Archive
The complete INLEVEL9 archive of analysis across technology, economics, and the humanities.
2026
Same 400,000 Wafers, Two Growth Rates: 25% vs. 10%
Applied Materials counts 25% DRAM capacity growth this year; Korean brokerages count 10%—same wafers, different denominators.
BusinessEveryone Talks AI Safety, But Sends the Bill Elsewhere
Both the 'slow down' camp and the 'just race' camp use the same word—the real split is who foots the bill.
BusinessSmart Glasses Cameras Went Dark. AI Went to the Factory
Camera and computer-vision tech kept advancing, but social acceptance didn't — so intelligence moved to the factory instead.
BusinessClick 'Delivery Accident,' Get a Refund Policy Instead
I compared Korea's official rider guidance against the actual law, line by line, on where injured workers should actually file a claim.
BusinessJev Can't Write a Line, But 13% of Paid Teams Use It
What Jev's pricing on 'judgment' reveals, and why I'm building a model that does only five things.
AI & Tech97% of Factories Get a Discount. Is Yours One?
The tariff overhaul took effect in April, but four variables separate the average cut from your actual bill.
BusinessWhy I Split AI Work Into Four Steps Before Choosing Tools
Naming a single AI app rarely captures how work actually moves through discovery, coordination, execution, and verification.
BusinessChina AI's Smile Curve Puts Models at the Bottom
What Bank of America's chart reveals—and conceals—about who captures value in Chinese artificial intelligence.
BusinessChip Companies Are Now Financing Their Customers
Broadcom's AI chip revenue jumped 221% year-over-year — but the bigger story is how buyers are funding all that hardware.
BusinessKB Kookmin's AI Resolved 41.3% of Calls, Staff Workload Rose
A higher AI resolution rate didn't cut one banker's call volume—it left her handling more calls, packed with harder cases.
BusinessAI Covers Take a Singer's Voice, Not Their Copyright
Korean copyright law protects only the composition behind an AI cover song—not the borrowed vocal identity.
BusinessWhy AI Agents Are Logging into BBS Boards via SSH
A look at modern BBSs serving humans via web and agents via SSH or MCP, and what reusing existing interfaces means for deployment costs.
BusinessMeta's Muse Ships With a Built-In Watchdog Agent
What Meta shipped is a control structure—the computer even Meta can't see into is still due later this year.
BusinessMore Sign-Offs Don't Mean More Actual Review
When AI output multiplies, someone still has to read it—so approval counts, review time, and execution risk all need sizing up front.
BusinessGemini's 1 Billion Users Aren't a Ranking Story
One benchmark table holds gaps as small as 0.3 points and as large as 38 points.
BusinessCalifornia's 5% Wealth Tax vs an 80% Founder Pledge
I compare California's wealth tax to AI founders' pledges, then flag how to read investment, tax, and jobs data before drawing conclusions.
BusinessDon't Cram Discovery, Understanding, and Conversion Into One Video
A single short-form clip can't introduce a brand, explain it, and close the sale—each channel needs its own job.
BusinessSet Data, Approval, and Recovery Rules Before Adopting AI
Public-sector guidelines and Korea's AI Basic Act reveal why assigning data, approval, and recovery duties matters more than picking a model.
BusinessWhen Solving a Hard Problem No Longer Proves Expertise
A joint declaration from 25 Fields Medalists and a quiet shift in the consulting market are describing the same collapse.
BusinessHow You Sell GPU Compute Changes Your Margins
Buying servers, subleasing them, or billing by API token each demand different upfront cash and payback timelines.
BusinessWhat Counts as One 'Resolution' in AI Support Pricing
Fin charges $0.99 per resolved ticket, but the definition of "resolved" decides what you're really paying for.
BusinessSamsung and ASML Both Bet on the Same AI Startup
Mistral's last two funding rounds were both led by companies that own factories, not venture funds.
BusinessWhat to Check First Before Advertising in AI Shopping
Ad formats matter less than whether your product data can survive an AI's comparison and checkout flow.
BusinessMonday.com Cut 20% of Its Staff as Revenue Grew 22%
Much of this earnings season's profit came from layoffs—but where a company cuts reveals more than how many it lets go.
Business