Percussive city, space advertising, and robot-nannies
March 28, 2025
Welcome to this 151st 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 Montreal, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.
Estelle.
Competitive Intelligence
Beijing is withholding approval on BYD’s plans to build a factory in Mexico because of fears that the Chinese electric carmaker’s technology could be leaked to the U.S. 15 competitive intelligence tools for marketers. How grocery shopping data is unlocking financial inclusion. 7 Web Scraping Use Cases For Alternative Data In Finance.
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.
The US businesses still using typewriters. Customers have limited recourse to prevent their DNA from being rehomed to the highest bidder. Napster is getting a second shot at relevance, turning the brand into a hub for metaverse-style digital concerts. H&M is jumping into the world of AI by creating “digital twins” of its models that the talent will fully control. The weird logic of modern failures. Tesla got the green light to operate a taxi service in California. Cruises are buying private islands to shake up the nautical tourism industry.
Our future
Megatrending 2025. Is Technology in the Olympics a Form of Doping or a Reality of Modern Sport? The Future of Jobs 2025. Parents Will One Day Rely On Robot-Nannies, Says Futurist Faith Popcorn. Generative AI in healthcare.
We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter and Bluesky.
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?
Foodtech startup Savor made butter out of recycled methane and CO2. DoorDash will let users buy now, pay later for fast food. Astronauts Are Leading The Quest To Prevent Space Advertising From Filling the Sky. A collection of vintage suitcases that are covered in dents and scratches, old stickers, and luggage tags. “100 Days of Culture Bites”. Alternative news in India. Typewriters interviews.
Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.
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 Information is Beautiful awards..
Unpacking AI
This is a new section. Clients have asked me to dig into the impact of AI for their organization, industry, or their own work. I will add in this sections tools, or angles of interpretation that I find relevant to our community of curious minds:
Houmify is streamlining home management to find trusted service professionals, answer complex questions, and offer actionable advice. Norwegian robotics startup 1X announced that it’ll start testing its humanoid robot in private homes by the end of the year. All the cool robots.
On our radar
I have developed a new course module for boards in 2025 ( integrated into this certification program), to explore how boards of directors provide oversight of AI initiatives and strategy. I facilitate, among other topics, Director’s dilemna discussions around the ethical guidelines. As I am in parallel running those sessions for a number of financial institutions’ boards, I researched that subject further: Credit scores still key as auto lenders look to alternative data. Responsible use of Technology (=alternative data) in Credit reporting. Shanghai Commercial Bank bets on alternative data to serve Hong Kong SMEs. Does Alternative Data Offer A Path Forward Amid Eroding Credit Data? TransUnion Introduces TruVision Alternative Bank Risk Score to Help Lenders Better Assess Consumers with Limited Credit Histories. AI and Credit Scoring: Revolutionizing Risk Assessment in Lending.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.
How car companies choose auto names. The pen that became a symbol of France. Chopstick Sleeves as Emissaries of Japanese Typography and Culture. Heavy chatbot usage is correlated with loneliness and reduced socialization. Innovation vs creativity.
Numbers
42% - number of companies who are scrapping AI initiatives
45%- Signal secured a 45% increase in downloads in the US and a 42% increase in Yemen after the story broke that top Trump officials used the platform to plan a military operation.
Feeling good
Percussive city. Global TVs. An auction of science-fiction props. A lullaby machine. Two hundred things an architect should know. Owls in towels.
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