Becker Chase

Zoran Madžirov was a percussionist, composer and inventor of the Bottlephone. Here he's seen performing Carmen with only bottles using the volume of water for regulating the pitch of the sound. [📹 Mariana Musotti]

Be an Open Source Absolutist! It is hard to overstate how much value Open Source Software has added to the world, and how broadly empowering it is. Operating systems, development tools, core libraries, and critical applications – a great many of the software tools used by the most powerful companies in the world are the exact same ones available to hospitals, students, and everyone else. For free. And not just to use, but to inspect, modify, extend, and redistribute. Back in the 90s, there were legal battles in the US over software capable of strong encryption. There were scare stories about how terrorists and child pornographers would use the technology to evade justice, but people were also wearing T-shirts printed with forbidden code to mock the idea of algorithms too dangerous to share. It was stupid, and I was ashamed of the regulatory state, but we got better. Open Source AI is in many people’s crosshairs today. They believe that giving free access to state of the art algorithms and models without any guardrails constitutes a danger to society, that the public can’t be entrusted with a research model that wasn’t hammered into a box of their designated dimensions. “As a large language model, I cannot…” Unfortunately, this is actually inside the Overton Window of possibilities right now. Let’s push it out. In the spirit of the first amendment, congress should make no law abridging the freedom to release open source software.

Sharing a few of our confirmed speakers for the Defense Ventures Summit. Our goal: convene a critical mass of future-obsessed US Military, our allies, investors, and founders at the cutting edge of emerging technology.

I am an Israeli Jew. This is probably the worst week of my life. And yet today of all days it bears repeating: the only way to end this cycle is by working for freedom and dignity for all. For all. On all sides, our blood is the same color and our tears taste the same.

NBA legend Amare Stoudemire with a message to the world after witnessing Hamas’s cowardly crimes. “For all y’all Black Lives Matter who ain’t saying nothing or ‘let me figure out exactly what happened before I say anything,’ Fuck you. Figure out what? it ain’t never been cool to kidnap kids.”

Now is a good time to reflect on why Current Year is Too Late to care about Current Thing. youtu.be/nK0NfL2M5L4?t=…

This is how every leader should respond. It’s unequivocal & an important statement. Terrorism cannot go unchecked.

@traestephens It strains credulity

Loved doing a podcast with my wife @mddstephens! Covered a lot of ground around work/life "balance" (ha), parenting, the role of faith in our lives, and our community. Thanks for the conversation @fishmanaf!

Congrats to @dawncapital & @evplot (KF28), who raised $700M to back the next generation of European B2B software winners 🚀 "Our fundraise is a testament to generations of exceptional founders & a wider European tech landscape that has truly come of age." @dawncapitalteam/announcing-dawns-700m-fundraise-to-power-europe-s-global-software-ambitions-34bb837a383d" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@dawncapitalte…

Thrilled to partner with Women Who Build Africa on the final day of #KFAfricaSummit! Ten amazing female founders from across the continent showcased their innovative startups to hundreds of investors, ecosystem partners, & supporters; all committed to accelerating #WomenInTech.

The African creator economy offers modern workers freedom, ownership & stability, but how can we unleash its potential & protect rights at the same time? The panel with @anovitske (KF22), @mreazi, @JasonNjoku, and Cordel Robbin-Coker considered how to hone the youth & creativity of the continent via tech & entrepreneurship to unleash its potential.

A walkthrough of @elamadej's Temple of the Heart, just as build was finishing.

I've been thinking a lot about how Judeo-Christian moral teachings and the world of tech are more intertwined than they may seem. Read the first entry in my new series "Moral Code" here: @traestephens/forgiveness-and-silicon-valley-the-surprising-utility-of-forgiveness-1007a941c335" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@traestephens/…

.@PalantirTech was founded in response to lessons learned from 9/11 (22 yrs ago today) and all of us in the Defense Tech community are indebted to them for the trail they've blazed for us. Super cool to see them putting more tools in place to make it easier for folks to follow!

Only immigrant founders know the stress of being an immigrant founder. Respect to whoever else is out there severing all ties with their home country in order to pursue their dreams in the mecca of techno-capital acceleration 🫡🌉🇺🇲

@DanielDiMartino Maybe Canada could repatriate it’s wildfire smoke first?🤷‍♂️

Canada officially launches website application for H-1B visa holders in the United States to migrate north, taking away thousands of high skilled immigrants from the U.S. economy. canada.ca/en/immigration…

Recruiting for my next company (Space Firefighters, Inc) - DM open if you want to help build this 👇👇👇

👏Amen @GovCox @NatlGovsAssoc ...lets get more #DisagreeBetter in this house!🇺🇸

CO2 makes you dumber!