Peeking Behind the AI Curtain

This week, we're looking past the hype and focusing on the much more predictable (and less glamorous) reality.

Sep 19, 2025

Dear Friend,

Another week, another reminder that, as F. Scott Fitzgerald, remarked: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” Fitzgerald couldn’t have known it – but his quote ought to be the mantra of the AI world. AI is great. AI is a bubble. Both true. Keep functioning. ;)

And now, this…

Headlines from the Future

IBM Technology Atlas: Do you want to know where one of the original tech giants thinks the future will go? Check out this nifty technology atlas by the company that brought you the PC.

↗ IBM Technology Atlas

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A Hacker’s View on AI Coding: Famed hacker George Hotz’s, aka “geohot”, scathing treatise on AI coding agents: “I can’t believe anyone bought those vibe coding crap things for billions. Many people in self driving accused me of just being upset that I didn’t get the billions, and I’m sure it’s the same thoughts this time. Is your way of thinking so f****** broken that you can’t believe anyone cares more about the actual truth than make believe dollars?”

(*) geohot’s claim to fame include hacking the iPhone, the Playstation 3, and creating comma.ai, a self-driving car company.

↗ AI Coding

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No, you can’t replace 350 developers with just three people: Mo Gawdat, formerly Google [X]’s chief business officer and now founder of Emma.love, an “AI love coach” (yep, for real!) joins the chorus of people proclaiming that AI will come for your job – point in case:

He and two other software experts built the app with the help of AI, a project that would have required “350 developers in the past,” he said.

With all due respect, I have a very hard time taking someone seriously who claims, well, this… Meanwhile, and just to be clear, AI does have some impact on the world of work – coming for the ones who are building it:

AI might be coming for our jobs, but capitalist pressures appear to be coming for the people responsible for developing AI. Wired reported over 200 people working on Google’s AI products, including its chatbot Gemini and the AI Overviews it displays in search results, were recently laid off—joining the ranks of unfortunate former employees of xAI and Meta, who have also been victims of “restructuring” as companies that poured billions of dollars into AI development are trying to figure out how to make that money back.

And talking about which – Fiverr, the freelance marketplace which replaced your fairly-paid graphic designer with a freelancer working out of his basement in Hyderabad, is letting go of a good chunk of their workforce to replace them with AI. Ouch.

↗ Ex-Google exec: The idea that AI will create new jobs is ’100% crap’—even CEOs are at risk of displacement

↗ Some People Are Definitely Losing Their Jobs Because of AI (the Ones Building it)

↗ Fiverr cuts 30% of staff in pivot to being ‘an AI-first company’

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AI will not make you rich: radical community member Manos shared this well-written piece about the disruptive potential of AI (or the lack thereof when it comes to generating riches). Through a comparison to the mighty shipping container, the author outlines a differentiated narrative to the usual AI hype.

“But the big news is that most of the new value created by AI will be captured by consumers, who should see a wider variety of knowledge-intensive goods at reasonable prices, and wider and more affordable access to services like medical care, education, and advice.”

↗ AI Will Not Make You Rich – The disruption is real. It’s also predictable.

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Time to talk with grandmom and granddad about AI: It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the very same LLM that happily generates a hundred versions of your marketing slogan also generates well-designed (and highly effective) phishing emails. A new Reuters investigation found that a staggering 11% of all recipients (senior citizens in this case) clicked on a link in the AI-generated scam emails.

↗ “We set out to craft the perfect phishing scam. Major AI chatbots were happy to help.”

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Remember COVID’s toilet paper hoarding craze? Yes, it was irrational. But also behavior that (with different goods perceived as scarce in times of disaster) keeps repeating itself. A Danish supermarket chain is setting up “emergency stores” that can remain open for up to three days without power or telecom and store an expanded stock of non-perishable food and essentials. The idea is that no one should be more than 50 km from such a store, and it should prevent hoarding and panic buying, as people will know basic food will be available in an emergency. Very civilized – and an interesting signal toward a more resilient world.

↗ Se kortet: Her kan du ‘krise-handle’

What We Are Reading

🛰️ Solar Panels in Space ‘Could Provide 80% of Europe’s Renewable Energy by 2050 Europe could get 80% of its power from space-based solar panels by 2050, showing that the sci-fi future is finally within reach. @Jane

📉 Big Business and Capitalism Are Becoming Less and Less Popular With Americans The poll found that only 37% of Americans have a positive view of big businesses, and capitalism’s favorability has dropped to 54%; yet support for small businesses (95%) and free enterprise (81%) remains overwhelmingly strong. @Mafe

⏳ How Social Media Shortens Your Life Understanding the psychology of social media can also help you maximize the value of your most precious resource: time. @Jeffrey

🏡 Scientists Confirm What Employees Already Know: Working From Home Really Does Make You Happier The headline is Captain Obvious, but the details—like 30 extra minutes of sleep per night and healthier daily routines—make the study worth a read. @Kacee

🎩 When Your Father Is a Magician, What Do You Believe? A lovely read about what the line between science and illusion can teach you. @Pascal