Jose Luis Vasquez

[Henry Shi @henrythe9ths]

There's a shocking fact about AI that nobody tells you: You can catch up to the public AI research frontier in just 2 weeks. Yes, really.

I've built a $150M annual revenue startup over the last 8 years and If I were to start a company today, I’d drop everything and go all-in on AI.

But like many busy software builders, I felt lost—overwhelmed by the noisy, crowded and fast-moving modern AI landscape. And I wasn’t alone.

So I spent my entire holiday diving deep into AI research—reading 30+ papers, watching hours of lectures, analyzing trends, and catching up to the research frontier.

✨ Here’s what I learned:
- You don’t need months (or years) to catch up.
- You don’t need a PhD or decades of ML experience.
- You need fewer than 20 papers and 2 weeks to understand the major breakthroughs shaping AI today.

It's because the technology is extremely nascent and most techniques that came before are no longer relevant:
- ChatGPT is barely 2 years old and Transformers are only 7 years old.
- Most game-changing discoveries happened within the last 4 years, driven by a few breakthrough ideas, scaling laws, and efficient matrix multiplication.

The biggest secret?
Many groundbreaking AI papers with thousands of citations are surprisingly simple and applied, like adding "let's think step by step" to the prompt, or simply asking the LLM over and over again to improve its answer (Self-Refine).

I realized there are tons of founders and builders in the same boat—wanting to dive deeper into AI but unsure where to start.

I've created an essential AI Guide that helped me catch up, in just 2 weeks, to the frontier of public AI research to figure out where the next opportunities and gaps were:
- Curated list of only the most important papers
- Simple explanations of key concepts
- Clear pathway to understanding the frontier of modern AI

It’s perfect for:
- Founders expanding into AI
- Builders wanting to innovate at the frontier of AI
- Investors looking to separate the signal from the noise

👇 Want the full guide?
- Like and Share this post
- Comment "AI Guide"
- I'll send you the complete guide

(ps, I’m also teaming up with @VishalVasishth, co-founder of @obviousvc with @ev (focused on large-scale societal impact companies like Twitter, Medium, Beyond Meat), to host a small meetup to discuss what's working and needs to be solved in the AI stack in SF. Message me if you're interested)

[Jose Luis Vasquez @jlvas]

@henrythe9ths AI Guide

[Alexis Gay @yayalexisgay]

when you definitely understand NFTs

[Bill Kristol @BillKristol]

Maybe, for a few hours at least, I can be a Tim Ryan Republican?

[Jeff Flake @JeffFlake]

When you fill out your ballot, ask yourself: Who will best restore decency and civility to the White House. Who can I be proud to tell my children and grandchildren I voted for.

[The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln]

This is Joe Biden’s moment.

[Joe Biden @JoeBiden]

On Thursday, President Trump said we're "rounding the turn" when it comes to COVID-19.

On Friday, we set a new record for daily cases.

We're paying the price for his failures every single day.

[Moisés Naím @MoisesNaim]

⁦@davidfrum⁩ “The most important ballot question in 2020 is not Joe Biden versus Donald Trump, or Democrat versus Republican. The most important question is: Will Trump get away with his corruption—will his crooked and authoritarian tactics succeed? https://t.co/qUt04iZL9s

[Franklin Co. Boe @FranklinCoBOE]

Mr. President, it certainly was a serious mistake, but a serious mistake that we’re working hard to make right. Our board is bipartisan and our elections are fair. And every vote will be counted.

[Borja Pardo @Borja_Pardo]

Probablemente este sea el mejor vídeo del 2020. https://t.co/sh5A5vXpKj

[colette capriles @cocap]

Trump no se parece a Chávez en cuanto al tema de la propiedad sino en lo fundamental: la destrucción de las instituciones. Esto debe ser el comentario de una persona que, como el chavismo, desconoce que la democracia consiste en instituciones para impedir la arbitrariedad.

[Luz Mely Reyes @LuzMelyReyes]

El chavismo y el trumpismo: dos cuñas del mismo árbol.
O cómo explicar a los venezolanos trumpistas que se parece igualito a lo que tanto denostan.

El Otoño de las Gorras Rojas by @michelhausmann https://t.co/9iYWow6CHB

[Joe Biden @JoeBiden]

As Juan Guaidó speaks about the Venezuelan humanitarian crisis and the crimes against humanity perpetrated by Maduro, I reaffirm my commitment to stand with the Venezuelan people.

A Biden-Harris administration will always champion democracy and human rights around the world.

[Joe Biden @JoeBiden]

Let me be very clear, @realDonaldTrump: Not a single one of the 200,000 Americans we've lost to this virus was a "nobody."

[MJ Hegar @mjhegar]

BREAKING: A new poll shows us just TWO POINTS DOWN!

Our momentum keeps growing. Chip in now to defeat John Cornyn: https://t.co/nMcT1Aa91Y

[Alexander Nazaryan @alexnazaryan]

Biden seems genuinely furious. I can’t remember the last time I saw him like this.

[Republican Accountability @AccountableGOP]

Trump is lying about Joe Biden's commitment to police.

@realDonaldTrump, here's the truth.

[Tim Miller @Timodc]

The swift boat goons are running an ad smearing Joe Biden for supposedly not standing up for police.

Grab a tissue and watch the truth.

Then help us spread it. https://t.co/kLgb8vEhCF

[Joe Biden @JoeBiden]

We are facing so many crises under Donald Trump:

COVID.
Economic devastation.
Unwarranted police violence.
Emboldened white nationalists.
A reckoning on race.
Declining faith in a bright American future.

The common thread? A president who makes things worse — not better.

[Joe Biden @JoeBiden]

The deadly violence we saw overnight in Portland is unacceptable. Shooting in the streets of a great American city is unacceptable.

I condemn violence of every kind by anyone, whether on the left or the right. And I challenge Donald Trump to do the same. https://t.co/JRuI7ya2Wv