Data poisoning, polyamory, and dungeons

April 12, 2024

Apr 13, 2024

Welcome to this 124th issue of our newsletter “Weak Signals and other Trends”.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Data poisoning, or how to poison artificial intelligence in social networks. Tell Rufus. The problem of thinking in straight lines. Communal home buying is gaining ground among Millennials and Gen Zers. English Restaurant Uses Revolutionary Pay-What-You-Can Model. Esports lounge network True Gamers is building an island dedicated to all things esports.

Our future

The future of the global legal workforce. China’s bureaucrats turn to AI, handwriting robots to cope with official paperwork. Expendable apartments. Welcome to 2034. 2024 Digital Media Trends. 2024 AXA Foresight Report. Backup nations: countries making digital twins to mitigate natural disasters. 1 in 4 young adult Americans want to turn their side hustle into a career. Polyamory romances.

We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

Trader Joe's Is Raising Banana Prices For The First Time In 20 Years. Researchers have created the world’s fastest camera to help scientists study micro-events that happen too quickly for current sensors to capture. Quand la sobriété devient un marqueur de catégorie sociale. Alaska will use “Aurora” — a Boston Dynamics robot disguised as a coyote or fox — to scare wildlife away from the Fairbanks airport’s runways . Micro-Dramas . TikTok is recruiting nuns, ranchers, and military veterans in election-battleground states to keep the app from getting banned

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Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored Personalised futures, a chatbot that guides you through our Future Signals for 2024.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths

The future of silk. How to reduce the ethical dangers of AI-assisted farming. Your digital identity has three layers. Young workers are refusing to leave their job quietly. Why thieves love to steal razors. Geopolitics and the geometry of global trade. A Penetrating Century-Old Field Guide to Self-Possession, Mindful Perception. Dungeons & Dragons All Started In This Tiny Wisconsin Town.

Numbers

73m- AT&T said it’s investigating a data breach that led to the personal data, including Social Security numbers, of ~73m current and former customers being released on the dark web.

20- Google's email provider, Gmail, turns 20 years old

85%- An estimated 85% of the world’s population lives in areas affected by human-driven climate change.

Feeling good

Rejection letters. The introduction of debit cards. Time-specific Websites. In Amsterdam, green grocery baskets indicate shoppers are open to chatting with strangers.

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Weak signals and other trends