Joshua W Helms (@JoshuaWHelms) header
Joshua W Helms (@JoshuaWHelms) profile picture

filmmaker & storyteller // american optimist // busy making nighthawks documentary

Austin, TX
Joined December 2014
Photo by Joshua W Helms (@JoshuaWHelms)Photo by Joshua W Helms (@JoshuaWHelms)Photo by Joshua W Helms (@JoshuaWHelms)Photo by Joshua W Helms (@JoshuaWHelms)Photo by Joshua W Helms (@JoshuaWHelms)Photo by Joshua W Helms (@JoshuaWHelms)Photo by Joshua W Helms (@JoshuaWHelms)Photo by Joshua W Helms (@JoshuaWHelms)Photo by Joshua W Helms (@JoshuaWHelms)
RT @JTLonsdale: Some of my friends will be mad I recorded this, and disrespectful comms people at Anthropic objected to releasing certain p…
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
.@ssankar is one of my favorite Americans. He's built much of what Palantir stands for. It’s rare somebody you hire becomes a billionaire. But (yes, AOC) he earned it, and taught us all so much. He's a patriot, Lt Col in Army Reserve, and author of a great new book: "Mobilize"
EPISODE 153: Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar on Heretics, AI Weapons & Rebuilding the Arsenal of Democracy @JTLonsdale sits down with @ssankar to discuss PLTR lore, protecting heretics, and his new book "Mobilize" (00:00) Episode intro (01:45) Mud hut in India to life in America (05:25) Employee #13 at Palantir  (09:45) How Shyam created Forward Deployed Engineers  (13:05) What are Shyam-isms?  (14:55) Business discipline & learning to say no  (19:20) The crisis of the American industrial base (24:00) Some heretics must be protected  (29:00) The factory is the weapon (34:00) Magical AI weapons  (43:00) Optimism for America's future
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
NEW: @JTLonsdale shocks CNBC on AI regulation debate: @andrewrsorkin: Is there ultimately going to be an FDA for AI models? Joe: The FDA has killed millions of people... Andrew: Killed?? Joe: Massive bureaucracy makes it cost 10 or 100X more than it should... there's tons of these new drugs you could be developing to save lives that we're just not able to do... China would love for us to have a massive regulatory bureaucracy for AI and let them get ahead. Andrew Ross Sorkin: We're all trying to figure out what this could look like. Is there ultimately going to be an FDA for AI models? Is that a good thing or a bad thing for somebody who's thinking the way you do? Joe: Listen, the FDA has killed millions of people. Let's be totally clear, right? Andrew: Killed?? Joe: It's literally led to the deaths of millions of people, Andrew... There's all these new therapies, especially now, by the way, with AI that we could be developing... Andrew: It's also hopefully saved some lives... Joe: I mean the trade off is probably 100 to 1. There's a very famous story from 60 years ago where they caught some stuff that was killing people in Europe and saved them here. They've used that as an excuse to make this massive bureaucracy that makes it cost 10 or 100 times more to do drugs than it should, which means there's tons of these new drugs you could be developing to save lives that we're just not able to do. I would be investing billions more to save lives, but I can't. So the equivalent is terrifying to me. The government is bad at these things. The bureaucrats are bad at these things. Now there's a there's another argument here, which is that you have things like Mythos and OpenAI's new technology that's really, really good at hacking into everything. And you probably don't want like, that new technology going to the bad guys right away. So there has to be some sort of trade off, some sort of framework. We have to be really careful not to make the mistakes the FDA has made. Andrew: So what would you do? What do you think that should look like? Joe: There probably should be some national agreement on regulation on new powerful models. It should be as small and as narrow as possible. It should not have the same bureaucracy. You should make sure the government from the start, has metrics on the speed at which it has to go and the transparency, because you're gonna have cronyism, you're gonna have the big guys capture it. You're going to slow it down. Pharma loves the FDA against biotech. It makes it too expensive for us to build our own pharma companies. We have to sell to them. This is what the big guys want. Google and Microsoft and OpenAI and the rest of them, they want to create rules to make it so they can... Andrew: They've all been calling for it. I mean, you remember Sam Altman, Dario, others early on said, "Regulate us; you need to regulate us. Please, regulate us." The question is was that a genuine call for action or do you think that was a "We think Washington's never going to do this. So we'll say it, and get some nice PR points." Joe: If you are the leader in the space and you have tens of billions, hundreds of billions of dollars, you want there to be really complicated regulation with people you can hire who go in and out of your company, who work there because you know you're going to be able to control it and influence it. ...And by the way, China has pre-IND (Investigational New Drug process) and IND of 30 and 60 days about right now. We have 200 and 500 days. And so we've completely delayed anything we do. We've handed more than a third now of our biotech sector to China in the last six years because we're so slow. We definitely don't want to do that on the AI side. That would be a disaster. China would love for us to do a massive regulatory bureaucracy for AI and let them get ahead. We cannot allow that to happen. @SquawkCNBC
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
Jake Paul stopped by with Geoff in Texas last week, the day after he saw President Trump. Cool guy. Brought him on the podcast. I’m in favor of more patriotic fighters - he loves capitalism, courage, and America 🇺🇸 - as cultural icons for our youth.
EPISODE 146: AI, Culture, and Attention as Currency @JTLonsdale welcomes @jakepaul & @geoffwoo to Austin 00:00 Episode intro 02:20 On stage with President Trump 06:00 Attention is the most valuable currency 08:00 The origins of @AntiFund and backing OpenAI, Anduril, Ramp, and others 09:10 Betr + Polymarket and the future of prediction markets 14:58 Launching Sora with OpenAI 16:14 Are you worried about AI slop? 19:10 How AI is changing culture; revival of in-person events 21:20 Who should become a creator? 24:30 Fighters as cultural icons 31:30 How to win the culture
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EPISODE 146: AI, Culture, and Attention as Currency @JTLonsdale welcomes @jakepaul & @geoffwoo to Austin 00:00 Episode intro 02:20 On stage with President Trump 06:00 Attention is the most valuable currency 08:00 The origins of @AntiFund and backing OpenAI, Anduril, Ramp, and others 09:10 Betr + Polymarket and the future of prediction markets 14:58 Launching Sora with OpenAI 16:14 Are you worried about AI slop? 19:10 How AI is changing culture; revival of in-person events 21:20 Who should become a creator? 24:30 Fighters as cultural icons 31:30 How to win the culture
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
It's a new day at the SEC. @SECPaulSAtkins wants to make IPOs great again, end activist nonsense, provide clear rules for crypto, and let the middle class invest in the innovation world. Important conversation with Chairman Atkins, while he visited our university @UAustinorg.
EPISODE 140: Making IPOs Great Again, Crypto's Comeback & New Rules for Retail Investors @JTLonsdale hosts @SECPaulSAtkins at @uaustinorg What will it take for USA to become the crypto capital of the world? What’s his plan to make IPOs great again? Should retail investors have access to private markets? (0:00) Episode intro (1:35) Texas' new business courts / evolution of U.S. markets (7:55) The SEC's new approach to crypto (16:22) Making IPOs and public companies great again (25:27) Weaponization of shareholder proposals and ESG (32:42) National security concerns / China's bad actions (37:03) New rules for retail investors & private companies (45:15) Optimism for America's future
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
Much of our government may be broken, but not everything about it has to permanently suck. Too often, cynicism is a form of laziness or cowardice. Thankfully, we have bold, brave leaders like @jgebbia, fighting to make US agencies competent and beautiful again. Long USA 🇺🇸
EPISODE 139: Make Government Beautiful and Functional Again @JTLonsdale sits down with @jgebbia First, he digitized the federal retirement process, cutting it down from six months to mere days. Now, as America's Chief Design Officer, he’s set his sights even higher: modernizing the nation’s 27,000 .gov websites and delivering an Airbnb-like experience. (00:00) Episode intro (01:15) Lifelong Democrat to Trump White House (07:50) Text from Elon / Joining DOGE (10:20) “The Mine” & fixing federal retirement (13:50) “What if we did it in a week?” (21:45) What happened to DOGE? (23:30) Becoming America’s Chief Design Officer (26:45) Inside the Oval Office with Pres. Trump (31:00) Fixing 27,000 .gov websites (34:00) Making America beautiful & functional again
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
EPISODE 138: @JTLonsdale goes inside the Pentagon with Uber legend-turned-@DoWCTO: @USWREMichael Can he bring startup speed to the Dept of War? Why redefine the critical technologies list from 14 to six? And how is he investing R&D dollars to bolster the defense industrial base? (00:00) Episode intro (01:40) It's time for disruption (04:20) What did you learn in your first threat briefing? (06:30) Can you bring Uber speed to the Dept of War? (08:45) Redefining the Critical Technologies List (13:30) Hypersonics and Golden Dome (18:00) "Commercial first" approach and changing the culture (23:00) How to recruit the best talent into government (28:45) Optimism for the future
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Coming soon: The UATX Applied Engineering Lab, next to @boringcompany @elonmusk
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
.@MichaelKratsios is the man of the hour, charged by Trump to usher in the golden age of US innovation. What is the WH thinking on AI regulation? How do we stay ahead of China? What's AI mean for US workers? Were honored to host Michael at our @InstituteCicero Courage Awards.
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Behind the scenes at the Ronald Reagan Institute: @AmOptimistShow recording with @SenatorHagerty
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
America's cities are broken. Sadly, even most red-state governors stand by as city officials fail badly. Not @GovStitt He stepped up to save Tulsa & prove we don’t have to tolerate incompetence or lawlessness. Important AO episode; hope you'll share with other state leaders.
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
Tis true. 💁‍♀️
"No child who lives at Wyldwood is allowed to have a smartphone before 16." @ZacharyLevi lays out the vision for his new alternative to Hollywood: Wyldwood - a $100M studio and live-in community in the heart of Texas.
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
More talky-talky with my new friend @JTLonsdale. Enjoy. 🙃🙌
Episode 128 out now!  @JTLonsdale sits down with @ZacharyLevi Why did he risk his career to back RFK Jr & Trump?  Why is he building $100M studio in Texas?  Plus a great debate over AI: will it open new doors for creators, or supplant human ingenuity? (00:00) Episode intro (01:40) Courage in Hollywood (07:10) Lessons from Charlie Kirk (15:23) Hollywood's demise  (20:10) Building a new type of Hollywood (25:51) Technology vs humanity - if we're better off now, why don't people feel that way? (33:25) The merits of capitalism: Jeff Bezos vs Elon Musk  (41:41) Debating AI & technological progress (50:05) Will AI create or replace millions of jobs? (56:45) The role of leaders / optimism for the future
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Episode 128 out now!  @JTLonsdale sits down with @ZacharyLevi Why did he risk his career to back RFK Jr & Trump?  Why is he building $100M studio in Texas?  Plus a great debate over AI: will it open new doors for creators, or supplant human ingenuity? (00:00) Episode intro (01:40) Courage in Hollywood (07:10) Lessons from Charlie Kirk (15:23) Hollywood's demise  (20:10) Building a new type of Hollywood (25:51) Technology vs humanity - if we're better off now, why don't people feel that way? (33:25) The merits of capitalism: Jeff Bezos vs Elon Musk  (41:41) Debating AI & technological progress (50:05) Will AI create or replace millions of jobs? (56:45) The role of leaders / optimism for the future
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
Next week, my conversation with @JTLonsdale goes live We covered his life story... from chess, philosophy, & Peter Thiel to Palantir, 8VC and much more. For now, here's to our appreciation for America 🇺🇸
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Let's go!! 🇺🇸 🚀
e218 = A BANGER! 🔥 first, @JTLonsdale joins the besties to talk: -- tariffs -- trump's economic endgame -- fixing federal govt operations -- state of ukr/russia and the western alliance -- golden age of language models then, @DavidSacks jumps on with @Jason for 30 mins: -- strategic bitcoin reserve -- digital asset stockpile ++ more (0:00) the besties welcome joe lonsdale! (3:51) jason recaps an eventful week in washington (8:29) trump's tariffs: endgame, impact, chaos, master plan (26:25) @doge, ira grifting, do campaign contributions need to be capped? (53:42) @coreweave ipo (1:03:36) trump 2.0 favoring main street > wall street, bond market breakdown, re-balancing the economy (1:14:19) state of ukraine/russia, the western alliance, and how techno-optimism plays into the future of defense pacts (1:24:31) gpt-4.5, @grok 3 on @x, and the golden age of language models (1:33:47) all-in live: miami! (1:37:34) sacks joins jason to break down the strategic bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile (1:48:30) sacks addresses clearing all of his crypto-related positions prior to inauguration day (1:57:23) importance of disclosures and updates on a market structure bill
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RT @8vc: Our friends @Meta are taking part in the 8VC Llama Stack Innovation Challenge! First challenge: 3/7-4/19. Use Llama Stack to build…
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Joshua W Helms retweeted
This is a remarkable moment in the USA, and 8VC is proud to play our part alongside bold colleagues and entrepreneurs. Today, we’re announcing 8VC Fund VI, renewing our commitment to help shape the next great American century.
We are proud to announce 8VC Fund VI, with $998 million in new LP capital to back the most fearless and ambitious builders. The world is broken. Let's fix it. To the frontier!
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Joe Lonsdale explains the “one thing” rule he learned from Peter Thiel In 2010, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale wrote a blog post titled “Lessons from Peter Thiel.” The second lesson in the post is: “Don’t divide your attention: focusing on one thing yields increasing returns for each unit of effort.” He elaborates on this idea that focus has a convex output curve: “It’s kind of like the power law rule in venture capital where one investment tends to dominate the returns of everything else. That’s true inside companies as well. It’s extraordinarily unusual for there to be two equally promising opportunities… If you think you have 2-5 reasons for doing something, what that means is you actually haven’t figured it out. You want to find one really strong reason.” He cites a founder listing 5 possible business models as an example of a failing strategy. What you want to do instead is find the single-best monetization model and put all your chips on that until you get new information. “Eight revenue streams probably means you don’t have one awesome revenue stream. If you have seven growth strategies, it means you haven’t figured out the one strategy that’s going to compound like crazy.” This same “one thing” rule applies to making decisions too. A lot of people will make decisions based on “blended reasons” (e.g. “here’s 5 reasons we should do this”). But what you should look for instead is the one reason that dominates everything else. Video source: @myfirstmilpod (2024)
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