“Where is the best place to keep up with all things AI?”
I get asked this question a lot. For the past 15 months, I’ve been leading AI training and team transformations, and building, building, building (my current interest is in open-weight models on local AI hardware). As a result, I tend to find and share as many resources as I can with my colleagues. And while there are great resources everywhere… the answer is simple.
Me: “You need to be on X.”
This is where I pause and wait for revulsion (from at least 50% of my colleagues).
X: “Ugh. But I hate Elon so much. I’ll never use X.”
And that’s the crux of the issue… one’s choice to harbor hatred towards a person/organization is not without career consequences. But before we dig in…
I Love a Principled Stand
When my mom died 4 months ago, there was a flurry of conversations about her on Facebook.
And I refused to create a new account to participate.
It wasn’t an easy decision to delete my account in the first place. MIT was one of the first campuses to get access, and I had photos and connections that span back to 2005. However, I never trusted Mark Zuckerberg. Over the years, there have been dozens of ethical violations involving user data. It was clear to me these weren’t accidents, but it was just who he was. So in 2021, I deleted my account.
This decision inadvertently severed many friendships.
The thing about a platform with 2 billion active users is that it’s the center of the social conversation. And if you’re not there, well… sorry. Most of these people are no longer easily reachable. Enjoy the FOMO.
It sucked not being able to connect with people sharing memories about my mom. That had to wait until the funeral when I could see them all IRL.
Still, while I’m not at peace with her loss, I am at peace with my decision to never use a Meta platform (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp).
I love a principled stand, and I accept the (social) consequences of that decision.
Even Zuckerberg Capitulates to Elon
First, let’s separate objective facts from subjective opinions and feelings.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the moral alignment chart (hat tip to D&D). It’s a 3x3 grid that ranks a person on two scales: good vs. evil and lawful vs. chaotic.
We like to think of a person as living in a single fixed square. However, Elon is one of those eccentric individuals who can shapeshift based on context.
There are many sides of Elon. I think I know where he stands most of the time (e.g., chaotic neutral with a dash of chaotic good), but many disagree (e.g., various forms of evil). That’s fine; no matter where you stand, know that many others are locked into another perspective. No need to get upset over it, but…
The fact remains, X is THE definitive place to keep up with the AI conversation.
This is the reason Boris Cherny became active on X just as his Claude Code project was taking off.
Since he joined and started replying all day, every day, both his personal profile AND the project have rocketed in popularity and adoption.
9 months later, it’s become common for other developers and researchers to be pushed onto X. It makes sense, because this is where the customers live and where the conversations are happening.
Hell… EVEN MARK ZUCKERBERG, the CEO of a 2-billion-person social media platform, makes announcements of his new AI models on X instead of Threads for Facebook.
There’s Alpha in What Others Hate
When GitHub had an outage this week (again), Cursor used it as an opportunity to launch their new code hosting platform.
I was excited to hear this because a few months ago GitHub had one of the worst months in SaaS history, with uptime dipping below 90%. This is unheard in enterprise cloud software, where SLAs of can range from 99.9% to 99.99% uptime (with contractual penalties).
I expected my technical colleagues to respond with something akin to “cool” or “FINALLY” given they were experiencing the brunt of these outages. Competition leads to innovation, which should lead to a better ecosystem.
Instead, the responses ranged from (at best) apathy to (at worst) total rejection of the idea. How could an Elon-owned company build anything close to GitHub?!?
Their choice to hate Elon as a person/founder/entrepreneur prevents them from even evaluating what could be a superior product. This is putting them (and their team/company) at a potential disadvantage. After all, this is the guy who has built companies that can catch rockets, implant chips into people’s brains, and self-drive cars at scale. Hosting software should be a cakewalk compared to the other 3.
And Again, With Grok Bot
Lots of AI people on X are sharing positive takes about Grok Bot.
Ryan Carson (super early on AI agents, loops, etc)
Claire Vo (founder of ChatPRD and an overall exceptional voice in the community)
Or Investor Gavin Baker, who feels this is the next “Claude Code moment.”
Even non-technical folks are raving about how Grok Bot meets the “just works” bar.
But here’s the thing: many technical colleagues have:
Ruled out Elon (because hate, evil, politics, etc.).
Therefore, rule out Grok (because it can’t be as good as Anthropic/OpenAI)
Therefore, rule out Cursor (because Elon purchased it, defaults to Grok)
Therefore, rule out Grok Bot (because they can’t even get here because points 1-3).
And so it goes.
Maybe they are happy with OpenClaw (X sentiment is that it’s now 3rd, behind Hermes and Grok Bot) and GitHub (even though the outages persist), but many willing to engage on X think otherwise.
They were willing to try, experience firsthand, and make an informed decision.
I think that’s the smarter, wiser approach.
This is Not About Elon
Love him. Hate him. I don’t care.
I don’t care whether you love or hate Zuckerberg, Bezos, or X (where X is a famous figure).
What I do care about is that people may be making a bad career bet by NOT considering superior, cheaper tools, technologies, and platforms, all because of a choice.
And just as I respect my decision to never use a Meta product because of Mark, I respect people who draw a bright line on Elon. Fair is fair.
But I would love for you to consider this idea.
You Can Learn from Someone You Dislike
I’m not the biggest fan of certain VC thought leaders on X. They can say some really dumb, tone-deaf things on the regular (e.g., Chamath’s “this is below my line” quote).
However, now and then they’ll say something brilliant that stops me in my tracks.
There’s a saying in Al-Anon (and other 12-step programs). Take what you like, and leave the rest.
I can filter out Elon’s politics and stupid memes, and eventually he says something so insightful that I journal about it and apply it within my professional career.
I don’t have to like (or even respect) him to benefit from his hard-earned wisdom.
It Doesn’t Have to Be All or None
I’m not the biggest Dana White or UFC fan. It’s just not my jam. But damn, he’s an A++ operator in his business and his brand. I watch all his interviews because his perspective is so different from what I’m usually exposed to in my circles. And many of his insights are dead on (and some of them aren’t, and that’s ok too).
If you hate and block him, you miss out. That’s fine. No judgment. Just know that you don’t get access to the occasional nuggets of gold because you hate when he talks shit.
I’m not for everyone either. But I hope that, despite the occasional cuss word or dumb political view, you find enough value in coming back here and engaging in a spirited discussion with me.
Agree? Disagree? I’m ok with either.
I would love to hear from you in the comments, especially if this helped you recognize you might be blocking a “good” opportunity because of a (real or perceived) “bad” person.
I mean, what if you’ve pegged person X into the wrong position Y?
Until next time. Thanks for listening ✌️
Oh, and the best place to keep up with AI is X (I’ll die on this hill).
Thank you for this perspective Rick. It’s amazing how many silly stories I have that are stopping me.