Shopify’s AI Rule, OpenAI’s $40B Raise & China’s New Cable Standard

Show notes

The boys dive into a range of global tech stories that sparked their interest, on this episode of Admin Access. Evans kicks things off by spotlighting China’s recent reveal of its sixth-generation stealth bomber, a bold move amid ongoing trade tensions. The discussion evolves into a broader conversation about global conflict, the role of military innovation, and how it often trickles down into civilian tech. They also tackle the proposed GPMI port, China’s ambitious attempt to unify HDMI, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort into one universal standard. While the idea is exciting, the hosts raise some healthy skepticism: Will this simplify things or just add to the tech clutter? Evans muses on the possibility of Eastern innovation flipping the usual West-to-East tech adoption script. Things heat up with news of a leaked internal memo from Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, making AI use a mandatory part of company operations. The hosts analyze the implications of requiring employees to justify why a task can’t be done using AI before more hires are approved. They reflect on their past predictions around agentic AI and discuss what this policy means for the future of work. The episode wraps with a deep dive into OpenAI’s jaw-dropping $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, pushing its valuation to a potential $300 billion. The boys compare OpenAI to Uber, positioning Anthropic as the Lyft of the AI race. While they marvel at OpenAI’s progress, especially in image generation, they question whether one company will dominate or if the space is big enough for multiple winners. Useful links : Tobi Luke's Tweet:https://x.com/tobi/status/1909231499448401946 China's New Cable Standard: https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/gpmi-general-purpose-media-interface-vs-hdmi-thunderbolt-usb-displayport-9932681/ China's Sixth-Gen Stealth Bomber: Open AI's $40B raise:https://openai.com/index/march-funding-updates/