jasonsosa

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Presenting ideas on the future of work and AI governance

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Interview with Esquire Singapore on artificial intelligence and  the future of the workforce

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Speaking at Singularity University Global Summit 2018

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Blackbox - The age of abundance and a new work alternative

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What is the “Future of Work”?

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Next Generation Distributed Business Operating System Whitepaper

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Beyond the debate — Capitalism vs. Socialism — what comes next?

Could AI-enabled governance provide a balanced framework for society?

Framing the conversation

Debates over capitalism and socialism are resurging. Should the means of production belong to private industry or the state? How should we manage the distribution of resources? What role do taxes and individual liberties play in our social and financial pecking order?

Many have grown weary of the left vs right narrative. An oversimplified framework that doesn’t raise the quality of the dialog. Usually, the debate is boiled down to “left vs right” platitudes and memes, which is reinforced by the media, social networks, and political pundits as people talk past each other in direct or indirect war games.

Every night across news channels we hear the debates. The 2020 presidential campaign will most likely follow the pattern wrapped in tropes, zingers, myths, metaphors, and psychological warfare tactics going back to the days before WWI. What other metaphors exist by which we can build civil discourse?

In reality, capitalism and socialism are human constructs. There is no “ism” doctrine or set of rules. Capitalism and Socialism are constantly evolving spectrums of values, with extremes at both ends of a complex continuum. The differences are rooted in the separation of labor and capital. They are simply tools which either serve or do not serve societies best interests. The ultimate question then, is what interests are we serving and for whom? Today’s Republicans and Democrats look nothing like the parties of old. They will both look unrecognizable in the upcoming election season.

Each outraged click means more money for the PPC ad machine. The debates go back and forth with the ferocity of sound bites, memes, and click-bait headlines designed to hi-jack the limbic system of tribal minded news-junkies. These debates, often loaded with misdirection, mistaken definitions, terms, and conflated subjects altogether make an already complicated subject that much more impossible to understand and grasp for the average viewer watching at home.

A recent Harvard University Poll reported that only 42% of millennials supported capitalism. 33% wanted socialism.

The key take away?

Capitalism = good guys

Socialism = bad guys

…or vice versa, depending on who’s talking.

Bill Maher says

“Someone needs to explain to the free-market crowd that when it comes to socialism, you’re soaking in it,” Maher said. “So many Americans hate the word ‘socialism’ but love the concept: Medicare, unemployment, disability, farm subsidies…”

Ben Shapiro writes

“ Ocasio-Cortez can rant about capitalism from her iPhone while wearing her Sephora lipstick, but she should realize that she’s a beneficiary of the capitalism she so despises. It’s easy to rip on capitalism’s shortcomings while living amidst its benefits.”

The problem is that these debates come down to the philosophical lens. The problem is that our views become intertwined with our personal narrative and identity. Entrenched outrage in our political positions provides a sense of safety in a mad world. Talking points are adopted from opinion news shows, as our social media feeds inundate us with articles we’re already inclined to believe.

The challenge is in piecing together a complex tapestry across economics, humanities, technology, and security to define and architect a brand new philosophical lens from which we can build a workable model.

It is undeniable that the world is on the verge of technological convergence that is rushing headfirst into 20th-century values and institutions. And this power isn’t only in the hands of governments and corporations. Distributed ledger technology (the blockchain) enables brand new structures of trust management across dispersed geographic areas. The next generation of “low code” and “no code” programming opens the door to citizen developers— no code skills required. Edge computing will unlock cloud and computation at the device level. We’re at the tipping point somewhere between a legacy model of “greed is good” towards a people-centric Star Trek utopia, and no one is certain what lies in-between, or if we’ll even get there.

We’re sitting in the front row as a collective, witnessing the evolution of human civilization and the biggest shift since WWII. What are we rushing towards?

What lies beyond the conventional concepts of capitalism and socialism?

The world faces constant disruption, a shifting international world order, automation, and uncertainty like never before. Looking backward on governance is as helpful to the challenges we face in the 21st century as looking to the model-T to design the next Tesla.

AI-based governance won’t happen overnight. But given the track record of technological shifts, it is all but an inevitability, even if it’s hard to see from the vantage point of 2019. But how will it work? How soon? Most importantly, what will be the ramifications? Looking at what’s happening today in China with its social-credit system, to Netflix’s Black Mirror warning of a dystopian vision for our future — the next decade will be anything but traditional.

AI-enabled governance will be made real for everyday citizens at a local level once cities and municipalities adopt sensors and data flows best practices. The most advanced counties are just beginning to invest in architecture towards their smart city/region vision. The infrastructure and sensor network will generate huge volumes of data, and provide the first step towards integrated services and data pipelines. A far cry from the siloed departments across multiple cities, villages, and townships. This technology will benefit communities and be a helpful advancement. Currently, AI is in a commoditization phase with the top tech giants laying the R&D groundwork for their respective platforms. China has an AI initiative to lead the world by 2030 and the USA just announced an American AI initiative in response.

The blockchain and AI tools, when taken to extremes, provide the means to either enslave or liberate people. More than bits, bytes, and economics, an intelligent ecosystem needs to be people-centric. Made up of next-generation organizations motivated by capitalist ambitions, but also a social impact beyond the constructs of the past. Above all, we need a system that places people at its center. The hard part is to what extent.

Envisioning a new world is never easy, but the timing for the discussion has never been better than now, even if it is uncomfortable.

If you liked the article please take a moment to clap, leave a message, or check out the links below. You can learn more at:

blackboxai.com, blackboxfoundation.org, jasonsosa.com,

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The Coming Transhuman Era

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Common Startup Pitfalls & Best Practices

Common Founder Pitfalls to Avoid:

1. Skipping the validation process This is by far the number one startup mistake I’ve seen entrepreneurs run into.

Without validating core ideas and testing assumptions — it’s a big risk to bet on multiple unknown variables. Building a “startup machine” requires the integration of multiple moving parts. It has to be dialed into alignment with existing pain in the market. If just one core assumption is wrong, the machine could fail. Don’t be too smart. Test everything.

2. Scaling too soon Companies don’t die because they can’t scale fast enough. What usually happens is a premature investment into infrastructure, servers, marketing, and staff. Typically what happens is a startup scales too fast in anticipation of growth and the company is stuck with big overhead resulting in them running out of money. Software inevitably gets delayed, adoption is slower than expected, and investor expectations aren’t met. This makes it difficult to raise additional rounds of financing.

3. Obsession with Partnering Investors tend to view partnerships as compensation for weakness. Investors really only care about sales/growth. An investor once told me, “Partnerships are bullshit. The only thing that matters is sales. Sales fixes everything. Companies only use the word “partnerships” when they don’t have sales”.

4. Patents = Defensibility Patents are useful if the technology is unique (i.e. BioTech), and it’s a good idea to file if part of your strategy is to increase IP value for an acquirer. However, given the 5–7 yr window for granted patents, it’s not a defensible argument for investors, at least within the tech world. Litigation is expensive and you’ll be hard pressed to find a VC that wants to fund it should a large incumbent infringe on your patent. Don’t waste your money. As a founder, spend every dollar as if it were your last.

Best Practices:

1. Product/Market Fit The value proposition (the problem you’re solving) meets the customer segments (who you’re solving it for) = Product/Market Fit. Test the shit out of this! It’s the basis for your entire company. If no one will pay you, it’s probably a sign it’s a “nice to have”, instead of a “must have”. Spend more time interviewing customers and less time trying to figure out your “perfect strategy”. It’s better to tap into existing pain/desire in the market than spinning your wheels working to create it.

2. Validation Testing Quickly test your assumptions and refine the process as you gather feedback from your customers/stakeholders. Doing this at the early stages provides agility in decision-making and reduces risk over the long term when the cost is small BEFORE you invest time/effort in development. Chances are that some of your gut instincts will be wrong. Don’t let the fear of uncertainty rush you into decisions that cannot be quickly reversed.

3. Low Fidelity/High Fidelity Prototypes By using low fidelity mock-ups you can learn what works and what doesn’t at a faster pace and with the least amount of investment. This is important, especially if user engagement and retention will be a key metric in your success.

4. MVP The “MVP” is an abused term. It is meant to be more of a process than a product. Prototyping is essentially a conversation you’re having with your ideas and your assumptions. The only way to know for sure is to get customer feedback, iterate, and keep your feature set and problems as small as possible.

5. Automation This stage is intended to introduce automation and continuous integration to anticipate the challenges of user growth. As mentioned earlier, scaling up too soon kills. Before you jump head first into automating everything — do it manually first! You’ll save a ton of time testing processes by hand, using a virtual assistant, or a spreadsheet ahead of investing in expensive software/services. This one recommendation has saved people thousands. You’re ready for scale once the business model has been validated, the processes have been carefully executed in coordination with customer feedback, and users are excited and enjoy the product/service

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Why I Sold Everything and Moved My Family Into a 350 sq ft RV

For the last 2 1/2 years, we have been a family of four living in 350 sq ft RV traveling around the country. For the first time in what feels like forever, we're back living in a real house. It's an odd feeling. Things that most people took for granted – like running water, long showers, unlimited internet, and spacious refrigerators became rediscovered luxuries.

No, we didn't have a financial crisis, we're not homeless, and I was not on the road hunting for a job. We made this lifestyle decision consciously. Here's our story.

In 2009 we lived in a six bedroom 2.5 baths 4,000 sq ft house. From an outside perspective, we had it all. A BMW in the driveway and a perfectly manicured lawn surrounded our cul de sac lot, A stainless steel BBQ grill sat on the wrap around deck,

it’s what we always thought we wanted. That is until we achieved it.

It’s what defines the American Dream – until we woke up and realized the mountain of debt surrounding us. The long working hours and stresses that came with this dream weren't what we wanted. In retrospect, the accumulation of physical possessions was one of the most profound experiences and one of the biggest mistakes of our lives.

What we realized was that the more we bought, the more we became owned. The manicured lawn became a never-ending tedious task. The three-stall garage and sprawling basement became a vacuum that drove us to fill the space with loads of crap we had to maintain.

Our lives became one of "boxes." We went from our box house to our box car, with a boxed lunch, to our box work. As the Great Recession of 2009 became a reality, we looked at each other and asked if this was all worth it. We were accumulating possessions we didn’t enjoy to impress people that didn't care. Our stuff consumed our time, our mental space and ultimately our happiness.

After a trip to Boulder Colorado, we decided to sell 90% of our material possessions. Where before our value system was centered on things and perception, our new value system would be based on people and experiences.

I was not a "truck guy," never went RV'ing and rarely even went camping. It was one of the most insane and yet beautiful ideas we've ever had. After months of debate, research, and careful planning we bought a diesel Ford F-350 truck and found a comfortable fifth wheel RV complete with slide outs, smart devices, TV's, Xbox One, and a fireplace. We headed across the country with our two boys.

In our first nine months, the four of us have discovered a new found appreciation for each other. We traded our sprawling house for 350 sq ft of living space and ended up happier than we’ve ever been. The kids have visited 20 states and multiple national parks. We’ve stayed at vintage 50's diner parking lots, wine vineyards, alpaca farms, and even ghost towns in Death Valley. We've lived in Boulder, NYC, SF, Asheville NC, just to name a few places. Throughout this experience, we learned a few things.

1. Things don’t make you happy. Life’s about people and experiences. 2. When in doubt, always go with the decision that makes the better story. 3.  It doesn’t matter what other people think. There are no rules for how you should live your life. You make it up as you go along.  

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What Are Some Good Ways To Deal With Fear?

Fear is the body's reaction to your mind. There is the fear of physical danger and then there is psychological fear. Fear at its root is a fear of death (not necessarily physical death).  You can think of it, as fear of not being enough or fear or not being loved.

When you learn to ask better questions that direct your mind toward where you want to go (the result) vs where you don't want to go (fear) you can learn to better escape the trappings of fear.

Fear is like a voluntary prison in your mind where there are no walls, no guards, and no inmates. Escape is encouraged and the lie you tell yourself is that by staying fearful, you will somehow be safe.

There are only two things you can control.

1. Your perception (how you view the world)

2. Your procedure (how you respond to the world)

With everything else in life, there are risks and there are challenges. The fastest way to get out of fear is by being grateful. Focus on who you love and who loves you. Focus on the challenges you've overcome in the past and the milestones you've crossed.  Fear in your mind is like a dirty glass of water. You cannot take the dirt out of the water, but through displacement, you can fill the glass with clean water (gratitude). Train your mind to move you toward what you want,  instead of letting your mind trick you into the false sense of security that fear brings.

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How to pick a niche

Do you have a niche or are you a generalist? Even if you think you have a niche, you WILL learn something new.

It can be very scary to pick a niche. Right away your brain may put up a defensive wall and it probably says - “what if I can’t get clients"… "yeah but it’s probably low-quality deals"… or "I might lose opportunities... I'm already struggling with finding work and now you want me to cut me off from every opportunity?!" Yes! If your risk alarm bells go off that is perfectly normal. You can’t be everything to everybody, But you can be somebody to someone.

What makes a niche work?

This will come from the market itself – it isn’t always about your message, pitch or skills.

In selecting a niche remember this…

“You cannot create desire. You can only tap into the fears, frustrations, pains, dreams, and aspirations that ALREADY EXIST!"

Focus on the most compelling emotional pain or powerful desire possible. The market will let you know if you’re on the right track.

The task is not to create desire but to channel and direct it.

This isn't a vague idea or something you can sorta-kinda know. This is the foundation of your entire business. Take some time to sit down and figure this out for yourself. Most people spend more time planning a vacation than they do designing a life. Your business consumes an enormous amount of energy and focus. Give yourself the gift of channeling your energy in the right direction.

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I’m excited to share that I’m joining Chameleon Collective. Chameleon Collective has assembled an amazing team of experienced senior executives, entrepreneurs, and super-connectors to help businesses seeking transformation and/or accelerated growth. I’m thrilled to be working with folks like Veronika Sonsev, Freddie Laker, Mack McKelvey, Laura King, Jason J Sosa, Jeff Arbour, Melissa Pacheco, Mike Michael Coner, Sergio Mello, Mike Whitmore, and David Berkowitz to offer my clients access to a larger network.

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IMRSV has been acquired by Kairos. It's been an epic 4 year journey that has taken me all over the world. I was able to live my dream. So grateful! Now I get to start a new chapter. On to the next.

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IMRSV acquired by Kairos