Author: Colin Henderson

Progress in era of productivity
AI

Smaller is better – shifts in hiring suggest AI impacts and productivity shifts

Colin Henderson

Source: Gergely Orosz Last updated 21 FEBRUARY 2025. Originally published 20 Feb 2025. Writing The Pragmatic Engineer Newsletter. Author of The Software Engineer’s Guidebook. Previously at Uber, Microsoft, Skype, Skyscanner. Amsterdam, Netherlands ——/——-//——-/——- Interesting data from jobs site Indeed shows the change in the number of active software developer job listings on the site. For context, Indeed is the largest job aggregator portal in the US and in several countries, and it crawls vacancies on other sites, too. This means that Indeed aims to track most of the posted jobs across a given region (via crawling and processing them) – not just the … Continue reading Smaller is better – shifts in hiring suggest AI impacts and productivity shifts

AI

Valuing the Deep State: A Nine-Part Series by Francis Fukuyama

Colin Henderson

Francis Fukuyama’s nine-part series on the advantages, dangers, and complications of bureaucratic autonomy. Francis Fukuyama A compilation of Francis Fukuyama’s nine-part series on valuing the deep state, originally published on his Frankly Fukuyama column via Persuasion. Part I: Valuing the Deep State Why the hostility towards the “deep state”? In the first installment of his series, Francis Fukuyama pushes back on anti-bureaucracy sentiment and makes the case that a high-capacity, professional, and impersonal state is critical to the success of any society. Part II: The Origin of States To understand the deep state, start by exploring human nature. Fukuyama traces how humans have … Continue reading Valuing the Deep State: A Nine-Part Series by Francis Fukuyama

Economy, Growth, US
Colin Henderson

Civilised societies depend on institutions. The more complex the society, the more vital those institutions. Institutions provide stability, predictability and security. Companies, schools, universities, and courts are all institutions. But the most important institutions are those of the state. This is why Donald Trump’s assault on what his supporters misleadingly call “the deep state” is so dangerous. Some of them think the state should be servile to the whims of the great leader. Others think it should be at the service of the wealthy. Both sides agree that its ability to meet the needs of the wider public is of … Continue reading

AGI, Social Theory

The Dark Side of Modernity(Alexander)

Colin Henderson

In “The Dark Side of Modernity,” Jeffrey C. Alexander critically examines modernity’s contradictory character, depicting it as both a historical period embodying Enlightenment ideals and a social condition marred by suffering and destructive impulses. He discusses how key theorists like Weber, Simmel, Eisenstadt, and Parsons tackled modernity’s dual nature, emphasizing that contradictions should not be resolved but accepted. Civil inclusion and anti-civil exclusion are intertwined, highlighting modernity’s endemic frictions. Alexander advocates for social amelioration through emotional repair and cultural performance, maintaining that acknowledging modernity’s duality fosters realistic approaches to social justice and improvement. Continue reading The Dark Side of Modernity(Alexander)

AGI, Business Models, sociology2 Comments

The book “Dark Side of Modernity”

Colin Henderson

has been analyzed by several key social theorists who highlight its dual nature and contradictions: Major Theoretical Perspectives Max Weber Georg Simmel Shmuel Eisenstadt Talcott Parsons Jeffrey Alexander Zygmunt Bauman The common thread among these theorists is their recognition of modernity’s Janus-faced character, simultaneously promising progress while bringing suffering[1][4]. Sources[1] The Dark Side of Modernity – Yale Sociology https://sociology.yale.edu/publications/dark-side-modernity%5B2%5D [PDF] the meaning of modernity – John Dwyer https://jdwyer.info.yorku.ca/files/2015/10/DWYER_MODERN_AGE_LECTURES.pdf%5B3%5D [PDF] Bauman and contemporary sociology https://www.asau.ru/files/pdf/1632927.pdf%5B4%5D The Dark Side of Modernity | Wiley https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Dark+Side+of+Modernity-p-9780745665061%5B5%5D The Dark Side of Modernity Theme in Beyond Good and Evil https://www.litcharts.com/lit/beyond-good-and-evil/themes/the-dark-side-of-modernity%5B6%5D [PDF] Kara Abdolmaleki – ERA – … Continue reading The book “Dark Side of Modernity”

AI

True understanding and reasoning in AGI emerges through several fundamental mechanisms:

Colin Henderson

Causal Understanding AGI achieves genuine comprehension by grasping cause-and-effect relationships rather than merely identifying statistical correlations[1]. This causal nature enables the system to understand why things happen, not just that they happen. Contextual Processing Deep Context Integration: The system processes information by considering the complete context, as the same actions can produce different effects in different situations[1]. Adaptive Framework: AGI builds understanding from the bottom up without predetermined models or human-imposed structures, allowing it to: Cognitive Architecture The system achieves true reasoning through: This architecture enables AGI to solve problems in their exact context while understanding both the derivation and … Continue reading True understanding and reasoning in AGI emerges through several fundamental mechanisms:

AI

AGI represents a theoretical leap beyond Generative AI with several key distinguishing characteristics:

Colin Henderson

Core Capabilities True Understanding: AGI would genuinely comprehend context and meaning, unlike GenAI which merely predicts patterns without real understanding[1][3]. Adaptive Learning: AGI can learn from limited information and apply knowledge across different situations through transfer learning, while GenAI requires extensive data for specific tasks[1]. Sensory Integration: AGI would perceive and interpret its environment holistically through multiple senses, understanding the broader context of sensory inputs[1][4]. Advanced Functions Problem-Solving: AGI can tackle unfamiliar tasks and find novel solutions, unlike GenAI’s limitation to specific trained domains[4][8]. Cognitive Abilities: AGI would possess: This represents a fundamental shift from GenAI’s pattern-matching capabilities to true … Continue reading AGI represents a theoretical leap beyond Generative AI with several key distinguishing characteristics:

US

An Unchecked Trump Rapidly Remakes U.S. Government and Foreign Policy

Colin Henderson

The president’s swift moves underscore the confidence of an administration with a much firmer grip on the levers of government than during his first term. At every step in his second term, Mr. Trump is demonstrating how unbound he is from prior restraints, dramatically remaking both domestic and foreign policy at a scale that has little parallel.Credit…Eric Lee/The New York Times By Luke Broadwater Reporting from Washington The last time President Trump held office, he tried to make deep cuts to foreign aid, but was blocked by Congress. He is finding little resistance from fellow Republicans this time to his move … Continue reading An Unchecked Trump Rapidly Remakes U.S. Government and Foreign Policy

AI

What Does It Mean to Align AI With Human Values?

Colin Henderson

By MELANIE MITCHELL December 13, 2022 Making sure our machines understand the intent behind our instructions is an important problem that requires understanding intelligence itself. December 13, 2022 Introduction Many years ago, I learned to program on an old Symbolics Lisp Machine. The operating system had a built-in command spelled “DWIM,” short for “Do What I Mean.” If I typed a command and got an error, I could type “DWIM,” and the machine would try to figure out what I meant to do. A surprising fraction of the time, it actually worked. The DWIM command was a microcosm of the more … Continue reading What Does It Mean to Align AI With Human Values?

AI

Meta Plans Major Investment Into AI-Powered Humanoid Robots

Colin Henderson

Company is aiming to be the engine powering humanoid market Ex-Cruise CEO Marc Whitten to run new group in Reality Labs Mark GurmanFebruary 14, 2025 at 11:00 AM EST Meta Platforms Inc., after pushing into augmented reality and artificial intelligence, has identified its next big bet: AI-powered humanoid robots.  The company is making a significant investment into the category — futuristic robots that can act like humans and assist with physical tasks — and is forming a new team within its Reality Labs hardware division to conduct the work, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Meta plans to … Continue reading Meta Plans Major Investment Into AI-Powered Humanoid Robots