Bitcoin Audible

"Hedgehog uses relative time locks. So that if they don't have to worry about closing that channel with a relative time lock, it's whenever you do close the channel, now you've got 2016 blocks to sweep the money using the pre-image. Otherwise I can sweep it after those 2016 blocks go by… And because it only uses relative time locks, it's much more delay tolerant… In the Lightning Network today, yo...

"It's going up forever, Laura." ~ Michael Saylor I know to many people that sounds crazy, and I can still see in my mind why it sounds crazy. Today, I'm going to make the argument for why it isn't crazy, but both natural and intuitive. Also, why it *doesn't* mean what you are probably picturing in your head. I'm going to make the case today, and I hope that you walk away realizing that this isn't...

"People that are in the Western world and specifically in the United States, what they're realizing, whether they can say it this way or not, is you're watching the end of an empire. I said this for a long time, and it's not the empire is going to collapse. The empire is collapsing right now. We are in the midst of, and people say economic collapse, it's empire collapse, which means economic is pa...

"As I see it, humanity is at a turning point where we must either embrace a small handful of totalitarian super intelligences or move AI to the edge, allowing a wide diversity of machine intelligences to flourish in cooperation with an equally diverse set of human intelligences, forming a truly decentralized hivemind. Fortunately, there’s mounting evidence that open source models will be the ultim...

"We know the law is unconstitutional. FinCEN knows the law is unconstitutional. FinCEN knows we know the law is unconstitutional. And yet we're supposed to pretend like nothing happened and comply with an illegal law." ~ Jameson Lopp What do we do when a regulatory agency continues to enforce an illegal law against a judicial verdict? Jameson Lopp explores the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), rev...

"You have to decide how to move forward. You have to decide what game you want to play; how much responsibility you are willing to shoulder. Do you want to stay stuck in the machine? A machine that uses and abuses you? A machine that feeds itself by extracting and devouring your time, attention, and value ? Or do you have the courage to take control of your wealth, health, thoughts, and speech ?"...

Today we delve into the leadership upheaval at Stability AI, Apple finally putting their cards on the table, the breadth of tools available for image and video generation, more ways to use LLMs to build micro apps, the release of numerous new models, and highlighting broader trends in the AI industry that may be rising to the surface. What might recent developments in the space reveal about the fu...

Guy Swann and Preston Pysh explore the dramatic shifts in global finance and the pivotal role of Bitcoin amidst rising inflation and the banking sector's vulnerabilities. They discuss how Bitcoin's growing influence could recalibrate financial power dynamics, offering a stark contrast to traditional economic mechanisms prone to manipulation and control. How might Bitcoin's ascent challenge the exi...

Fiat money has a collection of malincentives and consequences for the degrading and rotting of society. As we covered in the first part of this series, it leads to mindless consumerism and a more materialist culture. As we continue, I want to cover something else that it does by stealing the value of our savings which is our bet on the future health and capacity of society to provide for us. What...

"The mechanisms enforcing this modern censorship are not confined to private sectors or individual platforms but are significantly directed and influenced by the U.S. government itself. This intertwining of state powers with censorship activities marks a troubling departure from traditional American values, where free speech has been held sacred." ~ Dr. Joseph Mercola The troubling and dangerous e...

"All around the nation there are toddlers plunked down in front of iPads being subjected to synthetic runoff, deprived of human contact _even in the media they consume. There’s no other word but dystopian." ~ Mike Hoel What happens when the internet is so overrun with awful ai generated content, that it becomes too overwhelming to even find anything of value? And this is happening now, not in the...

"As far as I'm concerned, there's no obvious increased danger from the CCP having control over our access or our information or even modifying the algorithm, than it is the alphabets of the world or the METAs of the world or the CIA or the FBI's of the world, like these people… as far as I'm concerned, the United States federal government is way more of an existential threat to me than the CCP. I'...

"In a system that depends on irresponsible government spending (especially for perpetual war) and fiat printing to cover that irresponsibility, alarm bells cannot be allowed to work. There must be no pure price signals. ~ MacroScope In "Bitter Opposition to Bitcoin," the episode delves into the reasons behind policymakers' aversion to Bitcoin, particularly the prospect of a Bitcoin ETF. What if th...

"Bitcoin will probably crash again but it is neither a Ponzi scheme nor a bubble – it’s something far worse: It is an inherently secure, tightly-controlled asset with a regulated supply, and is therefore a subversion to the whole basis of free-market financial capitalism." ~ Alan Kohler What if Bitcoin is actually much worse than a Ponzi scheme? What if it's both here to stay, but also a total sub...

With the announcement of Devin, the "First AI Software Engineer" by Cognition Labs, some are calling it a breakthrough, while others aren't so impressed and believe other models can do largely the same thing. What is the unique difference that Devin brings to the table and does it have implications for the accessibility of coding and could it even suggest a change in direction for the future of so...

"Of all measurement instruments, the clock is the most valuable because so many of the things we sacrifice to create are not fungible. The massive clock towers of Europe, with their enormous loud and resonant bells, broadcasting time, fairly across the town and even the countryside, rather than the last relics of the medieval, were the first building block of the wealthy modern world." ~ Nick Szab...

"From an engineering perspective the mechanical clock with its novelty, the escapement, was by far the more important invention. In terms of its impact on contemporary temporal relationships, the mechanical clock and sandglass were of similar importance. The main innovations were the restructurings of the relationships themselves. Chief among these was the time-rate wage, which played a leading ro...

Advanced AI meets sustainable agriculture, opening a revolutionary pathway to food security. This episode brings Stephen Reisner from Potent Ponics into the spotlight, discussing a groundbreaking project that not only challenges the traditional AI applications in media but ventures into the heart of real-world, blue-collar issues. Explore how AI can empower farmers globally, breaking language barr...

I'm sure you have heard the claim that without inflation and the good people running the counterfeit machine, people would never spend money and it would cause an economic crisis. But have you ever seriously considered what the consequences of encouraging consumption and materialist economic activity might actually be, and whether we really need to subsidize the human desire to use up resources? W...

"Whether you're a rekt crypto bro or a friend of fiat, there is one thing that is especially difficult to accept. The one thing that sets Bitcoin apart: it all works without anyone in charge." ~ Gigi The crypto and fiat bros of the world are likely in shock as Bitcoin, once again, has not died. Once again, rallies toward all time highs despite the clear "unbacked tulip mania bubble" that it really...

The only way to protect yourself from closed, surveilled AI tools, is to use the open and private alternatives. When NVK couldn't find them, he decided to build them. Unleashed.chat begins to realize the potentially for open source LLMs to compete with ChatGPT and make use of unique means to fine-tune and leverage vectorized data for higher accuracy and relevance to the tasks of the user. What goe...

"It might feel as if the promised future is perpetually out of reach, but building Lightning is a lot like climbing a mountain. Climbers never really see the summit until they’re standing on top of it. They often can’t even see over the next ridge. Planning the ascent is important, but most of the time you’re simply concentrating on the next foothold. But the steps add up. Just like the view from...

"Izzy said there could be inflation in a hyperbitcoinized world. And she's right. Calm down, maxis, calm down! Explaining why this is true sheds light on yet another of Bitcoin’s quasi-magical properties and paints our hyperbitcoinized future an even rosier shade of orange. This is good for Bitcoin." ~ Allen Farrington This may seem crazy, heretical even, but inflation can occur in a hyperbitcoini...

"I'm super confident that lightning is not just the present but also the future of lightning. It is the interoperability layer between all things Bitcoin." ~ Roy Sheinfeld What is the future of the lightning network and how is it transforming the Bitcoin ecosystem? Today we take a journey with Roy Sheinfeld of Breez, diving into the latest innovations in lightning, exploring the Breeze SDK, liquid...

"By the end of 2024, everyone will have tools easily available to them that will allow them to create any video they want by simply typing in a description and hitting generate." ~ Guy Swann Are we on the brink of a revolution where anyone can create blockbuster-quality videos from their bedroom? Discover how the latest AI breakthroughs in 2024 are dismantling the barriers to professional filmmaki...