"The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg

E64: US vs China’s Strategies, Uber’s Growth Model, AI Supply Chains

Listen Later

This week, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg discuss technological inflection points and examine how legal frameworks mask continued globalization despite apparent retrenchment, explores US-China dynamics, analyzes AI industry structure and emerging models, and considers Uber's strategic positioning against autonomous vehicles.


---

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


---

Highlights from the Episode:

  • Globalization isn't truly reversing, but adapting through legal structures that help bypass trade barriers (like routing Chinese goods through Vietnam)
  • China's economic model succeeded in early growth stages but faces challenges with an over-leveraged real estate sector and declining population
  • Taiwan remains in a surprisingly stable but tense relationship with China despite rhetoric suggesting imminent conflict
  • The AI industry is evolving beyond simple model providers/applications into specialized layers with different data access advantages
  • Financial engineering works well for known variables but struggles with pure research funding due to fundamental uncertainty
  • Uber faces an existential challenge from autonomous vehicles that initially complement their marketplace but could eventually replace it


    • --

    SPONSORS:


    NetSuite

    More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102


    ---

    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