Reza Roboubi

I should make it clear that I'm not trying to support indifference to the problems which people in Cuba (or Iran) are facing, obviously! The point was that this tradeoff between future freedom and current peace/economic security is a big problem that needs a better solution.

It's ironic that Iranians and Cubans have very similar feelings about sharp hawkish measures (e.g. serious economic sanctions or military action) against their own countries, and yet, as an Iranian, when I see some of the news reports about Cuban people today not having electricity and energy, their suffering pains me beyond measure, making me feel that no human beings, not Cubans, not Iranians, deserve this. And when you look into the history and politics of it, stripping away all the noise, it's not about ideology such as "capitalism vs communism as economic ideologies." If it was, many people would say, just give us China's "communist" economy and end this misery (e.g. fuel shortages). (Note: it's inaccurate to call China's economy "communist." It's much more accurate to call it "meritocratic state capitalism." But the point is that China and Vietnam prove, you can start with a communist system and evolve the economy into something else, but fundamental freedoms and human rights are a different story, and a big problem.) It's about something much simpler: basic, fundamental human freedoms and whether the people of those countries (Iran/Cuba) would want to endure even harsh hawkish measures to gain those precious freedoms that everyone wants. It is a fact that vast numbers of Iranians have supported serious, strong measures to overthrow the current Iranian regime. Reza Pahlavi has proven that much, that he can announce an action, and pull countless Iranians into the streets. That's a fact, whether you happen to be his supporter or not. How long that momentum will last, I do not know. The fundamental philosophical question is, what is freedom worth, and what are people willing to pay for it. I cannot imagine the pain of going without energy and electricity. I hope no human being has to go through that. I'm a free Canadian today because the people of this country fought two world wars to secure that freedom for me! But when it comes to "letting" the people of Cuba, or anywhere else, go without electricity, it's a great failure of humanity that we haven't found, in the 21st century, a better process for achieving those precious freedoms than pain, sanctions, and war, and _even_ with these harsh measures, their systematicity and success rates are unclear.

Comment below if you think I should just STFU and not talk about politics. I sometimes feel that nothing I've said has made the world better, and it's only getting worse all the time. The problem with talking is that even presuming everything you say is right, it depends on who has the power to do it, what's their mindset, and how they are implementing it (assuming that they were even listening to you and you're generally right). For example, suppose you say, "we build rockets, we go to the moon!" And you're "right." But the guy who does that could very easily blow himself up! JFK did talk about going to the moon, but he had the power to support/fund the idea until scientists (lots of extremely knowledgeable people working day and night to find out how to do it) succeeded. Frank Whittle did invent & build the jet engine, but it was very dangerous work, and he almost got himself killed doing it. Cesare Bonesana said that punishment should fit the crime and not be excessive. His ideas were sufficiently radical back then that his book was initially published anonymously. And when you say something like that, it might even initially have some destabilizing effects, for example, what if crime initially goes up, or people take the law into their own hands? Is an "enlightenment" writer like Bonesana morally responsible for the short term consequences? Notice that Cesare Bonesana was a philosopher, jurist, criminologist, and economist! Kennedy was president! And Frank Whittle lacked enough credentials to get serious/government support for his work, so he had to go it alone and build it himself. If you are at the intersection of these people and "just talking," you are nothing! Intersectionality! Someone once told me, it's like throwing a pebble in the ocean: you'll make a few tiny ripples but not much. First, nobody will listen to you. But let's suppose that what you're proposing is actually a good idea for making peace in the Middle East, and it's advantageous, let's say, for the Islamic Republic leadership to listen to you. Then what? You don't have the power to implement the idea, and if the IRGC hates you, the West, and their own Iranian people, then they will try to prove you wrong. For example, you're promoting peace and economic relations with the West, which is good for them, but they make peace/trade with China vs. conflict with the West just because they hate you, even if it's not the best solution for them, it's "good enough" to prove you wrong and maintain their dictatorship. When two groups hate each other and are fighting, telling them to make peace might just make them more angry. IRGC is really weird: their children are studying and investing in the West, but the parents still somehow hate the West? Do they?! Don't they?! Nelson Mandela and Gandhi spent their lives, and fought for many years, to make a difference. How long are you willing to put into your "enlightenment" ideals? There's a saying in Persian: he who has been bitten by the snake fears black & white ropes. When you've been "talking" for a while, and you observe that much in the world is just getting worse, and your ideas "come out wrong," you wonder, am I wrong? Is the world wrong? Should I just STFU?! Looking at the deep, meaningful, tangible, enormous contributions that the AI people have made to humanity over the past few years alone leaves one speechless, and it's a lot easier today than it was for Frank Whittle. Yet, the problems in the Middle East have not been resolved even after a thousand years! Makes you wonder, what's the best way to make a difference? What is your sense of purpose and what do you love to do?

It appears like Iran hasn't accepted the US terms. I'm really worried. Someone recently told me that as individuals/citizens we can't do anything whatsoever. I hope that's not true, but talking/writing sometimes feels hopeless. Just hard to believe that the Middle East conflict is so difficult to resolve, and now there's a danger of it spreading elsewhere. 😔 This is the 21st century. There must be a reasonable solution that works for all sides. Unfortunately, as humans, in a dispute, we usually think of what the "other side" should do first rather than figuring out what's mutually beneficial and satisfactory. The people want democracy/freedom. Regime insiders want to survive and maintain their independence/economy (they think of themselves as "independent" even though in a global economy, that's an illusion). US wants ("nuclear") security and stability in the region, with oil flowing and the economy working. The question is, can a deal address all those three needs somehow?

@sudip_r0y @sarahookr Could you please provide a couple of concrete, specific (business?) scenarios to help explain your vision and the types of applications that you're trying to address? (If already discussed, please link to it.)

We're hiring two roles at Adaption, both working directly with me: Distributed Systems Engineer — LLM inference at scale, data pipelines, GPU fleets Applied Scientist — efficient & adaptive ML (online learning, gradient-free methods), research that ships Small team, hard problems. DMs open.

Sorry, it's apparently not yet as good as human doctors/specialists at understanding medical imaging. That was hasty.

به اشتراک گذاشتم چون خیلی زیباست و این روزها خیلی به فکر ایران هستم. به منظور سیاسی نبود. youtu.be/ZW3Q4dUxjSo?si…

Mr. Amiri, this is a genuine question, not rhetorical. Did your view change from a few days before when you had posted this message? x.com/i/status/20313… And if so, is it the specific conduct of this particular war, or something more general about democracy and Iran on your mind?

Some people thought something good might come out of this war. But I think what we’re seeing now is different. The regime may be incompetent when it comes to caring for its people in the economy, freedom, justice, human rights, and even the environment, but it has been consistent in one thing: building a system designed to absorb shocks like this through brutal force internally and destabilizing actions externally. A system that makes its own collapse more painful for the world than its survival. So: 1. Either Trump didn’t understand what he was dealing with, which means this war was based on naive optimism, believing that by bombing the ayatollahs they would collapse, the region would be saved, a 47-year-old problem would be solved, and his name would go down in history as one of the greatest American presidents. 2. Or he did understand and anticipated this as a possibility, and targeting infrastructure (which is illegal and may constitute a war crime) was always part of the plan. In the first case, it’s a blunder, a serious one that is causing pain for Iranians and giving the regime an advantage. Therefore attacks on power plants must stop, because covering up a mistake with illegal actions that destroy people’s lives is not acceptable. He must take responsibility and try to make it right, even if it comes at a political cost. In the second case, it’s deliberate cruelty. It means this war was intended to involve unlawful actions from the beginning, and everyone, including Iranians, has been misled. In this case as well, attacks on infrastructure must stop. Either way, Trump should not be allowed to carry out such a destructive act, targeting Iran’s infrastructure, provoking retaliation, and creating a situation where ordinary people across the region bear the cost. theguardian.com/world/2026/mar… #IranWar #NoToIslamicRepublic

Dear Pope @Pontifex, please tell the Vatican News to turn on the comment thingy. Even though we are not God, we do have thoughts/comments! You're not the only popular channel that does this, but you do represent you-know-who!

We could even ask about strategy in the absence of war! What was the strategy for democracy in Iran before this war even started? It is often a lack of strategy in peace time that leads to wartime and its lack of strategy in the first place. It is not clear to me where this is going, but to the people who have lost their lives in prisons and on the streets since the green movement, it was also not clear exactly where the status quo was going.

To quote Gen. Mattis, "targetry never makes up for a lack of strategy" (axios.com/2026/03/24/mat…)

@pdxraj @ariehkovler @MaloneySuzanne For everyone to win, everyone must sit at the negotiating table, including the Iranian people, and put forward a mutually beneficial plan that brings true peace to the region. 2/2

@pdxraj @ariehkovler Keep in mind that "controlling" the straight and "enjoying" it are two different things. Putting *everything* else aside, Iran has a GDP per capita 4 times less than Turkey, despite all that oil. Their leadership is decimated and also banned in Europe. 1/ (@MaloneySuzanne)

Whatever Trump just announced, nobody believes that the US Navy is about to start interdicting Chinese supertankers that are buying oil from (and paying 'fees' to) Iran, let alone tankers full of Arab oil that have done the same.

@saurooskov @ylecun Winning is more likely if the negotiation puts forth avenues for everyone to win.

You tired @ylecun? Get some rest dude! Tomorrow, when Iran is free and a true partner of the united states, when the entire middle east is free from the IRGC missile threat and a hub for massive American investments to harvest the abundant and cheap energy and a large talent pool, you Europeans are going to have to roll up your sleeves and work to help Europe keep up with the middle east. You’d also have to deal with the Islamist population you all have imported, so good luck!

Tired of winning

Negotiations should offer meaningful opportunities and economic growth to everyone and be based on a frank discussion and understanding of the roots of this old conflict. Meaningful change can happen only by acknowledging that peace, freedom, and democracy are beneficial to everyone. youtube.com/shorts/EMeRa0r…

Political executions must stop.

In fact, this Islamic revolution has done even more for secularism in Iran than Reza Shah (the 1st), and it has been the cause of a tremendous national awakening. Acknowledging this is important because it might offer a path towards a national discussion, negotiation, and meaningful change. 6/6

@Lovemontgomer @milaniabbas @NazaninBoniadi We must stop thinking that the extremists are "imported outsiders who aren't part of us." They are a part of Iran, even though they are a small minority at this point and the vast majority of Iranians, by far, are deeply opposed to this regime. 5/

The inflammatory use of language like the “destruction of a civilization” even if mere rhetorical tactic is morally wrong, illegal and counterproductive..The Iranian regime’s sole goal is its own survival. The Iranian people are fighting to keep and revive their civilization.