AI Incentives, Overbuying Psychology, And More
5 thought-provoking ideas I picked up in October
Hello reader,
Hope you enjoyed last week’s piece on the clash of civilizations.
We’re back with a monthly roundup, where we’ll cover 5 intriguing ideas in 5 minutes. Last time, we discussed stuff like signaling theory and tech secrecy. Go ahead and give it a read.
October was another great month packed to the brim with new learnings. Here are 5 big ones that’ll make you think:
Plastic-eating bacteria: Plastic pollution has been one of our nastiest environmental issues. So when I first heard about this new strain of bacteria that can break down and consume plastic, it shook the ground under my feet. Japanese scientists have discovered a bacterium called Ideonella Sakiaensis (named after the city of Sakai, where it was found) that could fully break plastic down and process it into basic nutrients. Surprisingly, the discovery in 2001 wasn’t big news because the extreme use of microplastics hadn’t quite taken off, and the crisis wasn’t big enough. Scientists today are building on this discovery, using genetic engineering to make the enzymes used by this bacteria operate in a much more efficient way. In a world deluged with bad news, this is a nice dose of science-backed optimism.
Compulsive Buying: Who does most of the compulsive buying while shopping- men or women? The answer is the latter. And is there a pattern in this overbuying behavior? Hell yes! A staggering 90% of these products that women compulsively buy are…wait for it…beauty products. This happens because these products improve women’s chances of success in the mating sphere (back in the jungle, the woman who was able to look more attractive had the upper hand in wooing the fittest male in the tribe). But today this kind of cosmetic-buying spree is no longer needed or adaptive. This is what we call an evolutionary hangover.
Buying cosmetics worth 6 months’ salary Snakes & Ladders: Just like Arab numerals were actually invented in India (and since they reached Europe via the Arabs, they’re unfortunately not called ‘Indian numerals’), here’s another Indian invention that hardly anyone knows about: Snakes & Ladders. It was invented by the poet Gyandev and was called Moksha Patam. What’s interesting is that it was used as a tool to offer moral instruction to kids, with the snakes representing vice and ladders representing virtue. The British picked up the idea and made a Victorian version sans the moral and religious themes in 1892, which we know as S&L today.
Outsourcing 2.0: Just like the IT outsourcing boom in the 90s and 2000s that brought an unprecedented level of employment & wealth to the country, the stage is set for the next wave of outsourcing. But this time, it’ll include a much broader set of services. Due to a talent crunch in the West, global corporations are setting up Global Capability Centres to outsource functions like HR, marketing, payroll, and analytics. Looking at data from the last 12 months, a new GCC is being set up in the country every 5 days, with most happening in the Western and Southern parts of the country given the availability of talent, better infrastructure, and a better law & order situation. If things continue at this pace, this could add up to $20 Bn to India’s GDP.
The Incentives Surrounding AI: Charlie Munger says “Show me the incentives and I’ll show you the outcome”. When it came to social media, tech giants were incentivized to capture our attention to make mouthwatering profits. It seems like we’ve not learned the lesson on how much harm misaligned incentives can create. The main incentive for AI companies is to rapidly deploy ever-advancing capabilities to the public, but this has dangerous implications. These advanced algorithms have very few safety controls, and people can easily break them to get access to the worst info possible- how to make an anthrax bomb for instance. There are multiple things we need to do to prevent this: from personal liability for the founders of AI companies to building emergency plans in case future models get alarmingly powerful.
That’s it, folks! Did you have any interesting revelations in October? If yes, share them with me by replying to this email (I respond to 100% of the emails I receive).
And if you enjoyed picking up something new today, continue the learning spree with: