Shadowbanning, NEETs, and blue intelligence

September 6, 2024

Sep 06, 2024

Welcome to this 133rd 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.

Competitive Intelligence

The atlas of surveillance. African farmers are using private satellite data to improve crop yields. The emerging role of AI in Open Intelligence. Blue Intelligence.

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.

Down and Scaling Up. Ikea takes on Craigslist with classifieds site for its used furniture. How a Notebook Conquered the Digital Era. Noone is ready for this: Our basic assumptions about photos capturing reality are about to go up in smoke. Why lab-grown and lab-made diamonds are now better than natural diamonds in every way, plus cheaper. Dynamic pricing, driven by technologies like electronic shelf labels, is growing. How can banks adapt to the growth of private credit?

Our future

NASA is building the first telescope designed for planetary defence. The homework apocalypse. Meet the NEETs: not in employment, education, or training. Several companies are developing earbuds to be the next identity verification tool. AI-DOL's autonomous virtual beings offer round-the-clock livestreams, surpassing human capabilities. Population decline should be managed, not solved.

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?

Tik-Tok euphemisms. The For-Profit City That Might Come Crashing Down. Y Combinator backs its first defense startup, Ares Industries. Demand, destroyed. AI Garage Sale stands out, allowing shoppers to negotiate prices directly with AI. In Indonesia, renting a companion for various activities, such as talking until one falls asleep, shopping, or hanging out, has become popular. Hidden algorithms to rate workers, allowing companies to control them without transparency or explanation.

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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 Futures Canvas.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

The strange and turbulent global world of ant geopolitics.The Slow-Burn Nightmare of the National Public Data Breach. MIT released a database of known AI risks categorized by cause and domain. Policy ideas for a healthier America. What you will find if you go into one of the world’s materials libraries. Grass or turf.

Numbers

1/2- Battery prices have fallen by more than half in just 18 months.

1950- Every country in the world has a lower fertility rate now than in 1950.

0.5%- researchers found that today 0.48% of the human brain is made up of micro and nano plastic particles.

Feeling good

Terrible charts. Air traffic control feeds. No borders. Wanda whirl.

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Weak signals and other trends