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: 🇿🇦
Via the international bank correspondence system and dollar dominance the US has chokehold sanctions control on all banks, also European ones. As Lagarde tells Martin Wolf, a Digital Euro can provide European citizens and entities with money services that the US can't sanction. 3/
January 7, 2026 at 8:23 AM
Via the international bank correspondence system and dollar dominance the US has chokehold sanctions control on all banks, also European ones. As Lagarde tells Martin Wolf, a Digital Euro can provide European citizens and entities with money services that the US can't sanction. 3/
Let me try an image.
December 15, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Let me try an image.
And this pre-moderation is a bad thing? 🤯
December 14, 2025 at 8:07 AM
And this pre-moderation is a bad thing? 🤯
The US 🇺🇸 brain drain of ethnic Chinese to China 🇨🇳 is gathering pace.
December 13, 2025 at 3:54 PM
The US 🇺🇸 brain drain of ethnic Chinese to China 🇨🇳 is gathering pace.
I put it through NanoBana, for a different representation of the same data.
Spain not that different from Portugal. Poland not so pro the US as one might expect. The Netherlands most pro a move towards China.
Overall, not a massive divergence between these countries.
Spain not that different from Portugal. Poland not so pro the US as one might expect. The Netherlands most pro a move towards China.
Overall, not a massive divergence between these countries.
December 4, 2025 at 8:07 AM
I put it through NanoBana, for a different representation of the same data.
Spain not that different from Portugal. Poland not so pro the US as one might expect. The Netherlands most pro a move towards China.
Overall, not a massive divergence between these countries.
Spain not that different from Portugal. Poland not so pro the US as one might expect. The Netherlands most pro a move towards China.
Overall, not a massive divergence between these countries.
The crash “was all so spectacular that American Bitcoin quickly became the symbol of not just the crypto market wipeout of late 2025 but also the collapse of the myriad ventures that the Trump family has been promoting”.
December 3, 2025 at 7:43 AM
The crash “was all so spectacular that American Bitcoin quickly became the symbol of not just the crypto market wipeout of late 2025 but also the collapse of the myriad ventures that the Trump family has been promoting”.
DeepSeek in its latest technical report, admits closed source models’ performance are improving faster than open source — also DeepSeek. Proof the chip ban is working? #geopoliticaltech
December 3, 2025 at 6:26 AM
DeepSeek in its latest technical report, admits closed source models’ performance are improving faster than open source — also DeepSeek. Proof the chip ban is working? #geopoliticaltech
And US conceptions of speech are perfect. Platforms should carry no liability, (while they destroy rational debate in every public sphere they operate in around the globe).
At any rate, you don't need to use European social media, and Europeans not yours.
At any rate, you don't need to use European social media, and Europeans not yours.
November 30, 2025 at 7:23 PM
And US conceptions of speech are perfect. Platforms should carry no liability, (while they destroy rational debate in every public sphere they operate in around the globe).
At any rate, you don't need to use European social media, and Europeans not yours.
At any rate, you don't need to use European social media, and Europeans not yours.
First here is my view of the problem, a longer way if saying human nature is part the problem.
Things to consider:
Require a "driver's" license, civic exams (media literacy: concepts like context collapse, how moral outrage is an adaptive trait for small communities etc). (cont)
Things to consider:
Require a "driver's" license, civic exams (media literacy: concepts like context collapse, how moral outrage is an adaptive trait for small communities etc). (cont)
November 30, 2025 at 11:26 AM
First here is my view of the problem, a longer way if saying human nature is part the problem.
Things to consider:
Require a "driver's" license, civic exams (media literacy: concepts like context collapse, how moral outrage is an adaptive trait for small communities etc). (cont)
Things to consider:
Require a "driver's" license, civic exams (media literacy: concepts like context collapse, how moral outrage is an adaptive trait for small communities etc). (cont)
The UK's Labour Government Policy Spiral.
* Sorry, forgot from whom I got this idea.
* Sorry, forgot from whom I got this idea.
November 28, 2025 at 3:09 PM
The UK's Labour Government Policy Spiral.
* Sorry, forgot from whom I got this idea.
* Sorry, forgot from whom I got this idea.
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...
