>interchange w24y25
Curiosities for 09 -> 15 June 2025
'It Makes Sense to Someone, Somewhere'
DHS Exploring Reality TV Show Where Migrants Compete For Citizenship.
DHS is reportedly collaborating with writer and producer Rob Worsoff to develop the show called The American, in which immigrants take part in a series of challenges across the country for a shot at U.S.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin acknowledged the pitch's existence, the newspaper reported, addding "I think it's a good idea."
Maybe this gets reversed for Love Island contestants?
Top 5
01. WeightWatchers files for bankruptcy.
[For the CEO role…] Sistani was replaced by Comonte, a former chief financial officer at fast food chain Shake Shack. Its most recent earnings release in February revealed a 12% decline in members and that its $100 million in interest payments on debt is a “a significant ongoing burden for the company.
plus:
02. Fixing Chatbots Requires Psychology, Not Technology.
That’s because the root issue isn’t technological. It’s psychological. In a study of chatbot interactions, customers who engaged in identical conversations with people and chatbots reported themselves to be 8.5% less satisfied after interacting with the chatbot.
But when the chatbot’s benefits (such as “instant responses” or “available 24/7”) were explicitly highlighted and delivered, people were suddenly 37% more satisfied with the chatbot than with slower and less-available human agents.
plus:
03. AI layoffs start hitting a wide swath of Corporate America
And as the losses accumulate, a kind of ambient fear is settling in. White-collar jobs that until very recently offered a comfortable middle- or even upper-middle-class living are quietly disappearing, from copywriters and communications specialists to web designers and software developers. Even some CEOs and venture capitalists fear losing their jobs to AI.
plus:
A.I. Was Coming for Radiologists’ Jobs. So Far, They’re Just More Efficient.
Watch an AI-Generated Recruiter Make a Job Interview Even Worse.
04. Inside The Waymo Factory Building A Robotaxi Future.
The production scale is small compared to traditional auto plants that make hundreds of thousands of vehicles a year. But the 1,500 robotaxis Waymo has provide more than 250,000 paid rides a week or about 24 a day per vehicle, vastly more use than personal cars and trucks that are driven only a few times a day.
plus:
After 50 million miles, Waymos crash a lot less than human drivers.
Driverless trucks are rolling in Texas, ushering in new era.
05. The birds on Lord Howe Island are now so full of plastic, they crunch.
To witness it first-hand, it is incredibly visceral. There is now so much plastic inside the birds you can feel it on the outside of the animal when it is still alive. As you press on its belly … you hear the pieces grinding against each other.
That changes people.
plus:
‘I was watching osprey for five hours a day’: how the world fell in love with nature live streams.
What is the fish doorbell? How a livestream from the Netherlands is helping with migration.
Tangents
A.I.: I found a book about me on Amazon. It only got weirder from there.
We’re having sex inside Moby Dick! The wild architectural world of Japan’s love hotels.
Quote
Eat before shopping. If you go to the store hungry, you are likely to make unnecessary purchases.
American Heart Association Cookbook
Best for the week ahead!
-Tim