📷 Instagram gets AI, 🖖 How are YOU adding Value, 👾 Chat-GPT upgrade, Smart Fluid

How am I (are you) adding Value?

Seems like a simple enough question. Initial responses tend to revolve around one’s activities and impression of output. Such as, how you generate revenue / savings for your employer / business etc. Or how you assist others around you.

Now if we go a layer deeper, one would likely enter a discussion around value creation and assignment. Terms like scarcity, obtainability may enter the conversation (e.g. if X is more scarce AND harder to obtain / create than Y, then the world would ascribe more value to X than Y).

But I believe that there are two mental models of value - that transcend the above and can be distilled using the elements of both human needs and economic allocation.

Mental Model 1: Compression vs Expansion

You add value to an individual / entity if you:
a. reduce [compress] constraints AND / OR
b. increase [expand] resources or utility / satisfaction
 
Compress: Time, Effort, Cost, Fear / Uncertainty, etc.
Expand: Financial Earnings, Ego / Fame, Enjoyment, etc.

These are neither exhaustive nor zero sum (you can often compress and expand various dimensions with a single solution or set of actions).

But consider the times when you believed you were delivering significant value. How much of that was you operating from a place of “I was told that this is important / I am putting in so much hard work / No one else has come up with such insights … And that is why my output has so much value”.

Were you actually adding significant value back then? And if so, how do you think you could have increased your density of value creation?

In next week’s weekend issue, I’ll share Mental Model 2, and ways to increase value creation. If you’d like to share your thoughts, send me a reply.

- Your Editor

Recommended Reading from Tech Leaders 💬

(note: links do not work on the website; they are only accessible from your email inbox if you received this newsletter issue as a free subscriber)

Jeff Bezos:
The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro (Winner of the Nobel Prize)
A deep exploration of life’s choices, complexities and the dignity of service.

Bill Gates:
Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwins (and the summary in Gates’s own words)
Undoubtedly one of the most riveting and comprehensive analysis into Abraham Lincoln, his life, and the enormous challenges in bringing people together.

And more:
[Podcast] How to speak more Confidently and Persuasively, Matt Abrahams on Lenny’s Podcast
One of the foremost experts in communication being interviewed by one of the most prolific product leaders and intellectuals

[List] The Ultimate List - 29 Product Leaders You Must Follow

News & Trends 📢

(note: links do not work on the website; they are only accessible from your email inbox if you received this newsletter issue as a free subscriber)

1. Harvard researchers have created a breakthrough programmable “smart fluid”, capable of altering its state

   Harvard University researchers have achieved a breakthrough with their creation of a programmable fluid capable of transitioning between Newtonian and non-Newtonian states. This has far-reaching applications across robotics, manufacturing, space exploration, and beyond. More Details: Futurism

2. Instagram is getting AI-powered Search

   

3. An ugly day for risk assets: Bitcoin down to $66k and altcoins plunge by 15%

   

   Geopolitical tensions amidst a general “risk off” sentiment in traditional markets spilled led to a sharp crypto selloff. It was the largest leverage washout in a month - liquidating close to $900m in trading positions. Most commentators however, maintain a positive long-term outlook for the crypto market.
   

4. The first AI-generated romantic comedy (made with Midjourney) is here - check out the Youtube trailer (looks trippy)

5. China is ordering its telecom carriers to cease the use of foreign high-tech chips

   

   Chinese officials have mandated its telco players to aggressively replace foreign-made chips. Shares of AMD and Intel dipped by around 5% in response to this news. Many are calling this an escalating tit for tat, after the US restricted sales of chips to China.

6. OpenAI releases a major upgrade for GPT-4 Turbo

7. LinkedIn is jumping into influencer marketing, and believes it can take on TikTok and Instagram