>interchange w02y23
Curiosities for 09 → 15 January 2023
It Makes Sense to Someone, Somewhere:
Welcome Back!
We are going to start 2023 on a positive note, as opposed to most of the doom and gloom that we regularly share:
A World Cup first: No England or Wales fans arrested in Qatar.
Surely, proof that humanity has a chance?
Also,
Is the Country Getting...Better? (← I thought so until the whole Speaker of the House thing…)
The top 100 new technology innovations of 2022.
9 Science Stories That Restore Our Faith in Humanity.
22 Things That Made the World a Better Place in 2022.
Feel better? Great! Savour it! The first headline is approaching.
TOP 5 for the Week
>01. Everyone Is Sick Right Now.
via Wired
...viruses are sweeping through young children who have no prior exposure to them and no immunity. Older people and the immunocompromised are at higher risk too. Experts aren’t recommending dropping all guards to build immunity. But they do note that social distancing and masking measures played a role in throwing other viruses off their historical patterns.
See also:
>02. Kidults are the biggest sales driver for the toy industry.
via CNBC
“The definition of adulthood has definitely evolved,” said Jeremy Padawer, chief brand officer at toy company Jazwares. “What it used to mean, to be an adult, was to be a very upstanding, serious member of society. And to do that you had to demonstrate it intellectually, emotionally, in every other single way.”
See also:
Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history.
Experts warn smart toys for children could be collecting user data that might be sold
>03. Generative AI is changing everything. But what's left when the hype is gone?
via MIT Technology Review
Creators were caught off guard, says Don Allen Stevenson III, a digital artist based in California who has worked at visual-effects studios such as DreamWorks. “For technically trained folks like myself, it’s very scary. You’re like, ‘Oh my god—that’s my whole job,’” he says. “I went into an existential crisis for the first month of using DALL-E.”
See also:
The lawsuit against Microsoft, GitHub and OpenAI that could change the rules of AI copyright.
Lensa’s A.I. avatars: The uncomfortable places their magic comes from.
>04. The rise of the 'chief remote officer'.
via BBC Worklife
In the new world of work, business needs have shifted. One of the most pertinent issues has been how to establish best practices around remote set-ups. Many companies have struggled: virtual working has been a moving target with no precedent; organisations, in some cases, have implemented hybrid or work-from-anywhere policies without formal processes in place.
See also:
Companies are cutting Zoom accounts and office space instead of jobs.
These companies ran an experiment: Pay workers their full salary to work fewer days.
>05. Artemis Is Our Ticket Out Of Here.
via Defector
Artemis boasts a distinctly human dimension, in contrast to the scales of the Webb Telescope. Artemis’s missions are measured in days, not the billion-year timeframes the JWST is studying.
See also:
Humans are going back to the Moon, and beyond – but how will we feed them?
NASA Releases Report on Policy Matters in Upcoming Moon Missions
Scientists Propose New, Faster Method of Interstellar Space Travel.
Tangents
Quote for 2023
If something looks irrational – and has been so for a long time – odds are you have a wrong definition of rationality.
Nassem Taleb
Best for the year ahead!
-Tim