The hottest Technology Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Yes, Blowing Things Up Is How We Build Things

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 547 implied HN points • 07 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Defense Aerospace R&D Testing Startups Media
  1. Deliberately testing hardware to destruction is a normal, necessary way to find weaknesses and build stronger weapons, and it’s better to fail on the range than on the battlefield.
  2. Calling routine destructive tests mere 'failures' misframes and can unfairly damage companies doing risky but essential national-defense work.
  3. There was a time when the press accepted and even supported testing-to-failure because it sped weapon development, and recent negative coverage represents a shift from that practical mindset.

New technologies, new totalitarians

Noahpinion • 18882 implied HN points • 27 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Social media National Security Surveillance Global Influence
  1. The rise of new technologies like smartphones and social media has presented democracies with a formidable opponent in the form of techno-totalitarian regimes.
  2. China employs a strategy of 'sharp power' to manipulate foreign entities and influence global affairs, utilizing tactics like espionage, social media manipulation, and economic coercion.
  3. China's unique totalitarian approach extends beyond its borders to control the narrative about China, influence the diaspora, and emphasize supremacy of ethnicity over citizenship, posing a new challenge for democracies and liberal principles.

It’s an “Articles Only” Week at The Lunduke Journal

The Lunduke Journal of Technology • 2297 implied HN points • 23 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Tech news Articles Media Podcasts Writing
  1. This week, only articles will be published at The Lunduke Journal instead of the usual podcasts and videos.
  2. The change is happening because traveling makes it hard to record the regular shows, but there are still important stories to tell.
  3. Make sure to follow The Lunduke Journal on different platforms to get updates on the new articles.

The Z.ai Playbook

ChinaTalk • 652 implied HN points • 21 Nov 25
🕹 Technology AI Models Open Source Coding Job Impact Translation
  1. Z.ai has been focusing on building powerful AI models like GLM 4.5, which excel in tasks like coding and reasoning. They aim to create models that can succeed in both local and international markets.
  2. The Chinese AI ecosystem is eager for recognition, especially from Silicon Valley, as it sees that as a way to gain credibility and learn from global trends. Many Chinese companies are open-sourcing their models to be accepted and used abroad.
  3. There are fears about job loss among developers in China due to AI, but many people see AI mainly as a helpful tool rather than a threat. The broader public perception of AI isn't as fearful compared to more vocal concerns in the West.
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Seven Predictions for Tech in 2025

Big Technology • 7380 implied HN points • 20 Dec 24
🕹 Technology AI Social media Startups Trends Innovation
  1. Some companies might decide that generative AI isn't right for them, leading to at least one big name publicly quitting it in 2025. It's important for businesses to find what works for them.
  2. Social media may start feeling less relevant as platforms focus less on real news and engage more with content they think will grab our attention. This shift could make important global events seem distant.
  3. Brain-computer interface technology could gain more attention in 2025 as it continues to develop, possibly helping people with disabilities. This could spark new conversations around its potential benefits.

The EU can be shut down with a few keystrokes

Bite code! • 2568 implied HN points • 18 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity Software Hardware Data Privacy Digital Infrastructure
  1. Europe relies heavily on American technology for software and hardware, making it vulnerable to disruptions. If the US decided to cut off services, it could have serious consequences for businesses and daily life.
  2. Many companies in Europe don’t realize how interconnected they are with US services. If one major service shuts down, it could create a ripple effect that impacts the entire economy.
  3. There's a need for Europe to gain more control over its own technology and data. This means investing in local alternatives and educating the population about the importance of digital sovereignty.

Agents 4 All

DARK FUTURA • 2869 implied HN points • 17 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Augmented reality Deepfakes Social media
  1. AI plays a significant role in tracking and manipulating consumer behaviors to maximize profits for corporations.
  2. The development of full-time AI agents as personal assistants is the next phase of AI innovation, focusing on handling daily tasks and expenditures.
  3. DARPA is exploring the development of human-presenting AI agents for influencing social and behavioral systems, indicating potential dangerous implications.

How to Build Your First ChatGPT App

High Growth Engineer • 493 implied HN points • 14 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Software Development Web Development APIs Developer Tools User Interfaces
  1. ChatGPT Apps let you embed interactive tools and UI directly into ChatGPT using the Model Context Protocol, with three main parts: an MCP server (backend), a sandboxed React component (frontend), and ChatGPT as the host.
  2. There are important constraints to design for: only one UI-returning component can run per turn, component state is ephemeral unless you persist it on your backend, components run in a secure iframe with no direct DOM access, and large payloads hurt performance.
  3. Building a first app is practical: build a React component that talks to window.openai, define tools and register resources on your MCP server, then connect and test in ChatGPT; use inline, fullscreen, or picture-in-picture modes for use cases like shopping, booking, dashboards, and maps to reach large audiences.

The Crumbling Workflow Moat: Aggregation Theory's Final Chapter

Nicolas Bustamante • 132 implied HN points • 04 Feb 26
🕹 Technology AI Software Platforms APIs Data Infrastructure Enterprise
  1. LLM chat interfaces are replacing specialized software UIs, so the interface moat that once locked in users is disappearing.
  2. With interfaces commoditized, competition becomes API vs API and only truly proprietary, non-replicable data keeps pricing power; if data can be licensed or scraped, margins and retention will collapse.
  3. Winners will be LLM/chat owners, proprietary data holders, and API-first startups, while interface-dependent vertical software, many UX-focused firms, and aggregators who don’t control the chat layer are at risk.

Vibe-Coding a PCB - surprisingly good

atomic14 • 2598 implied HN points • 12 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Hardware Software AI Engineering Development
  1. Vibe-coding a PCB is about using AI to design hardware from natural language prompts. It's a fun way to simplify the building process.
  2. Using a tool like Atopile and an AI assistant can yield surprisingly good results, even if there are small mistakes. Just a little guidance can help fix issues.
  3. This method is close to changing how we create hardware, making it easier for people without engineering skills to get involved in tech projects.

A Conversation with Adrian Ludwig

Frankly Speaking • 203 implied HN points • 13 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity Identity Privacy Cloud Artificial Intelligence DevOps Leadership
  1. Security should be treated as an engineering primitive built into platforms so it enables products instead of acting as a compliance checkbox. Teams must adapt security approaches as scale and architectures change.
  2. AI and cloud platforms will accelerate how security is implemented and automate many defenses, but they also introduce new, non-deterministic threats that require rethinking traditional protections.
  3. The CISO role will likely merge into engineering, focusing on building secure infrastructure rather than policing users, and most user errors reflect design or security failures, not user ignorance.

The Unmasking of the Foreign Slop Accounts

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 658 implied HN points • 24 Nov 25
🕹 Technology Social media Platform policy Disinformation Content Moderation
  1. X now shows the country a user is posting from, which exposed that many accounts that seem American are actually based overseas.
  2. A lot of accounts pushing American cultural or political content — including influential meme and fan pages — are run from other countries, sometimes in low-income regions and with large followings.
  3. Displaying location is a helpful transparency step, but it isn’t enough by itself to verify authenticity or prevent foreign influence and coordinated manipulation on the platform.

Push it to the Limit EP. 1—GPT Engineer

Prompt’s Substack • 119 implied HN points • 25 Aug 24
🕹 Technology AI Tools Software Development Generative AI
  1. Using GPT Engineer can help generate clean front-end React code quickly, even for those with minimal coding knowledge. It's impressive how much can be done with just prompts.
  2. Integrating a Supabase database with GPT Engineer is easy for simple cases, but it can become complex with larger databases due to relationship intricacies.
  3. Creativity in prompting is key when working with bigger databases, as GPT Engineer has some limitations with context as databases grow in complexity.

Nvidia's Unique History and Culture

The Asianometry Newsletter • 7614 implied HN points • 06 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Computers Gaming Innovation Business strategy Corporate culture
  1. NVIDIA's success comes from a strong work ethic and a unique company culture that encourages honesty and speed. They focus on being direct and efficient in their communication.
  2. The leadership of Jensen Huang has been crucial for NVIDIA, as he continuously motivates employees to aim high and pushes the boundaries of what's possible in technology.
  3. Long-term thinking, like the development of CUDA, is key to NVIDIA’s strategy. They invest in innovations that may not pay off immediately, but will lead to big gains in the future.

Cloudflare took down our website after trying to force us to pay 120k$ within 24h

Robin’s Substack • 848 HN points • 26 May 24
🕹 Technology Online Privacy Cloud Services
  1. Cloudflare may escalate demands to switch to Enterprise plan aggressively, leading to potential downtime and loss of customer trust.
  2. Cloudflare's communication may be misleading or unclear, causing confusion about required actions and escalating the situation.
  3. Consider alternatives to Cloudflare and be prepared to swiftly move away if necessary, keeping backups of configurations.

Normalization is not enough anymore.

System Design Classroom • 559 implied HN points • 23 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Database Design Data processing Software Development Performance optimization Information Systems
  1. Normalization is important for organizing data and reducing redundancy, but it's not sufficient for today's data needs. We have to think beyond just following those strict rules.
  2. De-normalization can help improve performance by reducing complex joins in large datasets. Sometimes, it makes sense to duplicate data to make queries run faster.
  3. Knowing when to de-normalize is key, especially in situations like data warehousing or when read performance matters more than write performance. It's all about balancing speed and data integrity.

4.3.3 Cross Coupling

Fields & Energy • 259 implied HN points • 31 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Electronics Telecommunications Music technology Signal Processing History
  1. Thaddeus Cahill invented an early electronic music system called the Telharmonium in 1897, aiming to broadcast music through telephone lines. However, his venture failed because the music interrupted phone calls, causing complaints from users.
  2. Cahill's difficulties were largely due to a problem called cross coupling, where signals from one line affect nearby lines. This was common back in the day when many phone lines ran close together.
  3. The situation shows that electrical signals can spread beyond their wires, not just following what we'd think of as direct paths. This understanding is important in telecommunications and electrical engineering.

Satya Nadella and the three stages of scientific truth

Marcus on AI • 8023 implied HN points • 23 Nov 24
🕹 Technology AI Innovation Science Computing Philosophy
  1. New ideas in science often face resistance at first. People may ridicule them before they accept the change.
  2. Scaling laws in deep learning may not last forever. This suggests that other methods may be needed to advance technology.
  3. Many tech leaders are now discussing the limits of scaling laws, showing a shift in thinking towards exploring new approaches.

Top Links 957 The AI money machine. Against European self-denigration and a Louvre full of plan-relief.

Chartbook • 371 implied HN points • 20 Dec 25
🕹 Technology AI Fintech Tech Policy Regulation Investment Platforms
  1. AI is presented as a powerful money machine that is reshaping where profits and investment flow.
  2. The piece pushes back against European self-denigration and urges Europeans not to underestimate their strengths and contributions.
  3. Economic analysis is paired with cultural and historical material, such as art and the Louvre, to broaden the conversation.

Resilient Cyber Newsletter #12

Resilient Cyber • 79 implied HN points • 03 Sep 24
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity AI Security Venture Capital Software Development Data Privacy
  1. Many companies believe they are prepared for cyber threats, but actually, most lack strong leadership involvement in their cybersecurity efforts. That's making them more vulnerable.
  2. Despite spending a lot on security solutions, many enterprises still face breaches, showing that having many tools doesn't always mean better protection.
  3. There's a debate about how founders should manage their startups. Some say founding leaders need to be hands-on rather than relying on traditional management styles that don’t always work for fast-growing companies.

Claude AI for Job Interviews 101: Your Complete System From First Application to Signed Offer

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 20 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26
🕹 Technology AI Career Productivity Automation Software Prompting
  1. Interviewing is a distinct skill separate from doing the job, and people usually lose jobs not for lack of ability but for lack of focused preparation and feedback.
  2. You can set up Claude Pro as a persistent, personalized interview coach using Projects, Skills (desktop app), or Claude Code so it remembers your resume, session history, and scoring rubrics automatically.
  3. This Claude-based system gives unlimited mock interviews, scored feedback, question prediction, and offer negotiation help end-to-end, and it’s positioned as a much cheaper alternative to human coaches at about $20/month.

The Hidden World of Undersea Cables

The Garden of Forking Paths • 2869 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Internet Infrastructure Data Security Geopolitics
  1. The internet largely runs through undersea cables spanning about 900,000 miles, connecting the world in a hidden network.
  2. Early undersea cables were made possible by materials like gutta-percha and played a key role in rapid communication during events like the US Civil War.
  3. Specialized ships lay and repair undersea cables made of fiber optics, and even guard against threats like sharks and sabotage by SCUBA divers.

The Magic of Deep Linking

jDeploy Newsletter • 84 implied HN points • 10 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Software Development Programming Developer Tools Java Cross-platform User Experience
  1. Deep linking is critical to a smooth desktop app experience because it lets links open directly in the native app instantly, avoiding slow web reloads and reducing friction.
  2. Making apps behave as singletons on Windows and Linux is essential so opening a link brings the existing app to the front instead of launching new processes or windows, which saves RAM and avoids clutter.
  3. jDeploy 6 delivers a cross-platform deep-linking solution for Java desktop apps by adding singleton support, simple package.json flags (singleton=true and urlSchemes), and a small desktop library to handle URL/file callbacks.

4.3.2 Inductive Telegraphy at a Distance

Fields & Energy • 299 implied HN points • 24 Jul 24
🕹 Technology
  1. Inductive telegraphy was one of the first ways to send signals wirelessly over distances. Scientists like Joseph Henry made early experiments that showed electricity could work at a distance.
  2. Wireless technology progressed with experiments by inventors like William Preece, who managed to send signals over several miles. These early developments paved the way for later communication technologies.
  3. Although some early wireless systems were practical, they often faced challenges in business. Ideas like train telegraphs were innovative, but people weren’t ready for constant communication as we see today.

80 characters? In this economy?

Bite code! • 733 implied HN points • 17 Nov 25
🕹 Technology Programming Standards Readability Code Quality Best Practices
  1. Keeping lines of code to 80 characters makes it easier for our eyes to read. It helps us quickly find where the next line starts.
  2. Having shorter lines is useful when using multiple tools side by side, like browsers and code editors. It makes coding and comparing changes easier.
  3. Sticking to the 80-character limit can improve programming habits, like using clear variable names and reducing complexity in code. This helps create better overall code.

The Sequence Knowledge #800: Not All World Models are Created Equal

TheSequence • 147 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Reinforcement Learning Deep Learning AI Research Modeling
  1. There are different types of world models, and a clear taxonomy helps explain how they differ and what roles they play in AI.
  2. For decades, model-free reinforcement learning dominated: agents learned by reinforcing actions without building internal maps or understanding why those actions worked.
  3. Looking at the first major papers on world models reveals the origins and trade-offs of different approaches and shows why some models are better suited for planning and reasoning.

We need SpaceTech founders for customer interviews

Space Ambition • 299 implied HN points • 24 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Startups Interviews Innovation Entrepreneurship
  1. Space Ambition is looking for founders in the SpaceTech field to join in customer interviews. This is a chance for them to share their challenges and needs.
  2. The interviews will last about 20-30 minutes and will help Space Ambition create new services tailored to these founders.
  3. Founders are encouraged to fill out a form to participate and to share this opportunity with other SpaceTech founders.

Hot take on an AI catfight

Marcus on AI • 6165 implied HN points • 22 Jan 25
🕹 Technology AI Infrastructure National Security Economics Environmental Impact
  1. OpenAI is launching a big project called The Stargate Project, which plans to invest $500 billion to improve AI infrastructure in the U.S. Over the next four years, they hope this will help the country's economy and national security.
  2. Elon Musk is skeptical about the funding and the true financial health of OpenAI. He suggests that previous promises may not hold true and questions whether this project will really benefit the American people.
  3. There are several uncertainties about this project, like whether developing AI will actually be profitable and how it might impact jobs. People worry if the profits will help everyone or just the rich, and if the U.S. can truly keep up with China's advancements in AI.

✨ Two cheers for the 'San Francisco Consensus' on AI

Faster, Please! • 456 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Tech Policy Innovation Startups Big Tech Regulation Economic Impact
  1. The "San Francisco Consensus" is Silicon Valley’s maximalist, upbeat story that AI will produce huge progress and abundance.
  2. The author urges a dual approach: hope AI breaks history while planning as if it won’t, meaning be optimistic about big gains but still prepare for limited change.
  3. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt named this narrative, and it’s become a common view among pro-growth "Up Wingers" in the U.S. and around the world.

Stop Trying to Ban Teens from the Internet

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 486 implied HN points • 09 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Social media Digital Regulation Empirical Research Public Policy
  1. Policymakers are treating teen internet use like a crisis without strong evidence, relying more on panic than solid logic. Banning teens outright ignores the complexity of costs and benefits.
  2. Research finds some negative effects from screen time, but the measured harms are modest and often blown up by headlines. Small average effects don’t automatically justify sweeping bans.
  3. Blanket bans are a blunt, likely counterproductive tool and better replaced by targeted, evidence-based policies. Thoughtful interventions can address harms while preserving social and developmental benefits.

Why do programmers need private offices with doors?

Shenisha’s Substack • 5 HN points • 02 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Work Environment Productivity Software Development Team Dynamics
  1. Programmers often need private offices to focus better on their work. Short interruptions can really disrupt their thought processes and lower their productivity.
  2. There are two types of work: those that can be interrupted easily and those that cannot. Knowing the difference helps in managing how we communicate in the workplace.
  3. Leaders should protect their team's focus time and understand the value of uninterrupted work. This can lead to greater creativity and better results.

The Sequence Radar #807: Last Week in AI: From Mega-Rounds to Mathematical Breakthrough

TheSequence • 91 implied HN points • 15 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Research Infrastructure Hardware Funding
  1. Huge funding and strong enterprise revenue are accelerating AI research and infrastructure, letting big labs scale up ambitious agentic systems.
  2. Model and hardware advances are driving both extreme speed and open competition — from ultra-fast self-debugging models on specialized chips to powerful open-weight models trained on domestic hardware.
  3. Agentic AI is maturing into professional tools: systems that generate, verify, and revise math proofs are hitting high benchmarks and solving open problems, showing AI can enhance scientific research.

What Progress Has There Been in Industrial Robots?

Construction Physics • 18999 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Robotics Industrial Cost Performance Evolution
  1. Industrial robots have become more cost-effective over time, making them more accessible for various applications.
  2. Advances in industrial robots have led to significant improvements in precision and smooth, continuous motion capabilities.
  3. There has been a trend towards standard robotic architectures, with modern robots primarily consisting of robotic arms with electric drives and servo motors.

Near-Field Technology - An Emerging RF Discipline

Fields & Energy • 259 implied HN points • 29 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Wireless Technology Communications Sensors
  1. Near-field technology focuses on short-range wireless communication, which is useful for applications like NFC and RFID. This tech works well because lower frequencies can pass through obstacles and provide reliable connections.
  2. The near-field zone, where signals are stronger and behave differently than in far-field, is often overlooked. Understanding this area can improve antenna design and application.
  3. There is a growing demand for near-field applications in everyday uses like contactless payments and real-time location tracking. This presents new opportunities for innovation and development in the tech industry.

Why Did Social Media Go to War Against Writers?

The Honest Broker • 23970 implied HN points • 22 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Social media Platforms Writers Content creation
  1. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are becoming hostile towards writers, leading many to leave.
  2. Substack and similar platforms are providing alternative models that support writers and creators more effectively.
  3. The economics of social media platforms prioritize generating revenue from ads and scrolling, making it challenging for long-form content like articles to thrive.

Back to the Future with Gordon Moore

The Chip Letter • 5897 implied HN points • 28 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Semiconductors AI Innovation Computing Industry Trends
  1. Technology changes rapidly, but some issues, like how to effectively use computing power, seem to stay the same. This means we often find ourselves asking similar questions about the future of tech.
  2. Gordon Moore's insights from years ago still apply today, especially his thoughts on competition and applications for technology. He pointed out the need for practical uses of increased computing power.
  3. Concerns about technology making us 'stupid' remain relevant. However, it's more about using computers without losing understanding of basic principles than about being incapable of learning new skills.

Visualizing Research: How I Use Gemini 3.0 to Turn Papers into Comics

Gonzo ML • 630 implied HN points • 24 Nov 25
🕹 Technology AI Tools Graphic design Visual communication Science communication Content creation
  1. The Gemini 3.0 Pro Image model, also known as Nano Banana Pro, is great for creating infographics and comics from academic papers. It can really change how we visualize research.
  2. Generating graphic novels from paper summaries is a fun way to review research. Using visuals can make complex ideas much easier to understand.
  3. For the best results with image generation, it's helpful to break tasks into steps and use precise prompts. This means creating a script first and then generating images based on that script.