What I read/listened-to the week of 1/12/2026
New year, trying to get back the writing rhythm, starting from the weekly what I read series.
What I read
How Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) Works?
How Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) Works?
In this article, we look at why Google built custom silicon, and how it works, revealing the physical constraints and engineering trade-offs they had to make.
ByteByteGo
- Current TPU v7 and specialized unit for inferences
10 Predictions for 2026 🥳
The Year of AI Liquidity?
Vivek Ramaswami
- If 2025 was the year AI broke into the mainstream, 2026 is when we see AI generate meaningful dollars, both in terms of product monetization and returns to investors. Markets form opinions. Business models get tested. And some ideas that looked inevitable start to crack.
Getting AI to Work in Complex Codebases
advanced-context-engineering-for-coding-agents/ace-fca.md at main · humanlayer/advanced-context-engineering-for-coding-agents
Contribute to humanlayer/advanced-context-engineering-for-coding-agents development by creating an account on GitHub.
humanlayer
Dan Wang's annual letter for the year of 2025
2025 letter | Dan Wang
Corgis, compute, Cold War; Ecclesiastes; ties; Stendhal; humor; Pascal’s Wager; deep infrastructure; Germanic obedience; Texas State Fair
Dan Wang
Standing Out
The new narrative alpha
Lulu Cheng Meservey
- Putting in real effort to create beautiful durable things that exhibit taste and craftsmanship, with zero tolerance for slop. As Thomas Paine wrote during the American Revolution: “What we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.”
- Showing real evidence for real outcomes, not flashy claims or vagueposts
- Designing real world events and artifacts, leaving people with memories that far outlast the cheap “impressions” generated by brainrot content troughs
- Showing up as real humans, with real flaws and foibles, instead of ultra-polished personas following AI scripts
- Forming real relationships that will weather time and tide
What actually makes a good life, according to 85 years of data | Robert Waldinger
- Most of us think happiness is something you achieve: status, money, accomplishment. Robert Waldinger’s work asks a more unsettling question: what if happiness is less about what you get and more about who you keep? "Invest in our relationships with other people." You're welcome.
