P.S. You Should Know... | Issue #443

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my story 🚀

Nothing quite like talking into a fan to entertain the youth

fun facts 🙌

Your phone already has social credit. “The only difference between your phone and China’s social credit system is that China tells you what they’re doing. We pretend our algorithmic reputation scores are just “user experience features.” At least Beijing admits they’re gamifying human behavior.” ~ learn more

Fishing tournament uses lie detector test. “B.A.S.S. officials announced the disqualification of Elite Series angler KJ Queen from the 2025 Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River event, following two failed credibility assessments administered via polygraph. In addition to the disqualification, Queen has been fined, in accordance with Elite Series rules.” ~ learn more

oh, austin 🤠

Austin City Council bingo drama. “While constituents are expressing comments and concerns in front of their elected officials, a former staff member for an Austin City Council member said some council staff are playing constituent ‘bingo’ behind the scenes.” This comes at an interesting time, as Kim has tuned in to a series of public hearings related to Austin school district’s upcoming reshuffling. Overhearing a bit of these calls, they struck me as an every-few-years ritual where the deciders have already made up their minds and now must sit there and let the public hurl words at them. A background bingo game would have been a fitting addition! ~ learn more

tech, startups, internet ⚡

Why do AI proof-of-concepts keep failing in corporations? “The researchers found that “AI and radiologist predictions are somewhat correlated, but radiologists don’t take this correlation into account.” This concept of correlated uncertainty represents a fundamental blind spot in how humans interact with AI systems. When both human judgment and AI predictions share similar biases or uncertainties, users fail to recognize this overlap, leading to compounded errors rather than improved decision-making.” ~ learn more

Reality is ruining the humanoid robot hype. Over the past several months I’ve entertained some skeptical thoughts on this market, especially with regards to battery life (mentioned in this IEEE Spectrum feature post). There may have to be a “winter” before it’s ready for prime time. On the flip side, I recently talked with one humanoid robot investor who believes the macro tailwinds will drive investments until the tech ready for a scale-up. In any case, I hope a giant bipedal robot never falls on top of me. ~ learn more

The humanoid thesis. Here’s a bull case for humanoids of the future. “Enter general-purpose humanoids. Humanoids won’t just fill labor gaps, they’ll do it cheaper, faster, and at scale. At a $50,000 unit price, a humanoid robot is already cheaper per hour than human workers in most parts of the world—including China, Mexico, and even India at $2/hour.” ~ learn more

better doing 🎯

Always invite Anna. “Every Friday night we’d make plans to go out together and party. But Anna would always refuse to come. She’d say something along the lines of “I have to study” or “I just don’t feel like it tonight.” Eventually, we stopped inviting Anna out. Everyone except Alexei.” ~ learn more

retail therapy 💸

The Three Americas. “The first America is the speculative class, and its engine is artificial intelligence. … The second America is the real economy. With 75% of new jobs in healthcare and social assistance, our workforce is being absorbed by the essential but underfunded ‘maintenance economy’ of an aging population. … The third America is the bridge between the other two, acting somewhat as a psychological gold sink for those who are priced out of a house and a future.” ~ learn more

under the microscope 🔬

Huntington’s disease successfully treated for first time. “An emotional research team became tearful as they described how data shows the disease was slowed by 75% in patients. … The new treatment is a type of gene therapy given during 12 to 18 hours of delicate brain surgery.” ~ learn more

teaching the kids 👩‍🏫

New Mexico doesn’t want to be last anymore. This seems great! “New Mexico, long at the bottom of state rankings for child well-being and educational outcomes, is on the verge of launching a first-in-the-nation program aimed at helping reverse those trends: free child care and preschool for all resident families, regardless of income.” ~ learn more

big ideas 📚

Data centers could make or break electricity affordability. “But here’s the twist: if we plan them intelligently, the very data centers driving costs today could become one of our best defenses against rising rates. The reason is this: whether a new load triggers additional costs isn’t primarily about how much electricity it consumes, but when it draws power.” ~ learn more

Humanity will shrink, far sooner than you think. Not long ago I shared an optimistic take from Tomas Pueyo. His point of view was that technology may soon make it easier and more desirable to have more kids. This Economist article doesn’t offer any potential for hope. “All over the world, in poor and middle-income countries as well as rich ones, fertility is in much sharper decline than most projections had expected.” ~ learn more

thanks for reading!