Detroit Party, TBPN, NIVC, AutonoRun
Welcome to Human Driven 001
Hi! You’re getting this because you subscribed to one of my lists and/or signed up to come to one of my parties.
Human Driven is what I’m calling my new Substack, event series, and upcoming podcast.
I’ll be discussing the future of tech, culture, media, human driving, autonomy, and American Industrialization ~once/week.
ReIndustrialize Week Party Wed 7/16
I’m bringing back my party series, and calling it HUMAN DRIVEN.
HUMAN DRIVEN: DETROIT is Wednesday, 7/16, 9pm-1am.
HUMAN DRIVEN parties are to American Dynamism what Autonocast parties are to transportation: the seminal distillation of what conference afterparties should be:
250 founders, leaders, investors
No nametags
No +1’s
No DJ or loud music
No PR/Marketing/Comms ppl
No assistants/handlers
Chatham House rules
Break the rules, lifetime ban
The HUMAN DRIVEN: DETROIT 7/16 guest list is almost full. Join the waitlist.
Thank you to our flagship sponsor Assembly Ventures.
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Why “Human Driven”?
Because I’m a techno-optimist, with a caveat. I reject the zero-sum narratives bleated by so-called experts, keynote speakers, thought leaders, digital transformation consultants, knowledge sherpas, or whatever the plagiarizing class call themselves on LinkedIn.
In recent years, these opportunists and/or idiots predicted automation would imminently eliminate all factory work, self-driving cars would eliminate all human driving, and AI would take over and kill/enslave us.
Maybe. Some day.
Until transhumanism supplants human will, humans will remain at the top of the civilizational decision making pyramid.
So I’m placing my newsletter, podcast and party under the banner of Human Driven.
More on this in a future post.
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TBPN Interview
I’m a big fan of TBPN, which has become CNBC for SV. Hosts Jordi Hays & John Coogan have really nailed the format, so I of course I accepted their invite to explain my unconventional path from Cannonballing to Venture Capital.
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What I’m Up To:
NEW INDUSTRY VENTURE CAPITAL (NIVC)
I recently launched a seed-stage deep tech VC firm with my old friend Patrick Hunt, a former aerospace engineer and strategist at Rivian. Our thesis: great founders, disruptive technology, and sufficient funding are tables stakes. Startups that look great on paper still fail. Winning startups also require:
Narrative Command (NC): The purposeful accumulation of perceived inevitability.
Operational Mastery (OM): The ability to scale manufacturing from lab to commercialization.
Few startups achieve NC or OM. Fewer achieve both. If you think your atom-based startup has NC or OM potential, we want to meet you.
TOOL OR DIE PODCAST
In <6 months Joel Johnson and I created the fastest growing weekly podcast about reshoring and American reindustrialization. Want to come on the show, or sponsor it? Reach out to Joel.
THE NARRATIVE COMMAND COMPANY
Johnson & Roy Advisors is now The Narrative Command Company. If your company wants to seize Narrative Command, hit me up.
AUTONOCAST PODCAST
Nine years since Episode 1, Autonocast remains the most important B2B podcast on the future of transportation. Planning has begun on our annual CES party. Potential sponsors should reach out here.
POLIZEI 144
The German Highway Patrol will never rest in its pursuit of endurance driving records. Sometimes they sell limited-edition jackets.
HUMAN DRIVING ASSOCIATION
If you have to ask, then you haven’t read the HDA manifesto. If you have, help us protect human driving freedoms.
PROJECT AUTONORUN
Eight years ago, Elon Musk claimed Teslas would be capable of driving coast-to-coast without human intervention by the end of 2017. Skeptics focus on missed deadlines, but on a long enough timeline, the success rate of all technology is 100%.
How far is Musk from fulfilling that promise? There was only one way to find out:
FSD Cannonball Run 001: We Set The First FSD Cannonball Run Record
FSD Cannonball Run 002: v13 Better, But Hardware Has Limits
FSD Cannonball Run 003: Completed, data in review
But this isn’t just about Tesla FSD. Every run includes 3rd party software & hardware from sponsors like FLIR, Nexar, Point One Navigation and (stealth startup, TBA), because if more data is good, more varied data is better. There is no better way to learn about the next generation of hardware and software, which is invaluable to me as an investor.
I discuss this in more detail on the Michael Dunne Podcast and on Bloomberg Hot Pursuit.
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MY WEEKLY MOBILITY READING
A lot of people ask what I read in transportation.
The answer is not much, because most of it is trash.
Unless someone is saving me time, or saying something I’ve never heard before — and doing so really well, backed by intellectual honesty and original thinking — it’s a waste of my time, and yours. Media brands are generally worthless, but individual authors shine. In the mobility space, I default to a handful:
Reilly Brennan’s The Future of Transportation Newsletter - if you read only one transportation newsletter, this is it.
Kirsten Korosec - my longtime Autonocast co-host is the OG queen of professional transportation journalism. If she reports it, it’s researched, corroborated, and true.
Ed Niedermeyer - I disagree with my Autonocast co-host Ed on almost everything, but if you want to validate your Tesla short thesis, Ed is your source of truth.
Harry Campbell’s The Rideshare Guy - TRG is the mother lode for everything re: the rideshare business.
Junko Yoshida’s Tech Probe - a B2B newsletter for industry insiders. Junko is the bleeding edge of original deep tech reporting.
Kevin Williams - One of the last real automotive journalists, and the only one going to China to drive the cars that shame western automakers.
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INTERESTING READS
Grifters in the AI space - my old friend Tom Goodwin on the attack, again. Goodwin is the only online influencer/keynote speaker on LinkedIn worth reading, or paying. He is Kryptonite to the plagiarizing class. I absolutely love reading him.
2036 Porsche 911E First Drive - Originally published this in 2016, and still getting traffic from global OEMs, especially Porsche. Unclear what I merely predicted, versus who I inspired. An update is coming, along with a self-critique. What other cars should I gave this treatment?
The Domination Book Trilogy - For anyone who thinks we live in the worst timeline, S.M. Stirling’s twisted masterpiece of alternative history fiction will cure you of your delusion. Not for the faint of heart, but worth it. I re-read it every 5 years. It’s never pleasant.
A World On Fire - Amanda Foreman’s fascinating history of British and French relations with the Union and Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War. This will reboot and invert your understanding of historical events.
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“The obstacle is the way.” - Marcus Aurelius
Until next time, ciao. - Alex
Thanks for the shout-out Alex. I knew you were big time but wow TBPN! LFG. Bummed to miss the Detroit event, hearing great things. But have added it to my calendar for next year :)