Jan-Benedict Steenkamp and Laurens Sloot – Retail disruptors
Generally solid overview of retail business economics using hard discounter in grocery as case examples, but the authors could not risist the urge to make overly general assertions.
Cyber crime is a cost-effective way for other nations to retalliate against the US, without risking all-out war
John Carlin – Dawn of the code war
Overly chauvinistic and politically correct story of how intelligence and cyber crime are convering, written boringly – I eagerly await the Michael Lewis version…
The concepts comfort and privacy were first introduced in Western society at the court of Louis XIV and Louis XV of France
Joan DeJean – The age of comfort
Contains fascinating details on the construction of early water closets.
Entropy (and thereby time) emerges out of our limited ability to distinguish different states of the universe
Carlo Rovelli – The order of time
Remarkably intuitive and enlightening expose of a deep and complex subject; in the audio version even more appealing due to the warm yet solemn reading by Benedict Cumberbatch.
Economically speaking, AI makes prediction a commodity – and nothing more
Ajay Argawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb – Prediction machines
The authors see AI as just a new option for the division of labor which, although it can have rather dramatic consequences, does not support apocalyptic GAI fearmongering.
Running a socially responsible business is often just egotism in disguise
Anad Giridharadas – Winners take all
Giridharas key argument is that elites only support change to the point where their privilege is not endangered.
Facebook’s content strategy leads to filter bubbles, thereby destroying the cohesion in society
When a a big tech investor like McNamee argues for stricter regulation it makes the argument more convincing.
You are the raw material of capitalists trading in futures on human behavior
Shoshana Zuboff – Surveillance capitalism
There is a tendency in critiques of ‘big tech’ to underestimate the long-term resilliance of mankind; although that does not render the argument invalid.
AI outcomes reflect the thinking of the technochauvinists that built it – which may not be desirable for society
Meridith Broussard – Artificial Unintelligence
Great effort to democratize AI and peel off some layers of mistique that harm public debate (althought the case against technochauvinism seems at times a bit too shallow).
As an incumbent, organize disruptive innovation away from your core business
Clayton Christensen – The innovator’s dilemma
The history of disc drives and mechanical excavators showcases how difficult it is for incumbents to come out on top when technological innovation hits your market.
Some of the few women who ruled as pharaohs were depicted with male characteristics
Kara Cooney – When women ruled the world
The book illustrates how difficult it is to avoid speculation when trying to reconstruct a comprehensive narrative from ancient historical records.
Make sure you create value, and maintain power over transactions on your platform
Geoffrey Parker, Marshall Van Olstyne, Sangeet Choudary – Platform revolution
Remember: there are many ways in which platforms can fail!
Daughter of partisans has total commitment to her performances
Marina Abramovic – Walking through walls
As a strong artist, she controls her performances perfectly; but she seems to have more difficulty with life itself.
Attract the right team, set a market-driven strategy, prioritize wisely in execution and… don’t run out of cash
Densely written ‘how-to guide’ for executives who want to build a sustainable growth company.
Anticipate change in products, processes and requirements; and organize for that
Despite the unavoidable buzzwords that come with the genre, Lean and Agile are actually sane and useful management principles.
Making a great painting is in large part a scientific achievement
Walter Isaacson – Leonardo da Vinci
Isaacson’s narrative falacy (‘Leonardo never finishing what he starts’) is at odds with the public recognition he received in his own day and age.
Steve Bannon skilfully helped Trump to play to his own strengths and avoid his considerable weaknesses
The level of Trump’s incompetency is not even shocking.
High-ranked mafia killer flips, citing his uncle’s ruthlessness as justification
Philip Leonetti – Mafia prince
At some point, The Godfather has evolved from a document of the mafia life style to a style guide for mob leaders.
The history of Rome consists of a unique series of revolutionary social and political experiments
Rome was much more of a ‘social welfare state’ than I ever realized; with a people’s tribunes, food for the poor, land redistribution, and pensions for soldiers.