Writings
Essays & dispatches.
On progress, institutions, technology and finding useful things to work on. Every piece is hosted here in full.
Towards Autonomous Science
AI can now iterate its way through problems with verifiable answers; the much harder task for true autonomous science is figuring out discovery, real-world experiments, and knowing what to look for to begin with.
In February, OpenAI's GPT-5 was given control of Ginkgo Bioworks' robotic laboratory and asked to make a protein more cheaply. Over six rounds it designed and ran 36,000 reaction compositions on more than 580 plates, generated about 150,000 data points, and brought the cost of cell-free protein synthesis from $698 a gram to $422. Humans prepared the reagents and loaded the plates.
Read the piece →
The archive
Oct 2026New Nuclear, Old ReactorsThe reactors powering AI were mostly built in the last century. New nuclear is a 2030s energy story with a 2020s capital story, and states, more than start-ups, will decide who builds it.LVCN · 13 minAug 2026Venture at the Speed of SoftwareFour years in, how has AI reshaped Venture?LVCN · 7 minJul 2026Solving for General RoboticsRobotics has come a long way since robot arms and industrial assembly. With $19B flowing into the sector in H1 of 2026 alone, that funding will be going towards two remaining frontiers: spatial intelligence and wide deployment.LVCN · 5 minJun 2026Dispatches 005: Musings on FI's Vision WeekendLong-horizon technology, the emerging machinery of progress, and reflections on Foresight Institute's inaugural UK Vision Weekend.Meridian · 10 minJun 2026The New Biology StackThe convergence of AI, automation, and advanced biology is collapsing the R&D timeline. The science has never moved faster. Now, the trick is getting all this out into the real world.LVCN · 6 minMay 2026Dispatches 004: Shape of Learning in a Changing WorldOn changing education, the point of learning, and the future of institutions & EdTech.Meridian · 12 minMay 2026Dispatches 003: So, You Want to Find What to Work OnFrontier problems, age of discovery 2.0, and how to navigate careers in a world where up is down.Meridian · 12 minMay 2026Dispatches 002: AI Economies & Future of WorkClaude conquering reality, how AI will reshape our economies, and what to make of it all.Meridian · 15 minApr 2026Next Gen Compute: What's Going to Power the AI Scaleup?The AI infrastructure race has moved from silicon to energy, from chips to racks, and from the US to everywhere. And now it’s running into a wall. So what’s going to power the next five years of the AI scaleup?LVCN · 8 minApr 2026Dispatches 001: Shifting Futures, Quad Espressos & Meridian 2.0On trying to navigate the age of change.Meridian · 7 minMar 2026Europe’s Deeptech Renaissance: Will the Trend Hold?Something is shifting in the European tech landscape. Not a pivot. Not a trend. Something deeper. We went looking for whether it's real, how long it might last, and what could break it.LVCN · 5 minJan 2026Designing Innovation OrganisationsInnovation is now a process. The problem frontier is shifting. What's next?Meridian · 11 minJan 2026The Meridian CompendiumUnderstanding progress & what I'm working on next.Meridian · 7 minNov 2025Hyper-Density NetworksA thesis for a new kind of innovation flywheel.Meridian · 4 minOct 2025Notes on a Holistic Model of Progress | 001J-001 of the Progress Series. How is prosperity created over the long run, and how do we accelerate it?Meridian · 16 minAug 2025The Future 50 (2025 edition)Lean teams, AI-built startups and why policy like the EU’s proposed 28th regime needs to keep pace. My contribution to Three Big Ideas #41 at The Entrepreneurs Network.TENJul 2025Lattice 002: AccelerantsDiving into meta-innovation: what sorts of approaches meaningfully speed up progress at scale?Meridian · 7 minJul 2025Lattice 001: Engines of InnovationHow innovation ecosystems are built.Meridian · 8 minJul 2025Possible FuturesThe founding letter of Meridian.Meridian · 4 min