I'VE SEEN TECHNOLOGY RESHAPE OUR WORLD REPEATEDLY. PREVIOUS TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS AMPLIFIED HUMAN CAPABILITIES BUT DIDN'T FUNDAMENTALLY ALTER THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN INTELLECT. THEY EXTENDED OUR REACH BUT DIDN'T MULTIPLY OUR MINDS.

Artificial intelligence is different. It's past the point where a difference in degree becomes a difference in kind. AI amplifies and multiplies the human brain, much like steam engines once amplified muscle power. Before engines, we consumed food for energy and that energy we put to work. Engines allowed us to tap into external energy sources like coal and oil, revolutionizing productivity and transforming society. AI stands poised to be the intellectual parallel, offering a near-infinite expansion of brainpower to serve humanity.

AI promises a future of unparalleled abundance. However, as we transition to a post-scarcity society, the journey may be complex, and the short term may be painful for those displaced. Mitigating these challenges requires well-reasoned policy. The next 0–10 years, 10–25 years, and 25–50 years will each be radically different. The pace of change will be hard to predict or anticipate, especially as technology capabilities far exceed human intelligence and penetrate society at varying rates. (1/25)

khoslaventures.com/ai-dystopia-or… PESSIMISTS PAINT A DYSTOPIAN FUTURE IN TWO PARTS—ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL. They fear widespread job loss, economic inequality, social manipulation, erosion of human agency, loss of creativity, and even existential threats from AI. I believe these fears are largely unfounded, myopic, and harmful. They are addressable through societal choices. MOREOVER, THE REAL RISK ISN'T “SENTIENT AI” BUT LOSING THE AI RACE TO NEFARIOUS “NATION STATES,” OR OTHER BAD ACTORS, MAKING AI DANGEROUS FOR THE WEST. IRONICALLY, THOSE WHO FEAR AI AND ITS CAPACITY TO ERODE DEMOCRACY AND MANIPULATE SOCIETIES SHOULD BE MOST FEARFUL OF THIS RISK! (2/25)

khoslaventures.com/ai-dystopia-or…

The 2024 election also comes at a moment of national crisis. This time, however, the threat to the country’s future—to its rule of law and its democratic institutions, its security and its character—resides not in a foreign capital but at a twenty-acre Xanadu on the Florida coast. For nine years, Donald Trump has represented an ongoing assault on the stability, the nerves, and the nature of the United States.

newyorker.com/magazine/2024/… As President, he amplified some of the ugliest currents in our political culture: nativism, racism, misogyny, indifference to the disadvantaged, amoral isolationism. His narcissism and casual cruelty, his contempt for the truth, have contaminated public life. As Commander-in-Chief, he ridiculed the valor of fallen soldiers, he threatened to unravel the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and he emboldened autocrats everywhere, including Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Viktor Orbán. When Trump lost to Joe Biden, in 2020, he tried every means possible to deny the will of the electorate and helped incite a violent insurrection on Capitol Hill.

.@elonmusk I did listen to the climate part and yeah, I do think it was dumb. I don't expect @realDonaldTrump
to know the nuances of various CO2 ppm levels and their consequences, and him reaching out to the person who has arguably done more for climate than anyone else is pretty sensible. You had a responsibility that I think you largely abdicated by downplaying the reality of things. Focusing on 1000ppm because that's when things start to get "uncomfortable" for humans i.e., nausea and headaches is totally off. At ~500pm, the likelihood of catastrophic climate impacts, such as large-scale disruptions to ecosystems, accelerated ice melt, and extreme weather events, becomes much higher. Some have warned that exceeding 500 ppm could lead to irreversible damage and tipping points in the Earth's climate system. You know this.

*HOW TO HIRE A CEO*

1. Define the Ideal Candidate Through Real Examples
Instead of writing a spec, which generally looks like god in hard to meet form, start with a dozen top resumes that you can annotate. Highlight positive and negative experiences and characteristics to create a spec based on realistic candidates, and then hand these markups to your recruiter. 2. Choose the Right Search Firm
Smaller search firms often have a better network and instinct for entrepreneurial candidates than large firms that are used to staffing F500 companies. I have generally found that their instincts for entrepreneurial talent can be off. Smaller firms are more attuned to the needs of startups and growth-stage companies.

Entrepreneurs, with passion for a vision, invent the future they want. These are my predictions for abundant, awesome, technology-based, Possible Tomorrows (2035-2049) ... if we allow them to happen! #TED2024 @TEDTalks

#1 @elonmusk said “Vinod doesn’t know what he is talking about”! I probably don’t but can you explain #2 - #15? If I don't know, can you then correct the record in this thread? #2 @elonmusk is being self-righteous about the ills of prioritizing profit over benefit to humanity. To the less naive, timelines show Elon left @OpenAI & reneged on his word to “cover whatever of the initial $1B anyone else doesn't provide”. He reneged simply because he wanted to wrangle control for himself and for Tesla. openai.com/blog/openai-el…

There’s a fun refrain about socio-political movements – that what happens in California precedes what happens in the US, which precedes what’ll happen in the world. Perhaps not the author’s original intention, but if we take the technological analog of this framing -- what happens in venture (in the Valley specifically) is a sign of what’s to come in the world.

#1: In this difficult environment, it is amazing how many companies (26 + more everyday) in our portfolio are responding with deep technical solutions to COVID related critical problems by pivoting from their own business plans to repurpose tech medium.com/@vkhosla/khosl… #2: FDA cleared long QT from @Alivecor for COVID medications with QT prolongation effect (eg chloroquine, Azithromycin). Partnered with @MayoClinic to diagnose long QT & build algorithmic diagnosis mayo.edu/research/clini… medium.com/@vkhosla/khosl…

Earlier this week I had a conversation with @Harrystebbings, host of @20minVC, about company building. If you haven't had a chance to listen, wanted to share some of my thoughts thetwentyminutevc.com/vinodkhosla/ For @khoslaventures, venture assistance means surrounding founders with the support they need to build a much larger company. A few small nudges left or right can change the trajectory of a company by hundreds of percent.

I'm sharing some of my top book recommendations from 2019, along with my ranking 1-10. Some of them are new, others I have read multiple times over the years.
medium.com/@vkhosla/2019-… Life on the Edge by @johnjoemcfadden & @jimalkhalili - Would life be possible without quantum phenomenon? I highly recommend this book, it is one of the few I have read twice! Ranking: 10
amazon.com/dp/B00RKO0KWM/…