Peter Thiel on communism, artificial intelligence and the future of the West.

Our reading notes on Peter Thiel

• Peter Thiel: “We Need to Hit the Accelerator As Hard As Possible” on AI

  Around 9:27, Thiel tells Walter Isaacson he expects AI to raise aggregate productivity. He qualifies who could benefit if a few companies captured the gains and acknowledges disruption to individual industries. It is a forecast with an important condition attached. A team adopting a tool can look for who actually receives the time or money saved.

• Interview: Peter Thiel on Scientific Stagnation

  The interviewer tests Thiel’s stagnation thesis against examples from aviation, medicine and scientific institutions. The disagreement matters because progress in one field cannot settle the question for every field. The transcript gives readers the claims and challenges in sequence so they can follow where the argument changes scale.

• Peter Thiel on Stagnation, Innovation, and What Not To Name Your Company

  Cowen moves between technology, company names and chess in an effort to test Thiel’s thinking from different angles. A short question about a chess opening draws a qualified answer rather than a sweeping prediction. That exchange makes a useful model for an interview that probes how certain a guest really is.