The risk of outsourcing judgment to AI

A couple of weeks ago, I observed that in the age of AI, the price of research goes down — but the value of conviction goes up.

This week, I expanded on that idea in a new Long Game essay for Big Think. In the piece, I argue that automation — when used improperly — can erode resilience by making us more dependent on machines. Of course, AI will optimize efficiency. But it can’t replace taste, intuition, or independent thinking—qualities that define lasting institutions and great decisions.

At a high level, our fundamental challenge isn’t just how to use AI — but knowing what not to outsource.

Key quote: “Taste is an underrated concept in a world obsessed with efficiency. It’s the ability to recognize something valuable before the numbers prove it. The ability to see beyond spreadsheets and sentiment analysis and understand how an idea actually fits into the world. If everyone has access to the same AI-generated insights, the only thing that remains scarce is independent thinking. And that is precisely where the edge lies.”

The psychological rewards of true independence

I thoroughly enjoyed Morgan Housel’s latest post, which challenges the idea that independence is just about money — it’s also about intellectual, moral, and cultural autonomy.

After opening with a touching story about his son overcoming shyness, Morgan explores the idea that self-reliance breeds confidence and fulfillment. He also argues that true independence frees us from chasing validation and following paths that aren’t our own.

In the end, financial freedom alone isn’t enough; the highest form of success is designing life on your own terms. It’s a compelling case for prioritizing autonomy in every aspect of life.

Key quote: “When you independently choose who you want to include in your small circle of life, the actions you take, the work you pursue, and even the values you hold can completely flip. Rather than trying to appease everyone (foolish, impossible) you select the life you want to live and focus your attention on a smaller group of people whose love and support you deeply desire.”

Inside the current state of AI chips

Ben Thompson of Stratechery wrote a thoughtful deep-dive into the AI chip race, emphasizing Nvidia’s continued dominance as demand for its GPUs skyrockets — particularly in China despite U.S. export controls.

In the piece, Ben highlights how DeepSeek’s success pressures API pricing — and underscores the growing importance of cost-efficient infrastructure. While OpenAI leads in consumer AI, it risks falling behind in scaling due to its reliance on TSMC, which remains a critical geopolitical flashpoint. Ultimately, Thompson warns that China’s increasing self-sufficiency in AI chips, coupled with its manufacturing scale, threatens U.S. leadership.

Key quote: “The important takeaway that is relevant to this article is that Taiwan is the flashpoint in both scenarios. A pivot to Asia is about gearing up to defend Taiwan from a potential Chinese invasion or embargo; a retrenchment to the Americas is about potentially granting — or acknowledging — China as the hegemon of Asia, which would inevitably lead to Taiwan’s envelopment by China.”

A few more links I enjoyed:

How to Turn Curiosity into Creation | Chris Mayer & Anne-Laure Le Cunff – via Cultish Creative

Key quote: “‍In this episode of Just Press Record on Cultish Creative, host Matt Zeigler brings together two fascinating thinkers for an engaging conversation about curiosity, burnout, and creative processes. The episode features Chris Mayer, an investor, author of books like How Do You Know and 100 Baggers, and advocate of general semantics — a discipline focused on understanding the assumptions behind our abstractions. Joining him is Anne-Laure Le Cunff, founder of Ness Labs and author of Tiny Experiments, who shares insights from her journey from Google burnout to creating a thriving learning community.”

How would you interview an AI, to give it a job? – via Rohit Krishnan

Key quote: “‍And to do that evaluation, then the question became, how can you create something to test the capabilities of LLMs by testing them against each other? Not single-player games like wordle, but multiplayer adversarial games, like poker. That would ensure the LLMs are forced to create better strategies to compete with each other. Hence, LLM-poker. It’s fascinating! The most interesting part is that all different models seem to have their own personality in terms of how they play the game. And Claude Haiku seems to be able to beat Claude Sonnet quite handily.”

The Unpredicted – via Kevin Kelly

Key quote: “So as AI is beginning to finally hatch, it is not being as fully embraced as say the internet was. There are attempts to regulate it before it is operational, in the hopes of reducing its expected harms. This premature regulation is unlikely to work because we simply don’t know what harms AI and robots will really do, even though we can imagine quite a lot of them.”

From the archives:

Some thoughts on the real world by one who glimpsed it and fled – via Bill Watterson (1990)

Key quote: “To invent your own life’s meaning is not easy, but it’s still allowed, and I think you’ll be happier for the trouble. Reading those turgid philosophers here in these remote stone buildings may not get you a job, but if those books have forced you to ask yourself questions about what makes life truthful, purposeful, meaningful, and redeeming, you have the Swiss Army Knife of mental tools, and it’s going to come in handy all the time.”