Here were a few of our favorites from Stratechery Plus this week.

1. Tough Decisions. It is established consensus in Washington D.C. that the U.S. should stop China from buying cutting-edge chips from Taiwan. However, Ben makes a compelling case in AI Promise and Chip Precariousness that the best route to national security is to actually unlock Chinese potential in AI, thus making them just as dependent on Taiwan as we are. — Daman Rangoola
   
   
2. Encryption Tradeoffs. Stratechery has been covering the U.K.-Apple encryption battle here, here, and here, but I very much appreciated the discussion that Andrew and Ben had on Monday’s Sharp Tech, including a history of encryption and why true security requires difficult tradeoffs. — DR
   
   
3. Known and Unknown Unknowns. This is the second time Ben has interviewed Benedict Evans, and my favorite part of these conversations is how Evans both gives historical context to the pressing questions of today, with the humility of not knowing exactly how the future will play out. — DR

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Stratechery Articles and Updates

• An Interview with Benedict Evans About AI Unknowns — An interview with Benedict Evans about AI lessons over the last year, and the many unresolved issues that will impact industry structure going forward.
• More Chip Curbs?, Google LLM Status Check— Ending the chip ban might be a mistake; I just hope people pushing for more realize that could be wrong as well. Then, Google’s current position with LLMs, and the importance of GCP.
• AI Promise and Chip Precariousness — The AI industry is more exciting than ever, but the chip situation is very precarious and requires drastic action.
• The iPhone 16e; Apple Intelligence Table Stakes; Apple vs. U.K, Continued— The iPhone 16e is more expensive than the SE it replaces, but the situation is probably temporary as Apple resets its lineup for Apple Intelligence

Dithering with Ben Thompson and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber

• Old Men on the Porch
• iPhone 16e

Asianometry with Jon Yu

• Why Was Japan So “Good” at Semiconductors?
• Sending Signals like Neurons Do (At the Edge of Chaos)

Sharp China with Andrew Sharp and Sinocism’s Bill Bishop

• Trump’s Memorandum on Foreign Investment; ‘Reverse Nixon’ Realities; Document #1; PLA Drills in the Tasman Sea

Greatest of All Talk with Andrew Sharp and WaPo’s Ben Golliver

• Jimmy Butler and the New Look Warriors, The Knicks and a Hard Ceiling, The Saddest Joel Embiid Trade
• Cade Cunningham and the Pistons Revival, Luka’s Matchup with the Mavs, What Went Wrong in Phoenix

Sharp Tech with Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson

• Apple’s Answer to the UK, Encryption History and Privacy’s Future, Waiting for Drone Delivery in the U.S.
• AI Promises and Chip Precariousness, Policy Recommendations and a Changing World, Concerns and Counterpoints

The latest Sharp Tech video is about TSMC and AI Progress.