Biden's date with destiny, AGI isn't near and GameBoy nostalgia

Weekly Ink #16

A weekly newsletter with findings, practical wisdom, and interesting conversations from across the web, curated by yours truly.

Contemplations

Meditations, practical philosophy, and the occasional restless thought.

I feel kinda bad writing this because I genuinely like who Biden appears to be as a person, and I don’t think to know the man at the depth it would take to pass proper judgment— we leave fate or god(s) to do that. However, he is running for president, and I think I, as every resident and person living here, have a right to comment and express my views.

Biden running for reelection is an unmitigated disaster, both for the country and for his legacy. Don’t misunderstand— in typical circumstances, of the two candidates, only one should be expected to drop out for being unqualified: Trump. The worst you can accuse Biden of is being a well-intentioned, declining old man who believes he has a date with destiny; the worst for Trump is that he is a narcissist willing to sell the country for a dime with a proven track record of lying to his base and voters at large like it’s going out of style.

But we’re way off the fucking reservation here. Trump won’t drop out, he is running to stay out of prison, and has an absolute lock on his party’s support. Anyone unwilling to compromise their character and value for Trump has effectively abandoned the party. There is also nothing greater to appeal to in Trump, to get him to drop out— there is no priority there but Trump.

So, the narrative goes, it falls to Biden— a well-meaning, old man, Biden, to do what Trump cannot do: drop out for the country's good. Because “I’m not Trump” is a shitty, un-exciting value proposition to vote for. Because the people looking forward to voting for Biden are in the absolute minority. Because his running mate, whom he insists on keeping, is more unpopular than he is. Because I and others deserve a president who is aligned with the instincts and impulses of modern America, not a relic from the Cold War. Because there is a distinct lack of vision for the future of America. We need a new narrative of who we are and what we can be, and an 81-year-old man won’t be the one to tell it.

I like Biden. I wanted Biden to take on Hillary in the 2016 Primary. He was my guy. But Joe is 81 now. If he wins, he will be 86 when he leaves the Oval Office. I do not believe a man that old is the best qualified to sit in one of the most powerful positions in the world, certainly not after his debate performance. Yes, he had an exceptional appearance the next day. But, that does not negate the terrible performance and appearance of the debate; it only affirms what we already know— We all have good days and bad days, but as we age, our bad days become more impactful and pronounced. Being President is, if not a young person's game, at least a younger person.

But, and this piece may be hard to grok, especially if you believe that “Joe Biden is a good man” (as I do), he won’t because he is fallible to the same egocentric impulses we are. Joe Biden seems to believe in the providence of his destiny to defeat Trump a second time. Biden wants to be, if not already believes, that he is a great man of history. He wants to go down in history as the guy who beat Trump twice and kept him out of office for good. He believes he is that guy.

Perhaps the most tragic thing to me is that if Biden loses, then yes, he will have his place in history, but not as the man he wants to be remembered. He will be remembered as the man whose ego was too big to step aside when the public felt it was time rather than the experienced elder statesman who beat Trump and helped guide America back to its path. Unfortunately, for prior reasons, my money lies on the former outcome.

And so, here we are. Stuck. Between a narcissist and a well-intentioned old man who believes he has a date with destiny.

Let me be clear: I’m not a fortune teller. Biden may still win. But, if Biden wins, it will not be because he was a popular candidate that the majority wanted to vote for a second time. It will not be because he pitched a compelling vision for our future or because people (outside his circle) believed he was the man of the hour.

It will simply be because we collectively kept in mind that despite our misgivings, the alternative was unthinkable.

Insights

Curated stories and ideas.

The Usefulness Of Speaking Your Feelings To An Empty Chair: I can’t say I’ve tried this, but it seems useful to work through feelings and ideas.

How worrying is the rapid rise of Chinese science: This week's great cover story from the Economist. One of the things that makes America rad and exceptional is competition. We need more competition in America, less regulatory capture, less fear of others, and more competition. I’m talking full-body contact, baby! To get ahead and stay ahead and beat geopolitical competitors is to out-compete. I don’t know how to make this any clearer. Yet, as the economist points out, America's focus has been on reducing China’s ability to compete rather than enhancing its competitiveness. This mistake erodes its credibility and ability to lead in the long term in areas like the sciences. I propose an entrepreneurial state offering grants and support to start-ups looking to innovate in key spaces like AI, renewables, Space exploration, etc. This is the way!

Google DeepMind Shifts From Research Lab to AI Product Factory: AGI will not be built on LLM’s. That’s not how the technology works; we are in a full AI hype cycle. I am sure the underlying technology of LLMs will continue to improve and enhance dramatically in the coming years, but if you believe we will have a breakthrough in AGI soon, you’re just plain wrong. We do not fully understand all the nuances of consciousness or the structure and function of the brain; what makes people think we could build one from scratch so quickly?

Dialogue

Voices, perspectives, and conversations from our community and across the web.

Something a little different this week…

Is it wrong of me to absolutely love this thing? It is a Gameboy clone by Palmer Luckey. Look at it. It’s gorgeous. I have no idea if it will take off and get sufficient support to be worthwhile, but a man can dream. The aesthetics, the portability, the nostalgia factor— it hits a lot of notes for me. I need some high-quality indie game development to happen here. I hope we get them. This could be so dope.

Hm? Oh, this isn’t what you come here for? Well, OK. Here is a neat little interview with Palmer Luckey about his other job— disrupting the Pentagon and arms trade (a critically under-disrupted customer if you care about national security).

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