Lifehouses, trojan cars, and beneighboring friends.
October 4, 2024
Welcome to this 135th 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.
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I have prepared this newsletter this week from Los Angeles, USA. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.
Estelle.
Competitive Intelligence
Deepfakes, Fraudsters and Hackers Are Coming for Cybersecurity Jobs. 'Trojan Cars' is a term that perfectly sums up nationalistic concerns about sensor-rich, data-slurping vehicles. Track 38 years of satellite photos over a given area of the earth.
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.
Walmart plans to replace traditional paper price tags with electronic shelf labels. A McDonald's and Starbucks partner is being investigated for using AI to set prices. Uber is evolving into a model closer to Amazon's. Boeing’s suicide mission ( more here). A major shift at Starbucks is changing its personality. What the Microsoft Outage Reveals.
Our future
A futures canvas. South Korean researchers have developed transparent solar cells that can directly charge batteries from glass surfaces. Models of life. A tool that moderates someone's medical record ‘and makes a dynamic prediction every hour about whether that patient is likely to deteriorate in the future. Barcelona is turning subway trains into power stations.
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?
"Chrono-working," a new concept allowing employees to set work hours based on their natural sleep patterns. Save the restaurant. Researchers have genetically engineered lettuce to enhance its beta-carotene content, promoting better vision, immune function, and protection against diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer. The restaurant of mistaken orders.
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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 the Asimov Press.
On my radar
I attended this week in the pittoresque village of Chamonix in France the Summit of Minds, where I discovered the work of philosopher Christopher Wong Michaelson on the Future of Work: is your work worth it?
I am returning fro Orlando where I took part on a panel on « navigating the polycrisis ». The storm Helene had passed a few days ago through Florida, and I thought I’d share a few reflections on resilience, and the power of communities: Where Should I Live?, reminding us that while no place is truly safe from climate impacts, our resilience comes from knowing our neighbours. Becoming a person of place. Lifehouses’ – modest community hubs designed for mutual care and resource-sharing. Befriending neighbors and beneighboring friends.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.
Are We Too Impatient to Be Intelligent? Why Mars Needs a Creative Director. Algorithmic incentives have shaped the physical environment of coffeeshops, AirBnBs, and other millennial lifestyle enclosures. How to begin a creative life. The Loneliness of the American Worker. Is Technology in the Olympics a Form of Doping or a Reality of Modern Sport?.
Numbers
6253- A recent court case revealed that over a 15-year period, 6,253 cars crashed into 7-Eleven storefronts in the US. That’s an average of 1.14 per day.
40%- Within a year of London introducing a daily charge on high-polluting vehicles, 40% of children switched to walking or cycling to school
14%- Legalizing sports betting reduced American households' retail investment by 14%.
Feeling good
Surrealist diners. Most unusual pet insurance claims of the year.
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