How humans outthink AI
Uranium is getting more expensing and people are loving IMAX at the moment.
Hello,
As the age of AI marches towards us with its dodgy poems and generic film recommendations, one is left pondering what the role of humans will be. The authors of Framers: Make Better Decisions in the Age of AI argue that it is our ability to think outside the box. Currently generative AI basically just guesses what to put next - we can apply different mental models to solve problems.
We all have different mental models as our starting points and it’s inevitably the cause of much anguish in the world. When humans can’t reframe we tend to just get angry. Optimists see pessimists as doubting Debbie downers and pessimists see optimists as naive Nelson numpties. Both probably have their points and would do well to discuss.
When we can reframe situations however it’s a source of endless creativity, indeed it can often appear to be alchemy. The conversion of small cabbages into brussel sprouts for example, or turning the break in a disco song into a different genre of music, or making a mobile phone into a computer. Chat GPT and its pals are a long way off that sort of ingenuity.
Look at it this way,
Hugo
Framer-in-chief
The Business of Stuff
The Stuff
IMAX is going from straight to straight 📽️ - the last film I saw at the IMAX was Spy Kids 3-D in 2003 but they’ve been regaining popularity, having their second most successful year ever in 2023, collecting $1.06 billion globally. Oppenheimer helped drive this but they’ve also programmed more than ever and have expanded their footprint by 5% since 2019.
Whatever next for Bernard Matthews turkeys 🦃 - the bootiful business has been struggling since its eponymous founder died in 2010 as people lay off the turkey twizzlers and realise its not actually that good. Except for gym bros, they bloody love it. As a result the company is having to close a factory in Norfolk where it is headquartered.
The price of uranium is going up due to supply shortfalls ☢️ - the world’s largest producer Kazatoprom (Kazakhstan is the number one exporter) has warned they’re not going to be able to make enough of the radioactive yellowy rock due to shortages in sulphuric acid which is used to extract it. The price has been driven up even further by the fact everyone is getting back on board with nuclear power.
Axel Springer has paid out €776m to shareholders over four years 🗞️ - profits for the same period are roughly the same, suggesting that very little is being reinvested into the business which is a bit awkward as they are undergoing a round of cost cutting. That unfortunately seems to be the sort of thing that happens when KKR, a private equity firm owns a third of your business.
A load of props from Succession are being auctioned 👩⚖️ - production companies are teaming up with auction houses to sell off whole sets. An auction of the Succession clover ended on Friday, including the pamphlets from Logan Roy’s funeral and the sausages from “boar on the floor”. You can view the auction here.
Companies rush to ply celebs with products in gift bags 🛍️ - gift bags at the Golden Globes reportedly contain goodies worth up to $500,000. One of the ironies of having loads of money is that suddenly everyone wants to give you free stuff. It’s a step up on the ‘fun’ size Mars Bar and a yoyo you got back in the day. There’s nothing fun about a small Mars Bar, Sarah.
The software sector is struggling, RIP the SaaS boom 📉 - whilst the majority of the economy has avoided full blown recession, software has been struggling. It’s been the dream for the last 15 years, make a niche piece of software, give it a cute name, flog it at 80% gross margin and you’re laughing. Unfortunately it's quite hard to make something that people can’t live without.
Tech startups are improving the human experience 🙆♀️ - it’s all well and good using AI to find out what you’d look like as an aardvark but some companies are using it to actually improve what’s it's like being alive on Earth. Route Konnect for example is using predictive analytics to make planning decisions based on video feeds of traffic.
Creatives are bringing AI tools to their workbench 🔨 - some designers are starting to use AI tools not to replace themselves but to enhance the work they do as it is, after all, just another tool. They are in fact using AI to demonstrate the current gap between it and the abilities of humans.
Supermarkets have bumped up the price of non-alcoholic drinks - analysis has shown that they hiked prices by up to 24% ahead of January to capitalise on the surge in popularity as people spend the months not drinking and talking about not drinking.
Quote of the week
“The box is there for a reason” - Saboo