Jack Seeburger
@jackseeburger4.bsky.social
Knows just enough to be dangerous.
Rambling about the intersection of Economics, Technology and Culture.
Linguistics, Computer Science and Economics @UCLA
Rambling about the intersection of Economics, Technology and Culture.
Linguistics, Computer Science and Economics @UCLA
As usual @kyla.bsky.social was able to put into words exactly what I was trying to get at in my first attempt at an economics post last week. The frequency with which we encounter all of this uncertainty is a positive feedback loop for the malaise in the economy.
open.substack.com/pub/kyla/p/e...
open.substack.com/pub/kyla/p/e...
Everyone is Gambling and No One is Happy
Vibes, AI, open-mouth coughing, and lessons from 40 weeks of travel
open.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 4:53 PM
As usual @kyla.bsky.social was able to put into words exactly what I was trying to get at in my first attempt at an economics post last week. The frequency with which we encounter all of this uncertainty is a positive feedback loop for the malaise in the economy.
open.substack.com/pub/kyla/p/e...
open.substack.com/pub/kyla/p/e...
60 Minutes team undercover behind enemy lines to sabotage the Paramount-Warner Bros deal
December 11, 2025 at 12:39 PM
60 Minutes team undercover behind enemy lines to sabotage the Paramount-Warner Bros deal
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Links to Krugman's Affordability essays:
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/af...
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/af...
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/af...
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/af...
Affordability, Part I
What it means, and what we can do about it
paulkrugman.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Links to Krugman's Affordability essays:
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/af...
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/af...
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/af...
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/af...
The flashing red light on this is not that AI is now propping up the economy (which is also a big story) but the slowdown in how consumers are spending. If everyone feels more uncertain about where the economy is going they aren't going to keep spending their money they are going to save.
December 10, 2025 at 5:29 PM
The flashing red light on this is not that AI is now propping up the economy (which is also a big story) but the slowdown in how consumers are spending. If everyone feels more uncertain about where the economy is going they aren't going to keep spending their money they are going to save.
The economy is largely a vibes machine and we can see this drop in sentiment playing out in the real numbers. We remember this post from earlier this year showing how AI spend now exceeds consumer spending in terms of contribution to GDP.
December 10, 2025 at 5:29 PM
The economy is largely a vibes machine and we can see this drop in sentiment playing out in the real numbers. We remember this post from earlier this year showing how AI spend now exceeds consumer spending in terms of contribution to GDP.
This feeling of immobility and lockout from participating in the booming parts of the economy contributes most to the decrease in consumer sentiment (at all time lows).
December 10, 2025 at 5:29 PM
This feeling of immobility and lockout from participating in the booming parts of the economy contributes most to the decrease in consumer sentiment (at all time lows).
While the macro part of the economy we hear about the most is the stock market in which the S&P and the Mag 7 are hitting all time highs. But the top 10% own ~93% of the market so most people are locked out.
December 10, 2025 at 5:29 PM
While the macro part of the economy we hear about the most is the stock market in which the S&P and the Mag 7 are hitting all time highs. But the top 10% own ~93% of the market so most people are locked out.
Housing, food, medical costs and our jobs are the areas of the economy we encounter most frequently. Each of these has gotten more expensive or become frozen in place making the average person more uncertain about the future.
December 10, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Housing, food, medical costs and our jobs are the areas of the economy we encounter most frequently. Each of these has gotten more expensive or become frozen in place making the average person more uncertain about the future.
All of this came to mind when listening to the latest Hard Fork episode. Casey and Kevin really nailed the current state of play in the AI world:
youtu.be/vbFXpD7Ozf0?si=4IyC8...
youtu.be/vbFXpD7Ozf0?si=4IyC8...
Here's Why OpenAI Is Spooked. Plus, How We’re Using the Latest Models | EP 167
It’s A.I. model rollout season in Silicon Valley, and OpenAI appears to be feeling the pressure. Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, sent a memo to staff on Monday declaring a “code red” effort to improve ChatGPT and delay other initiatives. We explain why the latest frontier models from Google and Anthropic have OpenAI spooked and how the company is reshuffling priorities to respond. Then, we give our honest thoughts on which A.I models we like best and share how we’re using A.I. in our day-to-day lives. And finally, we take a look at some of the most popular A.I.-generated content on the internet this week in our latest installment of the Hard Fork Review of Slop.
For more on this episode, go to:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/podcasts/hardfork-openai-code-red.html
Additional Reading:
What OpenAI Did When ChatGPT Users Lost Touch With Reality
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/technology/openai-chatgpt-users-risks.html
Google Unveils Gemini 3, With Improved Coding and Search Abilities
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/technology/google-gemini-3.html
Tourists Tricked by Fake Royal Christmas Market
https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c4gjgwll6glo
Deepfake of North Carolina lawmaker used in award-winning Whirlpool video
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/11/30/deep-fake-whirlool-brazil/
Chapters:
00:00:00 - This week on the show
00:00:18 - OpenAI declares "code red!"
00:31:41 - How we're using the latest A.I. models
00:39:21 - The Hard Fork Review of Slop: imaginary markets, poorly made tamales and deepfake ads.
Hard Fork is a weekly look into the future that's already here. Hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore stories from the bleeding edge of tech.
Casey’s publication, Platformer: https://www.platformer.news/
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Credits
“Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton. Produced by Rachel Cohn and Whitney Jones. Engineering by Chris Wood and original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Sophia Lanman and Rowan Niemisto. Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado and Will Peischel. Our executive producer is Jen Poyant. Video production by Chris Schodt and Sawyer Roque. Video QC by Isabella Anderson. Podcast Art Direction by Benjamin Wilkerson Tousley. Podcast Art & Animations by Julian Hespenheide. Additional Motion graphics by Phil Robibero. Thumbnails by Julia Moburg, Elizabeth Bristow, and Yvonne Stender. Special thanks to Paula Szuchman, Pui-Wing Tam, Niko Gallogly and Kate LoPresti.
youtu.be
December 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
All of this came to mind when listening to the latest Hard Fork episode. Casey and Kevin really nailed the current state of play in the AI world:
youtu.be/vbFXpD7Ozf0?si=4IyC8...
youtu.be/vbFXpD7Ozf0?si=4IyC8...
Anthropic is better positioned because their Enterprise business can support the long term strategy without having to play the engagement game.
Mostly using Claude and Gemini for everything now. Claude for coding, writing and brainstorming. Gemini for information retrieval and synthesis.
Mostly using Claude and Gemini for everything now. Claude for coding, writing and brainstorming. Gemini for information retrieval and synthesis.
December 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Anthropic is better positioned because their Enterprise business can support the long term strategy without having to play the engagement game.
Mostly using Claude and Gemini for everything now. Claude for coding, writing and brainstorming. Gemini for information retrieval and synthesis.
Mostly using Claude and Gemini for everything now. Claude for coding, writing and brainstorming. Gemini for information retrieval and synthesis.
Claude & Anthropic - The best "product". Best in coding and agentic tools. Also less sycophantic and will push back more. Makes sense given their product team is led by Mike Krieger. You can definitely feel Claude's lack of web knowledge compared to Gemini but there is more of a "human" in Claude.
December 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Claude & Anthropic - The best "product". Best in coding and agentic tools. Also less sycophantic and will push back more. Makes sense given their product team is led by Mike Krieger. You can definitely feel Claude's lack of web knowledge compared to Gemini but there is more of a "human" in Claude.
Gemini & Google - Great for information retrieval and synthesis. Makes sense given this is Googles strength/moat. They are able to leverage their indexing of the web and YouTube. Has become my go to for looking something up and understanding it.
December 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Gemini & Google - Great for information retrieval and synthesis. Makes sense given this is Googles strength/moat. They are able to leverage their indexing of the web and YouTube. Has become my go to for looking something up and understanding it.
These are all just my bubbles on the networks but feels like no one has really cracked how to build true communities (I'm thinking like the old small web pre mega platform or Reddit). Not to say Reddit is doing it well either but they seem to be closer. Discord maybe too.
December 6, 2025 at 12:46 PM
These are all just my bubbles on the networks but feels like no one has really cracked how to build true communities (I'm thinking like the old small web pre mega platform or Reddit). Not to say Reddit is doing it well either but they seem to be closer. Discord maybe too.
My biggest deficiency is in design. My intuition or taste is good after years of identifying what works and what doesn't but I struggle with the actual implementation and creation of modern UIs and UX patterns.
Any and all resources would be helpful.
Any and all resources would be helpful.
September 10, 2025 at 6:36 PM
My biggest deficiency is in design. My intuition or taste is good after years of identifying what works and what doesn't but I struggle with the actual implementation and creation of modern UIs and UX patterns.
Any and all resources would be helpful.
Any and all resources would be helpful.
They've been really good for breaking down problems and keeping Claude focused with higher quality results. Creating a specific PM-Notion Agent makes the whole process even smoother.
September 10, 2025 at 6:36 PM
They've been really good for breaking down problems and keeping Claude focused with higher quality results. Creating a specific PM-Notion Agent makes the whole process even smoother.