Nearly four years ago I used billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman as a prime example of a delusional business leader who had gotten too close to his high-stakes bets and lost all objectivity. Today, CNBC reports that institutional investors have all but fled Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital, including longtime[…] Read On
The Silicon Valley hype machine has gone full on crypto crazy. The tech industry has a long history of overhyping technology that’s not ready for primetime, but you don’t often see overly opportunistic VCs shilling for fanatical founders. Then there’s Tim Draper. The famed venture capitalist is excited about cryptocurrency.[…] Read On
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen wants to teach machines common sense. Maybe he should start by teaching humans. The Seattle Seahawks owner and mega-investor has earmarked $125 million for a project so artificial intelligence can “approach human abilities,” he said. Oren Etzioni, CEO of AI2, Allen’s AI research center, added that[…] Read On
Walking across the border from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, China, in 1991, I found a city transitioning from market town to bustling metropolis. Most of the people were poor, and the technology companies I visited consisted of engineers in warehouses with old metal desks and outdated computers. But you could[…] Read On
“Sorry I can’t stick around but, you know the drill,” I said, “Places to go, people to see.” “You know we all end up in the same place, don’t you?” said my lunch buddy. “Why are you always in such a hurry to get there?” I took that as a[…] Read On
Every year, Santa and I get together at his place, break out the nog, boogey down to some righteous Christmas toons, and talk about the year’s naughtiest chief executives. We can’t do a thing about their outrageous pay packages, but the fat man can’t resist filling their Christmas stockings with[…] Read On
I was born a little late to catch the McCarthy era, but if someone had told me that it could happen again, in this supposedly enlightened day and age, I would have said niet way. And yet, here we are. The vast Russian conspiracy nonsense is out of control. It[…] Read On