Archive
The complete INLEVEL9 archive of analysis across technology, economics, and the humanities.
2026
Can 1,000 Fans Really Pay Your Bills?
Kevin Kelly's famous formula skips the fine print on profit margins, repeat buyers, and new customer flow.
BusinessNvidia GTC 2026: How to Read Its $1 Trillion Pitch
I unpack Nvidia's Groq integration and the token-factory logic behind its infrastructure sales pitch.
AI & TechAsk 70 AI Models the Same Question, Get the Same Answer
Different AI models can converge on strikingly similar ideas—here's what the Artificial Hivemind study found.
AI & TechCould a One-Cent Stamp on Email Kill Spam?
Adding a tiny fee or computational cost to every message might curb spam—here's what an old proposal gets right, and where it stalls.
AI & TechMultitasking Practice Doesn't Erase the Mental Bottleneck
A German study trained people on two tasks for up to 12 days and still found interference at the response-selection stage.
BusinessScaling AI Needs Power Grids, Copper, and Refineries
Software may be easy to build with AI, but running it at scale still depends on electricity, copper, and refining capacity.
BusinessWhy Chinese Firms Are Racing to Install OpenClaw
From install lines to messenger hookups, here's what my Chinese clients are telling me about OpenClaw's sudden rise.
SocietyHow Yakult Delivery Workers Check on Their Neighbors
Japan's Yakult Ladies and Korea's hy delivery workers quietly track elderly customers' well-being during routine drop-offs.
SocietyHow Roblox's Small Games Reach Millions of Players
Fisch and Grow a Garden's success owes as much to Roblox's tools and recommendations as to gameplay itself.
BusinessMouth Taping for Sleep: What the Research Actually Shows
Results vary widely by study population and conditions, so it's hard to call mouth taping a reliable general sleep habit.
AI & TechPrediction Markets Log Trades, but Insiders Stay Hidden
OpenAI fired an employee over insider trading in prediction markets, raising questions about what proof such cases actually require.
AI & TechWhy AI's Productivity Gains Don't Show Up in GDP Yet
Individual speed, organizational throughput, and economy-wide productivity are three different things worth separating.
BusinessWhen Meetings and Approvals Stall Work: Lessons from a 1944 Manual
Reading the OSS sabotage manual, I revisited the unnecessary meetings and approvals I've seen in consulting.
BusinessClaude's Military Use: Do Principles Hold in Contracts?
I trace Anthropic's clash with Washington through statements and contracts, separating military AI use from human control.
SocietyWhat Huxley's 1961 Interview Taught Me About Algorithms
Huxley's 1961 BBC interview and Island made me question what recommendation algorithms actually optimize for.
SocietyHow Power Users Delegate to AI Agents—And Still Intervene
Anthropic's Claude Code data shows auto-approvals and mid-task interruptions rising together—here's what that actually measures.
AI & TechAnthropic's AI Jobs Report: What 74.5% Really Means
I read Anthropic's March 2026 report and found the 74.5% figure measures something very different from job-loss risk.
BusinessNetflix Acquires an AI Studio as Labels Sign AI Licenses
UMG and Warner struck AI licensing deals with Suno and Udio while Netflix bought Ben Affleck's AI filmmaking startup, InterPositive.
BusinessRunning GTM at Gamma: Choosing Customers, Setting Prices
Reflections from running GTM at Gamma on picking the right customers, pricing, and what turns interest into repeat purchases.
BusinessWhen AI, Not Your Customer, Uses Your Product
Connecting Claude to Notion made me rethink how discovery, evaluation, and adoption work once AI operates the product.
BusinessWhy Rare Earths, Nuclear Treaties, and Power Grids Connect
New START's expiry, rare-earth supply chains, and shifts in power and EV industries reveal the real terms of great-power competition.
AI & TechWhy Only the Community Manager Ends Up Posting
Startups keep repeating the same community-building mistakes — here's what actually determines whether members stick around.
AI & TechWhat SaaS Stock Crashes Reveal About Growth, Not Just AI
Software stocks are sinking, but the real story started before AI fears—it's about how SaaS pricing models stopped scaling.
AI & TechWhen Currency Forecasters Get It Wrong, Then What?
Trading mostly in dollars, I've learned to judge pundits by how they explain a bad call, not just by the ones they got right.
AI & Tech