The hottest Technology Adoption Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

TBM 412: Institutionalized Overload (Now With AI)

The Beautiful Mess • 687 implied HN points • 27 Mar 26
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. Workplace overload has become normalized so people adapt by treating constant busyness and juggling inputs as a sign of competence, which then gets defended and sustained.
  2. AI is mostly being used to cope with and amplify that overload, helping people process more context faster while reinforcing existing power structures instead of changing them.
  3. Changing this requires actively resisting the expansion of work and information, and deliberately designing for calmer, more focused ways of working even though that will feel uncomfortable at first.

Squaring the Circular Flow

Contemplations on the Tree of Woe • 2352 implied HN points • 27 Feb 26
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. AI is already replacing knowledge workers at scale, and large layoffs threaten the wage-driven circular flow by removing consumers, which could lead to oversupply, deflation, and economic contraction.
  2. There are three broad responses: broadly distribute AI ownership so people earn dividends, provide a government-funded universal dole to replace wages, or pay people a "data dividend" for their human-generated content—each option has big trade-offs and wealth concentration makes broad ownership unlikely.
  3. The social and political effects matter as much as the economic ones: ownership preserves dignity and political independence, while dependence on state handouts or platform extraction risks techno-feudalism and erosion of civic life.

Movers, Shakers, & Money Makers: HRTech Edition

Human Capitalist • 119 implied HN points • 23 Sep 24
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. There are many recent job changes in the HR field, highlighting the fluid nature of careers in this sector.
  2. Some notable professionals have taken on new roles, which can impact their companies and the industry overall.
  3. Tracking job changes can provide valuable insights for investors, recruiters, and businesses looking to stay informed about talent trends.

Subtle resistance

Sunday Letters • 99 implied HN points • 12 Feb 24
🚌 Education Technology Adoption
  1. People often resist new technologies because they feel uncomfortable with change. This can lead to silly arguments against using something that actually helps.
  2. In the past, teachers were hesitant to accept printed papers due to concerns about quality, but this resistance seems odd now. It shows how we can misjudge new tools.
  3. It's important to examine why we push back against new ideas. Sometimes our reasons might not make sense and could actually prevent us from benefiting.
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($) Oracle Cloud: the Largest "Chinese Cloud" in America?

Interconnected • 123 implied HN points • 16 Jun 25
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, recently became one of the richest people in the world after Oracle's stock price surged due to strong earnings. This happened because of a positive outlook for Oracle's cloud computing growth, fueled by increased demand for AI infrastructure.
  2. Oracle is securing a lot of contracts from companies with ties to China, like Temu and TikTok, even as other American businesses shy away from China. This strategy is helping Oracle grow in a challenging market.
  3. The recent growth in Oracle's sales isn't just from AI; they are getting significant deals from various clients moving to their cloud services, which reflects a strong demand for their technology.

My non-prediction for generative AI in 2024

ailogblog • 119 implied HN points • 12 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Technology Adoption
  1. The energy consumption of generative AI for tasks like image generation and question answering can be significant.
  2. The use of generative AI may impact freelance job opportunities for illustrators and writers.
  3. There is uncertainty about the future of generative AI, with questions about its social costs, technological advancements, and ethical considerations.

Amber, Babylon, sun.misc.Unsafe and the rest: Java's plans for 2024 - JVM Weekly vol. 69

JVM Weekly • 98 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Technology Adoption
  1. Java has ambitious plans for 2024 with projects like Amber, Babylon, and Valhalla focused on improving performance, memory efficiency, and concurrency.
  2. New JEPs in 2024 include proposals to deprecate memory access methods in sun.misc.Unsafe and enhancements for pattern matching for primitive types.
  3. Jakarta EE 11 now offers support for JDK 17 alongside JDK 21 to ease migration and accommodate user preferences for Java versions.

On Reinforcing Private-Public Investments

Parth's Playground • 12 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
💰 Finance Technology Adoption
  1. Private and public investments often reinforce each other, creating paired opportunities where startups and incumbent/public companies both benefit and accelerate a new technology or market.
  2. Major tech or market tailwinds typically spawn new companies while prompting mature firms to reinvent themselves, producing complementary ecosystems rather than simple displacement.
  3. Talent flows between startups and large companies, so watching both early experimental founders (micro) and hungry, founder-led mature firms (macro) gives a fuller view of where durable opportunities will form.

FedEx's strategy is to be a tech company. Should you do the same?

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 39 implied HN points • 26 Mar 24
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. FedEx aims to be recognized as a tech company, showing how important a strategic identity can be. This might help them adapt and succeed in a tech-focused market.
  2. Tech companies like NVIDIA and Google lead the market with their innovative products, inspiring others to follow. Everyone wants to grab a piece of the tech pie because it's popular right now.
  3. Even companies that traditionally aren't tech-based, like FedEx, want to affiliate with the tech identity. This shift reflects a larger trend of blending traditional business with technology to stay competitive.

RTO's Dead Cat Bounce

Make Work Better • 98 implied HN points • 07 Jan 25
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. Many companies that push for office returns are being seen as out of touch, as employees are leaving in response to strict policies.
  2. New AI tools are emerging to help manage work, making it easier for people to keep up with meetings without attending them all.
  3. Investing in employee training and culture is key for business success, and companies need to adapt to modern work-life demands to thrive.

AI, Spud Club and the future of work

Make Work Better • 98 implied HN points • 11 Dec 24
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. Many workers feel lost about how their companies plan to use AI technology. This gap is leading to uncertainty as AI becomes more integrated into workplaces.
  2. There's been a rise in innovative team-building activities like 'Spud Club,' showing that simple, affordable lunches can create strong team connections and improve workplace culture.
  3. The future of work will focus on the human element, emphasizing teamwork and personal connections, even as technology advances.

The greatest BI tool ever

davidj.substack • 83 implied HN points • 21 Nov 24
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. BI tools often get replaced every 2 to 3 years, but switching them is tough. You have to deal with many dashboards and how people have used them over time.
  2. Many teams stick with tools they know well, like Power BI or Tableau, because of comfort and familiarity. Sometimes it’s easier to choose what they’ve seen work at past jobs.
  3. The best BI tool really isn't a tool at all. It's about how someone uses data to make better choices and understand what's happening, with the tool just being a support for that process.

Showing the Receipts of Smart Manufacturing

Exponential Industry • 39 implied HN points • 30 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Technology Adoption
  1. Manufacturers are adopting smart manufacturing technologies for greater agility and resilience in a changing global landscape.
  2. Smart manufacturing technology adoption is driven by advancements, lower costs, and interoperability across industries.
  3. Industry verticals with higher gross margins like aerospace, electronics, and automotive invest more in smart manufacturing technologies.

The AI Trap

Fish Food for Thought • 14 implied HN points • 18 Dec 24
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. Businesses often rush to use new technologies without understanding if they actually solve customer problems. This can lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities.
  2. The cycle of excitement followed by disappointment with new tech is common. Companies should be aware of this pattern and avoid adopting technologies just because they're popular.
  3. To make the most of new technologies, teams should work together, focusing on real customer needs before jumping in. Collaboration and clear communication are crucial.

“Give it away, give it away, give it away now” — Counter positioning in legacy industries

Equal Ventures • 19 implied HN points • 07 Mar 22
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. Counter positioning, giving away software for free, can be a powerful strategy in getting past barriers and driving adoption in legacy industries.
  2. For some users, especially those who are not digitally native, the willingness to pay for software can be very low, creating a challenge for traditional monetization models.
  3. Identifying alternative means of monetization, such as providing superior services while offering software for free, can help companies succeed in legacy industries and encourage digital transformation.

TikTok, Robots, and Opportunities in Consumerland!

East Wind • 1 implied HN point • 28 May 24
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. Chinese apps are super convenient because users can do a lot with just a few apps. This makes life easier compared to needing many different apps like in the West.
  2. Western startups can learn from Chinese companies by focusing on unique user experiences and monetizing specific products instead of getting stuck in high-level research.
  3. Despite challenges in consumer investment, there are still exciting opportunities for new startups in the consumer space, especially by adopting ideas from successful Chinese models.

France, unleash the fury!

Venture Prose • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jul 16
🌍 World Politics Technology Adoption
  1. Humans tend to fear and fight what they don't understand, while politicians often prioritize ego and pleasing select groups, leading to excessive rules and complexity.
  2. The world is rapidly changing with decentralization and shifting powers, creating a divide between those embracing new paradigms and those resisting them.
  3. France has a unique pattern of adoption for new technologies but also faces contradictions with a minority resisting change, yet there is a growing movement of entrepreneurs and public figures ready to challenge the status quo.

5,127 Layers

Digital Native • 0 implied HN points • 13 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Technology Adoption
  1. AI capabilities are advancing extremely fast, but real-world adoption is much slower because of regulatory, organizational, and social friction, so the sci‑fi future people hype is still a long way off.
  2. In the near term AI will mostly augment workers and boost productivity—some tasks like code generation are changing quickly, but demand for engineers and implementation roles will grow as companies integrate AI.
  3. Winners will pair simple AI interfaces with proprietary data, meaning software will evolve (not vanish) with lower margins, and rising inequality plus public backlash could meaningfully slow or reshape adoption.

The Firm Without Hands

Brave New Teams • 0 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26
💼 Business Technology Adoption
  1. Organisations must codify accountability before letting AI make binding decisions. Authority, not raw model capability, is the real constraint on autonomy.
  2. Delegating actions to AI shifts bureaucracy into code — you need logging, audits, access controls and kill switches — so oversight grows even as headcount falls. Companies that formalise these controls will gain safe speed, while those that don't risk scandal or paralysis.
  3. Power will be redistributed inside firms: some managers become governance engineers who write the rules, others become ceremonial validators; the real fight will be over who sets permissions and controls the logs, and regulators and customers will demand traceability.

Governance as the Facilitator in Adopting Technology

Embracing Enigmas • 0 implied HN points • 09 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Technology Adoption
  1. Achieving societal acceptance of technology requires safety, reliability, and predictability.
  2. Factors affecting technology adoption include governance of technology outputs and understanding the value of the technology.
  3. Effective AI governance involves defining unwanted outputs, measuring system performance, implementing guardrails, and adjusting outputs when needed.