Timothy B. Lee
@binarybits.bsky.social
Reporting on AI and the future of the economy. Computer science masters degree from Princeton. Subscribe to my AI newsletter: http://www.understandingai.org
Is the AI Takeoff Starting? | Timothy B. Lee (@binarybits.bsky.social), author of the Understanding AI newsletter and host of the AI Summer podcast, joins @robertwrighter.bsky.social to discuss whether AI is a “normal technology” or something much, much more.
Is the AI Takeoff Starting? | Robert Wright & Timothy B. Lee
YouTube video by Nonzero
youtu.be
Really enjoyed this conversation with @binarybits.bsky.social.
NonZero@nonzeronews.bsky.social · 3mo agoIs the AI Takeoff Starting? | Timothy B. Lee (@binarybits.bsky.social), author of the Understanding AI newsletter and host of the AI Summer podcast, joins @robertwrighter.bsky.social to discuss whether AI is a “normal technology” or something much, much more.
This piece ( open.substack.com/pub/understa...) by @binarybits.bsky.social made me think of something kind of similar @doctorow.pluralistic.net shared a little while ago about process knowledge. pluralistic.net/2026/04/08/p.... Both asking about knowledge that's less articulated but still valuable.
I don’t think we are close to “AI scientists”
Today's AI agents are not designed to extract deep insights from new observations.
open.substack.com
Banger of a crossover episode today between @scaling_laws and "AI Summer" with @deanwb.bsky.social and @binarybits.bsky.social on the Anthropic/OpenAI/Pentagon situation (note that we recorded this on Wed. before DOD designated Anthropic a supply chain risk). podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
I ride Waymos fairly regularly in Austin. I'm a big fan of Waymo. I think everyone should listen to the @chrislhayes.bsky.social + @binarybits.bsky.social conversation about them. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
The Self-Driving Car Revolution with Tim Lee
Podcast Episode · Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast · 01/06/2026 · 54m
podcasts.apple.com
I'm a fan of this @binarybits.bsky.social piece that points out the incredibly simple and dumb error made by shadowstats. There's definitely some wiggle room for how you calculate inflation but you can't be significantly biased in the long term without it being obvious.
No, the real inflation rate isn’t 15 percent
Jordan Peterson and Jack Dorsey are touting a bogus theory about the inflation rate.
fullstackeconomics.com
Great @binarybits.bsky.social piece with overview of and background of White House AI Action Plan www.understandingai.org/p/donald-tru...
Donald Trump just laid out his vision for AI policy
The president wants to help American AI companies compete with their Chinese rivals.
understandingai.org
The American Time Use Survey came out recently, giving the most detailed look at how the country spends its days, so here's a quick thread 1st, the share of Americans reading for personal interest on an average day has fallen to the lowest level on record, down 10% from 2003🧵
The Truth about Sam Altman | @robertwrighter.bsky.social and Timothy B. Lee (@binarybits.bsky.social), author of the Understanding AI newsletter, discuss what two new biographies reveal about the OpenAI CEO.
The Truth about Sam Altman | Robert Wright & Timothy B. Lee
YouTube video by Nonzero
youtu.be
Fantastic @binarybits.bsky.social writeup of the Alsup ruling in Anthropic’s case open.substack.com/pub/understa... But aside from AI training, yet another reminder of the power of analog media. This excerpt is tragic: Alsup’s right about books. But this is exactly how the digital economy works.
No urbanist has successfully kept more vehicles off the road than radical degrowth war-on-cars advocate Donald J Trump
Apropos of nothing I feel like one of the most important things to help your kids develop is an ability to self-regulate.
Hey @niedermeyer.online is this going to mean no more Tesla takedown protests? Or are they going to become pro-Elon rallies?
Groceries stores are famous for their fat profit margins.
Zohran Kwame Mamdani@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · last yr.NEW: Two-thirds of NYC voters support creating municipal grocery stores to bring down prices. "The concept is imminently feasible. In fact, publicly owned grocery stores are quite common and already exist at scale—in the US military."
Great article on Waymo safety by @binarybits.bsky.social, who has IMO the best reporting on self-driving cars out there
Waymo has had dozens of crashes—almost all were a human driver's fault
Human drivers keep crashing into Waymos that aren't even moving.
understandingai.org
Interesting look at the emergency safety regulations that may hamper rollout of the promised Dallas to Houston automated trucking trial from @binarybits.bsky.social.
Driverless trucks are coming and unions aren’t happy about it
Will Trump side with driverless trucking startups or the labor movement?
open.substack.com
@binarybits.bsky.social is doubtful that scaling up so-called reasoning AI models will "achieve human-level intelligence" given this "probably has more than two dimensions, and mastering all of them will probably require a few more conceptual breakthroughs." open.substack.com/pub/understa...
OpenAI just released GPT-5—it just didn’t call it that
OpenAI's GPT-4.5 demonstrates the power and limits of pretrained models.
open.substack.com
19 professionals (in a variety of fields) evaluated OpenAI's Deep Research vs Google's Deep Research. OpenAI was the clear winner 🏆 Neat study by @binarybits.bsky.social, read more here: www.understandingai.org/p/these-expe...
I was a guest on the AI Summer podcast the other day. I go into some detail about how the Shortwave AI agent works today, how we got here, and what's next. Check it out: www.aisummer.org/p/andrew-lee... Thanks @binarybits.bsky.social and Dean Ball for hosting me!
Andrew Lee on running an AI email startup
Tim's brother goes deep on the practicalities of building on top of fast-changing AI models.
aisummer.org
The Understanding AI newsletter from @binarybits.bsky.social really helps you to, well, understand AI. You should read it. www.understandingai.org/p/these-expe...
These pros were stunned by OpenAI Deep Research
"I would use this model professionally," an antitrust lawyer told me.
understandingai.org
This is what Elon does: he takes something someone else is already doing, does it more sloppily/dangerously, and slaps his own brand on it so everyone forgets anything else exists (if they ever knew). You can't cede his rebranding without a fight, or you're toast. Explain that GAO already does this!
Want to keep up with the latest developments in AI? Check out the 7 newsletters I personally read & recommend for AI news, insights, and analysis: 👉 www.dataschool.io/best-ai-news... 👈 Includes: @simonwillison.net @emollick.bsky.social @sebastianraschka.com @binarybits.bsky.social
How to keep up with AI in 2025 🏃♂️
These 7 AI experts will guide you through the most important developments in Artificial Intelligence.
dataschool.io
Interesting theory and excellent DeepSeek explainer by @binarybits.bsky.social www.understandingai.org/p/i-dont-bel...
I don’t believe DeepSeek crashed Nvidia’s stock
But let’s talk about DeepSeek anyway.
understandingai.org
Excited to launch a new podcast with @deanwb.bsky.social about AI. It's called AI summer, and can be found on all major podcast apps. The first episode is an interview with political scientist @jonaskonas.bsky.social about AI policy in the Trump era. www.aisummer.org/p/jon-askona...
If TiKTok wasn’t a benefit for Chinese intel, they would sell. They could make a killing. But it’s not about the money
Nobody knew the federal budget could be so complicated.
Steve Benen@stevebenen.com · 2y agoElon Musk backing off his goal of cutting $2 trillion matters because: - Trump’s operation is already abandoning key campaign promises - misguided DOGE hype is unraveling - Republicans who insisted it was possible to cut $2 trillion suddenly look even worse www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
Here are some interesting opportunities to collaborate with the excellent @binarybits.bsky.social on his newsletter, Understanding AI, if you or someone you know are interested in serious AI journalism. If not, I still recommend his newsletter. www.understandingai.org/p/two-opport...
Two opportunities to work with me in 2025
You could get paid to write for Understanding AI for nine months.
understandingai.org
