Happy Independence Day!
Tech
Monocle: "Could Europe be about to benefit from Trump’s US brain drain?"
7/3/25
…up to 75 per cent of US-based scientists say that they are considering leaving the country.
(…)
While the US shoots itself in the foot, Europe might receive a shot in the arm.
Obviously something’s that been on my mind and that we started seeing in 2016. Feels like this is about to become a much bigger topic this time around. I, for one, welcome the upcoming scientific refugees to our Old Continent…
Two things to note, however:
- We need to ensure that while we welcome scientists, there are still lots of refugees seeking asylum in our country, that don’t get the same red carpet treatment. The government’s shift to the right isn’t something I’ve particularly enjoyed and I’m hoping that we can keep them accountable with regards to ensuring we don’t just open our doors to researchers…
- It would be hypocritical to welcome research academics while also cutting funding for education — something needs to improve for our children and their teachers.
Seems like my M3 / 2024 Macbook Air is already feeling the limits of DIA being built on Chrome. Was navigating work with multiple tabs & webapps and… heavy temperature + long freezes. You can improve on Chrome, but if you’re built on it, the machines are gonna flyyyyy!
Testing out DIA and while some stuff is different and with minor issues, at least there are some good uses for it: reading through, summarizing, and highlighting tasks from a long email thread, for example…
Will continue experimenting with it.
Back from Viva Tech 2025
6/13/25
Just got back from a day at Viva Tech 2025 for Work.
The event was huge, with 165,000 attendees over four days, making it the biggest conference I’ve ever been to.
AI was obviously the star of the show, popping up everywhere and driving discussions on its ethical implications and practical applications. It was interesting to see how governments (national and regional) and companies are leveraging AI to innovate in their core businesses.
I attended 2 really cool keynotes :
- Peng Xiao’s talk on “Life in the Age of AI” delved into the philosophical and ethical aspects of our AI-driven world.
- The panel on “The Future of Space” was equally inspiring, with insights from NASA, CNES, and other industry leaders.
Overall, a great opportunity to see how the industry is evolving. It was a solid experience, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s event.
I’ve had this one on rotation since 2011:
🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷
According to Dealroom’s Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2025, Paris just overtook London as the #1 startup hub in Europe — and is now fourth globally behind Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston. While London still brings in more cash, the City of Light is growing faster in unicorns, AI talent, and enterprise value.
Also: fairly surprised this wasn’t technically already the case given what I know of the French Tech ecosystem, but I guess capital/language/culture used to make it easier for London up until now.
This week, 300 French organizations - including startups, public bodies, corporates and tech heavyweights dropped a “manifesto” for European tech independence.
The goal? Break free from the grip of U.S. and Chinese tech superpowers and reclaim control over French data, infrastructure, and destiny. (…)
Think: a European small business act, sovereign AI infrastructure, a unified cloud, and better startup-corporate matchmaking platforms.
[≠]
Work thoughts: AI Agents in Early 2025
4/15/25
Recently created 2 AI Agents to help me in my job — a great exercise for me, considering I’m in a customer-facing role and non-technical position.
- One agent helps me be better in my role/department.
- One agent is focused on the industry I’m working in
Basically, one focuses on our vertical, and one is more horizontal, by contrast. Doing so is a real timesaver, while not breaching any confidentiality or confidential information. Really powerful stuff that is already paying dividens and making me better at my job…
This goes against a lot of things I believe in — which is unsurprising since it’s about New York-based corporate culture…
“New York’s Work-From-Home Moment Is Over But the Office Has Shrunk”
Been stuck on something for work the past few days — something minor but couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Took some time to formulate it to my AI overlords, with the right context and suddenly things are cleared up. I love using it to help me gain clarity — feels kinda super power-ish
Perfect timing — I guess they were waiting for the AI Summit but French startup Mistral behind the French/European AI (Mistral) just updated and upgraded their platform. Much faster and more powerful. Gonna give it a try for work and play 😊
Finally took some time to update my /now page :)
Too many business school graduates and not enough liberal arts alumni.
Have to use a Lenovo business PC running Microsoft and let me tell you what piece of nightmarish hell the software AND hardware are! How do people live, let alone work this way?!
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