Top articles of the week | March 2

March 2, 2019

Every week, we put together a list of our top 5 articles of the past week. Happy reading!

Understanding China’s AI Strategy Center for a New American Security

China’s growing role on the global stage is partly due to its technological progress. This report from an US perspective dives into how China sees the important of artificial intelligence technologies. While this article is definitely more political than business focused, it is riveting to see how a form of technology (AI) can have an impact on global politics.

AR will spark the next big tech platform Wired

There’s been an ongoing debate about where AR or VR will become the “next big thing”. Kevin Kelly argues that augmented reality will be the third digital revolution and will digitize the rest of the world. It’s not too hard to believe. Microsoft announced their latest version of Hololens (AR glasses) with a mind-blowing demo. The article provides a tantalizing glimpse into this world changing achievement.

The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures Harvard Business Review

Innovation is of those words that is so overused that it has lost its meaning. I was pleasantly surprised by this this piece in HBR. It succinctly and eloquently describes what it takes to build a truly innovative culture. Some of the principles strongly resonated with me as I’ve seen them in former jobs and also trying to create at our firm.

Status as a Service (StaaS) Eugene Wei

This an amazing (and incredibly long) article by Eugene Wei. He posits that social networks are really status as a service. They can be evaluated along two primary dimensions utility and social capital. He explains in depth how social networks gain traction particularly at the onset. Given the length of the article, Eugene also created a twitter thread if you’re in a hurry.

How Internet Marketplaces Unlock Economic Wealth Bill Gurley

This is a fantastic piece by Bill Gurley from Benchmark Capital. Mr. Gurley explains the economic rationale of marketplaces and ties to Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. The ability to “make money out of nowhere” and unleash underutilized assets make marketplaces huge economic drivers. He gives multiple examples in various categories and how they unlock wealth.