CE Jones

Reform government now | WW Agent of Change | Sacred Cow Tipper | #TEDx Speaker | Views are mine and mine alone

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

100% this...

[Anish Moonka @anishmoonka]

Marc Andreessen just dropped ~105 mins on Lenny's Podcast covering AI, jobs, careers, and why everyone is panicking about the wrong thing.

Just the clearest macro framework I've heard on where AI actually lands.

My notes:

𝟭. 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝘁.

US productivity growth has been running at half the rate of the 1940-1970 era and a third the rate of 1870-1940. The global population is declining below replacement in dozens of countries, including China. Without AI, we would be panicking about economies shrinking from depopulation, not job loss.

The timing is almost miraculous. This is what Andreessen means when he says the real boom has not started yet. We have been in a 50-year productivity drought, and most people do not even realize it.

𝟮. 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲.

Isaac Newton spent decades trying to transmute lead into gold and never succeeded. AI does something more powerful: it converts sand (silicon) into thought. The most common material in the world is the rarest output.

This one metaphor reframes the entire AI conversation. You do not have a job loss problem. You have a philosopher's stone sitting on your desk that you are not using enough.

𝟯. 𝗔𝗜 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 ���𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁.

The best coders right now are not reporting 2x productivity. They are reporting 10x. The gap between "pretty good with AI" and "elite with AI" is widening, not narrowing.

This is the most important signal for career planning right now. If you are just using AI to do the same job slightly faster, you are leaving the real leverage on the table.

𝟰. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗠𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗠𝘀, 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀.

Every engineer now thinks they can be a PM and designer. Every PM thinks they can code and design. Every designer knows they can do both. And they are all correct, because AI enables each role to absorb the tasks of the other two.

I have seen this firsthand in the investing world. The analyst who can build models and write narratives is 5x more valuable than someone who can do only one. The same convergence is happening in the product.

𝟱. 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗧-𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗘-𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿.

Scott Adams could not have created Dilbert by being the world's best cartoonist or the world's best business mind. He needed both. The additive effect of two skills is more than double. Three skills are more than triple. Larry Summers puts it differently: don't be fungible.

The person who can code, design, and ship a product is no longer a unicorn. They are the new baseline for "extremely valuable." If you are only one of those three things, you are increasingly replaceable.

𝟲. 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀. 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲. 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁.

Executives never typed their own emails in the 1970s. Secretaries printed incoming emails and hand-delivered them. Both roles survived the transition, just with different task sets. The same will happen with AI and coding, PM work, and design.

Everyone obsessing over "will my job disappear" is asking the wrong question. The right question is: which tasks in my job are about to rotate, and am I ready to pick up the new ones?

𝟳. 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿.

We went from human calculators to machine code to assembly to C to scripting languages. Each layer was dismissed by the previous generation. Each time, the new layer won, and total coding employment grew. AI coding is the same pattern, not a rupture.

The Perl programmers of 2005, laughing at JavaScript, are the C programmers of 1995, laughing at scripting. History rhymes, and it always rewards the people who adopt the next abstraction first.

𝟴. 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

One-on-one tutoring is the only method proven to move a student from the 50th to the 99th percentile (Bloom's two sigma effect). It used to require being born into royalty. Alexander the Great was tutored by Aristotle. Now, any kid with a phone can access the same quality of personalized instruction.

This is the most under-discussed consequence of AI. Every parent reading this should be supplementing their kid's education with structured AI tutoring right now. Not next year. Now.

𝟵. 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱.

Progress in bits masked stagnation in atoms. The built world is barely different from 50 years ago. Same bridges from the 1930s, same dams from the 1910s. Cartels, monopolies, unions, and regulations prevent the rate of change that people had 100 years ago.

This is also why AI will not transform everything overnight. Institutional sclerosis is real. Healthcare alone could take a generation. If you are building in atoms, budget for a war of attrition, not a blitzkrieg.

𝟭𝟬. 𝗠���𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻.

Within a year of ChatGPT's launch, five American companies, five Chinese companies, and open-source all had roughly equivalent models. DeepSeek emerged from a hedge fund in China and basically replicated the American labs' work. The smartest AI insiders privately admit there aren't many real secrets among the big labs.

This is the most honest take I have heard from a top-tier VC. No one knows if the value accrues to models, apps, or infrastructure. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you certainty they do not have.

𝟭𝟭. 𝗔𝗜 𝗜𝗤 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀.

Human IQ caps around 160 because of biology. Current AI models test around 130-140. There is no theoretical ceiling stopping AI from reaching 200, 250, or 300. The concept of AGI as a "human equivalent" will be a footnote because AI will race past that threshold.

This is the frame that makes the "will AI take my job" debate feel small. We are not building a replacement for human thought. We are building something that will be better than the best human thought has ever been.

𝟭𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘀.

Layer one: AI redefines products. Layer two: AI redefines jobs within companies. Layer three, which has not dropped yet: AI redefines the very concept of having a company. The holy grail is the one-person, billion-dollar outcome, and the best founders are chasing it.

Satoshi did it with Bitcoin. Instagram and WhatsApp came close with tiny teams. The question is no longer if this is possible with software. The question is how many of these we will see in the next five years.

AI is the philosopher's stone. The question is whether you pick it up.

The full podcast is worth your time. Link in replies.

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

Um they did. You can see them online. Are you not following the news? Um, and apparently Trump was the only high profile person to work with the prosecutor against Epstein according to that prosecutor. Hell, even the victims were asked on camera by the news of Trump ever acted inappropriately and the answer was now. On and on. Hope is not a strategy.

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

The BS job. We all have seen them, especially in government. One take that's interesting is that AI is exposing the theater of modern work. The MIT data confirms that tools like ChatGPT and Copilot are boosting individual output without moving the P&L needle. What we’re witnessing is not progress but a striptease of performative activity.

Now here's an interesting thought. By 2035, the U.S. Census projects the labor force growth rate will be near zero. Baby Boomer retirements will accelerate exits, while fewer births in the 2000s mean fewer college grads entering the market. Net result? The supply of white-collar labor is expected to stagnate or even shrink outright.

Seems that if AI replacement times with this labor supply decline and the need for BS jobs is stripped out, then we might actually have a right sizing of the jobs market instead of an outright AI replacement that may have catastrophic effects. Only time will tell.

https://t.co/cRQabz7jJl

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

When the Tyson Foods meat packing plant was raided and they lost dozens of illegal workers their lobby was filled the next day with far more LEGAL applicants for those same jobs. Crop picking is going the way of automation. You keep spinning the same shit and everyone should be able to see through it by now.

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

TO be clear, I want the WNBA to THRIVE. The more opportunities for women the better, but this financial model isn't sustainable. Here's a thought, lower the rim to 9' 6" and watch them dunk on each other. It would be the greatest show on planet Earth. They already play with a smaller ball. It's not a slight, perceived offense, or some sort of misogyny to lower the rim. With all the thuggin' going on, you know the heat would be there night in and out. Would be a bit of an adjustment but so what. Like I said, this model is unsustainable. Once you do that then the fans will pile in and so will the cash, THEN you can pay the players more. BTW, "owe us" is a relative term. If you do the math, each current player "owes" the NBA about $250k each to make up for the losses they are incurring and getting subsidized on. Let's hope they figure it out and they can be successful.

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

“The 600 series had rubber skin. We spotted them easy, but these are new. They look human - sweat, bad breath, everything. Very hard to spot. I had to wait till he moved on you before I could zero him.”
-Kyle Reese, Terminator

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

@AOC You’re wholly inserious. It’s called the War Powers Act. You’re still a bartender pretending to be a serious member of Congress.

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

@SenWarren You’re wholly unserious. It’s called the War Powers Act.

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

Um, yeah, no. Under the current SNAP guidelines, parents or guardians with dependent children under 18 are exempt from work requirements. The proposed legislation seeks to lower this exemption threshold to children under 7 years of age. This means that parents with children aged 7 or older would need to meet work requirements to continue receiving SNAP benefits. You know like everyone else who can work. And those work requirements are only part time (80 hours a month or work, seeking work, or volunteering).

So no, it's not "8 year olds have to get a job".

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

The rate of innovation is staggering. https://t.co/PuQNtYIyVt

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

@Delta your online customer service is the absolute worst! I got on with your online agent at 2:45p and it took almost 2 hours to get through a simple change request for 3 tickets in two conf numbers only to find you wanted $844 PER TICKET to push back to a flight later that day. Absolutely
Unbelievable Waste of time while I’m actually in my vacation. And why was I in with your chat agent? Because your call queue was over 40 minutes and you pushed me to the chat method.

Absolutely abysmal.

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

@jk_rowling He misspelled PHAT as in "pretty hot and tempting"! Of course all submitted respectfully! =)

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

This is simulatenously amazing and terrifying. WHat if the AI and the dolphins collaborate against us humans?! It could go seriously wrong. In the beginning of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it opens with the dolphins saying "so long, and thaks for all the fish". Maybe it was prophetic in a different way where they're saying to goodbye in the context of the humans are actually leaving the planet and not in a good way! Regardless, this is an AMAZING AI breakthrough.

https://t.co/Ewg4z2i0Vp

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

@SenWarren Um, you're on X. Aren't you a grandma? Yeah... Now tell us again how black people can't ID's... You remain completely ridiculous.

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

First @WilliamShatner now @katyperry, @GayleKing, @LaurenSanchz, @nguyen_amanda, @arbowe, and @kerianneflynn! Whether you think this is a gimmick or not, the dangers of space flight are very real. Brava to these brave souls for making the choice to be part of history. This is super cool on so many levels.

@gaylekingshow

https://t.co/VQPCGH3GoC

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

@DataRepublican @Five_Starrr @elonmusk @ScottPresler This is great but how do you square this with Polymarket's outsized prediction on Crawford at 87%?

https://t.co/cMC9MpEzy3

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

THIS is why NOTHING got done in the Biden administration. The PERFECT example of how bureacracy has run amok. Why? For the sake of bureacracy because burecrats must justify their existance.

[Eric Abbenante @EricAbbenante]

Jon Stewart screams 'OMFG' and is rendered speechless after hearing all 14 steps to apply for 'Build Back Better' funding:
Ezra Klein: "We have to issue the notice funding opportunity within 180 days that's step one.
Step Two: States who want to participate must submit a letter of intent. After they do that, they can submit a request for up to $5 million in planning grants.
Then the NTIA Step Four has to review and approve an award again. States who want to participate must submit that letter of intent.
Step three: "They can request up to $5 million in planning grants. Just planning, just planning.
Step four : "The requests are reviewed, approved and awarded by the NTIA." States must submit a five year action plan. All 56 had passed through at least step 5, it took more than 3 years.
[Step 6] Then the FCC, must publish the broadband data maps before NTIA allocates funds. So having done the no vote. So the letters of intent, the the the request for planning grants, then the review approval and awarding of the planning grants, then the five year action plans in between that the federal government has to put forward a map saying where it thinks we need rural broadband subsidies. And then, of course, the states need an opportunity to challenge the map for accuracy.
step seven So then the NTIAhas to use the FCC maps to make allocation decisions. It's hard even to talk about this, man.
Step eight is states must submit an initial proposal to the NTIA."
Jon Stewart: "But then what was the five year plan and what the fuck did they apply for?"
Ezra Klein: "Step nine NTIA must review and approve each state's again initial proposal. By my read, we have had at least two initial proposals here, but that's a different issue.
Step ten. States must publish their own map and allow internal challenges to their own map.
Step 11 the NTIA must review and improve the challenge results and the final map. So the NCAA has put forward a map.
Step 12 states must run a competitive sub granting process."
Jon Stewart: "Oh, my fucking God. At step 12. After all this has been done!?"
Ezra Klein: "Step 13 States must submit a final proposal. This all all the proposals weren't enough to NTIA. Now that goes to three of 56.
Step 14 the NTIA must review and approve the state's final proposal. And that is three of the 56 jurisdictions. And states are there."
Jon Stewart: "I'm speechless."

Jon just learned why "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help'"

[Gad Saad @GadSaad]

She knows nothing about the realities of the Middle East. Nothing about Syria. Nothing about Islam. Nothing about anything. But she is an empathetic white progressive globalist. She knows that in Unicornia, her words are cherished. She will shortly have martinis with @harari_yuval and they will congratulate one another on being such enlightened beings. The most dangerous force in nature is a parasitized mind. It is the cause of all man-made disasters including ones that pose an existential threat to our way of life. @vonderleyen is suicidally empathetic. I might add her in my forthcoming book.

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

@charliekirk11 Every morning is Christmas and every evening is New Years Eve...

[CE Jones @CloudJones]

A must read...A story told through charts: how the administrative state makes us poorer, dumber, and sicker.

https://t.co/LYPUnNB165