Readings

Deep Learning - foundational text on Deep Learning. It's mathematically dense, but essential for anyone who wants to understand the core theory from first principles, not just how to use a library.

Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow - a code-first, hands-on guide that bridges the gap between theory and actually building real models with popular frameworks.

AI Engineering - a great introductory book. It’s not about training models, but about the entire engineering lifecycle required to deploy, monitor, and maintain them in production.

Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction - the bible of Reinforcement Learning. Sutton and Barto lay out the core concepts—from MDPs to temporal-difference learning—with exceptional clarity.

Introduction to Linear Algebra - this book, along with the videos that go with it, teaches linear algebra with a focus on deep, geometric intuition rather than just abstract computation.

Three Types of Intelligence Explosion - Forethought - breaks down the vague concept of an "intelligence explosion" into three distinct, more concrete scenarios.

An Action Plan for American Leadership in AI - Institute for Progress - actionable policy roadmap for how the US can and should maintain its lead in AI.

Strategic thinking - Wikipedia - high-level overview of what "strategic thinking" actually is—not just planning, but a mode of thought focused on achieving major goals in a complex, dynamic environment.

Founder Mode - Paul Graham - his take on the intense, all-consuming psychological state required to build a successful startup.

Building Research Driven Products - ultd.io - a compelling argument against the "move fast" mantra for foundational products.

Theory of Change - Aaron Swartz - essay on the importance of having an explicit model for how your actions will create the change you want to see. Extremely insightful!

Super successful companies - Sam Altman - his summary of the common traits he observed in the most successful YC companies.

What Can We Learn From the Prolific Mr. Asimov? - Farnam Street - an analysis of Isaac Asimov's work habits to understand how he managed to write over 500 books!

Things you're allowed to do - Milan Cvitkovic - a wonderful list of things you probably didn't know you were "allowed" to do, breaking down the self-imposed rules that often limit us.

How to Maximize Serendipity - David Perell - a great guide on how to increase your personal serendipity by creating a "serendipity vehicle" through writing and sharing ideas.

To be a Technologist is to be Human - Letters to a Young Technologist - an optimistic essay arguing that building technology is a fundamentally human act of creativity and problem-solving.

List of cognitive biases - Wikipedia - an essential reference. A comprehensive list of the systematic errors in thinking that our brains are prone to.

Robert Moses and the Oxygen of Pure Competence - Farnam Street - analysis of how Robert Moses wielded immense power not through his official title, but through sheer, undeniable competence.

Principal–agent problem - Wikipedia - it explains one of the most fundamental concepts in economics and management: the inherent conflict of interest when you hire someone (an agent) to do a job for you (the principal).

Analogue gravity models of emergent gravity: lessons and pitfalls - IOPscience - a technical look at how physicists use "analogue" systems—like sound waves in a fluid—to model and understand the physics of black holes and gravity.

The "most important century" blog post series - Cold Takes - a series of posts arguing that this century may be the most important in all of human history due to the imminent arrival of transformative AI. Highly recommend!