Month: June 2025

Remember when we said AI will eat software?
Turns out, we underestimated its appetite.
Because next on the menu is AI itself — and who’s doing the eating? Philosophy.

Check out our previous blog: AI Just Ate your CRM on our website

A 2,400-Year-Old Blueprint

Long before we worried about chatbots hallucinating your medical bill, Aristotle laid down a neat framework for life: SMLSR.

• Substance — it exists on its own.
• Material — made of physical stuff.
• Living — grows, reproduces.
• Sentient — feels and perceives.
• Rational — thinks about thinking.

 

A rock? Just Substance + Material.

A plant? Add Living.

A cat? Add Sentient.

A human? The full stack: Substance, Material, Living, Sentient, Rational.

Aristotle called rationality the soul’s unique gift — our edge over every other beast.

Today? We’ve built machines that can fake Sentience frighteningly well. But true Rationality? That still sits squarely in the human corner.

Viral post asking Chat GPT to simulate being human for a day. Surprisingly well-written and touching. Sentience checks out.

The Big Myth: More Compute Solves Everything

Most companies still treat AI as an engineering puzzle:
More data. Bigger models. Faster chips.

But that’s like pouring rocket fuel into a car with no steering wheel. You don’t just get there faster — you crash harder.

Here’s the truth: All AI is biased.
Bias isn’t a glitch — it’s a choice. It’s in the data we feed it, the trade-offs we hard-code, the outcomes we reward.

As code increasingly governs what we see, buy, believe, and trust, the values embedded in that code shape everything.

What gets rewarded.
What gets suppressed.
Who profits. Who’s left behind.

This isn’t an IT problem — it’s a philosophical one.

Patterns Are Not Purpose

AI today is brilliant at one thing: spotting patterns.
It predicts the next word, the next pixel, the next move — with staggering accuracy.

But should it?
What patterns matter? Which truths do we protect? When does convenience trump accuracy, or vice versa?

These aren’t engineering questions. They’re moral ones.

MIT’s Michael Schrage and David Kiron say this shift is a battle between bounded rationality and bounded patterns. Generative AI doesn’t deduce like a philosopher — it imitates. When conflicting goals collide? It buckles.

Bright minds in MIT have already been researching this topic.

Michael Schrage is a research fellow with the MIT Sloan School of Management’s Initiative on the Digital Economy

David Kiron is the editorial director and researcher of MIT Sloan Management Review and program lead for its Big Ideas research initiatives.

Google Gemini serves as a cautionary tale.

In early 2024 the model began adding forced diversity to historically specific prompts—think Black Vikings or an Asian officer in a WWII German uniform. Two worthy aims, accuracy and inclusion, collided with no hierarchy to resolve the tension. The backlash, apology, and shutdown that followed are what ethicists have dubbed “teleological confusion.”

Patterns only matter when they serve a purpose—and purpose is a philosophical choice.

Some examples of brands we’ve seen here in Indonesia and abroad who nail this mission first thinking:

 

• Sahabat-AI | GoTo & Indosat

The ecosystem that leverages across tech, telco, media, and governmental support

GoTo’s President of On-Demand Services, Catherine Hindra Sutjahyo showcasing the use cases of Sahabat-AI

Indonesia’s GoTo and Indosat teamed up in late 2024 to launch Sahabat-AI — an open-source large language model crafted specifically for Bahasa Indonesia and regional dialects like Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, and Bataknese.

Its mission is clear: strengthen Indonesia’s digital sovereignty and make advanced AI genuinely useful for everyone, not just the urban tech crowd.

By weaving in local language and cultural cues, Sahabat-AI can power everything from chatbots in e-commerce apps to educational tools in rural schools — all in the words people actually use at home. So when the model faces a choice — generic global answer or locally meaningful response — its purpose keeps it grounded in community relevance and trust.

 

• Spotify | AI DJ (Voice-Request upgrade, May 2025)

Spotify’s AI DJ just got a serious upgrade: it now handles voice requests like “Play underground ’70s disco” or “Give me energizing beats for my afternoon slump.” This is more than a novelty — it lives up to Spotify’s north star to “connect fans and artists” and “soundtrack every moment.”

When deciding between obvious hits and hidden gems, the algorithm resolves the tension by favoring discovery and artist exposure over mindless autoplay loops. Listeners say it feels like having a friend who knows your taste and surprises you — because the AI’s purpose demands more than just maximizing screen time.

Purpose is the quiet super-prompt. When it’s crystal clear, AI knows how to act when objectives collide. Leave it fuzzy and you risk becoming the next Gemini-style headline.

Alignment Starts at Zero: A New Society Needs New Ground Rules

Most firms bolt on “AI alignment” after they ship the model. That’s like teaching ethics to a lion after you’ve set it loose in a daycare.

If AI is this powerful, the real question isn’t can it do X?

It’s should it?

And according to whose values?

We’re not just living in an AI age — we’re living in a world where code quietly does what kings once did: it governs.

But code is invisible. So we have to ask:
Whose rules? Whose benefit? Whose blind spots?

This is why a “Responsible AI” team alone won’t save you. You need explicit commitment to:

✅ Understand the real stakes: AI won’t wait for committees to catch up.
✅ Guide it early: aim it at causes aligned with human flourishing.
✅ Build responsibly: every company owning a model should own its moral assumptions too.

One Callback to Our Last Thesis

In AI Eats Software, we said smart interfaces would wipe out clunky dashboards. But as AI replaces software’s role as the worker, trust becomes the real moat.

Power is shifting from visible tools to invisible thinking. When power shifts — central to distributed — the only anchor left is trust in the values behind the code.

What Leaders Should Really Be Doing

Good AI doesn’t just run tasks — it carries your worldview.

So map it:

• What does your AI know? (Epistemology)
• How does it label the world? (Ontology)
• Why does it do what it does? (Teleology)

Schrage calls this responsibility mapping. We call it good sense in an age of self-writing code.

Final Thought: The Last R Still Belongs to Us

Aristotle gave us a map: from rocks to cats to humans — and that final jump: Rationality.

We’ve taught machines to mimic the living and the sentient. Next up is mimicking Reason. But real Reason isn’t just data. It’s values. Trade-offs. Choosing what matters.

So before you brag about your next trillion-parameter model — check if it has a soul. Or at least a philosophical backbone.

Software ate the world.
AI ate software.
And now?
Philosophy will eat AI.

Better feed it wisely — or risk being dinner yourself.

 

Tara Mulia

Admin heyokha

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Picture this:
You’re at a noisy arcade like Timezone or Funworld in one of Jakarta’s malls lured by the flashing lights, blaring music, and a dose of nostalgia.

You swap a crisp Rp100,000 note for a plastic game card loaded with digital credits. (When I was younger, we used physical coin tokens and you had to wear pants with pockets deep enough to carry them)

Kid-friendly Vegas

You lose half in a rigged claw machine. A quarter to classic Tekken. And the rest for 7 minutes on a Dance Dance Revolution machine, feet flailing. You tap out, breathless, and redeem your hard-earned tickets — only to realize they get you exactly one pen that barely writes.

 

Did you just waste your money? Maybe.

But notice this: you trusted digital tokens over paper cash because inside the arcade, tokens are simpler, faster, and universally accepted.

Stablecoins are the arcade tokens of today’s global economy — but they don’t stay inside the arcade. They cross borders, never close, and quietly fix the pain points your bank still pretends are normal.

A Fix Hiding in Plain Sight

For all the hype around crypto moons and meme coins, stablecoins solve something far more boring — and therefore, more durable.

They answer a practical question:

How do you move dollars at internet speed, with blockchain-level transparency, and no wire fees or banker’s lunch break in the way?

They’re not here to replace money.

They’re here to upgrade money’s plumbing.

This Is Not a Revolution. It’s an Evolution.

If you look closer, stablecoins echo the big shifts we see playing out worldwide:

De-globalization? When trade routes get political and supply chains come home, people look for new rails to keep money moving, cheaply and discreetly.

De-dollarization? When countries fear dollar-based sanctions, stablecoins become a side door: a shadow dollar that’s programmable and borderless.

Decentralization? When trust in big intermediaries fades, people put faith in math. A blockchain ledger, open to all, beats a bank vault open 9–5.

Stablecoins quietly ride all three currents. They’re not protest coins or Ponzi bets. They’re pragmatic bridges from old pipes to new flows.

Why Use Them? Let’s Talk Chips

In Vegas, nobody slaps a hundred-dollar bill on the blackjack table. You use chips — faster, uniform, cashable anytime.

Heyokha Movie Favorites: “The Big Short” – specifically the scene with Selena Gomez explaining how CDOs work using the game of poker

Stablecoins? Same idea — except the casino is the global financial system.

Want to lend, borrow, or earn yield in crypto? You don’t wire money to some shady middleman. You park stablecoins on a blockchain app — better known as DeFi (short for Decentralized Finance). DeFi is just your local bank’s back office — minus the marble lobby and surly tellers.

Stablecoins make DeFi run smoothly:

• Programmable, so smart contracts do the paperwork.
• Redeemable, so trust is collateralised — real dollars and Treasuries sit behind them, verified by auditors.
• Global, so they ignore time zones and national borders.

Poker chips work because the casino cage redeems them at face value.

Stablecoins work because trustworthy issuers (like Circle’s USDC) guarantee that for every token minted, a real dollar or Treasury bill sits safely somewhere, verified by auditors.

Break that trust (hello, Terra Luna), and the market teaches a swift lesson.

Real World, Real Money

Here’s the kicker:

Tether, the biggest stablecoin, moves ~$100 billion daily, with ~90% of that volume living in emerging markets where people trust crypto dollars more than their own banks.

And this product? It’s now the backbone for tokenized Treasuries, DeFi lending, and cross-border paychecks — areas where “fast money” used to mean “expensive wires.”

  

Stablecoins rapidly becoming mainstream- in banking, groceries, and even in gaming!

When crypto kids sniff out an edge, that’s fun.

When Stripe, Visa, JPMorgan, and Citi sniff it too — you pay attention.

• Stripe scooped up Bridge for stablecoin rails and Privy for embedded wallets — so any dev can build instant crypto payments in five clicks.
• Visa & Mastercard pilot stablecoin settlement to cut costly FX loops.
• Big banks, once dismissive, now quietly sketch joint stablecoins to keep cross-border clients from drifting DeFi-ward.

It’s a game of keep-up. And the chips are stablecoins.

Old ETFs, New Tokens

Here’s your granddad’s way:

• Buy a Treasury ETF.
• Wait two days for settlement.
• Wait a month for yield.

The new way:

• Swap stablecoins for a tokenized Treasury.
• Yield streams daily.
• Cash out whenever, globally.

Franklin Templeton, the global investment firm? Doing it.

Stripe? Enabling it.

Next? Everyone who hates wire fees.

Final Thought: Chips at a Global Table

Odds you win that claw machine: 1 in 15.

Odds your bank wires your money on time: about the same on a public holiday.

Stablecoins skip both — they just work. They’re the chips on every table — Vegas or Jakarta — letting players bet, cash out, and stay liquid without asking permission.

Stablecoins won’t make you trust fiat again if you ever have doubts, but they might make you trust finance again.

No waiting room. No middleman. No banker asking what the funds are for.

Just verified, auditable, programmable value.

And maybe—just maybe—a new global monetary layer that’s not backed by belief in governments, but by math.

We don’t know if stablecoins will go to the moon, but they might build the bridge to the future.

 

Tara Mulia and Simon Chan

Admin heyokha

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Loneliness, Third Spaces, and Why Pets Are Quietly Taking Over the Economy

Last weekend at a pet shop, we stumbled upon a towering display of prams—not for babies, but for dogs. Yes, dogs. Each stroller more stylish and padded than the next.

And it made us wonder: the next time you see someone pushing a stroller down the street, will you coo at a baby—or be met with the panting snout of a Pomeranian named Mochi?

Not a shocker, really. In a world where third spaces are increasingly rare and the cost of raising a child has skyrocketed, many are turning to pets for connection, purpose, and companionship.

Welcome to the Micro-Connection Era. And no, we’re not surprised.

The Loneliest Generation? We’ve Seen This Coming

We’ve never been more connected. And never felt more alone.

According to a 2023 Harris Poll, nearly 80% of Americans would choose a completely in-person social life over a digital-only one. Globally, governments are responding with white papers, ministers of loneliness, and social strategies. Investors might want to respond too.

Because loneliness? That’s a market signal.

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg once coined the term “third places”—places outside of home and work where people gather. Coffee shops, gyms, parks, padel courts.

Now, we’re seeing the evolution: “fourth places.” Book clubs. Pottery meetups. Padel groups. According to Eventbrite’s 2023 survey, 73% of 18–35 year olds plan to attend in-person events soon. Even better? 85% of those who already did said they made a close friend.

It’s clear. Gen Z and Millennials don’t just want community. They’re building it. But when they can’t find it?

They adopt it. Fur, paws, and all.

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Previously on Heyokha…

Remember our deep dive into the Microjoy Economy—where small, emotionally potent purchases like Labubu toys reflected a shift from macro-consumption to micro-splurges? Consider this the sequel. And yes, we still believe in the power of joy per Rupiah.

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Pets: The New Social Infrastructure

When you can’t find a third space, a third species will do.

According to a 2023 OnePoll survey for Synchrony:

• 41% of Gen Z would rather spend $100 on their pet than their partner.
• 36% of Gen Z say they get more joy from seeing their pet happy than their partner.
• 42% would skip vacations to save for surprise pet costs.
• 45% would give up eating out for a year in exchange for free pet care.
• Nearly half of millennials would sleep outside in the snow if it meant their pet could live one more year.

We are not joking. But we are impressed.

And let’s talk money. Synchrony estimates that the total cost of raising a dog over a lifetime can range between $20,000 and $55,000. For cats, it’s $15,000–$46,000. In an era where human babies feel financially impossible, pets are stepping into the emotional—and budgetary—void.

Babies? Maybe Not. But Definitely a Beagle.

According to Pew Research, 47% of young U.S. adults now say they’re unlikely to have children. Why? Top reasons include:

• It’s too expensive.
• The world feels unstable.
• Honestly, they just don’t want to.

So what do they want instead?

• Something cuddly.
• Something emotionally validating.
• Something you can name after your favorite drinks or dessert without much judgement.

Hence: the fur baby boom.

In fact, Gen Z spends an average of $178/month on their pets, according to Lemonade the insurance company (2024). That’s nearly $90/month more than Boomers. Over a pet’s lifetime, that translates into luxury-brand-level spending.

And all this love for pets? It’s also changing the labor market. According to Indeed’s 2025 Best Jobs list, veterinarian is now the #1 job in America. Job postings for vets rose 124% between 2021 and 2024.

Even our career aspirations are going to the dogs. Literally.

Indonesia Is Right On Cue

In Indonesia, malls have gone from “no pets allowed” to rolling out red carpets for fur babies. Major shopping centers now provide pet-access zones, dedicated parks, hydration corners, and yes—boutique grooming services inside the mall.

 

And if you’re still wondering whether pets have made it into the mainstream, just ask Bobby.

Yes, President Prabowo’s cat Bobby is arguably the most influential feline in the country. With over 1 million Instagram followers, Bobby doesn’t just sit pretty—he rolls up to events in a customized Rp6.5 million stroller (equivalent to $400 USD), flanked by a full security detail. And when Bobby made a public appearance, even Bill Gates showed up to meet him.

1 million fans for the feline. We weren’t kidding about Bill Gates. He even gifted Bobby a whale plush toy.

Bobby rolling into Jakarta’s Pet Fest as an honorary guest, decked out in his custom stroller equipped with an iPad. Bobby is so popular he has a Wikipedia.

The message is clear: in Indonesia, fur babies aren’t just welcome. They’re VIPs.

Indonesia’s digitally native, pet-loving population makes it fertile ground for this shift. Pets, once confined to the home, are now part of the daily fabric of urban leisure—and even statecraft, apparently.

Investor Implications: It’s a Fur-Midable Market

Some might brush this off as fluff. But don’t let the tiny sweaters and diamond-studded scratching posts fool you.

This is a market.

And it’s a sticky one. Pets don’t get cheaper as they age. They get more expensive. And pet owners? They’re loyal. More loyal than… well, most customers in any other vertical.

The winners in this space will be:

• Platforms that combine quality with personalization
• Brands that offer emotional ROI, not just calories
• Services that integrate grooming, vet care, and wellness under one app, one brand, one leash

And as traditional third spaces evolve—or vanish—brands that can become proxy communities will capture not just wallets, but hearts.

In a time when people are skipping weddings, deferring mortgages, and swiping right less often than they’re checking their dog’s calorie tracker, one thing is clear:

This isn’t just a lifestyle shift. It’s a portfolio opportunity.

So the next time you pass a stroller on the street, don’t assume it’s a baby in that stroller.
It could be your next growth driver—covered in fur, drool, and a Gucci harness.

 

Tara Mulia

Admin heyokha

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Salon in a high premium mall in Central Jakarta. 1pm on Saturday. I should be seeing the last chair being fought over at this point

The salon was empty. On a weekend.

So empty, in fact, that they started offering happy hour promos on a Saturday—a time usually reserved for weddings, reunions, and revenge glow-ups.

When I asked the staff what was going on, she shared: “It’s only busy now during weekday lunch… and it’s mostly just shampoo and blow-dry. No more exclusive packages.”

Doth my eyes deceive me? Monday TO Sunday??

If the best indicator of consumer confidence could be measure by our hair, then it seems the mood has shifted from “treat yourself” to “just trim the split ends”.

On the ground, we’ve also seen another curious signal: a cigarette ad promising: “40% longer lasting.” It’s a strange pitch, but a telling one. The message isn’t about taste or image. It’s about duration.

In other words: We know you’re saving. Let us help you savor

These are not just quirky moments. They are hints of how people are recalibrating their spending.

Some data points:

• Eid holiday travel dropped 24%.
• Ramadan’s usual consumption boost never materialized.
• Sales growth for food, beverage, and tobacco? Just 1.3%—down from 7.5% last year.
• Fuel consumption dipped 1.1% during Eid.
• Debit card transactions declined 4%, while credit card growth slowed notably.

But this isn’t a tale of retreat. It’s one of reinvention.

This is Global

Look beyond Indonesia and you’ll see the same trend lines forming.

In the U.S., credit card delinquencies are creeping toward pandemic-era highs. Klarna—the “Buy Now, Pay Later” poster child—saw its losses double. Nearly half of its users paid late last year; a quarter used it for groceries.

Source: The New York Times

Consumption persists, yes—but often at the cost of savings and future spending. The mood isn’t “fear,” it’s focus. On essentials, on efficiency, and yes—on small, meaningful indulgences.

The Labubu Logic: Why Small Splurges are Big Business

We’re not seeing the end of spending—we’re seeing the evolution of how people choose to spend.

From flashy, high-ticket purchases to lower-cost, higher-yield experiences. From conspicuous consumption to curated comfort.

Because when the future feels hazy, people hold tight to the small things they can control: a quick treat, a satisfying purchase, a moment of delight.

Somewhere between coping and collecting, Labubu Version 3 dropped. With its ombré sparkle and limited availability, it sold out instantly. For many, it wasn’t just a toy—it was a moment of joy, a small win in a time when big wins feel delayed.

Labubu is more than a figurine. It’s the mascot of the Microjoy Economy.

Labubu fans flying to Singapore to get the “Merbubu” exclusive collection. In the UK, some stores had to pause selling because the crowds got too intense

If you squint past the glitter, you’ll see something quietly profound: even when wallets tighten, the need for joy doesn’t disappear. It just finds smaller vessels.

This isn’t irrational. It’s adaptive. A concept economists once called the Lipstick Index—resilient demand for small luxuries during downturns—now has a Gen Z upgrade. Call it Lipstick 2.0 or the Microjoy Index:

• Boba tea over Birkin bags
• a cold whisked matcha over Gucci
• Labubu over long-term planning

These aren’t just trends. They’re emotional hedges. Consumers are engineering their own sense of resilience through affordable indulgence, building a decentralized joy system from the bottom up.

Because when control over the macro feels distant, taking command over a tiny purchase—or ripping open a mystery box—feels like reclaiming something. You can say it’s hedonic risk management with a splash of TikTok sparkle.

Indonesia is Built for This Moment: The Story of Ci Mehong

Indonesia’s consumption culture and demographics make it a prime landscape for this trend:

• Young, mobile-first population
• Familiarity with digital scarcity (e.g. flash sales, hype drops)
• Cultural lean-in to collecting, limited editions, and bite-sized luxury

Rather than pulling back, many consumers are simply changing course with GJP (Gross Joy Product) is rising towards purchases that feel more personal, rewarding, and shareable.

Take Ci Mehong, the viral entrepreneur behind PIK Baking House.

She started with holding baking classes. Then she pivoted—fast. Now she sells premium snacks (think bika ambon and lapis legit), imported fruit, even exclusive cemetery land. All infused with her trademark spunky attitude.

Her secret? Presence. Daily videos, viral challenges, and a direct connection to 700K+ loyal followers. She built not just a product line, but a culture of inclusiveness. A space where high prices feel less intimidating when delivered with flair.

And it works. Not in spite of the times, but because of them. Her success story exemplifies how innovation and adaptability can thrive, even in challenging economic times.

Her secret recipe? Videos of her doing various viral challenges like toppling buckets of butter, daily home cooking and dress shopping achieving that “casual relatable feel” whilst keeping her sassy attitude

Final Thought: Small is the New Smart

We began this story in a salon—eerily quiet on a Saturday.

We passed a cigarette ad selling longevity over luxury.

We ended up with a glittering goblin-like toy named Labubu, a reminder that joy doesn’t have to be expensive—it just needs to be engineered right.

The consumer hasn’t disappeared. They’ve just reallocated.

From splurging on big-ticket aspirations… to investing in small, high-yield feelings.

For investors, this is a map—pointing toward the companies that understand the moment:
✅ Those that package presence, not just product.
✅ Those that master scarcity and storytelling, not just shelf space.
✅ Those that live natively in mobile culture, where virality converts faster than footfall.

This isn’t a downturn. It’s a design brief.

The next wave of winners won’t be those who wait for a rebound in old spending habits—
But those who ride the microjoy wave with precision, playfulness, and presence.

 

Tara Mulia

Admin heyokha

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