More from Essays - Benedict Evans
Generative AI chatbots might be a life-changing transformation in the nature of computing, that can replace all software, but so far, most of its users only pick it up every week or two, and far fewer have made it part of their lives. Is that a time problem or a product problem?
Software ate the world. Uber and Airbnb didn’t sell software - they disrupted and redefined markets. But what kind of disruption are we talking about ?
It matters that Apple’s new Siri will be late, and it matters more that Apple didn’t realise. Is it more than that?
OpenAI’s Deep Research is built for me, and I can’t use it. It’s another amazing demo, until it breaks. But it breaks in really interesting ways.
Every week there’s a better AI model that gives better answers. But a lot of questions don’t have better answers, only ‘right’ answers, and these models can’t do that. So what does ‘better’ mean, how do we manage these things, and should we change what we expect from computers?
More in startups
Brazil is piloting dWallet, that lets citizens earn money from their data, but experts warn it could deepen inequality.
Another common economic narrative that's out of date.
Western job seekers see lucrative offers in the booming AI hub, while others deal with rejections and lower pay.
We're messing with the engine that makes our country run.
In Taiwan’s AI-fueled chip boom, brokers control everything from paychecks to dorm beds, leaving workers feeling trapped and exploited.