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• About Michael de la Maza : Hult Business Analytics professor, MIT ML PhD, Amazon bestselling author, angel investor, and founder of Immaculate Conception Ventures since 2011.
• Now: What Michael de la Maza Is Working On : Hult business analytics professor and Immaculate Conception Ventures founder Michael de la Maza on his focus now: algorithmic trading, AI and jobs, investing.

Best Posts

The articles that best capture who Michael is: his teaching philosophy, how he thinks about investing, and his approach to learning something new. A good place to start.

• What I Teach on Day One of My Algorithmic Trading Class : De la Maza opens his trading course with a core lesson: the techniques don't work, and understanding why is the real education. Python included.
• Model Portfolio Update: 40% Global Stocks, 10% Gold/Bitcoin, 50% Cash : De la Maza details the exact funds in his capital-preservation model portfolio and shows its five-year results against a standard 60/40 benchmark.
• My Piano Learning Journey : De la Maza took up piano to improve brain health and hearing. He shares the research behind the decision and how he started with a 37-key keyboard.

AI

Where I write about artificial intelligence, what it can do now, and what it means for the rest of us. I try to cut through the hype and focus on what actually matters. "Anthropic's CEO Drops the Hammer on AI's Future" covers Amodei's big statements about where AI is heading. I wrote about it because it was one of the few times a tech CEO said something that felt genuinely consequential.

• AI Girlfriends Could Melt Society : AI companionship apps offer total control and zero rejection, raising questions about what happens to real relationships as the technology matures.
• AI Boom Shortages : AI data centers are outbidding households for electricity and fixed resources. De la Maza examines who wins and who absorbs the cost of the buildout.
• Anthropic's CEO Drops the Hammer on AI's Future : Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warns of 50% job displacement, wealth concentration, and autonomous AI. De la Maza covers the key scenarios.
• How Non-Engineers Are Building the Impossible : A non-engineer built Cognac, the world's first photorealistic metaverse game. De la Maza shows what AI tools and persistence make possible today.
• The Silent Job Market Disruption : Companies now give AI the task instructions once given to human employees. De la Maza shares a legal recruitment case where the results were striking.
• Machine Learning Proof-of-Concept Algorithm in a Week : De la Maza offers a one-week ML sprint for companies with structured data: kick-off, five days of multi-model analysis, and a Python notebook on day 7.
• Your AI Kitchen Assistant : De la Maza shares the ChatGPT prompt he uses to turn fridge and pantry photos into meal suggestions, including the soup recipe the AI produced first.
• The AI Employment Crisis: A Perfect Storm of Technology and Politics : De la Maza argues unchecked AI adoption and weakened protections are building toward a mass unemployment crisis that leaders are not addressing.

Commentary

My opinions on politics, economics, and the bigger forces shaping the world. I do not pretend to be neutral here. "America's Declining Performance: The Rise of Corruption and State Violence" argues that you can predict a nation's trajectory by looking at two indicators: corruption levels and state violence. I traced the pattern and wrote what I saw.

• Tech Layoffs Continue! : Tech stocks hit all-time highs yet layoffs persist. De la Maza examines how wealth concentrates at the top and what stalled employment means.
• America's Declining Performance: The Rise of Corruption and State Violence : De la Maza examines US developments through two indicators of low-performing nations: rising corruption and escalating state violence, with examples.
• America's Trade War Miscalculation : The US-China trade war accelerated capital flight, weakened the dollar, and exposed strategy failures. De la Maza explains why it was predictable.

General

The miscellaneous stuff. Book recommendations, food predictions, and whatever else I am thinking about that does not belong in a specific category. "Book Recommendations 2025" covers a few fascinating books I have been reading, spanning historical disasters, the future of work, and personal health. I like sharing what I am reading because it usually sparks good conversations.

• The Two-Track Economy Is Making You Pay for AI : I just read an article on the Wall Street Journal: The Data-Center Boom Is Sparking a Third Wave of Inflation And guess what, the two-track economy, AI…
• Forbes Is Making a Statement About Immigrants : Michael de la Maza on Forbes running its first America's Most Successful Living Immigrants list, led by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Elon Musk.
• Five Simple Habits That Could Add 12-14 Years to Your Life : Michael de la Maza on a 2018 study that linked five habits, including a good diet and exercise, to 12 to 14 additional years of life.
• What I Teach on Day One of My Algorithmic Trading Class : De la Maza opens his trading course with a core lesson: the techniques don't work, and understanding why is the real education. Python included.
• Model Portfolio Update: Q1 Performance Review : A Q1 review of de la Maza's 40/10/50 capital-preservation portfolio, covering the holdings, the allocation logic, and benchmark comparisons.
• The Sad Job Market: 12 Months of Zero Growth : Twelve months of stalled job creation, record-high tariffs, and a fired BLS chief. De la Maza examines why the labor market has stopped producing jobs.
• My Favorite Spot for Inspiration in Boston : De la Maza shares his weekly ritual at the Boston Athenaeum, a private library and cultural center ideal for reading and quiet reflection.
• My Favorite Boston Food Spots : De la Maza recommends three Cambridge-area restaurants: Pagu (Michelin Bib Gourmand Japanese-Spanish fusion), Alamo Drafthouse, and Kin Thai Sushi.
• Model Portfolio Update: 40% Global Stocks, 10% Gold/Bitcoin, 50% Cash : De la Maza details the exact funds in his capital-preservation model portfolio and shows its five-year results against a standard 60/40 benchmark.
• Book Recommendations 2025 : De la Maza reviews recent reads on the Challenger disaster, work's future, and personal health. His top pick is Higginbotham on the 1986 explosion.
• Boston's Michelin Guide Predictions : With the Michelin Guide coming to Boston, de la Maza predicts which restaurants are most likely to earn a star, a Bib Gourmand, or a recommendation.

Life

Personal stuff. Piano, fitness, asking for what you want, and the random life lessons that hit me hard enough to write about. "My Piano Learning Journey" starts with a confession: I am generally the least interested person in music you will ever meet. So why did I start learning piano? That is what the post is about, and the answer surprised even me.

• Mysterious Drone Swarms Over US Air Force Nuclear Base: A Security Wake-Up Call : Unauthorized drones flew over Barksdale Air Force Base and military jamming failed to stop them. De la Maza covers the security implications.
• My Piano Learning Journey : De la Maza took up piano to improve brain health and hearing. He shares the research behind the decision and how he started with a 37-key keyboard.
• How I Broke the Top 25: The 3 Pillars of My Training : After reaching a top-25 world ranking in the long jump, de la Maza shares the three training principles he discussed with Olympic coach Kebba Tolbert.
• The Power of Asking : Two stories, including a Shaquille O'Neal tip, illustrate de la Maza's principle: ask and you may receive, stay silent and you definitely will not.