Archive
The complete INLEVEL9 archive of analysis across technology, economics, and the humanities.
2026
Gemma 4, GLM-5, and the Real Cost of Running Agents
Google's Gemma 4 and a fresh GLM-5 benchmark reopen the question of what an agent model should actually cost to run.
AI & TechAnthropic's $14B ARR vs. $5B Cumulative Revenue
Run-rate and cumulative revenue mean different things—AI growth figures need cost and retention context too.
AI & TechJury Verdict Holds Meta, Google Liable for App Design
A $6 million verdict against Meta and Google raises real questions about design liability, but it doesn't rewrite the rules for every platform.
BusinessWhat Your Favorite Books Reveal About Personality
A study linking 60,000+ personality surveys to book preferences shows both promise and limits for recommendation engines.
BusinessDelve Faces Fraud Claims Over Compliance Audits
Allegations of fabricated audit evidence and unlicensed open-source use have put this compliance automation startup under scrutiny.
BusinessSilicon Valley's New Obsession With 'Taste'
I compare Paul Graham's and Kyle Chayka's clashing claims about taste to ask what judgment AI-era creators actually need.
SocietyWhat 81,000 People Want From AI
Nearly 80,000 Claude users shared what they want from AI—and the same answers revealed both hope and worry.
AI & TechBYD's 5-Minute Charge: Why EV Drivers Should Care
I compared BYD's new 5-minute EV charging claim with my own waits in a Tesla Model Y and an Ioniq 5.
BusinessNASA's Artemis II Launches, 53 Years After Apollo
Artemis II has launched toward the Moon, kicking off a look at US-China lunar plans and the rules for using its resources.
AI & TechApple at 50: How Devices and Services Grew Together
I've used Apple products since the iPhone 3GS, and for its 50th anniversary I dug into revenue, active devices, and how ecosystem ties shape customer choice.
BusinessEconomists Are Using AI to Speed Up Research
Economists are using AI to code, clean data, and polish papers—raising real questions about speed versus rigor.
BusinessICML Rejects 497 Papers Over Peer Review Rule Break
ICML caught reviewers breaking an agreed LLM ban using hidden prompts embedded in PDFs, raising questions about accountability.
SocietyarXiv Prepares to Leave Cornell, Stay Free
As arXiv spins off from Cornell into a nonprofit in 2026, its founders must find new ways to fund unrestricted access to millions of papers.
SocietyWashington Post's Cost-Per-Story Score, and Its Blind Spot
The Washington Post now tracks cost per story and reader response scores as management metrics, but what do these numbers leave out?
SocietyInside Apple's US Chip Supply Chain Buildout
A WSJ reporter toured Apple's US chip facilities, revealing a gap between announced investment and actual production capacity.
AI & TechTikTok's $10 Billion Fee to the U.S. Government
Reports say TikTok's US investors agreed to pay Washington $10 billion on top of their equity stake—here's what that fee actually buys.
BusinessAdobe's $150M Settlement Over Cancellation Dark Patterns
The DOJ's Adobe settlement reveals how subscription cancellation friction ties directly to retention metrics.
AI & TechMemory Stocks Fall After Google's TurboQuant Debut
Google's TurboQuant compresses the KV cache stored in GPU HBM, but that's different from cutting overall memory demand.
AI & TechBlock Cuts 4,000 Jobs, Reviving the AI Tax Debate
Jack Dorsey's layoffs and Andrew Yang's push to tax AI raise a hard question: who pays when machines do the work?
SocietyOpenAI Plans to Shut Down Sora After ChatGPT Shopping Revamp
OpenAI is winding down Sora while retooling ChatGPT shopping and courting enterprise clients—here's what that reveals about its priorities.
AI & TechPerplexity's Gross Margin vs. Its Overall Losses
I look at how Perplexity classifies costs, converts free users, and expands features—and why staying power, not just paid conversion, matters most.
BusinessFive Takeaways From China's 15th Five-Year Plan
Beijing's 2026-2030 blueprint ties tech self-reliance and AI adoption to a consumption push, with growth targets set year by year.
BusinessMeta Accused of Targeting Teens' Emotions in Ads
A whistleblower's Senate testimony claims Meta flagged teens' insecure moments for advertisers—so what about adults?
BusinessVirtual Cards Built Just for AI Agents
How much spending power should an AI agent get? Prepaid limits, approvals, and dispute handling are the open questions.
Society