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I think people like Peter Thiel has the insider view of the whole sector, so I would not discount this just because I don’t align with him on political stuffs.

I think people like Peter Thiel has the insider view of the whole sector, so I would not discount this just because I don’t align with him on political stuffs. But again we never know his real positions.

mightyham 1y ago
I agree that it's very difficult to fully understand what his real positions are, and interestingly I think he clearly wants that to be the case. Peter Thiel is interested in and has actually written extensively about Straussianism which is an intellectual movement obsessed with analyzing esoteric meanings in philosophical literature.
- kibibu 1y ago
  Reading his recent "Greta Thunberg Is The Antichrist" stuff leads me to believe the Peter Thiel: - Is deeply unscientific, coming across as a highfalutin paranoid QAnon; and - Has zero self-awareness That said, he has plenty of money and connections, so moves like these are likely well justified.
  - gsf_emergency_4 1y ago
    Detailed perspective from someone with insight into Thiel's thinking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6LakOrqDL4&t=1s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6LakOrqDL4&t=1s That watched, imho Thiel is interested in the post-Straussian tension between "thinking in the open" (ideal science) and "focussed value creation" (which is best done behind closed doors) AI as driven by premium mediocre Millennials combines the worst of both: lazy group-think promoted by stochastic parrots, expensive hardware weaponized by people who didn't earn that privilege Capitalism or communism is a false dichotomy. You'd want any given pre-Jedi to access the Force, build their own lightsabers (in a cave), but not turn to the dark side. GitHub serves Midichlorians. NVDA serves the Federation (and is one of the deadly sins to boot)
    - rstuart4133 1y ago
      > "focussed value creation" (which is best done behind closed doors) And yet, it is the most open societies that do best at value creation. It's almost as if the degree of cooperation and coordination between the individuals is more important to success than the insights of any one individual, even if they are as smart as Mr Theil believes himself to be.
      - gsf_emergency_5 1y ago
        This suggests that things might not be as simple as that (it's a strong correlation, I admit) https://old.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/iab8r7/social_trust_around_the_world/ https://old.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/iab8r7/social_trus... (By the scale used here US is exceptionally mid)
  - red-iron-pine 1y ago
    Thiel is absolutely concerned about data mining and big picture and perceptions he doesn't believe the QAnon, he is the QAnon and is pushing stuff that he knows the base will eat up like if anyone is wearing the Mark of the Beast on their forehead it's MAGA, so get out in front of them and make sure it's pointed at the right place (e.g. Greta, et al)
  - linhns 1y ago
    I’m not sure that he will succeed with this move, but his article on Greta is absolute spot on, and I’m saying this as a guy who do not really like Peter
    - kibibu 1y ago
      It's spot on to say that Greta Thunberg is the literal manifestation of the biblical antichrist, heralding the end of days?
      - jamesblonde 1y ago
        See, Peter Thiel is smart. There are enough idiots who will buy his shtick - it's not just maga who get pointed in the direction he wants society to go (serfdom).
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
seanmcdirmid 1y ago
He could be selling NVIDIA to buy OpenAI like SoftBank just did. It might not be a bubble exist but a re-positioning.
- gsf_emergency_4 1y ago
  It's in Thiel's nature to make moves counter to Altman's. Certainly, he does not share Masa's (or PG's) weakness for the genii of the day. (Secretly despises, actually?) They are kinda nontechnical in the same way (chess or SaaS are equally relevant to the future), but what Thiel has passion for are flexible moral abstractions, not politics (the whys rather than the whats of winning)
  - hnhn34 1y ago
    > It's in Thiel's nature to distance himself from Altman This is way off base. Altman is basically a mentee of his, like Zuckerberg. They go way back, and they've both publicly praised each other quite recently. They're very close friends.
    - gsf_emergency_4 1y ago
      I've already edited to say "make moves counter to Altman's". You are right, but Thiel thinks about progress in a fundamentally different, I'd argue opposite, way from Zuck or Altman. More aligned with Elon or Karp. Or even some of the Chinese. To be concrete, he'd never consciously engage in the kind of circular financing or rentseeking that Altman/Zuck would be open to. (also he has enough social aptitude not to take Altman on in public.)
      - tarsinge 1y ago
        I don’t know, the biggest difference I see is Thiel and Elon are all about government/tax payer money (through contracts like Palantir or SpaceX, subsidies like Tesla, lobbying, influencing elections, or worst). In that way they align with China, as an autocracy directly financing their companies is their ideal business model. Altman and Zuck OTOH are more typical SV entrepreneurs.

mightyham 1y ago

I agree that it's very difficult to fully understand what his real positions are, and interestingly I think he clearly wants that to be the case. Peter Thiel is interested in and has actually written extensively about Straussianism which is an intellectual movement obsessed with analyzing esoteric meanings in philosophical literature.

kibibu 1y ago
Reading his recent "Greta Thunberg Is The Antichrist" stuff leads me to believe the Peter Thiel: - Is deeply unscientific, coming across as a highfalutin paranoid QAnon; and - Has zero self-awareness That said, he has plenty of money and connections, so moves like these are likely well justified.
- gsf_emergency_4 1y ago
  Detailed perspective from someone with insight into Thiel's thinking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6LakOrqDL4&t=1s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6LakOrqDL4&t=1s That watched, imho Thiel is interested in the post-Straussian tension between "thinking in the open" (ideal science) and "focussed value creation" (which is best done behind closed doors) AI as driven by premium mediocre Millennials combines the worst of both: lazy group-think promoted by stochastic parrots, expensive hardware weaponized by people who didn't earn that privilege Capitalism or communism is a false dichotomy. You'd want any given pre-Jedi to access the Force, build their own lightsabers (in a cave), but not turn to the dark side. GitHub serves Midichlorians. NVDA serves the Federation (and is one of the deadly sins to boot)
  - rstuart4133 1y ago
    > "focussed value creation" (which is best done behind closed doors) And yet, it is the most open societies that do best at value creation. It's almost as if the degree of cooperation and coordination between the individuals is more important to success than the insights of any one individual, even if they are as smart as Mr Theil believes himself to be.
    - gsf_emergency_5 1y ago
      This suggests that things might not be as simple as that (it's a strong correlation, I admit) https://old.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/iab8r7/social_trust_around_the_world/ https://old.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/iab8r7/social_trus... (By the scale used here US is exceptionally mid)
- red-iron-pine 1y ago
  Thiel is absolutely concerned about data mining and big picture and perceptions he doesn't believe the QAnon, he is the QAnon and is pushing stuff that he knows the base will eat up like if anyone is wearing the Mark of the Beast on their forehead it's MAGA, so get out in front of them and make sure it's pointed at the right place (e.g. Greta, et al)
- linhns 1y ago
  I’m not sure that he will succeed with this move, but his article on Greta is absolute spot on, and I’m saying this as a guy who do not really like Peter
  - kibibu 1y ago
    It's spot on to say that Greta Thunberg is the literal manifestation of the biblical antichrist, heralding the end of days?
    - jamesblonde 1y ago
      See, Peter Thiel is smart. There are enough idiots who will buy his shtick - it's not just maga who get pointed in the direction he wants society to go (serfdom).
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

seanmcdirmid 1y ago

He could be selling NVIDIA to buy OpenAI like SoftBank just did. It might not be a bubble exist but a re-positioning.

gsf_emergency_4 1y ago
It's in Thiel's nature to make moves counter to Altman's. Certainly, he does not share Masa's (or PG's) weakness for the genii of the day. (Secretly despises, actually?) They are kinda nontechnical in the same way (chess or SaaS are equally relevant to the future), but what Thiel has passion for are flexible moral abstractions, not politics (the whys rather than the whats of winning)
- hnhn34 1y ago
  > It's in Thiel's nature to distance himself from Altman This is way off base. Altman is basically a mentee of his, like Zuckerberg. They go way back, and they've both publicly praised each other quite recently. They're very close friends.
  - gsf_emergency_4 1y ago
    I've already edited to say "make moves counter to Altman's". You are right, but Thiel thinks about progress in a fundamentally different, I'd argue opposite, way from Zuck or Altman. More aligned with Elon or Karp. Or even some of the Chinese. To be concrete, he'd never consciously engage in the kind of circular financing or rentseeking that Altman/Zuck would be open to. (also he has enough social aptitude not to take Altman on in public.)
    - tarsinge 1y ago
      I don’t know, the biggest difference I see is Thiel and Elon are all about government/tax payer money (through contracts like Palantir or SpaceX, subsidies like Tesla, lobbying, influencing elections, or worst). In that way they align with China, as an autocracy directly financing their companies is their ideal business model. Altman and Zuck OTOH are more typical SV entrepreneurs.