I write about AI and Geopolitics
Bill Friend Introduction: The Shift from “If” to “How” For decades, observing Middle Eastern politics required reading between the lines. Governments routinely utilized “strategic ambiguity”—the practice of letting actions speak while keeping official policy vague enough to maintain diplomatic deniability. But throughout late 2025 and into 2026, Israel’s public-facing policy underwent a fundamental recalibration. The quiet strategies … Read more
Ten years. That’s how long it’s been since the vote. Brexit isn’t just a thing that happened. It’s how things are now. It’s in the country’s bones. It touches trade, laws, who comes and goes, how we talk to other nations. It even changes how we see ourselves. Let’s be straight about it. Some folks … Read more
Naming and Defeating the Brain of the Beast We’ve been on a journey in this series. We’ve looked at big historical changes, like the printing press and the internal combustion engine. We’ve seen how they led to today’s knowledge economy. And we’ve explored the tough math of algorithmic control. We’ve also mapped out the future’s … Read more
Weaponizing Friction and the Blueprint of the Durable Person If you just read the last essay and felt a cold, deep dread, you’re not wrong. That feeling of being stuck isn’t a failure on your part. It’s exactly what the system wants. When we face a huge, automated system, we can feel small. It’s too … Read more
From Exploitation to Eradication In the last essay, we looked at three big ideas for tomorrow: the good future of Pax Silica, the scary speed of AI wars, and the quiet problem of the ‘durable person.’ Now, we need to focus on the darkest part of these ideas. We must face the harsh truth of … Read more