Super interesting idea -- a conference where AI is both the authors and reviewers. Curious to see where it goes @james_y_zou . But you know, the ultimate would be where the AI is also the organizers :-)

This email from Thiel is clearly old but even more poignant today for NYC of course. I suspect this will take on a cyclical nature: NYC may be entering into what SF was a few years ago, with ideas of being more permissive on crime and more socialist leanings. But that will inevitably go very poorly with elevated crime, etc, and eventually people will elect more centrist candidates (eg see SF now), which will bring back the previous ways -- just to the point where everything heals just enough for the next socialist candidate to come in.

What does "good times create weak men" look like quantitatively?

A Personal Update By Vijay Pande Today, I’m sharing that after more than a decade, it’s both exciting and bittersweet that I’ll be stepping away from my role at Andreessen Horowitz. This has been one of the most meaningful chapters of my life, and I’m filled with gratitude as I reflect on the journey. I joined @a16z in 2014 as a Professor-in-Residence, just coming off my time as chair of Biophysics and Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry at Stanford. What started as an observation that tech companies are poised to make major impacts in Bio and Health quickly evolved into something much larger: my founding of the a16z Bio + Health fund, a new strategy at the intersection of AI, computation, and biology — and the chance to build an investing platform from the ground up. I’m also proud not only of the companies I’ve backed — including Devoted Health, Function Health, Insitro, Freenome— but also of the team I built to carry this vision forward. What began as a speculative bet became a thriving and deeply mission-driven practice, thanks to the people who believed in it and helped shape it every step of the way. This transition could not have been possible without the incredible people I’ve worked with: ● I want to thank Marc and Ben for taking a bet on me—and on the idea that biology could be engineered, and that venture capital had a role to play in building that future. Their support and belief shaped everything that followed. We should all be proud of the impact we’ve had shaping the future of health. ● I’m deeply grateful to the team I’ve helped build in the Bio + Health practice: Jorge Conde, Julie Yoo, and Vineeta Agarwala. It’s been an honor to work alongside them to build this platform from the ground up. I’ve had the privilege of mentoring Vineeta since her days at Stanford, and I could not be prouder of the leader she’s become. ● To our founders, thank you for your courage, your brilliance, and your trust. Your creativity, commitment and energy to building what we all know is possible is nothing short of inspiring and contagious. You’ve challenged me, inspired me and reminded me why this work matters so much. It’s been one of the greatest privileges of my career to support you. ● To our limited partners, thank you for believing in this vision and making it possible to pursue it with long-term conviction. Though I’m stepping away from the firm, I’m not stepping away from the cause. If anything, I feel more energized than ever about the future of bio + health. Writing the next chapter of the playbook in healthcare will require a deep imagination, more cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a willingness to build boldly—and I look forward to being part of that in new ways. Some of you may remember a talk I gave called Disrupt Yourself — and true to that message, I’m doing just that. I’m heading into a new chapter focused on the future of AI, healthcare, and prevention. With deep gratitude, Vijay Pande

1/ “We're ingrained in stupidity… we have to do better.” @EricTopol, Director of the @scrippsresearch Translational Inst., doesn’t hold back in this conversation about superagers—those rare individuals who avoid chronic disease & stay healthy well into old age. Video below:

"Big Food’s Big Tobacco moment" - @ariannahuff "We are entering Big Food’s Big Tobacco moment. The fight to hold tobacco companies ... culminated in a 1998 $206 billion settlement ... Is that where Big Food is headed?" 1/

The next decade of building will construct the *new* modern world, an enormous change akin to going from horses & iceboxes to cars & electricity in the early part of the 20th century.

Congratulations @drmarkhyman !

On top of this, medical specialities silo a lot of how medicine is done vs a systems approach, which is way better for patients. AI facilitating this shift would not just be a fundamental improvement for patients but a radical change for how medicine is done.

The healthcare world is going to radically change in the next ten years.