Jul 18, 2022
Dear Friend,
Earlier this week, we got full access to OpenAI’s DALL-E, the AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language. The results range from stunning to hilarious — it surely is a powerful glimpse into a world where AI-based systems will co-exist with human creativity. A friend asked us to generate a set of DALL-E images from prompts — not for him to use the actual image, but as stimulation for his art works.
And now, this…
Practical Futurism // Decode. Disrupt. Transform.
The implosion of pretty much the whole crypto space right this moment is often compared to the dot-com crash in 2000. Crypto believers like to reference to the implosion of crypto company after crypto company as the “crypto winter” — as to indicate that this is just a “phase” and spring is around the corner.
It is no secret that we, at be radical, have been skeptical about many of the claimed “revolutions” in the space for quite a while (NFTs anyone?!?) — but we also have a slightly different vantage point on the dot-com crash in 2000 than many of the pundits who are too young to have been around for the glorious “popping of the bubble”: We lived through it. And not just as a passive observer, but as the founders of companies which got swept up in the sudden deflation of the dot-com bubble.
And here is where the Internet in the year 2000 and today’s crypto world differs dramatically: During and after the dot-com crash, Internet usage didn’t shrink — it kept steady and then grew (exponentially). Crypto usage collapsed (and continues to do so).
That is all to say: I don’t think we have found the actual use-cases for crypto (if there are any). Time will tell… (via Pascal)
What We Are Reading
🧑💼 Build Learning into Your Employees’ Workflow Research suggests that an approach known as “learning in the flow of work” can help ensure that learners retain and apply new skills and concepts in their day-to-day workflows. Learn how your company can build programs that embrace this approach and encourage employees to learn not in the abstract, but directly in the flow of work. Jane ⇢ Read
🥵 New Climate Promises, Same Old Global Warming Corporate global warming initiatives a.k.a. fantasies, many unachievable, are more of a distraction than a promise from the present crisis. Mafe ⇢ Read
🛒 Prime Day: How Amazon became an everything company Amazon’s most important innovation was figuring out how to buy our loyalty by selling us its supply chain. Jeffrey ⇢ Read
💬 The Origin of Vibes Such a different and enjoyable read on the importance of understanding the words we use. Vibes and charisma representing alternatives to a more factual perspective. Julian ⇢ Read
🎥 ‘Frankly it blew my mind’: how Tron changed cinema – and predicted the future of techThe movie is a masterpiece — in so many more ways than just as a cinematic marvel of its time. Pascal ⇢ Read
Tidbits
🤑 A fascinating account of the way crypto’s “pump & dump” works
🔌 US electric vehicle sales about to reach the 5% tipping point
🚎 One of the key questions in AI is the trolley problem — here is a collection of (interactive) absurd trolley problems
🎭 Feeling “hangry” — it’s an actual thing
🌟 The ugly underbelly of customer reviews — 1-star extortion schemes
™️ Wondering why all brands look the same today? Wonder no more!
Internet Finds
In the “ever wondered why” series, this week we present the humble roller coaster. Why, oh why, aren’t roller coaster loops NOT circular? 🎢
In Case You Missed It
🏴☠️ The Heretic: Do One Thing
🧨 Disrupt Disruption: Last week we got to speak with Hemali Vyas from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. In our conversation, we explore (no pun!) the future of space exploration, and what companies and leaders can learn from NASA.
Radically yours, take good care, friend!
— Pascal, Mafe and the three Js (Jane, Jeffrey, and Julian)
