2026.30: The Copium Wars

Ben Thompson: Kimi K3 is a very good model — so good that everyone from Wall Street to the U.S. government is suddenly worried about the U.S.'s position in AI. In fact, the threat isn't new — and the frontier labs advantage is still real. In this week's Stratechery Article and Sharp Tech episode I break down what has and hasn't changed in AI, and explain why the biggest danger is U.S. policy around cybersecurity.

Andrew Sharp: If you've been online for the past month and even half-paying attention to the NBA, you've probably encountered complaints about the league's imposition of a "second apron" salary threshold that's effectively functioning as a hard salary cap. Contenders are being forced to part ways with homegrown stars, others teams have limited room to improve, and fans almost unanimously hate these changes. With the offseason winding down, this week's Sharp Text explains precisely what the NBA is trying to accomplish, why I hate it, and the stakes for the league as it bets on parity in the shadow of shrinking local TV money, slowing growth, and heavy reliance on national TV revenue.