The Sultans of AI

From Coding for Nothing to the Sultans of AI

Over the past few days, I have been polishing different modules of my code and making it ready for some of the ideas that had been brewing in my head over the years. While I was coding, I was listening to "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits and I remembered my first blog when I was an undergrad computer science student. Back then despite all the hardship I faced, I realized I love programming and computer science so much that I will be "Coding for Nothing" - and that blog was also inspired by another Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing"… From the outside, it seemed programming and coding was easy, but just like Hafez said …"Love seemed easy at first … but then problems appeared"…..

Write Your Own Script

Last night, I was thinking about a Naval podcast, just to remember how I am not going to build startups or view technology and AI and more importantly not to follow the standard Naval-like tech bros Silicon Valley script … on the other hand I wanted to be inspired by Mark Knopfler Songs again and my heroes like Messi and Matt Damon who wrote their own script and paved their own path in their careers (Matt Damon and Ben Aflac who were struggling actors and wrote their own roles in "Good Will Hunting" and by doing so created actor roles for themselves instead of doing auditions which were really tough to get). I was also watching Messi writing his own script at the age of 39 against Egypt's Pharaohs last night …

Give Everything That You Got

So I woke up this morning fully motivated and told myself we are the "Sultans of AI", and maybe some find our Dixieland AI amusing and might write great songs if they can buy a 1961 Fender Stratocaster … which we would love, but also don't count us out …. cuz hey we are the Sultans of AI and we don't give a damn about any VC-backed Naval-inspired GPU-stuffed startup.

But I have to code and am very busy, so I prompted ChatGPT to write me some lyrics inspired by these thoughts: Sultans of Swing and Love over Gold.

Because hey what good is a startup or AI if does not posses something sweet or it ain't got that swing….just give that rhythm and code everything that you got ….

We Are the Sultans of AI ….

Verse 1

The monitors are glowing,
Another midnight build begins.
Coffee stains on notebooks,
Dreams burning underneath our skin.

The crowd is thin this evening,
Just founders scattered through the room.
Pitch decks on the tables,
Hope hanging underneath the moon.
Outside they're chasing headlines,
The latest billion-dollar wave.
Inside we're writing futures
That tomorrow hasn't named.

Chorus

We are the Sultans...
We are the Sultans of AI.
We are the Sultans...
We are the Sultans of AI.

Verse 2

No celebrity founders,
No polished startup mythology.
No borrowed playbooks,
No worship of philosophy.
Not chasing every podcast,
Not living by the latest guide.
They're fueled by curiosity
And something deeper burning inside.

Chorus

We are the Sultans...
We are the Sultans of AI.
We are the Sultans...
We are the Sultans of AI.

Verse 3

One has meetings every morning,
A badge around his neck by nine.
Another teaches classes,
Still believes the stars align.
A third clocks out at sunset,
Then opens one more editor.
The real show starts at midnight
Where impossible gets smaller.

They're writing every chapter,
No script was handed down.
No map already drawn,
No shortcut into town.
Every commit is a promise,
Every failure buys a clue.
Every quiet little victory
Becomes a breakthrough.

Chorus

We are the Sultans...
We are the Sultans of AI.
We are the Sultans...
We are the Sultans of AI.

Bridge

The safe road never called them;
Comfort never changed the game.
They'd rather risk tomorrow
Than spend forever staying the same.

They're not Naval-inspired founders,
Nor chasing status, fame or gold.
Their currency is wonder,
Their equity is being bold.

Because it takes more than capital,
More than hype and market highs.
It takes a stubborn heart,
A restless soul, an open mind.

When every plan can crumble,
When every dream can disappear,
They build again from nothing
Without surrendering to fear.

Final Chorus

We are the Sultans...
We are the Sultans of AI.
We are the Sultans...
We are the Sultans of AI.