AI pulse check: Is the AI hype train going off the rails or just picking up speed
News from the New Zealand startup ecosystem, straight to your inbox.
Good morning Caffeinators!
You’ve made it another week, welcome to a bumper newsletter to welcome you into the weekend.
After (yet another) big week of AI news in our Friday feature we’re talking to the NZ AI Forum about the state of adoption for businesses here and whether AI hype is reaching an unsustainable level or just getting started.
Alongside your usual Daily Shot of news we’ve got our curated ‘Weekend Fuel’ list, including some exceptional non fiction for those wanting to learn something this weekend and a spectacular series for those wanting to simply switch off.
As always, a huge thank you to all those who have donated, subscribed or just got in touch with some kind words.
Finn & the Caffeine Team
AI pulse check: Is the AI hype train going off the rails or just picking up speed?
The ever mounting billions pouring into artificial intelligence and hype inflated valuations of associated companies are raising the specter of a .com style tech stock crash.
A top stock analyst for Goldman Sachs recently rang the alarm in the NYT, arguing over investment in AI could lead to a stark course correction in markets.
In early August these fears were buoyed when a bloodbath in the so-called ‘magnificent seven’ tech companies (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Tesla, and Alphabet) caused them to collectively shed over a trillion in value.
But is this just part of the normal hype cycle, and what should New Zealand startups be paying attention to when it comes to AI investment and adoption?
Caffeine caught up with NZ AI Forum Chair Madeline Newman for a pulse check on the New Zealand ecosystem and whether comparisons to previous crashes are justified.
“I don't think we should say it’s a dot.com bubble. Yes, probably to a certain extent, because whenever there's a big hype bubble things like that happen but it's not going to go away and it's the real deal,” Newman said.
Mood of the Boardroom: The Herald’s annual Mood of the Boardroom survey is out with CEOs delivering their verdict on the new Government and revealing their perspective on our current economic prospects and challenges. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will be pleased by the headline figure, confidence in the economy from business leaders surveyed rose to 3.23 out of 5 – the highest score since 2016. Though she wasn’t the highest ranked in Cabinet, that went to Immigration and Education Minister Erica Stanford, who topped the list with a score of 4.01/5. Read more here.
Businesses' late payment pain: Great piece from Susan Edmonds at RNZ looking at the human cost of late payments for Kiwi businesses. It comes off the back of new data from accounting platform Xero showing an 81 percent increase in the cost of late payments to small businesses, from an estimated $456 million in 2021 to $827m in 2023. Putting it in heartbreaking perspective, RNZ spoke to a business owner who said while waiting on a late payment her family “has to go without groceries because I have to pay my rent and staff wages.” Read more.
Business of Tech: Following on from our Friday feature there’s an interesting pod from Ben Moore and Peter Griffin on Business Desk asking whether AI can ever be truly trust worthy when the stakes are high. They interviewing a world leading researcher from Brown University on how we ensure lesser known languages aren’t forgotten by the large language model machines and how efforts with te reo Māori are leading the way. Listen here
P&E Wrap: Private equity take-private deals hit a 16-year high last year and the trend isn’t slowing down in 2024. Tech Crunch has a nice wrap of all the billion dollar and above PE deals in tech this year so far and it projects we’re at least on course to meet last year’s total.
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Here’s what’s on our radar. Hit us with your own recommendations.
On With Kara Swisher: I know by now everyone has more podcasts in their feed than they know what to do with but if you’re going to listen to any this weekend, make it one from possibly the world’s best and deeply connected tech journalist. If you’re in the tech space, you probably already know Kara Swisher. If you don’t, tl;dr is that she swears like a sailor, has access to absolutely everyone and is uniquely brilliant at cutting through bullshit ~ FH.
Book: Human Kind, A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman is one of those rare non fiction books which is takes a meticulous and well researched look back through human history and arrives at an optimistic conclusion. Bregman challenges the idea that humans are selfish and brutal by nature and instead argues, very effectively, that our innate need to co-operate and be kind to each other is our species superpower. This book will simultaneously make you feel smarter and much better about the world and really, what else can you ask for. ~FH
TV Show: Scavengers Reign is one of the best looking, most intelligent and thought provoking sci fi series I’ve ever seen. So naturally, it was cancelled after one season. Starting with the familiar premise of travelers being stranded on a hostile alien world, the series quickly swerves into territory I guarantee you’ve never seen before. It deftly balances wonder with horror while sketching an alien ecosystem that feels both completely believable and utterly terrifying. Please, please watch it now on Netflix so I can hold out hope of a second season being greenlit. ~ FH
Something to sip on: Southside
This is a perfect one for warming weather so maybe if we make enough of them collectively spring will actually arrive. The Southside is a classic for good reason, with with all the zesty freshness of a mojito while being more concentrated, rich and less hassle to make ~ FH.
Ingredients:
Mint leaves
30 ml fresh lime juice juice
60 ml gin
20ml sugar syrup
Garnish: mint sprig
Method:
Add the mint leaves and lime juice into a shaker and gently muddle with a wooden spoon.
Add the gin and simple syrup with ice, and shake.
Double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Enjoy!
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Want to get in touch with a news tip, bit of feedback or just to chat? Email hello@caffeinedaily.co. Look after yourselves and each other this weekend and we’ll see you Monday.