Welcome to this 91st issue of our newsletter “Weak Signals and other Trends”. Each week, I 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 understanding who is reading.
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I am sending this newsletter this Friday from Lyon, France. This is what I noticed this week. Thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.
Estelle.
Competitive Intelligence
A study of lights at night suggests dictators lie about economic growth. Better search. CEOs forced to ditch decades of forecasting habits. 8 tools to help find, read and analyze research papers. Interactive media biases chart. Retrieve information linked to an email address. Boards of Directors.
We have scheduled the dates for 2023 for our courses. “Advanced Search Techniques for Competitive and Customer Intelligence” will be offered on March 29, 2023. Registrations are now open.
Strategic blindspots
Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots.
The opportunities: Imagine Everything That Could Go Wrong. Amazon plans to eventually 'go big' on physical grocery stores. These are the next 6 industries that are ripe for tech disruption. Starlink’s testing a ‘Global Roaming’ internet service. Subway plans electric car charging "oasis". Zoom in your Benz. Deepfake dangers ahead. Wall Street is a ChatGPT skeptic . Generative AI's money game.
… and the risks: China’s local governments are struggling to pay their bills. The care crisis ( check out my article about The Imagination Gap here…). Deep sea mining is coming.
Our future
A mood-oriented workspace. Public views on polygenic screening of embryos. 2023 Predictions—the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. 9 scenarios for the future of flight. Algorithms may increasingly help in making layoff decisions. Is polycrisis the word of the time? Saudi Arabia wants to build a gigantic hollow-cube skyscraper that will house holographic worlds. Silicon sampling. Artificial urban islands could supply homes in Maldives as waters rise. This bionic finger uses touch to “see” inside human tissue. The new world of disorder.
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?
A new study outlines a shadowy industry built on buying and selling patients’ personal mental health data. A company filed a patent for “projection on a vehicle window. Starbucks filed a patent for a machine to help make those complex TikTok drinks. The sabotaged codes. Les mains de mamie. Fractional executives. Flexible speakers. The 911 drones. This state has an official aroma. AI-Created Images Aren’t Protected By Copyright Law According To U.S. Copyright Office. India shut down Internet 84 times last year. A German circus swapped real animals with 3D holograms. Eli Lilly cuts insulin costs.
Down the rabbit hole
This section highlights a subject that lead 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 discovered the archives of In Your Time.
On my radar
I contributed to Noémie’s newletter on the future of work this week ( I am a fan). One of my colleagues in that article is mentioning the rise of « feel tanks ».
This matched research I am doing now on how what employees will need in 2023 and beyond, and how employers need to strengthen empathy, authenticity and human touch: I will be keynoting the Annual Assembly of Co-operators in April, a Canadian-owned cooperative on the theme « This is Our Time ». Members include co-operatives and credit union centrals. From communities across the country, they represent a variety of sectors, including agriculture, finance, service, retail/consumer, health and labour.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths
Chew over the prisoner’s dilemma . How K-pop stans are shaping elections around the globe. The maze is in the mouse at Google. Climate boundaries. Ranking the countries with the longest healthy retirements. Walking Zelda, an ode to videogames. A well-done visualization of rising seas and coastal erosion in Senegal. Many Strategies Fail Because They’re Not Actually Strategies.
I like new words. This week, I discovered tsundoku.
Numbers
3.4- Last year 3.4 million adults in the U.S. were at one point or another forced to evacuate their homes due to a national disaster
1400- number of third parties Kroger is selling your information to.
42%- A record 42% of desk workers recently surveyed by Future Forum reported feeling burned out
Feeling good
Music Playlists for Board Games. Curated streams on contemporary culture. 7000 islands. Scribble diffusion. A museum of sounds. A formula generator.
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