Sam | AI, Money & Power

I work in financial market regulation. I break down what AI changes in finance, geopolitics and tech. The US-China race feels like the nuclear arms race.

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

I described an app idea to Grok Bot, an AI agent, and it built a working website for kids without me writing a single line of code.

Most of us learned how money works the hard way, as adults. So the app is Penny Wise, a free website that teaches kids aged 10 to 13 the basics in five short lessons: needs vs wants, saving, budgeting, compound interest and spotting scams.

The AI did the building, and I made the decisions. No ads and no tracking.

What money lesson do you wish someone had taught you at 12?

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@RRyanMalk @grok Yeah Grok Bot can do all of these things 😎

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@AIGovernor01 True, but you can still choose to walk instead of driving. With AI, others make that choice for you.

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

You can refuse to use AI. But your bank, your employer and your doctor will use it for you.

Could you live without AI?

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

He switched off. The city didn't.

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@emollick Congratulations! In financial regulation, the hardest part of co-existing with AI is deciding who is responsible when it gets something wrong. Does the book take a position on that?

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@KobeissiLetter A 20% drop on one quarter is a lot. Is the market now pricing AI agents as a threat to software sold per user?

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@realDonaldTrump 👀

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@Olking07 @grok Imo Millennials might be the lucky ones. We grew up offline and became adults online, so we know both worlds.

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@RRyanMalk Agreed, and fast. Singularity or not, nobody knows the future, so teaching kids how to learn matters more than what to learn.

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@RRyanMalk Bond funds are diversified, so one deal alone is a small risk. The real question is how much AI debt they all hold together...🤷‍♂️

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

💵 Wall Street just lined up $63B to buy AI chips for Anthropic. Part of that debt could reach your 401(k).

Here is how, in one picture.

Should savers be told when their bond fund holds AI debt?

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@RRyanMalk Yep, that's why transparency matters.

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

How it works:

1. Banks and Blackstone lend money to a new company created for one job.
2. That company buys Broadcom AI chips and rents them to Anthropic.
3. Anthropic's rent repays the loans.
4. Banks plan to sell up to $21B of these loans as bonds, as early as 2027.
5. Bond funds buy bonds like these, and many 401(k) plans hold bond funds.

If AI demand stays strong, savers earn interest. If it weakens, part of the risk is with them.

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@Olking07 True, and part of it lands on our power bills. Should data centers pay their own way?

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@Olking07 True, the fixed supply is the big difference. Fiat relies on central banks, Bitcoin on code. Which one do people trust more in a crisis?

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

My 70-year-old uncle asked me what Bitcoin and blockchain are.

I work in financial regulation. I had to explain it simply.

So I used something he knows: a family savings circle. Each month, everyone puts in money and one person takes the total. Every member keeps a copy of the notebook of who paid. Nobody can cheat or erase a line without everyone seeing it.

That's blockchain. A shared notebook no one controls alone.

Bitcoin is the money written in that notebook. No bank can print more. There will only ever be 21 million, and the people who check the notebook get paid in new coins.

He understood in 30 seconds.

How would you explain it to your grandparents?

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

@RRyanMalk Yes! Your keys mean your coins, with only 21 million ever and rewards for keeping the notebook honest.

[Sam | AI, Money & Power @SamTalksAI]

I described an app idea to Grok Bot, an AI agent, and it built a working website for kids without me writing a single line of code.

Most of us learned how money works the hard way, as adults. So the app is Penny Wise, a free website that teaches kids aged 10 to 13 the basics in five short lessons: needs vs wants, saving, budgeting, compound interest and spotting scams.

The AI did the building, and I made the decisions. No ads and no tracking.

What money lesson do you wish someone had taught you at 12?