Quantum noise, AI Risks, EU Innovation, Healthcare Reimagined, GenAI Video physics
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In this Edition of S3T:
- 🔓 Healthcare Change Leadership: A new S3T learning path empowers leaders to reimagine healthcare systems as simpler, more affordable, and effective by challenging long-standing assumptions and exploring transformative innovations.
- 🌍 EU Innovation Challenges: Insights into the struggles of high-tech EU startups like Northvolt and the need for reinvention, as illustrated by Janan Ganesh's article on Musk's ideas for government reform. Positive highlights include Norway’s Vipps (an Apple Pay alternative) and Aqemia’s GenAI drug discovery.
- ⚛️ Quantum Computing Breakthrough: Google’s "Willow" quantum chip showcases error correction success, performing tasks infeasible for supercomputers. The leap towards practical quantum computing brings both innovation potential and security risks, including threats to current cryptographic systems.
- 🤖 AI’s Dual Impact: AI reduces stillbirths and cancer fatalities but also fuels realistic scams. Evgeny Morozov critiques AI’s potential to entrench societal power imbalances while tools like Chatbot Arena and AIluminate advance testing and governance.
- 🎥 Generative AI Video Struggles: OpenAI's "Sora" video generator shows promise but struggles with physics and realism. Marques Brownlee highlights its flaws with humor, featuring a Santa vs. Frosty combat video.
- 🚨 AI and Geopolitical Tensions: Commentary surfaces on Elon Musk’s influence in AI and ties to the U.S. administration, reflecting the growing complexities of AI politics and leadership dynamics.
- 🧘 Change Leadership Self-Care: S3T’s 201-level series emphasizes self-care and team resilience as crucial for change leaders. Practical resources support leaders in managing personal well-being while driving transformative change.
Opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official positions of companies or organizations those individuals may be affiliated with. Not financial, investment or legal advice, and no offers for securities or investment opportunities are intended. Mentions should not be construed as endorsements. Authors or guests may hold assets discussed or may have interests in companies mentioned.
⚕️United CEO death exposes American's seething anger over healthcare coverage denials and delays
While the flood of hateful outrage on social media - and more recently Wanted Posters - may seem easy to discredit, some of the more measured responses like this TikTok dialogue by Paster Paul Drees could have resonance sufficient to compel significant changes in the policies that govern how the US funds and manages healthcare.
Some are likening this to the public outrage against banking (remember Occupy Wall St) and the outrage in the wake of George Floyd’s killing - in all cases, rage fueled by a sense of helplessness.
Few deny that changes and improvements are needed in economic equality generally and healthcare specifically. Finding constructive paths forward seems challenging however. And it won’t help to keep touting economic averages (like this week’s “new record high in household wealth!”) that conceal the financial pain felt by families and individuals across the US.
Here are a couple of starting point considerations specific to healthcare:
#1 Reconsider Moral Hazard
US healthcare is tends to operate on an assumption that patients "consume less healthcare when they are required to pay more for it out of pocket." There are serious flaws in this line of thinking which is rooted in the 18th-century notion of moral hazard. This S3T Explainer shows how to rethink Moral Hazard logic in healthcare.
#2 Rethink how healthcare needs to work
A very different kind of healthcare system - simpler, more affordable, more cost-effective, and more functional - is very possible. But it requires a willingness to swap out some long-standing assumptions and mental models held in US healthcare. Start with this 🔓Special Unlocked S3T Learning Feature: Learning Path for Healthcare Change Leaders. This learning path for healthcare change leaders provides a reading list designed for leaders who want to give themselves a foundation for rethinking how healthcare could and should work.
For insights on making the general economy support more than the upper 1% see The Evolution of Economics.
🇪🇺 EU Innovation & Entrepreneurial Health
The failure of Northvolt battery - Europes best and brightest high tech green energy startup - raises questions about the EU's plan for innovation and entrepreneurialism.
Janan Ganesh's fun read "Musk is the right man on the wrong continent" digs into the economics that plague Britain but also the EU in general, and argues that Musk's ideas about reinventing government may be more urgently needed in the UK than in the US. (The article also illustrates the envy the rest of the world feels regarding the strength of the US economic data).
Some positive notes - EU companies bucking the trend:
- Norway launches Vipps an alternative to Apple Pay - and yes it works on iPhones!
- Aqemia is a French startup using GenAI to find new drugs
Quantum looms closer
Google announces a new Quantum Chip with error correction breakthrough and roadmap. Willow - Google's latest quantum chip - ran a benchmark test in five minutes that would have taken 10 septillion years on Frontier, the world's fastest supercomputer.
Why this matters: Error correction is an important problem to solve for quantum compute: fragile quantum states introduce errors ("quantum noise") which until now have tended to only increase when attempts were made to correct them. Google's breakthrough reverses this phenomenon and puts quantum computing on track for real world uses as early as 2030.
The advent of business- or science-ready quantum computing could unleash a new wave of innovation, but also poses unprecedented risks to information security and - potentially - crypto assets. Quantum computers that operate without succumbing to quantum noise could use Shor's algorithm to break public-key cryptography methods currently considered secure against classical computing attacks.
Related: Chicago wants to be the Silicon Valley of Quantum Computing
Use of AI
AI Fetal Monitoring Tool reduces stillbirths and neonatal deaths by 82%, and AI is detecting more breast cancer cases.
AI generated content is being used to create increasingly realistic scams - as banks deny responsibility.
In the long read "The AI We Deserve" Evgeny Morozov digs into how we might "ensure that the agendas of the Efficiency Lobby don’t overpower those of the Humanity Lobby" and worries that of all the risks posed by AI, the "the ability of AI to run ideological interference for the prevailing order, whether bureaucracy in its early days or the market today, poses the greatest threat."
AI Testing and Evaluation
Chatbot Arena allows users to blind test AI models by posing questions to two anonymous AI models and rate which one is better.
AIluminate is a new AI risk assessment benchmark tool from MLCommons, The tool uses a collection of 12,000 test prompts to measure an LLM's propensity to generate hazardous responses to inappropriate prompts from malicious or vulnerable users. This allows governance teams to test how an LLM responds to prompts that ask for instructions on criminal acts or self harm.
Generative AI Video
OpenAi Releases Sora - a Generative AI tool that generates videos in response to prompts. OpenAI is rolling it out slowly, due to concerns about deepfakes. In my tests, it can occasionally have moments of stunning realism, but I found it to be most effective at generating exercises in frustration. Marques Brownlee shows how Sora struggles with object permanence and natural realistic movements because it seems to have limited ability to apply physics in its rendering.
On the plus side, he did get Sora to generate this Mortal Combat style fight between Santa and Frosty:
The Rise of AI Mafias
Interesting comments this week from OpenAI CFO regarding competitor Elon Musk's close ties to the new administration.
Leading change is not easy. Establishing self-care as a norm both at the personal and team level is crucial.
We're continuing our Change Leadership Learning Series now in the 201 level where we are Learning and applying change leadership skills on personal, organizational and macro levels.
Self care and team care must be top priorities for change leaders
Understanding and practicing the basics of self-care and resilience - and helping others do the same - can make a big difference.
This learning guide is not intended to serve as an exhaustive resource for mental and physical health, but rather to share a perspectives and resources that relate to scenarios frequently encountered by change leaders.
❤️Click here to access this week's Change Leadership 201 segment: Taking care of yourself and others
Use or Share these free S3T Resources:
🧮 Personal Finance learning page
Offers 3 valuable resources. 1. A Budget Planner to create a suggested monthly budget based on your income. 2. A Budget Basics section to learn how to use your budget to build your financial security over time. 3. A Recommended Reading section for further learning. Perfect for helping a young adult or anyone learning how to managed their finances.
🧰 Layoff Recovery Toolkit
This unique toolkit is designed to help you navigate a layoff with confidence, giving you practical tools to help you set a strong positive mindset, conduct a highly effective job search, and be 110% ready for what’s next. Learn how to share your past success stories in a way that excites people about working with you to create future success stories.
Also: Ebird is hiring 🐦⬛
Thank you for what you do! Learning and applying change leadership principles in your work makes a difference - perhaps to many who will never be able to come back and thank you. So I thank you for your work and leadership. It means a lot.
Ralph