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Friends,
Thanks for your patience while I was figuring out my health. I’m not quite there, but hospitalisation is a good way to reassess focus - not that I have an extravagant lifestyle or anything!
My update on the survey about this newsletter:
42% of you come for the editorial, 32% just for the links, 20% want 5 themes (that’s a stretch for me)
When pushed, 61% liked the editorial over the links
75% of those who responded would likely support purchasing my book (that I’m writing) - I’m touched!
Some comments were that there is a preference for a shorter editorial - and that sometimes the overall newsletter is overwhelming. So, I will continue with a similar format and perhaps send out a longer editorial if I have anything longer to say. Also, with editorials, I will aim to keep things shorter and explain the links a little more - although I have tried to do that already. You’re not meant to read everything in my newsletter - pick what resonates. If I can help you be smarter about the future with 5 minutes of skimming a week, Im happy.
Onto this week. It’s not quite 500 words, but this week is a catchup for the last three weeks. I hope you’ll excuse me this time
Every generation thinks it is special. They are usually wrong, but occasionally, they are right, and we happen to be right!
As Peter Leyden, the long-time technology thinker and former Wired editor, argues, three forces are converging to reshape civilisation: artificial intelligence, clean energy, and bioengineering. While each would transform society individually, they signify a comprehensive reconfiguration of the world's operations. Just as the printing press triggered centuries of social reorganisation by democratising knowledge, today’s AI models are beginning to democratise reasoning itself, not just what we know but how we think.
OpenAI's O1 model has evolved from basic mathematics to Olympiad-level problems in just months. Solar energy is now the cheapest source, with costs dropping over 80% in a decade. CRISPR, once theoretical, is now widely applied in medicine and agriculture, necessitating a redefinition of 'normal' in human health. As enhancement becomes commonplace, our understanding of humanity will evolve. Long in development, these technologies are now reaching their S-curve inflection points - an unprecedented phenomenon. Meanwhile, Bryan Johnson consumes a hundred pills daily to "vanquish death.” Human enhancement, often ridiculed, represents the next logical step in medicine, shifting from fixing problems to optimising functions. The supplement industry generates £485 billion annually, with limited evidence to support its efficacy. What will occur with genuine enhancement breakthroughs? One study indicates that a drug extending American lifespans by just one year could yield £38 trillion in value. The distinction between the crazies and visionaries frequently hinges on timing.
Previous technological revolutions transformed one sector at a time. The steam engine revolutionised industry, while the internet changed the way we access information. This revolution impacts every aspect: health, work, climate, cognition, and even our physical being. Ray Dalio refers to this as a “changing world order”, a moment when debt cycles, political unrest, and revolutionary technologies converge to reset global systems. We have encountered this scenario before. Between 1945 and 1970, the world rebuilt following a collapse, establishing new institutions and raising living standards globally. We find ourselves at a similar inflection point.
Political debates today frequently focus on defending institutions established in a bygone era. Meanwhile, genuine transformation is taking place in laboratories and startups. Private companies are advancing AI, bioengineering, and clean energy with minimal government guidance and even less comprehension. The centre of gravity has shifted, yet politics has failed to keep pace.
I do not believe that any of this constitutes blind optimism. These technologies present real risks, but precisely, these risks necessitate our engagement with them rather than our withdrawal. The greatest risk would be to overlook this opportunity to reconstruct systems that have evidently reached their limits.
Eighty years ago, we crafted a world that, despite its imperfections, provided greater prosperity to more individuals than any previous civilisation. Now, we have tools that make those from 1945 seem primitive in comparison. What might we create with them? The decisions made in the next five years will shape the following fifty. Small actions at pivotal moments yield disproportionate results, and we find ourselves at such a moment.
This situation is extraordinary because, unlike previous technological waves, these tools address our most fundamental challenges. Improved energy systems, longer healthspans, and enhanced cognition are not luxuries - they are the cornerstones of a more abundant future.
The greatest minds of the Renaissance did not realise they were living in that era; they simply identified problems that required solutions. We have the advantage of a historical perspective, which allows us to discern the patterns and recognise the opportunities.
In the UK, serious efforts are needed to apply these technologies locally. Universities like Oxford and Imperial are advancing in biotech and AI, but the gap between lab and market remains wide. We need more early-stage capital outside London, faster NHS trial pathways for longevity drugs, and real support for energy startups beyond pilot schemes. In the US, opportunities lie in reshaping community colleges and state universities to train individuals for roles in bioengineering, battery technology, and AI integration rather than just coding. Rapid progress may emerge globally from places like Kenya and Vietnam, where governments leapfrog outdated systems. The next Silicon Valley may not be in California but in Nairobi or Ho Chi Minh City, regions unburdened by legacy infrastructure and where leapfrogging is a strategic approach. If you’re in government, ease regulations. If you’re in tech, move beyond the bubble. If you’re in education, stop training for jobs that won’t exist. The opportunity is real and present everywhere.
Most people are spectators, but some are builders. They recognise that in moments of transition, new possibilities emerge, old constraints fade away, and new paths unfold. Occasionally, one requires a different perspective to understand what one is experiencing. If you believe you are at a crossroads, observe the signs - the world is at one. We have the moment. Now, we simply need the vision to recognise that a better world is not only possible; it is within reach. Most will not notice until the shift is complete. But for those who are paying attention, the signs are clear: this is a hinge in history. A better world is not merely imaginable; it is within reach. The only question is whether we choose to build it.
Stay Curious - and don’t forget to be amazing,
Here are my recommendations for this week:
One of the best tools to provide excellent reading and articles for your week is Refind. It’s a great tool for keeping ahead with “brain food” relevant to you and providing serendipity for some excellent articles that you may have missed. You can dip in and sign up for weekly, daily or something in between - what’s guaranteed is that the algorithm sends you only the best articles in your chosen area. It’s also free. Highly recommended. Sign up.
Now
10 Charts That Capture How the World Is Changing - Worth your time. Rex digs deep to provide insights: Startups like Midjourney and OpenAI now generate millions per employee, fuelling a leaner, more profitable era where small teams scale fast and stay independent. Retail is shifting too. Physical stores show just a fraction of what’s online, while AI powers smarter e-commerce. In music and media, a handful of creators dominate earnings, and AI-generated content is making it harder to break through. DoorDash’s quiet rise to dominance shows how smart strategy still wins. And behind it all, a generational divide looms: Gen Z can’t afford homes, while Boomers hold most of the wealth.
9 Charts That Show the Lasting Effects of COVID on Schools - Enrolment dropped and hasn’t recovered. Early years learning gaps are showing up in classrooms. Teacher pay fell behind inflation. Mental health issues surged, and so did absenteeism. The result is a system still stretched, still adapting, and shaped by problems we didn’t fix.
Doctors Told Him He Was Going to Die. Then A.I. Saved His Life. Scientists are using machine learning to find new treatments among thousands of old medicines. Even me, in my hospital bed - I was crunching data from reports to try and figure out my right course of action, with a phone and deep research tools from OpenAI, Grok and Perplexity. This article is more on thus crux - about A.I. rewriting drug discovery. Joseph Coates was out of options, dying from a rare blood disorder. Then a machine learning model matched him to a forgotten drug combination. It worked. Within months, he was in remission. This is about using what we already have, better. Dr. David Fajgenbaum’s team is using A.I. to scan thousands of old drugs against thousands of diseases. The insight is simple: most rare diseases have no approved treatments, but the answers may already exist. A.I. just finds them faster. It’s efficient, low-cost, and potentially life-saving. And it’s only just begun.
The Last Decision by the World’s Leading Thinker on Decisions - Shortly before Daniel Kahneman died last March, he emailed friends a message: He was choosing to end his own life in Switzerland. Some are still struggling with his choice. The world’s foremost thinker on decision-making, chose to end his life at 90 on his own terms, while still sharp. He’d spent a lifetime studying how people make choices, yet in the end, his was personal, not rational. A deliberate ending, shaped less by data, more by feeling.
The Doctor, the Biohacker, and the Quest to Treat Their Long COVID - Long COVID remains poorly understood, with no proven treatment and wide-ranging symptoms. Dr. Light and Levi Henry, both patients, took two paths: medical science and self-experimentation. Together, they highlight a deeper truth: in the absence of answers, community, persistence, and open-minded curiosity are what keep patients searching, adapting, and supporting each other.
Next
The most innovative companies in applied AI for 2025 - Why Google DeepMind, Perplexity, Khan Academy, Canva, and Salesforce are among Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies for 2025.
AI is "tearing apart" companies, survey finds - The most striking stat: 59% of C-suite executives say they’re actively looking for a new job at a company that’s more innovative with generative AI. That figure reveals a deep disconnect, leaders feel urgency, while employees remain sceptical. AI isn’t just a technology shift. It’s pulling companies apart from the inside.
Measuring AI Ability to Complete Long Tasks - The length of tasks AI can complete with 50% reliability has been doubling every 7 months for six years. If this exponential trend continues, AI systems could autonomously handle complex, month-long human tasks within five years, reshaping productivity, jobs, and the structure of knowledge work itself.
Perplexity’s CEO Has an Ambitious Plan to Take On Google - Perplexity is positioning itself as a lean, user-centric alternative to Google by targeting high-value enterprise use, integrating trusted sources and transparent reasoning, underpricing competitors, and pursuing bold distribution plays like a TikTok merger. The focus: control data pipelines, deliver end-to-end AI assistance, and scale through premium utility, not mass adoption. It’s a strategy that I forsee being replicated as AI upstarts usurp incumbents.
Powerful A.I. Is Coming. We’re Not Ready. - The people building today’s most advanced AI systems are the ones sounding the alarm. They believe artificial general intelligence could arrive within a few years and are already preparing for its implications. Meanwhile, governments, institutions, and the public remain largely unprepared, risking another blindside like social media. Only with far greater stakes…… We both need to jump on the bandwagon but we also need to control that wagon.
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