In this episode, Danny Crichton and Laurence Pevsner do a special outdoor recording from Carmel, where they reflect on the successful launch of their latest game, Gray Matter, at multiple locations, including the Lux Leaders retreat. The hosts discuss the emergent gameplay that surprised them, from spontaneous character-driven debates to unexpected trading outcomes. They explore the game's core mechanics around information markets, attention economies, and strategic publication decisions—examining how players navigate the tension between keeping information proprietary versus making it public for advantage.The conversation shifts to Southwest Silicon, their recently launched deep-dive simulation focused on Arizona's semiconductor industry and water security challenges. Danny and Laurence discuss how this immersive format differs from their larger salon experiences, highlighting the complex world of water rights in the American Southwest and how players grappled with resource allocation decisions that mirror real-world policy dilemmas.Looking ahead, the hosts preview upcoming games exploring urban automation, critical mineral supply chains, university research funding, civil infrastructure security, and the future of international development institutions. They discuss their philosophy of using game design to model emerging technologies and reimagine institutional frameworks for an AI-driven future.
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26:22
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26:22
The global future of wargaming in Lithuania
Wargaming (of which Riskgaming is but one example) has a long and global history, from Europe and Asia into the Americas. Yet, its utility is increasingly being recognized by business, military and political leaders as a more authentic way to understand the behavior of people across all kinds of contexts. Competition, incentives, risk and decision-making flow together in a way that traditional policy memos and consultant-written PPTs can’t compare.That’s part of the work that Pijus Krūminas is focused on. He’s a professor at Lithuania’s ISM University of Management and Economics and is the head of its Wargaming Lab. His research converges the social sciences into modeling and simulations, tapping into fields like political economy, game theory, management and more to create a new synthesis.Subbing for host Danny Crichton this week is Ian Curtiss, our independent Riskgaming scenario designer, who recently launched Southwest Silicon as Lux’s latest offering.Ian and Pijus talk about simulating the polycrisis, how academic research flows into wargaming design, how students are learning through experiences, why political economy is overlooked compared to traditional military wargames, and a variety of recommended games for newcomers to the field.
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44:08
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44:08
Behind the scenes of our new scenario, Southwest Silicon
One of the best parts of running a game studio and policy shop here at Riskgaming at Lux Capital is the actual public launch of a new game. That day is today, because we are dropping Southwest Silicon to the world. It’s a game that models the tensions between residents, farmers as well as old and new industries in the context of the rise of chip fabs in Arizona. Water security is one of the most challenging and complex issues facing the American Southwest, and through the lens of nine characters in the game, we hope to leave every player with a more profound set of questions on what’s next as America continues to grow.On the podcast today, host Danny Crichton talks with the game’s designer, Ian Curtiss. Ian previously designed our Chinese electric vehicle scenario, Powering Up, and now he brings his hometown lens to bear on the future of advanced manufacturing and economic development.The two talk about the game’s design, its implications and what we’ve witnessed as we have watched players the world over compete over the future of silicon and sand. Listen in, and we hope you join a live runthrough soon — or host your own.
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27:53
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27:53
How compute and AI will create next-gen superapps
The launch of OpenAI’s GPT-5 has ushered in a panoply of views on the future of AGI and end-user applications. Does the platform’s aggressive router presage a future of lobotomized AI responses driven more by compute efficiency than quality? Will new chip models be able to make up the difference? And how will OpenAI, which recently hired Fidji Simo from Instacart to become CEO of Applications, expand its revenue beyond API calls and consumer subscriptions?These are huge questions which will ricochet throughout the tech economy. Thankfully, we have a veteran hand this week to go over it with us in the form of Dylan Patel, founder, CEO, and chief analyst of Semianalysis. He’s the guru everyone reads (and listens to), covering the intricacies of chips and compute for a readership of hundreds of thousands of subscribers.Joining host Danny Crichton as well as Lux’s Shahin Farshchi and Michelle Fang, the quartet discuss the questions above plus how Mark Zuckerberg is transitioning Meta Reality Labs, the hopes and dreams of new chip startups, the future of AI workloads, and finally, Intel after the U.S. government’s purchase of 10% of its shares.
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43:46
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43:46
America’s degrowth lawyers need to learn from China
It’s fun to play a game of superlatives with China. From the awe-inspiring and cyberpunk scale of the metro trains cruising through apartment blocks in Chongqing to the stupendous rate of its shipbuilding, housing construction and waterworks, China has shown that it can build like no other. That includes the just-announced Medog Hydropower Station, which at $167 billion would be one of the largest and most expensive construction projects ever seen. Behind all of this activity is a state organized for engineering, designed for speed and scale.That’s one half of the thesis of Breakneck, the new book out by Dan Wang, which was already long listed for book of the year by the Financial Times. The other half of the thesis is that America is ruled by a lawyerly society, one that holds up projects across years of red tape and lawsuits in the name of everything from noise pollution to just good old-fashioned trolling. Can we have growth without the lawyers? And what are the costs when every project can’t be debated to its most minute detail?Dan and host Danny Crichton talk about Dan’s trips across China, the massive growth he witnessed while living in the country for six years, and comparisons between China, America, South Korea and Japan, and why the virtuous cycle of construction is so absent from America today.
A podcast by venture capital firm Lux Capital on the opportunities and risks of science, technology, finance and the human condition. Hosted by Danny Crichton from our New York City studios.
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