想要了解硅谷精英并非易事。薩莫·布爾賈(Samo Burja)最近分享了他所知道的其中三位精英的“一些基本情況”。他們是:特斯拉首席執(zhí)行官埃隆·馬斯克(Elon Musk)、OpenAI首席執(zhí)行官山姆·奧特曼(Sam Altman)和科技投資者彼得·蒂爾(Peter Thiel)。
政治風險咨詢公司Bismarck Analysis總裁布爾賈在本周發(fā)布的"實戰(zhàn)派"(Live Players)播客的首期節(jié)目中分享了他對這些科技億萬富翁的看法。他將"實戰(zhàn)派"描述為不按常理出牌、隨機應變、從基本原則出發(fā)思考問題的人,認為這些人對于防止社會停滯至關重要。
布爾賈說,在聽到這類常識后,奧特曼的回答可能是“是的,而且”,而蒂爾的回答可能是“不,但是”。至于馬斯克,布爾賈笑著說:“我覺得埃隆根本沒在聽。”
他說,奧特曼會“發(fā)現(xiàn)熱情和能量所在,然后就會想,‘好吧,我們能不能駕馭這一點,甚至促進其實現(xiàn)進一步發(fā)展,甚至壯大,最終成為現(xiàn)實。’他發(fā)現(xiàn)了加密貨幣,就想,‘為世界創(chuàng)造一種貨幣怎么樣?該貨幣能夠改變世界經濟體系,為后稀缺未來做好準備。’”
他以奧特曼幾年前共同創(chuàng)立的世界幣(Worldcoin)為例。這家初創(chuàng)公司背后的理念是,人們將在一個可能很快就會被人工智能機器人占領的網絡世界里證明自己的身份。他們將通過一個閃亮的金屬球來掃描自己的虹膜。當你被掃描、驗證并登錄時,你將獲得一些專有的加密代幣,也被稱為世界幣。之后,該系統(tǒng)可能成為實現(xiàn)全民基本收入的一種方式。如果人工智能導致大規(guī)模失業(yè),這一想法可能會受到追捧。世界幣引發(fā)了廣泛的隱私擔憂,這也許不足為奇。
馬斯克,物理學和工程學
至于馬斯克,布爾賈繼續(xù)說道,“埃隆的觀點是由基本原則驅動的,盡管他確實認識到什么是符合流行趨勢的,什么是違背流行趨勢的,并能駕馭這一趨勢,但他關于下一步做什么的決定完全不受主流的束縛,而是遵循技術樹狀圖(就像從基礎物理學或他最喜歡的科幻小說故事中推導得出的)(這一點我無從知曉)。”
他說,馬斯克將直接進入一個被普遍認為毫無希望、過于擁擠或過于成熟的行業(yè)——比如電動汽車或太空——“但這次它會成功。”他說,要像馬斯克那樣讓特斯拉這樣的公司取得成功,“你必須考慮的不是汽車公司,而是電池的原始能源潛力……電池越來越強大,所以從邏輯上講,汽車公司最終會取得成功。”
在最近一期的萊克斯·弗里德曼播客(Lex Fridman Podcast)節(jié)目中,馬斯克闡述了他對物理學與工程學的看法,他說:“物理學只是加深了人們對現(xiàn)實如何運作的洞察。然后是工程學,即發(fā)明一些從未存在過的東西……一旦你弄清楚了宇宙的規(guī)則……你就可以創(chuàng)造出幾乎無限的技術。”
至于蒂爾,布爾賈繼續(xù)說道,“蒂爾提出的問題總是:‘主流是錯誤的,我們能做些什么來糾正它?’這使他成為一位偉大的科技投資者——一位偉大的技術專家,同時也是一位偉大的投資者。”
他說,蒂爾“極其擅長發(fā)現(xiàn),什么時候普遍的共識是正確的或是錯誤的(基本上由于糟糕的理由)——我在這里確實包括了正確的普遍共識——無論何時你認為,即使人們出于錯誤的理由押了正確的賭注,但仍有一些金融阿爾法策略(你知道的),還是有可能找出這種區(qū)別的。”
蒂爾是一位保守的自由主義者,曾向右翼政客捐贈了大量資金,以大膽地嘗試異乎尋常的想法而聞名。他比大多數(shù)人更早地相信支付將走向數(shù)字化,比特幣將會騰飛。他在一個名為“Thefacebook”的網站上給一名哈佛學生開了一張50萬美元的支票。(財富中文網)
譯者:中慧言-王芳
想要了解硅谷精英并非易事。薩莫·布爾賈(Samo Burja)最近分享了他所知道的其中三位精英的“一些基本情況”。他們是:特斯拉首席執(zhí)行官埃隆·馬斯克(Elon Musk)、OpenAI首席執(zhí)行官山姆·奧特曼(Sam Altman)和科技投資者彼得·蒂爾(Peter Thiel)。
政治風險咨詢公司Bismarck Analysis總裁布爾賈在本周發(fā)布的"實戰(zhàn)派"(Live Players)播客的首期節(jié)目中分享了他對這些科技億萬富翁的看法。他將"實戰(zhàn)派"描述為不按常理出牌、隨機應變、從基本原則出發(fā)思考問題的人,認為這些人對于防止社會停滯至關重要。
布爾賈說,在聽到這類常識后,奧特曼的回答可能是“是的,而且”,而蒂爾的回答可能是“不,但是”。至于馬斯克,布爾賈笑著說:“我覺得埃隆根本沒在聽。”
他說,奧特曼會“發(fā)現(xiàn)熱情和能量所在,然后就會想,‘好吧,我們能不能駕馭這一點,甚至促進其實現(xiàn)進一步發(fā)展,甚至壯大,最終成為現(xiàn)實。’他發(fā)現(xiàn)了加密貨幣,就想,‘為世界創(chuàng)造一種貨幣怎么樣?該貨幣能夠改變世界經濟體系,為后稀缺未來做好準備。’”
他以奧特曼幾年前共同創(chuàng)立的世界幣(Worldcoin)為例。這家初創(chuàng)公司背后的理念是,人們將在一個可能很快就會被人工智能機器人占領的網絡世界里證明自己的身份。他們將通過一個閃亮的金屬球來掃描自己的虹膜。當你被掃描、驗證并登錄時,你將獲得一些專有的加密代幣,也被稱為世界幣。之后,該系統(tǒng)可能成為實現(xiàn)全民基本收入的一種方式。如果人工智能導致大規(guī)模失業(yè),這一想法可能會受到追捧。世界幣引發(fā)了廣泛的隱私擔憂,這也許不足為奇。
馬斯克,物理學和工程學
至于馬斯克,布爾賈繼續(xù)說道,“埃隆的觀點是由基本原則驅動的,盡管他確實認識到什么是符合流行趨勢的,什么是違背流行趨勢的,并能駕馭這一趨勢,但他關于下一步做什么的決定完全不受主流的束縛,而是遵循技術樹狀圖(就像從基礎物理學或他最喜歡的科幻小說故事中推導得出的)(這一點我無從知曉)。”
他說,馬斯克將直接進入一個被普遍認為毫無希望、過于擁擠或過于成熟的行業(yè)——比如電動汽車或太空——“但這次它會成功。”他說,要像馬斯克那樣讓特斯拉這樣的公司取得成功,“你必須考慮的不是汽車公司,而是電池的原始能源潛力……電池越來越強大,所以從邏輯上講,汽車公司最終會取得成功。”
在最近一期的萊克斯·弗里德曼播客(Lex Fridman Podcast)節(jié)目中,馬斯克闡述了他對物理學與工程學的看法,他說:“物理學只是加深了人們對現(xiàn)實如何運作的洞察。然后是工程學,即發(fā)明一些從未存在過的東西……一旦你弄清楚了宇宙的規(guī)則……你就可以創(chuàng)造出幾乎無限的技術。”
至于蒂爾,布爾賈繼續(xù)說道,“蒂爾提出的問題總是:‘主流是錯誤的,我們能做些什么來糾正它?’這使他成為一位偉大的科技投資者——一位偉大的技術專家,同時也是一位偉大的投資者。”
他說,蒂爾“極其擅長發(fā)現(xiàn),什么時候普遍的共識是正確的或是錯誤的(基本上由于糟糕的理由)——我在這里確實包括了正確的普遍共識——無論何時你認為,即使人們出于錯誤的理由押了正確的賭注,但仍有一些金融阿爾法策略(你知道的),還是有可能找出這種區(qū)別的。”
蒂爾是一位保守的自由主義者,曾向右翼政客捐贈了大量資金,以大膽地嘗試異乎尋常的想法而聞名。他比大多數(shù)人更早地相信支付將走向數(shù)字化,比特幣將會騰飛。他在一個名為“Thefacebook”的網站上給一名哈佛學生開了一張50萬美元的支票。(財富中文網)
譯者:中慧言-王芳
Getting a read on Silicon Valley elites can be challenging, but Samo Burja recently sketched out a “few basics” about three of them: Tesla CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and technology investor Peter Thiel.
Burja, president of the political risk consultancy Bismarck Analysis, shared his thoughts on the tech billionaires during the inaugural episode of the Live Players podcast, released this week. He describes “l(fā)ive players” as people who step away from norms, improvise, and think from first principles, saying such individuals are instrumental to preventing societal stagnation.
Burja said that upon hearing the common wisdom, Altman’s response might be “yes, and” while Thiel’s would be “no, but.” As for Musk, Burja laughed, “I don’t think Elon’s even listening.”
Altman, he said, will “see where the enthusiasm and energy lies, and it’s like, ‘Okay can we harness this and even further develop it, even grow this and push it somewhere real.’ He sees cryptocurrencies, and he’s like, what about…a coin for the world that changes the world economic system to prepare for the post-scarcity future.”
He cited Worldcoin, which Altman cofounded a few years ago. The idea behind the startup is that people will be able to prove their personhood in an online world that could be soon be overrun by AI bots. They’ll do this by scanning their irises using a shiny metallic orb. When you’re scanned, verified, and onboarded, you’re given some proprietary crypto tokens, also called Worldcoins. Later the system could become a way to implement universal basic income, an idea that might gain traction if AI leads to large-scale unemployment. Worldcoin, perhaps not surprisingly, has sparked widespread privacy concerns.
Musk, physics, and engineering
As for Musk, Burja continued, “Elon’s perspective is so first-principles driven that while he does recognize what is popular and not and can work with it, his decisions as to what to do next are not tied at all to the mainstream but are following, I don’t know, like a technology tree chart derived from basic physics or his favorite science fiction story.”
Musk, he said, will go straight into an industry that’s widely considered hopeless, too crowded, or too mature—such as electric vehicles or space—“but have it work this time.” To make something like Tesla succeed as Musk did, he said, “you would have to think of it not terms of car companies, but the raw energy potential of batteries…the batteries keep getting better, so logically eventually a car company would work.”
Musk provided insights into how he thinks about physics versus engineering in a recent episode of the Lex Fridman Podcast, saying: “Physics is just deepening one’s insight into how reality works. Then there’s engineering, which is inventing things that have never existed…Once you figure out the rules of the universe…you can then build technologies that are really almost limitless.”
As for Thiel, Burja continued, “Thiel’s question is ‘How is the mainstream wrong and what can we do about it to make it correct?’ Which makes him a great technology investor—a great technologist, but also a great investor.”
Thiel, he said, “is extremely good at noticing when the common consensus is correct or wrong for basically bad reasons—and I do include correct here—where whenever you think that even if people are directionally making the right bet for the wrong reasons, there’s some, you know, financial alpha there, there’s some possibility of finding that distinction.”
Thiel, a conservative libertarian who’s donated heavily to right-wing politicians, is known for making bold swings on unusual ideas. He was convinced well before most people that payments would go digital and Bitcoin would take off, and he wrote a $500,000 check to a Harvard student on something called “Thefacebook.”