Alexander Harmsen

2x AI entrepreneur, father, dreamer & builder. CEO/Founder @portfoliopilot, Chairman/Founder @iris_automation, Advisor @verisimlife. 30under30 YCS16 ODF8 ODI

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

After 100,000 hours of work, we’re announcing financial AGI.

@portfoliopilot 3.0 automatically finds optimization opportunities across your financial life.

Try now for 10 days, no credit card required.

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

High fiiive!!

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

In any conversation, I always appreciate nuance.

So, rather than try to paint things as black and white, I love it when we explore all the different shades of grey

With that in mind, here is a pretty nuanced chart that stacks the biggest economies of the world and compares them against one another across multiple dimensions.

Enjoy!!

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

When someone tells you that they don’t need to use @PortfolioPilot because they can build an AI financial advisor themselves.

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

If you’re considering diversifying your portfolio away from tech, here are the biggest 10 retail brands for your consideration 👇

(The stocks in this chart in no way represent a recommendation and should not be construed as financial advice. They are merely meant for representative purposes.)

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

Use this the next time someone confuses weather and climate

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

Wanna know why we lead the world in competitiveness?

One reason is that we are a hub for some of the most talented people in the world, inviting them over to build with us and do some of their best work.

However, if we keep alienating our allies, making enemies of them and losing their respect, fewer and fewer talented individuals will wanna come to this side of the Atlantic, regardless of how many zeroes we write on their checks.

Soft power isn’t just for politics; it’s also foundational for our economy and our leadership in the world

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

This is the kind of news I want to wake up to in the morning

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

For all of my economy enthusiasts, I give you a beautiful example of comparative advantages in action

Since it is more expensive for the US to manufacture ships than it is for the rest of the world

Therefore, the US leaves shipbuilding, for the most part, to the rest of the world, and focuses on the other industries where it has a clear advantage

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

I think I have BINGO

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

I would love to see what this chart looked like 30 years ago 🤔🤔🤔

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

You will always be the person you spend the most time with

So, make sure it is someone you like

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

In 2025, the global debt has skyrocketed, almost equaling the size of the world economy.

And while there are universal reasons for this, such as:

👉 Pandemic legacy costs
👉Escalating geopolitical tensions and energy crises
👉High interest rates, another gift courtesy of the pandemic.

There are actually very interesting unique reasons that pertain to each country.

👉 🇯🇵 Japan:

Japan’s debt to GDP ratio is the highest among advanced economies in the world.

The problem is that Japan has issued a ton of debt over the years, most of which is held inside the country itself.

And while that can be a problem for any country, the issue with Japan is that the country used to artificially keep the interest rates at or near zero, which enabled it to keep issuing more and more debt for free.

However, the tides eventually changed, and the country could no longer maintain its zero-interest rate policy, which means that overnight, the country was forced to pay interest on the mountain of debt it was holding.

So, how to solve it?

Issue more debt of course.

👉 🇮🇹 Italy:

While there are many reasons behind Italy’s woes, the biggest culprit is The “Superbonus 110” Bill.

What is it?

It was a post pandemic green stimulus that encouraged homeowners to renovate their properties for free while the government would foot 110% of the bill.

Why was it a problem?

The program was hit with a ton of fraud and cost overruns, reaching a total of more than 220 billion euros!

What made matters worse is that Europe has some strict accounting rules which forced Italy to factor the program into its national debt, which caused that number to balloon almost overnight.

👉 🇫🇷 France:

France has not balanced its national budget since 1974. The French government spends more money per GDP than any other country in the OECD. In fact, government spending reaches 57.2% of GDP.

Why so high?

Mainly, France has one of the strongest social safety nets and subsidies.

The French invest in healthcare, public sector wages, and retirement funds.

What’s more, the French population wants to increase governmental support while lowering tax rates, which can only be done by taking on more debt.

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So, while the global economy has forced the world to take on more debt, it is always fascinating to see how poor decisions by individual economies can also lead to exacerbating matters.

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

Quick poll:

How much power should Congress bestow on the office of the president?

Asking for a friend

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

PSA: Any time you see a chart, rather than accepting it at face value, take the time to dig into the numbers and understand the story behind it.

You might be surprised

Case in point:

The chart below highlights the most productive countries in the OECD as measured by GDP per hour worked.

And topping the chart is Ireland with a whopping $151/ hour

So, why is Ireland the most produce country on the list?

The answer has less to do with the population’s productivity and more to do with with outside factors that fudge those numbers.

👉 One of the biggest is foreign direct investment, FDI for short. International companies invest in Ireland and build headquarters over there because of its low corporate tax of 12.5%
👉 Also, because of this low corporate tax, these multinationals will book their global profits and and intellectual property assets over there, inflating the country’s GDP
👉 While Ireland offers an educated workforce that can serve those multinationals, the country also serves as an English speaking gateway to the rest of the EU

So, is this high GDP/ hour reflected in the living standards of the average Irish man?

The answer is no, and you can see this clearly when you look at the Actual Individual Consumption per capita, AIC for short.

What’s more, a huge part of the “generated GDP” is sent back to the parent companies once it has been booked.

To be clear, the quality of life in Ireland is pretty much on par with other European economies.

However, you’d never guess any of this just by looking at the chart below.

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

Super interesting animation on how the war in Iran has affected the rest of the world.

Definitely worth checking out: https://t.co/kqhEmtnnhw

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

As AI evolves, the problems that come with it evolve as well

So, the CEO of several public hospitals has discussed the possibility of replacing radiology experts with AI.

And while I am all for progress, this is a really bad idea given that we still haven’t worked out AI mirages

What are AI mirages, I hear you ask?

Well, according to a Stanford paper that has yet to be peer reviewed, AI frontier models used to study chest X-rays can ace medical benchmark tests without ever seeing the actual X-rays.

That’s like you acing a calculus test without ever seeing the exam

So, how is that possible?

The AI would come up with very elaborate explanations behind its answer rather than just admit that it didn’t have access to the X-ray image. These explanations would be so rational that they would pass the benchmark test.

Researchers called this phenomenon AI mirages, and usual hallucination safeguards can’t catch them

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

Made me chuckle

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

Word is that Space X is expected to IPO at a valuation of more than $1.75T!!!!!!

That is insane

Out of all publicly listed companies all over the world, only 10-12 are worth more than $1T.

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

From the charts below, does anyone want to guess whether the Daily Mail leans right or left?

[Alexander Harmsen @alexharm]

The damage that @realDonaldTrump has done to this country is catastrophic

We have lost a lot of soft power, with almost all of our allies losing trust in us

As a result, many countries have started looking for alternatives other than us:

👉Germany has been exploring armament solutions given our tensions with NATO
👉European countries have been looking to China for better trade relations
👉Gulf countries now see our military bases as targets rather than security

When is enough going to be enough?