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> Our singular focus means no distraction by management overhead or product cycles, and our business model means safety, security, and progress are all insulate
by gnicholas 2y ago
> Our singular focus means no distraction by management overhead or product cycles, and our business model means safety, security, and progress are all insulated from short-term commercial pressures.
Can someone explain how their singular focus means they won't have product cycles or management overhead?
- mike_d 2y agoDon't hire anyone who is a certified scrum master or has an MBA and you tend to be able to get a lot done.
- gnicholas 2y agoThis would work for very small companies...but I'm not sure how one can avoid product cycles forever, even without scrum masters and the like. More to the point, how can you make a good product without something approximating product cycles?
- liamconnell 2y agoJane street did it for a long time. They are quite large now and only recently started bringing in program managers and the like.
- doktorhladnjak 2y agoThat’s because their “products” are internal but used to make all their revenue. They’re not selling products to customers in the traditional sense.
- YetAnotherNick 2y agoThe point is not exactly product cycles, but some way to track progress. Jane street also tracks progress and for many people it's the direct profit someone made for the firm. For some it is improving engineering culture so that other people can make better profits. The problem with safety is that no one knows how to track it, or what they even mean by it. Even if you ignore tracking, wouldn't one unsafe AGI by one company in the world nullifies all their effort? Or safe AI would somehow need to take over the world, which is super unsafe in itself.
- richie-guix 2y agoThat's not actually enough. You also very carefully need to avoid the Blub Paradox. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieqsL5NkS6I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieqsL5NkS6I
- paxys 2y agoProduct cycles – we need to launch feature X by arbitrary date Y, and need to make compromises to do so. Management overhead – product managers, project managers, several layers of engineering managers, directors, VPs...all of whom have their own dreams and agendas and conflicting priorities. A well funded pure research team can cut through all of this and achieve a ton. If it is actually run that way, of course. Management politics ultimately has a way of creeping into every organization.