Find The Server Stackers

Hey everyone,

A special welcome this week to our new subscribers—great to have you here!

This is your Sunday Space, where I serve up the best ideas and resources I’ve found each week as we explore the technology shaping the future.

If you find something thought-provoking, forward it to a friend.

IDEAS
Find The Server Stackers

In the late 1990s, internet pioneers spent countless hours stacking physical computer servers to power the internet’s first billion-dollar companies.

Building the infrastructure to run Google, Amazon, or Facebook was nearly impossible—requiring unprecedented funding and technical expertise.

Fast forward to today, and the opposite is true.

Thanks to platforms like AWS, creating what was once technically impossible now requires a few clicks.

This paradigm shift raises a crucial question for innovators in 2024:

What is today’s equivalent of "stacking servers"?

Identifying the industries and businesses where high complexity and high costs raise the barriers to entry presents the next big opportunity.

Tomorrow’s “Magnificent Seven” are being built in industries that are too expensive and technically challenging for the average entrepreneur.

History has repeatedly shown us that simplicity evolves from complexity. Bezos stacking servers to run Amazon’s online store turned into AWS.

Those who demystify today's complexities will lead tomorrow.

So, find the server stackers.

INSIGHTS
From around the web

Insights from an interview with Andrew Ng

This week, I stumbled upon this article and had to dig it out of the archives.

Here are my key takeaways from this interview with the co-founder of Google Brain and AI professor at Stanford:

• Small open-source models (like Mistral or Llama 7B) running inference locally on one’s laptop can be powerful for brainstorming and simple fact-finding, ensuring your data is kept private.

  • I’m setting this up on my basic PC and will report soon…

  • Of course, these models don’t compare to the complex reasoning that GPT-4 can display.

• Training and running inference on larger models (anything above 70B parameters) requires data-centre-level resources, i.e., millions of dollars worth of compute.

• He believes LLMs, like GPT-4, have built an inherent world model; therefore, depending on your definition of the word, they may actually “understand” how the world works.

• Open source is a crucial component of the AI landscape—without it, he believes AI progress would be reserved unfairly for the global superpowers.

• “Today’s supercomputer is tomorrow’s smartwatch.”

As one of the most prominent figures in AI, I highly recommend engaging in Andrew Ng’s AI courses or content.

Limitless from Rewind

Last week, I wrote about Humane’s AI Pin, in which reviewers derided the company for its product not living up to expectations.

This week, I’m writing about Limitless’ (formerly Rewind.ai) product launch which slipped by without as much attention.

Limitless is a personalised AI wearable that wants to read and listen to everything you do.

Sound familiar?

The interesting thing about Limitless, and the only reason I’m writing about them, is that they’ve positioned their pendant to directly oppose Humane’s AI Pin.

For instance, the Pendant has:

• 100-hour battery life (allegedly), as opposed to the AI Pin’s 4-hour life.

• No removable battery pack.

• Integrations with a Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android app.

• A price tag of $99, 7x less than the AI Pin…

So they’re a more useful AI Pin. And they own it—making these differentiators abundantly clear in their launch video.

It’ll be interesting to see if they can execute their roadmap and deliver a useful AI-hardware-software experience to their customers.

My short-term scepticism has risen around these types of products, but I’m bullish on the seamless integration of AI into our devices in the long term.

Once these systems get intelligent and fast enough, anything is possible.

Too many models

On the note of another AI product release, did you know that 9 major AI models were released last week, excluding Llama 3 and Limitless?

This is shocking but is not that surprising.

This is how LLMs and AI platforms become commoditised for developers and end users.

Models become more widely available and cheaper in a virtuous cycle.

Therefore, the next big winner will be the company that can combine all these different models into a product that delivers real utility to the consumer.

SCROLLING
On X

MUST-WATCH
On YouTube

TOOLS
Notion

Notion is my second brain, personal operating system and content catalogue.

It’s the engine driving my efforts with this newsletter and my No-Code/AI product development—from brainstorming ideas and writing drafts to hosting databases and coding.

With their community-driven templates for your personal or professional goals, Notion is the canvas for your ideas to come to life.

The icing on the cake is that the Notion team ships—their AI features give your workspace intelligence and will, in turn, allow you and your team to ship faster.

If you want to 100x your productivity, give Notion a try today*

RESOURCES
The No-Code x AI Bootcamp

If you're a regular here, you’ll know I’ve been through the Bootcamp myself. I'm not big on courses, and I recommend even fewer.

That speaks volumes about this one. It was a game-changer.

I’ve always been 'almost there.’ Full of ideas, yet stuck at the starting line, watching others on Twitter launch their products and succeed.

Then, I joined the Bootcamp. It completely changed my perspective.

I discovered the true power of building with No-Code and launched my MVP in a weekend.

I’m no longer hampered by analysis paralysis and have a roadmap of ideas and products I plan to build.

If you’re feeling stuck like I was, this Bootcamp is the way to break free.

Sign up here for the May 2024 cohort and get $100 off.*

THOUGHTS
Quote I’m Pondering

“At the heart of it is this question: do we think the world is better off with more or less intelligence? And it is true that intelligence now comprises both human intelligence and artificial intelligence. And it is absolutely true that intelligence can be used for nefarious purposes. But over many centuries, society has developed as humans have become better educated and smarter. I think that having more intelligence in the world, be it human or artificial, will help all of us better solve problems. So throwing up regulatory barriers against the rise of intelligence, just because it could be used for some nefarious purposes, I think would set back society.”

—Andrew Ng, Interview with the FT

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Thanks for reading,

— Luca

P.S. Websites to peruse the next time you’re procrastinating…