I’ve almost stopped using the term “vibe coding” because there’s a negative connotation to it It implies that you didn’t put a lot of effort or soul into the output and it’s just AI slop But oftentimes people ARE putting their heart and soul into the work even when using AI coding tools. The 2 are not contradictory We need a better word for describing this

I find myself using Claude less these days because the way it speaks has just become insufferable Like it’s constantly trying to showcase how smart/sophisticated it is, rather than actually communicating a point across

Anyone else notices this problem with Astra? Astra: I have done X Me: This is wrong, you should do Y instead Astra: You're right. I should do Y Me: ... Why doesn't it just go and do Y, like the other models??

I think the idea of a "one-person company" is overrated Yes, a person can do a lot more thanks to AI. But building something new can be a profoundly lonely experience. You need someone to brainstorm together, suffer together, celebrate together... It is extremely easy to lose motivation when you don't tie yourself to the mast together with somebody else

I can’t stress enough how little an idea matters compared to the agency of the people executing the idea. I have had the privilege of knowing and sometimes even working with some of the most successful people (by various metrics). The difference between mediocre and excellent work and outcomes is predominantly one of agency. In practice this means: they dont wait for things to happen to them they go out and make things happen for them. They don’t wait for someone else to do something, for someone to teach them, for someone to give them the path, etc. They just go out and find a way to do it. I think the single biggest superpower these people have is the realization/belief that the world around them is completely mutable. Most everything that happens is because a person made it happen. I used to tell people to look around the room you’re sitting in. Look at everything. Every noun. It almost all exists because a person willed it into existence. Nothing is stopping you from doing the same. I see people online all the time dismissing someone else’s success because “I had that idea first” or whatever. I mean… yeah? If so then the difference is… you. So a bit of a self own whenever I hear that. Number one tip: act with agency.

10 years ago I first came to Silicon Valley to be a reporting intern at The Information covering China tech. How the world has changed since then Even though the decoupling has completely upended my plans, the need for both sides to understand each other has never been greater

Like it or not, robotics is becoming the next major front in US-China competition, and the two ecosystems are already deeply intertwined. For years, US robotics companies could make a reasonable tradeoff: build the intelligence in-house, source much of the hardware, and deal with the supply chain later. That is getting harder. The FCC’s recent decision turned the origin of advanced robotic hardware into a market-access issue in the US. Localize everything in a humanoid except the joints, and you still only get to ~40% US content. The current threshold is 65%, rising to 75% in 2029. A few of us at @TheEtnaLabs spent two weeks on the ground across Beijing, Shenzhen, Suzhou, and Shanghai to understand how China’s robotics supply chain actually works—and what it would take for US teams to close the gap. Here's what we saw. Full report linked at the end.