I frequently participate in debates about why Poles playing an outsized role in building frontier AI1 in the US doesn’t translate into an AI boom in

Problem solving vs Problem picking

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2024-10-31 12:30:07

I frequently participate in debates about why Poles playing an outsized role in building frontier AI1 in the US doesn’t translate into an AI boom in their home country. Why are Poles successful and often in critical technical roles in the US, but not in Poland? What’s up with the air in Central Europe?

The answer to this question is multi-faceted, and I will try to pull it apart in a series of essays. I’ll challenge some, in my opinion, misplaced beliefs prevalent in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) that cloud the discussion.

People often point to a lack of funding, a lack of business acumen, or other day-to-day issues, but I think something more fundamental is going on. We’re culturally taught to be world-class problem solvers, not problem pickers.

Poles, and more broadly, Central and Eastern Europeans, are talented and smart people who value science and hardcore engineering. I’ll focus on Poland, which I know best, but most of my comments extend to Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, etc.