Chris Withers

Observer/Actor in the Neo-Pirate Era 🏴‍☠️

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

@AlfieJCarter Agents

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

@st_achika This is a level of mastery only Japan can achieve. Thank you for sharing.

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

@dutchdecrypto First time reader of your stuff here - what are your thoughts on cards from different markets? Obviously JP cards come to mind, but there are those from Indo, Korea, Chinese (S/T) and Thai... do you think as the EN market prices out these are likely to lift too?

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

Amazing work from the team at @OpenAI ...

For more on the resolution of Erdős’s Unit Distance problem...

https://t.co/OBuU1ivwyA

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

As mathematicians contemplate the radical discovery AI has contributed to their field today - the more subtle undercurrent should be alarming for many companies optimising around the performance of specialised vs. general intelligence; and the triumph of latter over former.

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

@TheThomasHeal @planefag When does 'Dead Internet Theory' transition to 'Dead Marionette Theory'? What percentage of humans are being puppeteered by bots/agents?

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

@bentkennedy @bnthompson @grok Grok certainly taking some time here... all I meant to say is that SG has and is the APAC beachhead, allowing you to access almost 20% of the world's entire population even after you take out CN+IN. Markets can be measured against {value,volume}.

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

@TheThomasHeal 100% - until the hand was played though for CGT on all asset classes and the debasement of trusts for asset protection it was likely still 'manageable' on quality of life tradeoffs. Not so any longer...

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

Singapore demonstrates the same type of national maneuverability instilled by it's forefathers. Taking advantage of the Australian Labor's policy debacle will result in such a staggering brain drain. Let's hope enough Australians in Singapore will be able to at least convince ASEAN to look after our neighbouring 'savage reservation' in the decades to follow.

[geoff @GeoffreyHuntley]

let’s compare two governments side by side

singapore gov (this post)
australia gov (tweet below)

tired: albo 🇦🇺
wired: forward deployed minister 🇸🇬

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

@bentkennedy @bnthompson Probably unfair to label SG - and by extension SEA - a small market, the more intellectually honest way to frame it is that on balance starting in the US is just easier (Ethnically homogenous, low regulatory capture).

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

@ziziskan @joonian @chris_siris Location is knowledge. That was my point. Enjoy.

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

You are right to question - that's only how we achieve consensus and good governance, from your profile you occupy the single most important role in Australian society - a mother. We need to consider implications for our children.

I think that the American system naturally sways toward these gross extremes - and we could probably have a great discussion that the terminal state of the US will ultimately be a quasi anarcho-capitalist state presided over by technocrat elites.

To prevent that same route, we need protocolic governance with policies that conduce participation by economic rationality with built in 'reasonable' social security by design. This means we have clean and clear systems of wealth transference, social security and universal healthcare - with obvious failure signals. This type of approach would have triggered alarms at the horrific abuse of the NDIS.

That said, we run a risk here of conflating too many issues at once. Singapore provided a clear example of how the statemodel can optimise for all - without costing total innovation collapse. I wrote at length on this in my recent article. We should learn what we can and adapt for what is to come.

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

Critics of @build_aus (sane or otherwise) have been quick to point out the uncomfortable truth - large scale policy and political changes will ultimately be required here.

We will need to figure out actions, causes and effects to get the future we want.

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

Thanks for your comment - I cannot speak on behalf of @build_aus but ultimately our current political class has been the source of these crises.

Giving ourselves Dutch Disease was the largest of many missteps; in order to circumvent this the only possible path now I see is to empower bold, radical and patriotic founders to retool the manufacturing base and bring things back online, with new technologies and tools.

In an immigrant dependent welfare state these are the only actors you could possibly rely on. To assume that behaviour of politicians would be folly.

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

You shifted the goalposts by appending 'universally' and 'generally' to 'knowledgeable' - a definition swap doing the argumentative work for you.

Take your own example: Edison was a gifted empiricist who knew how to distribute. That alone determined his right to win; my point exactly. Distribution, context, and embedded relationships are knowledge, not secondary to it. The same logic applies to US founders building for the US market first, or Singaporeans for SEA.

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

@ziziskan @joonian @chris_siris Then you prove my point - why is a Singaporean more knowledgable on a problem that (likely) uniquely affects these markets? 'Right to win' is not a knowledge base proof at all - Edison and Tesla prove this fundamentally. Suggest you bring back examples than parrot maxims.

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

https://t.co/RqtHDrC3tr

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

We are in the age of the personal essay, declaration of thought and position should be table stakes.

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

Amazing to connect with so many Australian founders still optimistic about the future.

By way of introduction - a founder myself, and spent time at goliaths like Uber.

I've been building in and from Asia for a decade, I believe rejoining the region is the key to our success.

[Chris Withers @xriswithers]

I post on X mostly about this topic, and in conjunction with that - I outline some long form articles on the nature of coordination problems and the potentiality of technology enabled governance models. Feedback always welcome. Problems must be solved politically.