"The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg

E62: Trump’s Tariffs, Open Source AI Models, and The Future of VR


Listen Later

This week, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg explore the impact of technological advancements on markets and businesses, covering topics like global trade tariffs, political populism, AI's evolving role, open-source vs. proprietary models, stock market trends, and Meta’s investments in the metaverse and AR.


---

🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse.


---

Highlights from the Episode:

  • Trump's tariff approach (particularly the proposed 25% on Canadian goods) makes sense as a negotiating bluff but is problematic as long-term strategy.
  • Unlike the US dollar system, China's currency has limited international circulation, affecting their global economic influence.
  • The market reaction to DeepSeek's developments affected both direct AI companies and adjacent sectors.
  • Meta's transition to being more capital-intensive (through AI investments) may actually strengthen their competitive position.
  • Companies like Meta have incentives to commoditize some AI capabilities while maintaining proprietary advantages in others.

  • --

    SPONSORS:


    Notion

    📝Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/upstreampod


    Vanta: Vanta simplifies security and compliance for businesses of all sizes. Automate compliance across 35+ frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001, streamline security workflows, and complete questionnaires up to 5x faster. Trusted by over 9,000 companies, Vanta helps you manage risk and prove security in real time. Get $1,000 off at https://vanta.com/revolution


    ---

    LINKS:

    Byrne’s writing: https://thediff.co


    ---

    X / TWITTER:

    https://twitter.com/ByrneHobart (Byrne)

    https://twitter.com/TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    "The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik TorenbergBy Byrne Hobart, Erik Torenberg

    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    20 ratings


    More shows like "The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg

    View all
    EconTalk by Russ Roberts

    EconTalk

    4,246 Listeners

    The Art of Manliness by The Art of Manliness

    The Art of Manliness

    14,264 Listeners

    The Vergecast by The Verge

    The Vergecast

    3,675 Listeners

    Conversations with Tyler by Mercatus Center at George Mason University

    Conversations with Tyler

    2,409 Listeners

    Acquired by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

    Acquired

    4,179 Listeners

    Odd Lots by Bloomberg

    Odd Lots

    1,870 Listeners

    All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

    All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

    9,250 Listeners

    Dwarkesh Podcast by Dwarkesh Patel

    Dwarkesh Podcast

    426 Listeners

    Big Technology Podcast by Alex Kantrowitz

    Big Technology Podcast

    467 Listeners

    The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

    The Ezra Klein Show

    15,497 Listeners

    Honestly with Bari Weiss by The Free Press

    Honestly with Bari Weiss

    8,621 Listeners

    Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist by Joe Lonsdale

    Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist

    174 Listeners

    "Upstream" with Erik Torenberg by Erik Torenberg

    "Upstream" with Erik Torenberg

    60 Listeners

    "Econ 102" with Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg by Turpentine

    "Econ 102" with Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg

    144 Listeners

    Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11) by Patrick McKenzie

    Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)

    124 Listeners