Wessel van Rensburg
@wildebees.bsky.social
The digital policy strategist you didn’t know you needed—using terms like 'sovereign data assets' as casually as most would say 'hello'.
Also geopolitics, innovation, industrial policy.
Location: Den Haag 🇳🇱 From: 🇿🇦
Also geopolitics, innovation, industrial policy.
Location: Den Haag 🇳🇱 From: 🇿🇦
China’s Tsinghua University (Also Xi's) now outfiles top US schools in AI patents—4,986 since 2005, 900+ in 2024 –– more patents each year than MIT, Stanford, Princeton and Harvard combined.. Quantity is state-backed, strategic.
Europe: this is a sovereignty issue, not a league table. 1/x
Europe: this is a sovereignty issue, not a league table. 1/x
November 19, 2025 at 8:10 AM
China’s Tsinghua University (Also Xi's) now outfiles top US schools in AI patents—4,986 since 2005, 900+ in 2024 –– more patents each year than MIT, Stanford, Princeton and Harvard combined.. Quantity is state-backed, strategic.
Europe: this is a sovereignty issue, not a league table. 1/x
Europe: this is a sovereignty issue, not a league table. 1/x
Lots of 🤯 information and charts in this post Re AI. These are my pick of the lot:
The scale of the investment is already historic; 💸
New datacenters built overtaking new offices; 🕋
Energy transition electricity demand dwarfs AI; ⚡️
AI impact on water 💦
www.understandingai.org/p/16-charts-...
The scale of the investment is already historic; 💸
New datacenters built overtaking new offices; 🕋
Energy transition electricity demand dwarfs AI; ⚡️
AI impact on water 💦
www.understandingai.org/p/16-charts-...
October 28, 2025 at 5:25 AM
Lots of 🤯 information and charts in this post Re AI. These are my pick of the lot:
The scale of the investment is already historic; 💸
New datacenters built overtaking new offices; 🕋
Energy transition electricity demand dwarfs AI; ⚡️
AI impact on water 💦
www.understandingai.org/p/16-charts-...
The scale of the investment is already historic; 💸
New datacenters built overtaking new offices; 🕋
Energy transition electricity demand dwarfs AI; ⚡️
AI impact on water 💦
www.understandingai.org/p/16-charts-...
2/8 That posture has flipped. Under Trump, the U.S. 🇺🇸 is embracing crypto in finance and geopolitics: touting stablecoins as digital dollars and pitching tokenisation as capital-market modernisation.
October 3, 2025 at 9:06 AM
2/8 That posture has flipped. Under Trump, the U.S. 🇺🇸 is embracing crypto in finance and geopolitics: touting stablecoins as digital dollars and pitching tokenisation as capital-market modernisation.
This is the essence what we wrote:
1/8 FTX’s 2022 collapse gave regulators a brief ‘told you so.’ DC’s playbook was to let crypto burn—keep banks out, deny legitimacy, and allow failures to clear without rescue.
1/8 FTX’s 2022 collapse gave regulators a brief ‘told you so.’ DC’s playbook was to let crypto burn—keep banks out, deny legitimacy, and allow failures to clear without rescue.
October 3, 2025 at 9:06 AM
This is the essence what we wrote:
1/8 FTX’s 2022 collapse gave regulators a brief ‘told you so.’ DC’s playbook was to let crypto burn—keep banks out, deny legitimacy, and allow failures to clear without rescue.
1/8 FTX’s 2022 collapse gave regulators a brief ‘told you so.’ DC’s playbook was to let crypto burn—keep banks out, deny legitimacy, and allow failures to clear without rescue.
This week Andrew Bailey, head of the bank of England, ostensibly softened his stance on stablecoins in the FT. Of course he must be under a lot of pressure.
But many missed the pertinent question he raised - the question of credit creation.
But many missed the pertinent question he raised - the question of credit creation.
October 3, 2025 at 8:37 AM
This week Andrew Bailey, head of the bank of England, ostensibly softened his stance on stablecoins in the FT. Of course he must be under a lot of pressure.
But many missed the pertinent question he raised - the question of credit creation.
But many missed the pertinent question he raised - the question of credit creation.
In other news, the Springboks hand the All Blacks their biggest ever defeat.
And in New Zealand.
Perhaps the world is not such a bad place after all. #rugby.
And in New Zealand.
Perhaps the world is not such a bad place after all. #rugby.
September 13, 2025 at 1:08 PM
In other news, the Springboks hand the All Blacks their biggest ever defeat.
And in New Zealand.
Perhaps the world is not such a bad place after all. #rugby.
And in New Zealand.
Perhaps the world is not such a bad place after all. #rugby.
It all makes sense, because those that crave peace must prepare for war, am-I-right?
September 5, 2025 at 11:25 AM
It all makes sense, because those that crave peace must prepare for war, am-I-right?
Extreme poverty is way down, other forms of poverty is relatively up
August 29, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Extreme poverty is way down, other forms of poverty is relatively up
In English.
My question. How secure is that security partnership really? Especially in the light of new pressures on European digital regulation?
My question. How secure is that security partnership really? Especially in the light of new pressures on European digital regulation?
August 27, 2025 at 6:27 AM
In English.
My question. How secure is that security partnership really? Especially in the light of new pressures on European digital regulation?
My question. How secure is that security partnership really? Especially in the light of new pressures on European digital regulation?
I find AI chatbots an incredible tool for learning and discovery.
So I wondered what educational theory said about that.
So I wondered what educational theory said about that.
August 24, 2025 at 2:51 PM
I find AI chatbots an incredible tool for learning and discovery.
So I wondered what educational theory said about that.
So I wondered what educational theory said about that.
The top US models lead the best Chinese models in general Chinese-language capabilities. The top three models are OpenAI’s o3, o4-mini (high), and Google’s Gemini-2.5.-Pro.
The top Chinese model is ByteDance’s Doubao-Seed-1.6-thinking.
The top Chinese model is ByteDance’s Doubao-Seed-1.6-thinking.
August 19, 2025 at 7:00 AM
The top US models lead the best Chinese models in general Chinese-language capabilities. The top three models are OpenAI’s o3, o4-mini (high), and Google’s Gemini-2.5.-Pro.
The top Chinese model is ByteDance’s Doubao-Seed-1.6-thinking.
The top Chinese model is ByteDance’s Doubao-Seed-1.6-thinking.
I am wondering whether you did not understand those graphs or are being wilfully obtuse?
Here they are in full, with captions. Your claims are supported by them in which way?
Here they are in full, with captions. Your claims are supported by them in which way?
June 30, 2025 at 4:32 AM
I am wondering whether you did not understand those graphs or are being wilfully obtuse?
Here they are in full, with captions. Your claims are supported by them in which way?
Here they are in full, with captions. Your claims are supported by them in which way?
Rewriting history with LLMs.
June 22, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Rewriting history with LLMs.
(and good governance) is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this Sam Altman sentence - a compressed footnote that contains a massive complexity that's being acknowledged but not unpacked. He is being strategically vague.
blog.samaltman.com/the-gentle-s...
blog.samaltman.com/the-gentle-s...
June 16, 2025 at 6:49 AM
(and good governance) is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this Sam Altman sentence - a compressed footnote that contains a massive complexity that's being acknowledged but not unpacked. He is being strategically vague.
blog.samaltman.com/the-gentle-s...
blog.samaltman.com/the-gentle-s...
And @joostbastmeijer.bsky.social says farmers control most capital in the country. Farming is less than 3% of GDP.
Historically Afrikaner farmers were significantly poorer than English whites. In 1938 Afrikaner farmers produced 87% of all agricultural products, but look at this table:
Historically Afrikaner farmers were significantly poorer than English whites. In 1938 Afrikaner farmers produced 87% of all agricultural products, but look at this table:
May 21, 2025 at 9:14 AM
And @joostbastmeijer.bsky.social says farmers control most capital in the country. Farming is less than 3% of GDP.
Historically Afrikaner farmers were significantly poorer than English whites. In 1938 Afrikaner farmers produced 87% of all agricultural products, but look at this table:
Historically Afrikaner farmers were significantly poorer than English whites. In 1938 Afrikaner farmers produced 87% of all agricultural products, but look at this table:
The Dutch were in the middle of their Golden Age, wealthy, a VOC sailor earned five times less than a polder boy or peat cutter in the Netherlands. A typical German looking for work in the Netherlands were desperately poor. They often ended up working as indentured labour. Historian Giliomee:
May 21, 2025 at 8:45 AM
The Dutch were in the middle of their Golden Age, wealthy, a VOC sailor earned five times less than a polder boy or peat cutter in the Netherlands. A typical German looking for work in the Netherlands were desperately poor. They often ended up working as indentured labour. Historian Giliomee:
The USA does not like European digital taxes. But in the same breath Project 2025 says:
May 18, 2025 at 7:00 AM
The USA does not like European digital taxes. But in the same breath Project 2025 says:
Wondered what Project 2025 had to say about data sharing agreements between the EU and the USA?
Wonder no more. They frame it as a form of trade restriction, and think US counter leverage should come from intelligence sharing with the EU.
Wonder no more. They frame it as a form of trade restriction, and think US counter leverage should come from intelligence sharing with the EU.
May 18, 2025 at 6:45 AM
Wondered what Project 2025 had to say about data sharing agreements between the EU and the USA?
Wonder no more. They frame it as a form of trade restriction, and think US counter leverage should come from intelligence sharing with the EU.
Wonder no more. They frame it as a form of trade restriction, and think US counter leverage should come from intelligence sharing with the EU.
"With 70% of the world’s utility-scale solar under construction in China, many of the most ambitious solar projects are clustered inland in regions such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia."
May 18, 2025 at 6:34 AM
"With 70% of the world’s utility-scale solar under construction in China, many of the most ambitious solar projects are clustered inland in regions such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia."
"Coal, solar, wind and hydropower make up the majority of China’s total installed capacity — which grew by 15% to over 3,300GW in 2024 — and are spread across the country according to geographic suitability and power needs"
May 18, 2025 at 6:34 AM
"Coal, solar, wind and hydropower make up the majority of China’s total installed capacity — which grew by 15% to over 3,300GW in 2024 — and are spread across the country according to geographic suitability and power needs"
"it is China that now leads the latest global technology revolution in electrification and renewable energy"
"Clean energy sectors accounted for a record 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and drove a quarter of its growth last year"
www.ft.com/content/f867...
"Clean energy sectors accounted for a record 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and drove a quarter of its growth last year"
www.ft.com/content/f867...
May 18, 2025 at 6:26 AM
"it is China that now leads the latest global technology revolution in electrification and renewable energy"
"Clean energy sectors accounted for a record 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and drove a quarter of its growth last year"
www.ft.com/content/f867...
"Clean energy sectors accounted for a record 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and drove a quarter of its growth last year"
www.ft.com/content/f867...
True, for many categories of things, but not this IMO.
Also a useful read (same author). Makes the point that AI (LLMs and Generative AI) really boosts individual performance rather than organisational performance, and you need to figure it out for yourself. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/ai-in-orga...
Also a useful read (same author). Makes the point that AI (LLMs and Generative AI) really boosts individual performance rather than organisational performance, and you need to figure it out for yourself. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/ai-in-orga...
May 10, 2025 at 12:54 PM
True, for many categories of things, but not this IMO.
Also a useful read (same author). Makes the point that AI (LLMs and Generative AI) really boosts individual performance rather than organisational performance, and you need to figure it out for yourself. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/ai-in-orga...
Also a useful read (same author). Makes the point that AI (LLMs and Generative AI) really boosts individual performance rather than organisational performance, and you need to figure it out for yourself. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/ai-in-orga...
And this book, the Price Is Wrong, ( I have not read it) argues the problem is not that transitioning to renewables is too expensive (it's not, and the energy is cheaper), but that saving the planet is not sufficiently profitable.
April 27, 2025 at 10:32 AM
And this book, the Price Is Wrong, ( I have not read it) argues the problem is not that transitioning to renewables is too expensive (it's not, and the energy is cheaper), but that saving the planet is not sufficiently profitable.
De-risking: When the state creates "safe" and "profitable" spaces mainly to attract private investment.
Why is that a problem?
Because what is good for profits of a few companies is not necessary what's good for society as a whole.
Here's Bloomberg's @weisenthal.bsky.social with an example.
Why is that a problem?
Because what is good for profits of a few companies is not necessary what's good for society as a whole.
Here's Bloomberg's @weisenthal.bsky.social with an example.
April 27, 2025 at 10:32 AM
De-risking: When the state creates "safe" and "profitable" spaces mainly to attract private investment.
Why is that a problem?
Because what is good for profits of a few companies is not necessary what's good for society as a whole.
Here's Bloomberg's @weisenthal.bsky.social with an example.
Why is that a problem?
Because what is good for profits of a few companies is not necessary what's good for society as a whole.
Here's Bloomberg's @weisenthal.bsky.social with an example.