Human Capex

This morning I got up and slammed a K-cup into my Keurig. While it groaned, signaling the readiness of my coffee, I wandered over to the pantry and grabbed a cookie. In the morning, I like to break a cookie into fourths and then into eights to enjoy one bite at a time while I sip my coffee and read the news.

More news on Iran. Great. I’ve all but canceled a vacation now that the tickets I was looking for have gone 2x, so I make sure to eat a bite.

Oracle Lays Off Workers Amid Heavy AI Investment

I almost kept scrolling. Lots of businesses have been tightening their belts recently.

Then I stopped.

Oracle has laid off 30,000 people, more than half the size of my hometown, with an email-

 “After careful consideration of Oracle’s current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role.”

I had to let that sink in. Coming off a quarterly revenues up 22% to $17.2 billion in revenue and they let 30,000 people go, with an email at 6am.

Why? So it can finance its AI infrastructure projects.

It’s interesting that the media concentrates on the difference in attitude towards AI in the U.S. and in China. It’s interesting, but it isn’t hard to understand.

When Bruce Wayne’s parents die at the theatre, it isn’t hard to understand why he might not like the theatre.

Then I read that SpaceX was getting ready to file for the largest IPO in human history, and that made a lot of sense.