KWAME

I will find my way back to writing regularly again. As I go things may get ugly. Here are notes on things I came across last week. There are pieces that require further research. I’ll come back to update this sometime later this week or next.

AI Chip Design
There is an analog chip design called RRam that is displaying promise as being the future of more efficient chip design in use for AI compute needs. I am glad there are people much sharper than me working on developing it. Apparently, this design has been in the works since the 1960s. It’s fascinating how long technology can be in development before it sees the light of day.

Data Server Power Demand
Apparently, the greatest level of power demand growth in the United States is in the DMV region. Loudoun County has the highest density of servers in the country, and these servers’ hunger for power is only increasing. Their power demands are on pace to double by 2027.
The question that comes up for me is what needs to happen for chip designs like RRAM to be ready for game time in order to mitigate the power demands of servers?

Industrial Policy
Alexander Hamilton outlined the first case in the United States for industrial policy. He framed his proposals for the United States with the context that rich countries could rely on private individuals to finance industry. For a developing country like the US, the government needed to step in to fund the development of industry. What does it mean for us that we are in the midst of a massive deployment of industrial policy in efforts to transition our economy from fossil fuels to renewable energy?

RMI has done research showing that 50-70% of the greening of industrial manufacturing can be done by converting the heating sources from coal to electric. The LPO is financing this sort of thing. Who is the type of entrepreneur they would finance to acquire a plant to do this sort of conversion?

The virtual power plant as a powerful way to maximize the capacity of our grid and shift it from load dependent to supply dependent is quite interesting. Jigar Shah stressed the importance of taking advantage of opportunities to compensate customers for getting access to their lights, A/C, etc. Isn’t this a bit risky as we face increasing cybersecurity attacks?

Alignment and No Changed Minds
I like the quip from Charlie Munger that he has never been successful in changing someone’s mind. This is something I am going to meditate on. In scripture, Paul talks about how we simply plant seeds and water them, while God brings the produce.

I cannot change minds, but sure have tried. It is stressful. On the business front, I do not want to spend a bunch of time trying to convince the CEO of a company I own what she should be doing. I am not a micromanager, but when I have strong opinions about something, they are strong. I would like there to be alignment from the onset and I am willing to do the hard work of finding that right person, then let them spin.