Investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future.
Topics covered: Finance, Venture Capital, Tech, AI, Crypto, and Industry Cycles
The Riff is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: turpentine.co
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Investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future.
Topics covered: Finance, Venture Capital, Tech, AI, Crypto, and Industry Cycles
The Riff is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: turpentine.co
E70: OpenAI’s Open Source Strategy, Volatility & Tariffs, and Automation’s Consequences w/ Byrne Hobart
"The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg
1 hour 6 minutes
6 months ago
E70: OpenAI’s Open Source Strategy, Volatility & Tariffs, and Automation’s Consequences w/ Byrne Hobart
This week, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg explore how technological advancements, policy shifts like Trump's tariffs and U.S. industrial policy, the re-industrialization of America, the influence of institutions like Harvard, the evolving role of the U.S. dollar, and the rise of OpenAI are reshaping global markets, businesses, and the future of artificial intelligence.
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Highlights from the Episode:
Trump's Tariffs and Economic Impact: The recent tariff implementation appeared more spontaneous than strategic compared to earlier Trump administration policies.
US-China Trade Relations: Debate over which country has more leverage: China can maintain production without US customers in the short term, but faces demographic challenges long-term.
Strategic Industrial Policy: Byrne suggests focusing on industries with national security implications (drones, rare earth processing) rather than attempting to rebuild entire sectors.
OpenAI Developments: Discussion of OpenAI's potential open-source strategy and how it might reinforce rather than undermine their business model.
White Collar Employment Futures: Byrne explores whether white-collar workers might experience a similar pattern to manufacturing workers as AI adoption increases.
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LINKS:
Byrne’s writing: https://thediff.co
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X / TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/ByrneHobart (Byrne)
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"The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg
Investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future.
Topics covered: Finance, Venture Capital, Tech, AI, Crypto, and Industry Cycles
The Riff is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: turpentine.co