“You need to know the reason you're there at that surgical table with a knife in your hand. You have to be clear that you are using these sophisticated tools (tools which can cause a lot of harm) to fundamentally and primarily help that entity, that child in front of you.”
— Owase Jeelani

The quote archive

Wisdom in fragments

A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.

For instance, while AI can generate images that appear real, it cannot create convincing backgrounds that can be geolocated, since they do not correspond to actual places.

— Eliot Higgins

Founder of Bellingcat, open-source investigation journalism network

This access has significantly altered what individuals and communities can accomplish, challenging traditional power dynamics. It's essentially a democratic revolution, wresting control from the conventional gatekeepers like intelligence agencies and the media.

— Eliot Higgins

Founder of Bellingcat, open-source investigation journalism network

From around 2007 onwards, a new era dawned, marked by the widespread adoption of smartphones, essentially equipping every person with a sensor device. In tandem, social media platforms proliferated, facilitating incessant information sharing. Concurrently, Google services like Earth and Street View began to provide unprecedented access to geospatial data, granting us both the means and the method to verify a plethora of information.

— Eliot Higgins

Founder of Bellingcat, open-source investigation journalism network

Two major themes emerged: How quickly do they decide whether they want to invest? How fast do they decide if they like the entrepreneur? The answer to both is often within a matter of seconds. First impressions are key.

— Uri Levine

Co-founder of Waze, GPS navigation app acquired by Google

Out of all the startups that approach investors, less than one percent will secure funding. If you don't grasp this reality, you'll struggle to successfully raise capital. It's a critical point. Many first-time entrepreneurs don't comprehend this 1% ratio, but it's not about them—it's about the investors' selection process.

— Uri Levine

Co-founder of Waze, GPS navigation app acquired by Google

I'll start by emphasizing that this will be a long journey. Think of fundraising as refueling your car for the trip. It's essential – you can't undertake the journey without fuel. But that's all it is: fuel. It isn't the objective of your journey.

— Uri Levine

Co-founder of Waze, GPS navigation app acquired by Google

I would argue that it's essential to set growth aside and prioritise achieving product-market fit. The logic behind this is straightforward: if you manage to attain product-market fit, you'll thrive, but if you fail, your venture will falter. It's that simple.

— Uri Levine

Co-founder of Waze, GPS navigation app acquired by Google

Consider a significant issue, something genuinely worth addressing, a problem whose solution would make the world a better place. The subsequent step is to identify who has this problem. If you find yourself to be the sole bearer of this issue, consulting a therapist might be a quicker and less expensive option than launching a startup.

— Uri Levine

Co-founder of Waze, GPS navigation app acquired by Google

Generally speaking, I advocate for entrepreneurship as being originating something entirely new – taking it from zero to one, so to speak. This endeavour doesn't strictly have to be a technical startup or a monumental success. The main focus is on initiating something on your own, which essentially leads you into the journey of entrepreneurship. It's a voyage that can be challenging and intricate, marked by a series of failures. Moreover, it's a path that you'll often tread alone.

— Uri Levine

Co-founder of Waze, GPS navigation app acquired by Google

Fascinating, important and highly recommended

— Al Gore

Vice President & Climate Change Activist, "An Inconvenient Truth

I can't think of the last time I read a book that was more fascinating, and useful and enjoyable all at the same time

— Bill Bryson

Bestselling author of humorous travel memoirs and science books

We propose that focusing on skilled migration—such as engineers and doctors—might be more viable. People are generally more accepting of highly-skilled immigrants. We recommend increasing skilled migration by just 10% of the existing level. Given the significant wage differential between a doctor in Somalia and a doctor in the US, the benefits of such a policy could be substantial.

— Bjørn Lomborg

Environmental Economist & Author Known for Challenging Climate Alarmism

When global markets open up, if you're selling t-shirts in the US or Denmark, you're disadvantaged because countries like Bangladesh produce them more efficiently and cheaply. This has fuelled arguments advocating caution when it comes to free trade. We've conducted what is, to my knowledge, the first study attempting to quantify both the benefits and costs of trade, rather than focusing solely on the benefits.

— Bjørn Lomborg

Environmental Economist & Author Known for Challenging Climate Alarmism

A revealing statistic is that 80% of ten-year-olds in these countries struggle with basic comprehension, even though they can technically read individual words. This lack of understanding severely hinders their future productivity.

— Bjørn Lomborg

Environmental Economist & Author Known for Challenging Climate Alarmism

If an average developing nation had the UK's primary and secondary education level, it would be approximately 40% wealthier. Imagine the transformational impact of such an instant leap. It's indisputable that education makes individuals highly productive, making countries richer in the long run.

— Bjørn Lomborg

Environmental Economist & Author Known for Challenging Climate Alarmism

The issue you're worried about, the one you're likely spending most of your time discussing, isn't the only problem in the world. We tend to lose sight of this because we often perceive our immediate tasks as the most crucial. Given the multitude of issues we need to address, the goal shouldn't be to resolve a single problem in an exhaustive and expensive way. Instead, we should aim to find an effective, low-cost strategy that addresses most of the problem, ensuring we preserve resources for other tasks.

— Bjørn Lomborg

Environmental Economist & Author Known for Challenging Climate Alarmism