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Articles by Alex MacDonald
Mark Muro: The geography of the tech sector
Podcast Ep. 273 — Political Economy with James Pethokoukis EconomicsPethokoukisTechnology and Innovation April 6, 2022 Since the early days of the digital revolution, the San Francisco Bay area has played a key role from the rise of the microchip to today’s software giants like Facebook and Google. But why has the tech sector remained so geographically concentrated for so long — and is that something government needs to fix?
Why artificial intelligence is harder than we think: My long-read Q&A with Melanie Mitchell
By James Pethokoukis From defeating chess grandmasters to generating images using only keywords to predicting protein shapes, artificial intelligence has come a long way since the early computer era. And in that time, the techniques behind AI systems have evolved, right up to today’s “deep learning” algorithms. And now, with some dismissing the promises of AI enthusiasts as empty hype while others predict a runaway technology that will destroy jobs or worse, is there any room for optimism?
Venture capital, Silicon Valley, and the future of startups: My long-read Q&A with Sebastian Mallaby
By James Pethokoukis and Sebastian Mallaby Venture capitalists are derided as incompetent gamblers whose mistakes prop up worthless startups and whose successes are more the result of luck and branding than any actual skill. But some of Silicon Valley’s most valuable companies were backed with early VC financing. So what market function does venture capital serve? And what can trends in VC financing tell us about the future for startups?
5 questions for Alex MacDonald on the history of private investments in space exploration
By James Pethokoukis and Alex MacDonald Today’s orbital economy is dominated by SpaceX, whose reusable rockets have revolutionized spaceflight and paved the way to exciting private ventures in space that the coming decades will witness. And the company’s founder, Elon Musk, dreams of shuttling passengers to a colony on Mars. Spaceflight used to be a government project, but now private actors are getting into the game and some are criticizing them for it.
Sebastian Mallaby: How venture capital creates the future
Podcast Ep. 271 — Political Economy with James Pethokoukis February 23, 2022 Most highly ambitious business ventures fail, but the ones that succeed can make billionaires of their early investors. Just look at the most valuable companies in the world today, many of which began as tech startups just a few decades ago. Venture capital firms, by providing early-stage financing for startups, have been conspicuous players in the rise of Silicon Valley since the beginning.
Astronomy, sci-fi, and the roots of the space economy: My long-read Q&A with Alex MacDonald
By James Pethokoukis and Alex MacDonald The invention of reusable rockets has reduced the costs to launch satellites to orbit, catalyzing the emerging space economy. But as we look forward to the exciting future in space, it’s worth considering the past to get a better sense of how we got here. What’s the history of government and private investments in space exploration? And what inspired the pioneers of the 20th century who put man on the Moon?
Diamonds Might Not Be Forever
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. 1. Diamonds might not be forever. By Scott Patterson and Alex MacDonald in the Wall Street Journal 2. Here’s a plan to work around the Electoral College without amending the Constitution. 3. Do we really need to give candidates intelligence briefings during the campaign? 4. These bionic bomb-sniffing plants could protect people from terrorism. By Paul Rincon at the BBC 5.
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