638: Constellation Software's 2026 AGM, Karpathy Joins Anthropic, Demis Hassabis as Angel Investor, Pre-1931 LLM, Smartphones & Fertility, Brain Age & StarCraft, Earth Tides, and Groundhog Day

2026-05-20 · Source: Liberty’s Highlights · Field: Technology & Digital — Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Software Development & Engineering, Emerging Technologies & Innovation · Depth: Intermediate, extended

Summary

The latest intelligence brief covers diverse topics, starting with an explanation of solid-Earth tides, which cause the ground to rise and fall by up to 30-40 centimeters twice daily, impacting precise geodetic positioning. Key insights from Constellation Software's 2026 AGM highlight AI's transformative effect, with one business reducing development cycle times from months to hours and doubling growth to 23% by reimagining products from "system of record" to "system of action." The company's decentralized structure supports AI experimentation, and it plans to deploy \$3 billion in capital, including through PEMS (minority stakes in public companies) for long-term holdings. Other news includes Andrej Karpathy joining Anthropic's pre-training team and Demis Hassabis being an early angel investor in Anthropic. The brief also touches on the long-term decline in fertility rates, a study showing creative activities like StarCraft II can make brains appear 4-7 years younger, and the development of "talkie-1930-13b-base," a 13B language model trained on pre-1931 English text.

Key takeaway

For AI/ML Directors evaluating strategic shifts, recognize that AI can fundamentally transform development velocity, enabling product reimagination and significant growth. Your teams should explore dedicated learning phases to rapidly adopt new AI workflows, shifting focus from incremental improvements to entirely new product categories. This approach can convert "systems of record" into "systems of action," driving substantial customer value and new revenue streams, even in established industries.

Key insights

Differential gravity causes solid-Earth tides, deforming the crust by tens of centimeters daily, impacting precise positioning.

Principles

• Decentralized structures foster AI experimentation and adaptation.
• Significant speed increases enable qualitative shifts in product development.
• AI agents require human oversight to prevent drift and maintain effectiveness.

Method

A company paused all development for a month-long intensive learning program on AI, then rebuilt its product from scratch.

In practice

• Name AI agents and assign human managers for better integration.
• Consider dedicated "learning pauses" for rapid technology adoption.

Topics

• Solid-Earth Tides
• Constellation Software
• AI Strategy
• LLM Development
• Brain Health
• Fertility Rates
• AI Talent

Code references

• karpathy/autoresearch

Best for: Research Scientist, Investor, Director of AI/ML, AI Scientist

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Liberty’s Highlights.