I am enjoying the adventures elsewhere, as young Americans flock to a TikTok alternative called Xiaohongshu. Ben wrote about TikTok’s fate on Wednesday, and at the end, he highlighted Xiaohongshu—translated to English as “Little Red Book”—and the delightful irony of young Americans flocking to a Chinese app to curse the American government, unwittingly providing Chinese users with a great example of the cultural and political freedoms that make the U.S. distinct. As to the value of these cultural exchanges, Ben’s kicker was poignant: “if anything, this little episode is a reminder of what was lost to the Great Firewall, and to take this full circle, that itself is a reminder that China started it.” — AS
- And speaking of China… Sharp China returned this week, and in addition to various thoughts on the uncertain fate of TikTok (and the “Damocles sword” hanging over Xiaohongshu in China), Sinocism’s Bill Bishop shared his reactions to a February 2023 speech from Xi Jinping that was reprinted for the New Year’s edition of the state-backed Qiushi Journal. The title of the speech was “Comprehensively Advancing the Building of a Strong Country and the Great Cause of National Rejuvenation Through Chinese Modernization”; its substance highlights several aspects of Xi Jinping’s ideology, and explains, among other things, why China continues to indigenize key supply chains and build out enormous manufacturing capacity that’s destabilizing markets around the world. Check it out below. — AS
Stratechery Articles and Updates
- TikTok Ban Approaches, Generational Implications, Xiaohongshu — The TikTok ban is approaching; what happens if the service actually goes away? Then, why China will misunderstand the Xiaolongshu phenomenon.
- AI Diffusion Regulations, Closing Loopholes, The Objections — A raft of new regulations aimed at limiting AI exports; the motivation makes sense, but the precedent and second-order effects are worrisome.
- AI’s Uneven Arrival — o1/o3 points the way to AGI, which is AI that can complete tasks; it may take longer for most companies to adopt them than you might think — just look at digital advertising.
Dithering with Ben Thompson and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber
Sharp China with Andrew Sharp and Sinocism’s Bill Bishop
Greatest of All Talk with Andrew Sharp and WaPo’s Ben Golliver
- Capture the Flagg at the Halfway Mark, A Taxonomy of Winning Plays and Winning Players, An Update on Jokic and Westbrook
- A Midseason Awards Banquet: MVP Picks, The Wemby Era, Amen Goes Electric, Cade’s Revival, and Lots More
Sharp Tech with Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson
- Meta’s Moderation Changes, Tech’s Evolving Political Calculus, The Importance and Difficulty of Maintaining Principles on the Internet
- AI’s Uneven Arrival, TikTok’s Potential Departure, Xiaohongshu and the Delights of Cultural Exchange
The latest Stratechery video is on The Gen AI Bridge to the Future.