Archive
The complete INLEVEL9 archive of analysis across technology, economics, and the humanities.
2026
Multitasking 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 & 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 & 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 & TechWhy Companies Are Quietly Choosing Chinese AI Models
Airbnb's Brian Chesky praised Qwen's speed and cost, and open-weight models are reshaping how developers weigh adoption.
AI & TechDoes Big R&D Spending Actually Attract Top Talent?
Korea ranks near the top in R&D spending but 31st in global talent competitiveness, raising questions about what conditions actually draw researchers.
AI & TechEU Preliminarily Rules TikTok's Endless Scroll Violates DSA
EU's preliminary finding on TikTok tackles addictive design and risk mitigation, seen through a data expert's lens on user control and AI personalization.
AI & TechHow x402 Lets AI Agents Pay for APIs Automatically
Coinbase's x402 protocol turns HTTP's 402 status into a machine-readable price tag for autonomous payments.
AI & Tech