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July 25, 2024

E38: Resurgence of Prediction Markets, AI Adoption and Complex Financial Systems

E38: Resurgence of Prediction Markets, AI Adoption and Complex Financial Systems

On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne discuss the rise of prediction markets, AI's impact on software economics, and the evolving landscape of financial systems and public markets.

This week, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg discuss the resurgence of prediction markets, the balance of sophisticated vs. 'dumb' money, Biden's nomination odds and the impact of AI on software economics.


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RECOMMENDED PODCAST:


Patrick McKenzie (@patio11) talks to experts who understand the complicated but not unknowable systems we rely on. You might be surprised at how quickly Patrick and his guests can put you in the top 1% of understanding for stock trading, tech hiring, and more.


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mos4VE3figVXleHDqfXOH

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/complex-systems-with-patrick-mckenzie-patio11/id1753399812


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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(00:20) Is this the Polymarket election?

(08:55) Prediction markets

(11:07) Politics and prediction markets

(15:13) Sponsors: Babbel | Beehiiv

(17:48) CrowdStrike and the cost of software failures

(23:39) AI adoption and workplace dynamics

(27:29) Financial systems post-Great Financial Crisis

(35:02) USSR's computer network for economic planning

(40:01) Best performing stock of the last 100 years

(43:22) AI's impact on software and hardware economics

(48:46) Market cycles and political influence

(51:11) Dot-com crash, Y2K, and the housing bubble

(54:28) Stripe and the future of private companies

(59:12) Venture capital vs. Private equity returns

(01:00:49) Outro


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LINKS:

Byrne’s writing: https://thediff.co

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X / TWITTER:

https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg (Erik)

https://twitter.com/ByrneHobart (Byrne)

https://twitter.com/TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)