This week on the Konvoy Newsletter audio edition, host Jason Chapman explores the U.S. Navy’s mounting challenge: maintaining maritime dominance as China’s shipbuilding juggernaut accelerates. With China projected to surpass the U.S. in naval combat power by 2027, Josh unpacks why this looming crossover point matters—and how the Navy is responding by overhauling its strategy, force structure, and talent pipeline.

From industrial decline to robotic resurgence, Jason traces the Navy’s transformation from traditional capital ships to a new “Hybrid Fleet” of unmanned vessels operated by a digitally native, gamer-trained workforce. As warfighting increasingly resembles gaming, the Navy is betting that the next generation of sailors—raised on consoles and virtual strategy—will be its competitive edge in a high-tech future.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why the U.S. shipbuilding base collapsed—and what’s being done to revive it
• How China’s naval growth threatens U.S. power projection in the Pacific
• Why the Navy is shifting to autonomous surface and underwater drones
• How Xbox controllers, gaming skills, and digital interfaces are redefining military training
• What the $1B+ “Replicator” program signals about the future of robotic warfare
• Where new opportunities lie in defense tech, dual-use infrastructure, and unmanned systems

Whether you’re tracking defense trends, investing in dual-use tech, or curious about how gaming intersects with military innovation, this episode offers a sharp look at the high-stakes transformation underway in the U.S. Navy.

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This week on the Konvoy Newsletter audio edition, host Josh Chapman digs into the growing movement toward privacy, control, and hyper-secure infrastructure inside the home — a trend fueled by AI, smart devices, and rising distrust in cloud-based systems. As more of our daily lives become mediated by connected technology, Josh explores why consumers are beginning to rethink what they share, who they trust, and how much control they want over their digital environments.

Josh breaks down the concept of the “air-gapped home” and examines the forces pushing people toward self-hosting, local AI, and more secure home networks. From DIY home automation enthusiasts to mainstream creators evangelizing self-hosted stacks, this episode looks at how privacy concerns, subscription fatigue, and Big Tech frustration are converging into a broader shift toward local control.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why cameras and computer-vision devices are becoming the next battleground for home privacy
• How “home hackers” are using self-hosted servers, VLANs, and local AI models to build secure, customizable home systems
• Why Big Tech fatigue, subscription overload, and recent cloud outages are accelerating demand for locally controlled solutions
• How open-source AI and better tooling are making self-hosting accessible to non-technical users
• Where new opportunities lie for companies building privacy-centric smart home platforms, local-compute devices, and turnkey self-hosted solutions
• Why the next generation of home automation may prioritize trust, transparency, and user control over convenience alone

Whether you’re curious about the future of smart homes, watching shifts in consumer trust, or tracking how privacy concerns are reshaping technology adoption, this episode offers a grounded look at the forces driving the move toward more secure, self-directed digital living.

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This week on the Konvoy Newsletter audio edition, host Jason Chapman breaks down one of the biggest questions in modern robotics: will the future be driven by generalized humanoid robots or specialized task-specific machines? With companies like Tesla and 1x pushing toward adaptable humanlike robots and long-proven systems like Roomba, Kiva, and TUG excelling at narrow functions, the industry is split between broad ambition and focused efficiency.

Jason explores how humanoids promise versatility and real-world learning at scale, yet face hurdles in cost, complexity, privacy, and reliability. He contrasts this with specialized robots that already deliver consistent value today through simplicity, precision, lower maintenance, and safer operation. The episode also touches on benchmarking standards and why evaluating robotics performance remains challenging for consumers and enterprises alike.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why humanoid robots are gaining momentum and where their greatest limitations lie

• How specialized robots have achieved widespread adoption across homes, healthcare, logistics, and industrial workflows

• The trade-offs between universal adaptability and task-specific efficiency

• How economies of scale could influence long-term cost curves for humanoids

• Why stronger benchmarking frameworks are essential for evaluating real-world performance

• Konvoy’s view on why specialized robots will likely maintain an advantage over the next decade

Whether you’re building in robotics, investing in automation, or curious about how AI and hardware are reshaping daily life, this episode offers a grounded look at the opportunities and constraints driving the next wave of intelligent machines.

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