Obituary for Jasjeet sir

When he was trying to explain something to you and you were generally unable to comprehend (read: being a blockhead), he would not show even a sliver of irritation. He would address you as "Raje" and explain again. S-l-o-w-e-r this time. But he would explain until you did it right. Quality of output was not negotiable. 

Whether it was over chai or in office meetings, the smile was ever-present and hugely infectious. It is impossible to forget the cheer that always accompanied his presence. 

On social media, he made posts for his parents, and for his children. For ma'm, his love was easy to see. They recently finished 36 years of togetherness. 

So, no, it was not an easy message to read at 6 30 am on a Sunday. One stared at the photograph in the message for a long time. I don't think I have ever seen him without that easy smile, even in the middle of the toughest conversations. It was still there. Making the message even harder to believe. 

He was an easy mentor to have. Easy, because he made mentoring look easy. When you asked him for advice, he was direct, blunt, and super honest. If you asked him what you needed to do, he told you. In Punjabi, we have a word - Lag-labed. Roughly, it translates to circumlocution with an intent to clutter or confuse. He never had that. 

He carried himself lightly. 

At GDC and then at Labs, he was an active member of the social contribution team. Even though he was a senior leader, he made time for this voluntary group. To him, it just was the most natural thing to do.

In kindness and empathy, he was like a father figure. In conversation, like a friend.  

It is now 3:00 am the following morning. And I am typing out this obituary. He was a mentor, teacher, senior. A nurturer. A Smiler. And so much more.  

Jasjeet sir, you will be much missed.  

Yesterday, some of us from SAP reconnected. Unable to understand this. Sharing a grief. As if the square white table of the cafeteria was back, and we were sitting around it, chai in hand. But one chair was empty. 

Words I identify with

 Dendrophile 

What China did right in preparing for the age of AI

 Within weeks, the market is flooded with Chinese LLMs - either free to use, or significantly cheaper than known LLMs.

They are flooding the market faster than countries can ban them. Deepseek, in a predictable move, has upped its prices.

I am wondering:
A. HOW are so many LLMs ready for commercial release within such a short time?
B. WHY are so many LLMs flooding the market?

Any thoughts?

Update:
So, I did some digging and found out some very important things.
1. China has as many as 130+ approved LLMs. Unlike the US, in China, every LLM has to be approved by the government before it is available for public use.
2. 600 million people use these LLMs.
3. Chinese companies support each other. They embed each other's solutions.
4. China unveiled an AI policy in 2017. It invested in policy making, chip manufacturing, and skill building, consistently from then. All 3 were being done.

Choose Your Expensive

 Human talent is expensive.

AI tokens are expensive.

Choose your expensive.

My sense is that it will be a balance of Human + AI that provides a decent RoI in the short term and makes ops sustainable in the medium-long term.

Idea for QComm Designers

 Dear QCommerce designers: Please consider adding the following delivery options:

1. Send in an hour or so.
2. Send anytime today.

There is a whole world of consumers out there that is not happy with the exploitation of workers. We would like to order from you, especially the things that are not available in stores, but cannot accept that people have to scramble because we could not do basic grocery planning.

We genuinely don't always need things in 10 minutes.

3 simple tips to save children from distraction

Almost all of Ted Gioia's posts are awesome, but the articles on cognitive health of teens and young adults are a class apart. Every once in a while, he shares a shocker. 

At The Children's Post, the MOST common advice that parents asked for was - How do I keep my child away from distraction? 

Not screens. Distraction. 

So, here are the most helpful tips (hardly anyone followed them, but don't ask what we noticed in the ones who did) 

A. Screens ARE distraction. 

They are not 'among the major' sources of distraction.  They are not 'the single largest source' of distraction. They are the ONLY source of distraction. In particular, zero screen time for kids below the age of 2, when their brains are developing fastest (faster than they will ever develop again in their lives). 

B. Meditation, Pranayama as early as possible 

These are not just spiritual practices. These simple practices also build focus and anchor the child for life. Of the two, deep breathing and pranayama is more helpful than meditation. You can follow any meditation practice of your choice. 

C. There is NO substitute for human interaction. 

Sit. Talk. Laugh. Touch. Hug. Fight. Solve problems together. Discuss world peace. Gossip. Play Board Games. Play Sports. Play hide and seek. Do Treasure Hunt. Make obstacle courses. Take trips. Listen. 

Children are not distracted. They are incredibly lonely. We are touching our children less. We are talking to them even lesser. Young adults and teens need as much face time as children, even if they mostly spend that face time ignoring you. Be present. And not with your phone in hand. 

If you want your child to respect you, respect them by putting your phone away when they are talking to you. 

Address them respectfully. Truly listen. Ask questions that force them to think more. 

Why UrbanClap is profitable but Uber will never be.

Dear Uber: You are not brokers. You are service providers. The customer does not call Tukaram. She calls Uber. 

Your service is delivered by service partners, who are in a profit-sharing contract with you. If you do not take care of these service partners, it is not their brand that suffers. It is yours. 

Given that your customer care and central brand oversight are non-existent, your entire service delivery depends on one person - your service delivery partner. The guy you are squeezing. The guy who can share his number with the customer at any time and get into a direct arrangement, leaving you out of the loop.

If you squeeze your driver partners to a point where being with you is purely a function of your mono/duopolistic practices, you will end up with high driver and customer churn, non-stop recruitment and CACs, poor delivery, and consistent brand erosion. 

It's not a bug, it's a feature of your business model. 

And therefore, you can not hope to be profitable. You are in the business of burning up public moneys. 

Here is another story. 

Urbanclap gave social benefits to ALL their service partners. It understood their specific needs and created benefits for them. When an Urbanclap service provider comes to us, s/he does not share their number. They say that a positive rating on the app means more to them than a direct order next time. 

Urbanclap's losses have shrunk, and they turned profitable in April 2024. 

Your losses, on the other hand, have widened considerably year on year. 

Short summary: Intermediaries are not brokers. They are service providers. Asset lean model does not mean abdication of service quality responsibility.