The Qigong parallel is wild because it suggests the desperation hasn't actually changed, just the costume. People werent stupid in the 90s wearing aluminum pots, and theyre not stupid now wearing lobster claws - theyre just responding rationally to genuine uncertainty. Which maybe means the real problem isnt that we keep falling for the next thing, but that we keep creating conditions where people feel like they have to.
Curious if you think the scalper markup in Shenzhen is pure scarcity play or if theres something about OpenClaw specifically that makes people feel like theyre getting left behind without it?
Like the DeepSeek rush last year, which feels like 5 years ago, not one, I feel this OpenClaw fever is actually driven by Big Tech as a way to sell their token APIs, since most chatbot versions are free in China. It feels like a smart strategic paradigm shift to get people used to paying for AI.
I think OpenClaw simultaneously addresses two problems: for the employed, it’s a 'cure' for overwork; for the unemployed, it’s a new opportunity outside of the usual delivery/ride-hailing grind.
Fascinating. Bureaucracy may have much to teach us. Both about how to deploy ai agents but also about our own psychological structures. If we’re lucky, our unconscious minds function like well-designed bureaucratic systems. If we’re unlucky, they are more like warlords or parasites, who couldn’t care less about what “the emperor” consciously desires.
"Relying on a single, monolithic LLM to execute complex, real-world workflows is like trying to build a city by stacking a single skyscraper infinitely higher." - BRAVO, Sir.
The Qigong parallel is wild because it suggests the desperation hasn't actually changed, just the costume. People werent stupid in the 90s wearing aluminum pots, and theyre not stupid now wearing lobster claws - theyre just responding rationally to genuine uncertainty. Which maybe means the real problem isnt that we keep falling for the next thing, but that we keep creating conditions where people feel like they have to.
Curious if you think the scalper markup in Shenzhen is pure scarcity play or if theres something about OpenClaw specifically that makes people feel like theyre getting left behind without it?
Like the DeepSeek rush last year, which feels like 5 years ago, not one, I feel this OpenClaw fever is actually driven by Big Tech as a way to sell their token APIs, since most chatbot versions are free in China. It feels like a smart strategic paradigm shift to get people used to paying for AI.
I think OpenClaw simultaneously addresses two problems: for the employed, it’s a 'cure' for overwork; for the unemployed, it’s a new opportunity outside of the usual delivery/ride-hailing grind.
100% agreed. The primary beneficiaries of all this hype, are the foundational model companies that need to back into their valuations.
Brilliant article. the juxtaposition of the photos is spot on.
Great work again, Jingyu!!
Fascinating. Bureaucracy may have much to teach us. Both about how to deploy ai agents but also about our own psychological structures. If we’re lucky, our unconscious minds function like well-designed bureaucratic systems. If we’re unlucky, they are more like warlords or parasites, who couldn’t care less about what “the emperor” consciously desires.
Truly mindblowing article.
This is going to end SO well. 😂
"Relying on a single, monolithic LLM to execute complex, real-world workflows is like trying to build a city by stacking a single skyscraper infinitely higher." - BRAVO, Sir.
You’re lit
This is amazing. Would you be open to me rerunning it on ChinaTalk? Happy to pay!
Glad you liked the content. I’m happy to hear your thoughts; what does ChinaTalk usually do with guest writer in terms of rerunning an article?