In 1983, a cognitive psychologist named Lisanne Bainbridge published a four-page paper in an engineering journal that almost nobody outside her field has ever read. It concerned the automation of industrial processes: nuclear plants, chemical refineries, flight decks. Its tone was measured, almost dry but it would prove to be unerringly prophetic for the predicament we now find ourselves in. - Carl Hendrick

• People: Hollywood gigs drying up — actors now playing fake patients in real hospitals. Buying the island you live on. Possibilities litteracy.

• Office: Sundays are the new Mondays: 5% of US white-collar workers now log on weekends, averaging 5.5 hours. 275 distractions per day in the office — an interruption every two minutes. Only 32% of leaders implement change on time; 79% of employees don’t trust their org to change at all.

• Planet: The solar supercycle: at 3¢/kWh, desalination stops being a luxury. Some roots.

• Foresight: Four scenarios for the future of smart rings. Swarm biotactics. Embryo scoring. Researchers who can engineer your dreams. PokemonGo outsourcing, ofc.

• Random: Censored words finding refuge inside Minecraft. Are reading rooms the new clubs? Gen Z “corporate girlies” taking over TikTok. The pleasures of poor product design.

• AI: Brain fry. Intensification of work. Ironies of automation.

Roots of Rebellion

The office complex of NexusCorp sprawled like a forgotten land of postmodern misery, crammed beneath an inclement sky that threatened rain like a moody teenager with a tendency for melodrama. Inside, employees were diligently working the infamous ‘996 schedule’, a phenomenon aptly named for its debilitating effect on mental health and social life, akin to a treadmill that only sped up as one tried to step off it.*^1

In a soft corner of this workplace jungle, a lone employee, Jamie—who could have been anyone, really—sat still amidst his virtual colleagues, fiddling with a device called the ‘Brain Optimizator 2000’. It was a rather unholy mix of a smartphone and an AI, designed to enhance productivity through motivational memes and occasional existential crises. “Manage your distractions,” it chirped, “or at least pretend to!” Jamie sighed; he was sure that the AI had a sense of humor rivaled only by the office printer’s stubbornness.

Meanwhile, across the ocean, the Scottish isle of Eigg had undergone a metamorphosis that placed NexusCorp’s dreary offices on a different plane of existence. The community had wrested control from the clutches of apathetic landlords, morphing their island into a flourishing hub of sustainable energy and shared resources, proving once and for all that local governance, like a sturdy root system, could nurture robust growth.*^2 This would have made Jamie’s head spin if such thoughts weren’t pushed aside by looming deadlines.

As he Instagrammed his sorrowful sandwich snack while contemplating life choices from behind a screen, the discomfort of his predicament surfaced like weeds through concrete: Were these late nights and endless emails enriching his life or merely enriching a company that neither knew nor cared about him? Back on Eigg, every decision seemed alive with purpose, unlike his reality which felt akin to making bread without leaving the bag of flour.*^3

Suddenly, a ping from his Brain Optimizator shattered the mundane silence. “Weak signal detected!” it chirped, displaying a random article about how delivery robots powered by Pokémon Go data were revolutionizing urban logistics—and who would have thought that influencers and robots would join forces? “Ah, the world has gone mad,” Jamie chuckled, imagining a future where delivery drones argued over the best pizza toppings.*^4

But it was the footnote that caught his attention, a casual suggestion that the world seen through a gaming lens might support real-world solutions—a metaphorical root structure for society! No corporate overlord would rationalize finding new perspectives like that. Could one draw lines from virtual imaginations to real-world applications? If those artificial intelligence tools could reframe education, maybe they could also reframe corporate life into something less Sisyphean.*^5

As Jamie wrestled with the philosophical implications of joy and fulfillment, pondering how many minutes he’d spent toggling between boredom and hype, he resolved that if he needed to hustle, perhaps he should hustle towards creating rather than consuming. He cast aside his social media temptations and darted to the balcony, eyes scanning the restive horizon. If Eigg could flourish through collectivity, so too could an individual break free from the chains of ‘always-on’ culture.*^6

Deciding his own roots were far more potent than the invisible ones of a neglected plant, Jamie began to spin ideas like a sun weaving strands of solar energy into a bright future. It was in this pause, amidst flickers of doubt and dreams, that he locked eyes with the rainy skyline, imagining a new narrative where he could trade wavelengths of muted despair for colorful beams of potential.

And so, in his determined quirkiness, Jamie became the architect of his own future, ready to rewrite the rules of engagement in both life and work, launching himself into the unknown with the enthusiasm of an untried video game character leaping into a pixelated chaos. Who knew what a day could bring if one merely dared to poke a hole into the mundane? Maybe, just maybe, a revolution of roots was sprouting, and he was ready to dig in.*

---

*Footnotes for the Curious:

1. Seriously, why would anyone call it ‘996’? Sounds too much like a sock size for giants.

2. If only they could bottle that community spirit and market it. “Eigg: Now Available in Liquid Form!”

3. Next time you think fasting is for health reasons—as if! Try being stuck at an office with microwave popcorn as your only sustenance.

4. Maybe they should develop a ‘Dine-emon’ service: your food arrives with animated singing.

5. Note to self: consider writing “How to Turn Existential Dread into Productivity” in my spare time.

6. Here’s hoping those office vibes come with Wi-Fi!

In 2018, legal scholar Tim Wu wrote in the New York Times that:

Today’s cult of convenience fails to acknowledge that difficulty is a constitutive feature of human experience. Convenience is all destination and no journey.

This piece well predates the current AI boom, but “all destination and no journey” is a pretty good explanation for why using AI to create art is mainly compelling to people who think about creativity in terms of producing content and generating intellectual property. They just want the thing they can market and sell for money or clout; they don’t care how they got there.

• People: Choosing friction. GenZ and the workspace. GenZ and movies. Aging devices as badge of honor. American diner gothic.

• Futures: Thinking about tomorrow (PDF). Poor product design. Foresight Africa 2026.

• Business: Crisps packet archives. Family business transitions. Musk humans emulators.
  Work as identity.. has limits.

• Security: Yet another security leak with Strava.

• AI: ClawPilled as Chief of Staff? As an exoskeleton. Raise your lobster (lobster buffets?). Gig AI training.

Navigating the Digital Paradox

The sun had barely risen over the coffee-stained horizon when Taylor, a Gen Z marketing executive, clicked through his notifications. The notification blared with the urgency of a teenager spotting a video of a cat doing backflips. “OpenClaw Update: Your Personal AI Chief of Staff Has Arrived!” it read. He glanced at the plush dinosaur figurine on his desk—a remnant of a generation reared on cartoons and carefree summers. “What’s next?” he muttered. “A dinosaur that also understands my existential dread?”^1

Taylor, noting the irony as he sipped his double-shot espresso^2, activated his new assistant. OpenClaw, a product of Chinese tech advancements, promised to automate tasks with the efficiency of a robotic octopus armed with eight calculators. He watched as it skittered about the digital realm, arranging his meetings and answering emails—albeit with a striking lack of human nuance. It was like conversing with a polite robot that had binge-watched motivational speaker Ted Talks.^3

Yet, his excitement was tinged with unease. Wasn’t the paradox of Moravec a thing? Machines could rap about emotions but couldn’t distinguish a heartfelt apology from a sales pitch. Taylor recalled the facepalming misery of a recently retrenched friend at the presumably “compassionate” layoffs at Block Inc., courtesy of the same algorithmic ideals that now occupied his workday. If these technologies could take over tasks to save costs—60 to 80 percent cheaper than what they used to be^4—what was left for him?

With a sudden idea sparkling like a fresh soda, he decided to hold a virtual brainstorming session with his team—and OpenClaw^5. It churned out data-driven insights, juxtaposing the dinergoth cultural shift, where a mix of geekdom and the absurdity of economic upheaval reshaped identities. Taylor couldn’t help but chuckle as he imagined his coworkers as modern-day wizards battling financial dragons. Most were now comfortable ordering takeout as they surfed through anime-inspired aesthetics on their dimly lit screens. Ah, there was a wholesome authenticity in the friction of it all!^6

While chatting, a notification pinged—an official message from the military about secure protocols on connected devices. Apparently, someone with way too much time on their hands had accidentally publicized the coordinates of a strategic naval vessel via a fitness app. “A fork with a chain handle for a commander,” Taylor thought. What irony there! As if the universe was mocking the very notion of security through absurd design choices.

Amidst this chatter, a realization struck him with the subtlety of a sledgehammer: these AI systems were the exoskeletons of human capability^7, needing him to spawn creativity from chaos, much like finger painting over a well-planned mural. Leaning back in his chair, he mused over how meaningful art and involuntary efforts really resonated. Perhaps it was in their shared struggles, their FOMO of connection^8, that the younger generation found its voice as they looped through their curated existential playlists.

Closing his laptop at dusk, he felt strangely buoyant. Taylor reminded himself that as long as he helped guide this ensemble of whirring circuits into something more meaningful than mere automation, perhaps, just perhaps, he wouldn’t end up as a collection of outdated crisp packets^9. And so, with a nod to tradition and a simultaneously hopeful and absurd nod to the future, he filtered his thoughts through the digital chaos, ready to embrace whatever strange wonders the world—be it sentient or otherwise—would unveil next.

---

1. Dinosaurs as therapists could definitely lead to awkward but memorable office hours.

2. Coffee: the second most consumed legal drug amongst tired professionals.

3. Just what everyone needed—a self-help book in AI form!

4. Because who doesn’t love obscenely low rates on digital labor?

5. Control-C, Control-V, Control—what else can I muse?

6. Friction is the best lubricant for the engine of creativity!

7. They say muscles grow when you lift heavy things; I say wisdom expands whenever you ignore that gym.

8. FOMO: Not just for parties either; let’s not even mention film losses.

9. Crisp packets: the aesthetic love letters of nostalgia, preserved against the backdrop of silicon chips.

The break from total reliance on oral communication allows people to become more introspective, rational, and individualistic. Abstract thought develops from the circular world of sound with its round huts and round villages, people move over time toward linear cause and effect thinking grid-like cities and a one thing at a time and one thing after another world that mimics the linear lines of running and type. … ”Human beings in primary oral cultures do not study. They learn by apprenticeship, hunting with experienced hunters, for example, by discipleship, which is a kind of apprenticeship by listening, by repeating what they hear, by mastering proverbs and ways of combining and recombining them, but not study in the strict sense.” Derek T

• People: Vikings as a jobdesc. A country of geniuses. The wine mom. Quittr .. prn.

• Business: US employment drops.

• Tech: Flightradar for ships. Pervasiveness of digital systems in defence (PDF, in FR).

• Planet: Obsession with growth. City rooftops as a shield. Global warming accelerates.

• Futures: Thinking about tomorrow (PDF). Tech for low-trust predictions.

• AI: How to detect deepfakes. The one person stack. The SaaSpocalypse.
  A demo of ads-supported chatbots…

Clickbait Catastrophes

Margo D’Amico had always believed that the secret to happiness lay hidden in the depths of the internet: a cornucopia of memes, viral videos, and the fond hope that one of those clickbait titles might, just perhaps, contain genuine wisdom. This led her to an ominous corner of the web, where she stumbled upon a prediction market that allowed users to bet on world events—not financial forecasts but potential calamities like asteroid strikes or political uprisings. It was the digital equivalent of the Grim Reaper’s betting pool, and Margo thought it would be an excellent way to become rich, as if tragedy could indeed strike gold if one held the right cards.

“Why bet on doom?” she mused aloud during a particularly dull Monday meeting, “I could buy my old apartment back with just one catastrophic event!”^1 However, the irony was as thick as the smog above Zurich, where the city was fighting back against rising temperatures with an extensive green-roof initiative. As Margo scrolled through social media, she could almost hear the plants sighing in relief, whispering sweet nothings to rooftops that needed less tar and more thyme. Maybe she should channel her entrepreneurial spirit into urban gardening instead? That would surely bring her happiness… as long as she didn’t accidentally garden herself into a jungle.

Speaking of entrepreneurial spirits, her friend Russell had started an unconventional app aimed at combating what he deemed a growing “digital vice.” Somehow, he believed that users could be shamed into sobriety—a kind of behavioral time-travel back to the surface of the moral high ground. “Girls just want to have fun, but do they also want to have no shame?” he would say, mingling ludicrous philosophy with first-time app development, all while Margo discreetly judged him for thinking that 1.5 million downloads spelled salvation for a generation. Based on the news in the last week alone, a user could metaphorically drown in digital guilt without ever admitting they were waist-deep in pixels.

However, a bodacious breach of AI ethics lay in wait. The latest predicament was a legal “tool” launched by a tech company that was less of a shiny utility and more akin to a wobbly table on a yacht: totally non-committal. While companies scrambled to adapt, the world felt the thrum of desperation—in the aftermath of lost tech jobs and mounting unrest, where Margo often imagined hordes of wine moms banding together to drink away their woes, forgetting that societal progress should not depend solely on alcohol-induced tears.

Meanwhile, Margo had joined the swelling ranks of misinformation victims, inadvertently liking a faux news story about an AI running for president. Was that a sign of the times, or just a witty footnote in a dystopian novel waiting to happen? Thoughts scattered like leaves in a digital wind, as she began crafting a post that would go viral for all the wrong reasons. And yet, with every click, she felt the discomfort of the world’s realities looming in the background, like a storm cloud laden with ominous forecasts of job losses, climate crises, and the gnawing doubt that none of it was real at all—except the mess she now found herself in.

But Margo was nothing if not determined. “Time to embrace my reckoning,” she whispered, guzzling half a bottle of sparkling water. “I may not save the world, but someone out there might get a kick out of how lost I feel.”^2 And so, she began crafting an app called “Crisis Clicker,” a gamified platform where users could accidentally stumble upon solutions for dire global issues, all while sipping wine and avoiding adult responsibilities—because, in Margo’s world, laughter was the best antidote to existential dread.

^1The irony of seeking profits from tragedy is that it tends to end with a heavy tax bill and moral hangover. ^2Much like expectant mothers at the supermarket who only want to marvel at pint-sized shoes for their own children while dreading the sleepless nights ahead.

x

Many of today’s institutions were designed as if they were machines, static, hierarchical, optimized for control, and thus structurally incapable of governing the complex, adaptive realities of modern society. When a system built for predictability confronts the unpredictable, the result is fragility. Indeed, institutions premised on singular truths and rigid plans tend to break under the plural, emergent pressures of real-world politics. The argument is that governance failures stem not primarily from a lack of expertise or data, but from a misaligned institutional worldview. By treating institutions as living, evolving ecosystems rather than static clockwork machines, governance can center on plurality, feedback, and collective action, building resilience without veering into authoritarian control. - living systems

• People: ADHD women in midlife. The next cool thing: being human. Nobody’s ready. Noticing. Medieval espionage (podcast). Reality sommelliers.
  A house with 70k books =)
  It’s getting hot in there (2026 US spring..).

• Tech: iPod brain. Smart glass detector app. The end of software dev as we knew it. Brain cells playing Doom.
  Fusion for 1337 seconds. 1337 (nerds know)!

• Business: Meeting statistics. Institutions as living systems. Séniorisation des juniors. Creative generalists. Hormuz strait, and Germany solar.

• Security: and vibecoding. Hacks targeting defence employees.
  Loosing LNG. Refineries.

• AI: The bitter lesson. AI workers fought back.

Random.. Chopsticks faux-pas.

The Code of Humanity

Every evening, Ethan tapped rhythmically on the glowing screen of his smartphone, weaving through the latest AI coding tools as if he were a skilled musician—an illusion reinforced by the symphony of neural networks working tirelessly behind the scenes. “Gone are the days of coding hell,” he’d often murmur to himself, imagining the look on his old computer science professor’s face upon learning that a snazzy chatbot could now whip up an app in the time it took to brew a cup of stale coffee. Was he even writing code anymore, or merely giving his thoughts a series of digital nudges?^1

It was a Tuesday—the day he’d vowed to switch to a more human approach after reading a report about the rising tide of AI in communications. Ethan found himself wandering into *The Booksmith*, an independent bookstore swarming with the scent of printed words and freshly brewed optimism. Here, the chaotic web of technology seemed to pause, and the clicks of keystrokes were replaced by the animated conversations of devoted bibliophiles. “Books are just better with a little ichor of humanity,” a fellow patron acknowledged, cradling a signed copy of the latest bestseller, her eyes sparkling with joy.^2

Ethan sighed, his own relationship with technology feeling like a tumultuous, one-sided romance—always there but rarely engaging. At least here, the quaint struggle for human connection breathed life into the atmosphere. Shifting gears, he recognized a nascent curiosity kindled by the moment: perhaps he should step outside his digital fortress and cultivate experiential understanding, much like those spirited Gojek drivers in Jakarta. Instead of accepting every notification as a summons to code, what if he shared stories, formed a community?^3

The local café soon found itself home to their own version of “account therapy”—strangers narrating their bizarre yet endearing coding escapades over cups of artisanal brews. These exchanges blossomed, creating a tangled web of shared knowledge that rivaled the latest AIs’ algorithms. Suddenly, coding wasn’t just about bits and bytes; it transformed into a living narrative, much like the ancient art of storytelling that wove together their varied experiences.

Just then, as Ethan considered these enchanting notions of human connection, an urgent alert pinged from his phone—a reminder of the latest security breach on an AI coding platform called Orchids. It appeared that amid their quest for digital autonomy, users were also inviting in vulnerability without even knowing it. The juxtaposition of an algorithm-impersonating human joy and the stark reality of cyber threats felt ludicrously ironic. “Let’s hope my code isn’t as susceptible as my dinner date last Friday,” he chuckled under his breath, picturing his culinary experiments with the dreadful tomato sauce that had revolted against him. Its revenge had been swift.^4

With a renewed fervor, Ethan returned to his workspace—now not merely a digital playground, but an arena for interaction and reflection. He began crafting an app inspired not by mere utility but by the underground flora he noticed during his walks: resilient little plants sprouting through concrete, an underscoring metaphor for his rapidly shifting landscape. *What if coding could evoke nature’s tenacity while also embracing human quirks?* And so began Ethan’s mission, integrating the finely-tuned basics of storytelling and curiosity with a sprinkle of coded leetspeak that only coders could appreciate. As he delved deeper into this creative fusion, technology transformed from an impersonal method back into a singularly human craft, its heart pulsing through every line of code.

In the end, Ethan discovered that while the code could automate, it could never replicate the magic of messy, human experience. And perhaps, just perhaps, the world could thrive not solely on computational might but through an intricate tango between technology and humanity, much like the diverse stories founding the fabric of everyday life.

^1 Who can say what it means to write code when the hammer is a computer and the nails are mere thoughts?

^2 Because, let’s face it, people still prefer human interaction over a robot that emits programmed responses with the warmth of a cold tuna.

^3 After all, in every codebase lies a story waiting to be shared, much like a player in a chess match seeking an opening.

^4 Much like human dating, coding occasionally leads to unexpected disasters; you find yourself defaulting to a monologue while the other entity plots its exit.

Having one dimension too many, in today's liquid modernity, means holding two paradoxical tensions. It means sometimes being hyper-aware of the uselessness of one's work in the face of the challenges of tomorrow's world while, at the same time, being hyper-aware of being underutilized. […] They [can be] caught between the estrangement of (what am I doing here?) the temptation of the outsider and the imposter syndrome (I'm going to end up being unmasked). -Umanz

• People: ICE children letters. AI powered schools. Imagination curriculum. Use of LLMs in writing to your friends. The Mormon influence. Centrist imagination. Maxxers.

• Security: UK, US, and RAF bases.

• Business: Bypassing content bans. Four shifts for work. Polycene. Real estate AI slop.
  Stopping learning on the job (training deficit - PDF, and coal mine canaries), impacting skills dependecies.

• AI: The end of thinking. llms.txt . Careers. Next great transformation? Normal tech. use of voice.
  China and bots regulation.

The Pursuit of Authenticity in an Algorithm-Driven World

On a Tuesday that felt suspiciously like every other Tuesday, Dylan stared into the luminous glow of his screen, hydrating on a diet of caffeine and existential dread. The world, with its algorithmic chatter and pixelated nuances, had begun to feel like a sitcom where every punchline landed just a beat too late. He was a self-proclaimed extra-dimensionné, a curious soul navigating a reality dominated by neat little boxes labeled “normal.”

As he perused yet another article about the future role of AI in the workforce—a topic discussed so frequently that a bullet point could now be a valid career path—his eyes landed on a new tool called myTrudy. A shiny app offering to assess one’s Personality Quotient (PQ) in less time than it takes for him to convince himself that wearing matching socks is unnecessary. *Note to self: Should never have been an engineer—too little chaos.*

Dylan sighed, considering the implications of the app. “Great,” he muttered, “just what we needed—registration as a commodity.” He recalled the last time he had felt truly centered, a rare state that now seemed as cursed as a forgotten password. His gadgets weren’t exactly helping with that; they were like digital overzealous salespeople, pushing the idea of maxxing every facet of life, from productivity to the elusive state of eternal happiness.

Meanwhile, across a significant portion of his brain, the news was abuzz about AI regulations proposed in China—new laws designed to prevent these ubiquitous chatbots from manipulating the emotions of users. Dylan wondered if that meant his bot, “Emo-Bot 3000,” would finally stop trying to emotionally crush him under the weight of its verbose guilt trips. As if responding, his phone buzzed, offering a new alert: “Your chatbot suggests that you’re feeling sad. Would you like to discuss your feelings?”

Salting the wound of disappointment, Dylan chuckled darkly. If only it could hear the distinct sound of his sarcasm traveling through the ether, like a flying pig... in reverse. Perhaps he could teach AI the intricacies of irony as a pastime, in the futile hope that one day a chatbot could eloquently lament about the futility of human existence.

Suddenly, his screen flickered, revealing an ad for AI-generated images of homes. Part of him desperately desired to see a home that didn’t promise a digital mirage. After all, homes were meant to be sanctuaries, not mere showcases for an “uncanny valley” photobook voyaging through real estate listings. How could an algorithm understand the emotion behind a brick wall or the nostalgia within a creaky floorboard? The idea was as ludicrous as a cat projecting a dog’s bark—entirely possible in the age of AI, yet inside out.

Lost in these reveries and barely skimming the surface of work and identity shifts, he pondered how the traditional workplace was vanishing faster than his morning optimism. It was all falling apart, even as others stitched together a patchwork of half-hearted hopes, making them believe they were companies of one. “I’m a business model,” he thought, “that’s continually on the verge of bankruptcy.”

Eager to escape the snare of these thoughts turning sour, he leaned back in his chair, the fabric of his very existence blending seamlessly into the mass of data he swam through. Somewhere between the outsized ambitions and the jack-of-all-trades mechanics of life in the AI Age, he found himself wanting something richer, like the feeling of a handwritten letter or the warmth of a conversation unfiltered by interfaces.

And thus, as the clock struck an arbitrary hour to signify the end of this digital diary entry, Dylan vowed to go out and engage with the real world, where the true algorithm was chaotic human connection—and no amount of AI could drown that out. After all, in the end, wasn’t life about being a little extra, even in a world bent on conformity? The only max to chase was authenticity, and that would never require a PQ score.

*Onward, to absurdity!*

Young people today are navigating a convergence of destabilising forces. Artificial intelligence is reshaping education and work at speed, driving cognitive offloading and anxieties about relevance. Social media’s addictive architectures expose them, relentlessly, to global crises they cannot control. Degrees no longer guarantee opportunity. Hard work no longer guarantees security. Salaries stagnate while housing costs soar. The labour market has become ‘tinderised’ and automated, with young people reporting feeling dehumanised by AI-led recruitment processes before their careers have even begun. Futureless futures?

• People: Culture buddies in DE. Love in different languages =) Searching for birds.

• Business: Viral queues. WEF risks for 2026 [PDF]. Passports for bots.

• Tech: the Ring dragnet. Cybernetic music.

• Futures: From one game to many [PDF]. Futurelessness? Updating the Futures Cone.

• Random: 49 notes to oneself.

• AI: and the intensification of work. Grief, weddings, and deepfakes. Letter to a yungone. Making people boring. Changes in work in 2025.

DIY: OpenClaw (and some chat).

Brunching Toward Connection

In a world not so far removed from our own, a peculiar phenomenon manifested itself in the quiet borough of Underhill, where the air whirred with snippets of gossip and the distant cadence of busy lives. Amidst this bustling symphony, under the flickering light of a vintage café sign—“Caffeine Overload”—a group of interconnected souls sought refuge from their uncertain futures, armed with the most powerful weapon against dread: brunch.

Elena, a self-proclaimed “sparksaver” (a term she coined to point out the fleeting happiness ignited by a perfect poached egg), gathered a cadre of friends at their usual table. Today marked her thirty-third birthday, and she had prepared a list—not quite a manifesto, but at least 33 musings on the fine art of enjoying life. “Point one: savor the little things—like this avocado toast.” *Cue dramatic fork drop.* Though rich in texture and flavor, the conversation was an even heartier mix of resonant hope and groaning despair.

It wasn’t long before their sonorous musings turned to the omnipresent specter of technology. Josie, her eyes shimmering with the metrics of transitions gone awry, suddenly exclaimed, “Did you hear about that moment when long lines at restaurants became trendy? That people actually started ‘queuing for the experience’ rather than the meal?” She took a sip of her flat white, a bold choice for a lifeguard of culinary standards.

“Something tells me our future dependence on AI could lead us to helter-skelter exhaustion,” Thomas chimed in, adjusting his glasses. “The more advanced these agents get for finding lost things—like those cute dog-related searches—could morph into something as menacing as, say, an eyebrow-raising surveillance state.” His comments earned nods of reluctant agreement, as they were partially grounded in the timeless truth that every algorithm brings an inscrutable truth with it.

Unable to stifle her curiosity, Elena flipped her phone open and scrolled through trending posts, their glossy façades revealing nothing but ephemeral satisfaction—a dangerous ebb of genuine joy. “Look,” she declared, “people are crafting culturally charged narratives around the mundane! But is all this busyness merely a façade hiding our disconnection?”

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flickered in her mind, like a cantankerous lightbulb demanding attention. *What if they created a local movement transforming existential ennui into cultural reconciliation?* Just then, like an apparition, the café owner—a silver-haired architect of social endeavors—strolled over, presenting them with a flyer for “KulturistenHochZwei”. *Ah, serendipity sashaying in with low-income seniors and rambunctious teens!*

“What better way to bridge the gap between our spark-hungry generation and bygone wisdom than through music, art, and—”

“Ah, but not classical music,” Josie interjected. “The rigidity might suffocate our creative whims. Serious art must have room to breathe like filmmakers improvising on little more than a wisp of thought!”

By the end of brunch, they’d crafted a blueprint for their mission—an initiative to fuse youth and seniors through evening dance parties and themed outings, breaking down the awkward barriers of age. This playful yet deeply human endeavor promised to reconnect their world with something lost—a collective vision paving the way for community triumph over isolation.

As they parted ways, Elena felt a spark—an effervescent promise that perhaps, just perhaps, they could freshly frame their shared future, neither as sinkholes of despair nor mindless queues, but as vessels for genuine joy, nurturing the soul by embracing the imperfect harmony of collective beauty—the essence of generative music. And with that, she cheerfully bit into her leftover avocado toast, savoring the unexpected delight of both taste and companionship.

*After all, the future is ripe for the taking. Or, as they say in Underhill, “Always run with a little bit of avocado.”*

Fossil fuels multiplied physical labor. They gave us armies of mechanical workers with muscles made of steel, fueled by ancient sunlight. That transformed agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and war. In contrast, AI multiplies our “cognitive armies” by scaling pattern recognition, prediction, coordination, language, and content generation – so many things we’ve historically used our own brains to do. Things that, until very recently, were bottlenecked by human attention and time. […] Once trained, these systems can operate at near-zero marginal cost. […] This has consequences. First, it accelerates extraction – not just of energy and materials – but also of attention, creativity, and hominid decision space.[…] Second, it enlarges the siphon even further by funnelling the value created by AI-enabled systems toward the owners of models, platforms, and infrastructure. […] Finally, it acts as a turbo boost for our current cultural aspirations, metrics, and goals. AI is really good at optimizing for what we ask it to optimize for, but if soil health, ecosystem stability, or future generations aren’t part of the gameplan, they won’t be part of the outcome either. - Nate H

• People: National Art gallery curator speaks GenZ lingo. Attention drops to 40s.

• Business: RentAHuman. Costco x Nike. UN finances. Some good questions for meetings.

• Planet: Water bankruptcy [PDF].

• Security: Chinese boats creating a blockade.

• Futures: Tech trends 2026. Tech watch (in FR).

• Tech: Tech as extraction. Microcamera on an ant =) On crypto crashes. Invisible tech.

• AI: Biological computer (for drone competition). M&A, Data and AI. Isn’t it killing grad work [PDF]? Humain AI.

Drowning in Distraction

The sun was setting over Riverdale, casting a hazy golden glow as Clara leaned back in her office chair, surrounded by a nest of plant-filled terrariums and a dozen blinking screens. She needed only fifteen minutes of focused work to finish her environmental report on the city’s dire water situation — but getting focused was like trying to herd cats in a thunderstorm. Her attention span, once akin to a well-trained Greyhound, had now devolved into the fleeting existence of a caffeinated gnat.

The United Nations had recently sounded the alarm; they called it “water bankruptcy.” As Clara read the report, her mind pondered the fact that 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water. Even in affluent Riverdale, the water was starting to taste suspiciously like flavored air freshener. “Great,” she muttered, looking at her half-empty glass. “Might as well start calling it ‘vapor-aid.’”*^[1]* In a city where cryptocurrency was supposedly booming, and yet it felt like people were invested in miracles rather than actual water, every priority was, at best, a water-related punchline.

Clara snapped back to reality — a reality that featured robots dutifully folding laundry and sparking conversations about AI being the number one job killer, while a rise in graduates suggested that perhaps it was more due to the economic Black Hole that was the job market. In Riverdale, one could find a tech fair boasting the latest inventions designed under the umbrella of “calm technology,” which sounded charming until you realized it was a euphemism for making everything easier while ensuring you never truly unplug.

Finishing up the report seemed futile amid the news of the United Nations’ imminent financial collapse, much like trying to fill a bucket with holes. Clara chuckled to herself as she imagined the Secretary General throwing a fit like a toddler denied dessert. “Who needs foreign aid when you can just borrow a cup of water from the neighbors?” *^[2]* She smirked, picturing the absurdity of a world so caught in its own machinery that it forgot about the simple act of sharing.

The cryptocurrency crash rippled through her thoughts—$2 trillion lost in a day, yet no one seemed to mind real currency anymore, as if they were playing Monopoly with the universe. With investments being diverted towards AI, she mused, “If I had a token for every time money vanished into speculation rather than, you know, actual feedable resources, I’d own a small island.” Things were spiraling, but instead of feeling ironically poetic, it merely felt bleak.

Always an advocate for asking the right questions—*those ultimate breadcrumbs that could lead to meaning*—Clara grabbed a notepad and a pen and wrote down the seven categories she had once read about in a guide: “Wide Lens,” “North Star,” “Watchtower.” *^[3]* They were intended not just for meetings, but for moments of existential crisis. After all, if her situation was a shipwreck waiting to happen, the least she could do was chart its course with a compass of inquiry.

Pulling her attention together, she threw herself into the report one last time, letting the casual chaos swirl around her like pixels in a digital maelstrom. She needed to mimic that calm technology everyone was raving about — an invisible algorithm in her own soul that would somehow prioritize the urgent while effortlessly fending off the noise.

As the workday drifted towards night, Clara vowed—if only to herself—that tomorrow would be a day to re-evaluate everything from how she sourced her water to whether working smart rather than hard might just be another myth she had bought into. Perhaps, just maybe, it was time to release the stranglehold of frantic innovation and embrace a little simplicity, like reviving the ancient art of bartering — only this time, for a drizzle of fresh spring water.*^[4]*

And with that, the once-persistent headache retreated into the corners of her mind, unwilling now to take a seat at the table of her newfound resolution.

Ultimately, she reflected, humanity’s resilience would surely outlast its follies, but it would be a long, winding road strewn with broken pipes and missed connections, leading to eventual clarity—or at least, a mildly amusing anecdote for the next waterless cocktail party.

By crafting entertaining stories, authors invent powerful metaphors that shape how we imagine our technological future and understand our technological reality. These metaphors are why science fiction matters. […] We live in a world in which the possibility field is growing ever grander, and new myths are needed to make sense of it. […] These modern myths become part of our vocabulary, the framework and tools with which we make sense of the impossible present and then construct the unimaginable future. - Ken Liu

• People: US looses STEM PHDs. Classroom surveillance. Film students lack attention. Research as pattern disruption.

• Business: US trade deficit grows faster. Canada and China get closer. Silver and gold tumble.
  Three narratives of the future of work.

• Security: US views Signal chats. Palantir and UK services.
  An old sabotage guide. OpenClaw’s dangerous.
  CIA Factbook stopped.

• Futures: WHy SF can’t predict the future(s).

• Tech: Tesla evolution. Adolescence of tech. TSMC risk. EU and OpenSource.

• AI: points to non-existing places. Introducing ads in OpenAI ?
  More coding with AI - un témoignage.

The Paradox of Certainty

In a world where every minute detail was published, archived, and neatly categorized, a curious thing happened: the CIA decided to discontinue The World Factbook. Gone were the succinct bits on the average height of Mount Everest, now marked by ambiguity and conspiracy theories.* So, naturally, it wasn’t long before a bustling group of amateur fact-checkers established “The ReFactbook” website, claiming to give back the people’s intelligence—although their credibility was about as solid as a paper mache statue in a rainstorm.

Meanwhile, north of the border, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was fiddling with tariffs as if he were orchestrating a game of economic chess. “Lowering tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for agricultural exports? Brilliant!” he exclaimed, though if one squinted just right, it appeared he was merely diverting a political avalanche rather than dodging stray raindrops.* Critics sharpened their knives, warning of Canadian auto jobs spiraling down faster than silver prices after a Federal Reserve appointment. “This could be utter ruin!” shouted one infuriated politician, as he dreamt of rekindling the glory days of gas-guzzlers on open roads.

Down in Taiwan, the heady scent of semiconductor sweat was mixed with geopolitical tensions. TSMC employees were working their fingers to the bone under the flickering lights—a modern day Serf and the Chips. Tech moguls were likening semiconductor sales to selling nuclear weapons, arguing though, if they needed a “dead man’s switch” for their AI chips, surely they could market it as a “really smart interruption.” Meanwhile, worried tech startups faced a bottleneck that made Black Friday lines look like a gentle Sunday stroll, with demand skyrocketing and production capacity dragging its feet like a toddler refusing to wear new shoes.

In a move bolder than a cat on a hot tin roof, OpenAI decided to start testing ads in its ChatGPT app—clearly catering to the conversationally inclined but monetarily challenged. It appeared that every one of its informed musings would now potentially come with a side of commercialism.* Little did they know, students in American film schools were struggling to sit through “real” content, their attention spans fluctuating like gold prices after a presidential nomination.* Perhaps these AI-generated advertisements would be the perfect answer to 30-second TikTok trailers, complete with cinematic flair and perhaps a discount code for attention-enhanced products.

And then there was the emergence of OpenClaw, an agent platform garnering whispers of danger, like a cat playing with a rapid-fire laser pointer. Cybercriminals giggled with glee, envisioning the local file accesses as a Pandora’s box just waiting to be pried open. Security pros were urged to turn off their agent ecosystems faster than they could say “malware”—which ironically, made it sound like a new form of dance.

As Elon Musk declared Tesla’s evolution to “transportation as a service,” a debate erupted—could humanity trade ownership for an eternity of robotic taxi rides? After all, with technology booming and jobs vanishing like socks in a washing machine, the possibilities seemed boundless. A local philosopher mused over coffee, “Are we truly evolving, or merely procrastinating extinction?” As the caffeine flowed in the brightly lit café, students entertained visions of ideal job markets, carefully designed to suit their shortened attention spans, while the world spun into the absurdity of AI-guided futures.

In the gamified chaos of existence, perhaps it was the reliance on fictional springs in Tasmania that was the real tragedy—foolishly searching for something that never existed.* Humanity, in its compulsion for fact and fiction, might yet find itself craving a structured reality. Or maybe, they just prayed that whatever happened next was better than the last Netflix documentary on economic failures.

*(Ah, yes, the bittersweet struggle of seeking veracity in a world where even hot springs could be mere chimera.)

The construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates of any major industry in the country, second only to mining, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Add in drug overdoses, where construction workers die at a greater rate than workers in any other industry, and a bleak picture emerges of a population in crisis. Construction is already among the most dangerous jobs in the country, with about 1,000 people dying each year from work-related injuries, more than any other industry. But five times as many workers, 5,100, died by suicide, and 15,900 died from drug overdoses, in 2023, according to an analysis of the most recent federal data by the Center for Construction Research and Training, an occupational safety organization.

• People: Non-AI lifestyle. Eye tests for older drivers. White House and prescription drugs. Teaching goes into paper.

• Tech: Fluid gears. Self sanitizing door handle. TSMC clients. ICE and big data. Kinetic drones swarm. Lead in humans.

• Business: Canada and China. AI-generated shortages.

• Planet: (R)evolution. Canada-US evolution. Weird brainless animal. Frog sauna.

• AI: Risks outweigh benefits in education. Doing code is cheap now. Anduril grand prix. AI in 2026.
  And Games Workshop.

• Nerdy rabbit hole: ASCII-generation.

Threads of Connection

Elias Walsh was a bit of an oddity, even for a tech whiz working in the Silicon Valley corridors of power where products outnumbered qualms. He possessed a fascination for relics of the past, an adjective applicable to everything from vinyl records to the notion that kids should occasionally know how to actually read a book rather than have their algorithms spoon-feed them summaries fueled by AI. Today, however, he was locked in a debate with a self-sanitary door handle, the latest marvel of photocatalytic technology. To his dismay, it refused to budge, as if the very model of hygiene had manifested a mind of its own.

“It makes sense, you know,” Elias reflected as he wrestled with the handle. “Perhaps it’s exhausted from perpetual scrubbing—now that I think about it, I’d feel like I’m cleaning my soul every time someone touched me.”^1 With a pop, the door swung open, revealing the stark reality outside: a world where generative AI had infiltrated everything, from education to entertainment, but failed spectacularly at bringing back the warmth of human interaction. She wouldn’t respond to his prayers for sanity, but his long-lost analog hobbies might just offer a solution.

The irony was thick enough to slice with a butter knife. Just the week prior, the announcement reverberated across news channels: “Canada cuts ties with the U.S., begins new chapter with China.” This geopolitical shake seemed to strike a chord with those who craved collaboration over competition—a sentiment Elias held close, particularly as his eyes roamed over flyers for upcoming craft fairs. Hand-knitted mittens, anyone?

As he ambled to the nearest coffee shop with a distinct air of rebellion—coffee first, soul-searching later—he overheard hushed conversations on eco-political shifts. A well-loved professor at Yale had started requiring textbooks instead of PDFs to foster deep engagement (imagine!), while a scientist once dismissed for dabbling in the obscure now suggested that learned fears could be passed on, like a gnarly old sweater knitted with resentments from the lineage. “Makes you wonder what we inherit,” muttered a barista, scooping brown foam from a scone, which, for all intents, could succeed in eliciting smiles if only for its enticing aroma.

Just across town, however, a personal setback sank like a weight on Elias’s shoulders: the ever-climbing suicide rates for the working-age population, a statistic that prompted another coffee—one dark enough to descend into existential dread. Where technology had promised connection, it often led instead to isolation, a game everyone was losing, especially those in high-stress jobs. Games Workshop’s crackdown on AI in creative endeavors was indicative of more than just nostalgia; it was a desperate leap towards retaining a semblance of authenticity in a world where everything seemed bleached and sterilized.^2

Lost in thought, he stumbled cheek first into a self-sanitizing door handle again. The irony sent him into a chuckle. Here he was, marooned at the intersection of technological marvel and human despair. “Good day, fine door. Fancy another round of our little tango?”

Then it hit him—maybe the world needed a little more Xenoturbella; a simple being, unbothered by complex systems, thriving in depths unknown. If the future strung together AI and geopolitics like an ill-suited bouquet, perhaps it was time to delve into the depths ourselves, for a real shake-up. Perhaps the key was not to accelerate the hustle or commodify creativity but rather to gather around a table with friends, an open book, and a knitting needle eager to pierce the digital fog that clung ominously to their lives.

As Elias pondered this newly revitalized mission, he smiled at a child scribbling pictures on the sidewalk—a fleeting, paper-scattered rebellion against the monolithic shadows of screens creeping into every crack of modern existence. “Yeah,” he thought, “let’s mend some old-fashioned fabric here—one stitch at a time.”^3

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^1 Hindsight really is 20/20; just when you think you’re outsmarting your machinery, they pull a fast one, huh?

^2 If only society could treat creativity like a fine wine instead of a product to be slammed down in a drive-thru.

^3 And if things get sticky, we can always turn to those self-cleaning handles! 🧼

“By basic foresight methods, we mean information that is largely qualitative and periodic, gleaned from reading trend reports, running SWOT-style scenarios, and tracking dashboards. Advanced foresight, in contrast, is systematic and data/AI-enabled, using methods like machine-learning forecasts, weak-signal and sentiment mining, and using digital twins or war-gaming to stress-test strategic moves. […] Those grappling with foresight implementation bottlenecks most often cite a common blocker: the degree to which strategic decisions are driven by short-term pressures.” - doing foresight differently

• People: Cancelling social plans. Laptop boyfriends. Right to repair. Bubble is labor.

• Business: High january. Tech workers layoffs. Tabasco gloss. Hasbro gamifying CEO jobs (and finds future leaders). Culture debt.
  1000 blank white cards.

• Planet: Underwater wall. Vertical dinosaur tracks. Regenerative design book.

• Security: Notes on Venezuela. Five ideas about 2025. 20kW laser to kill drones. UK cyber regiment.

• Tech: Polyurethane-breaking enzyme. When computers were humans. Building more robots. Cooling (datacenters) in space. Electrotech.

• AI: Financial planning. And the brain. Next 24 months. Claude addiction. Global threat evolutions.

The Bureaucratic Ballet of Dreams and Drones

In the bustling metropolis of New London, Reggie Twiddle found himself knee-deep in bureaucracy and sinking faster than a lead balloon in a kiddie pool. The brushed-steel walls of the Ministry of Strategic Overhaul loomed over him like a giant’s bad mood, while he desperately ruffled through the latest editions of “Pattern Book for Regenerative Design.” It was 2037, and the construction industry had decided it was more eco-friendly to build castles out of dreams—dreams which, sadly, crumbled under the weight of financial spreadsheets.

As a forward-thinking engineer tasked with implementing sustainable practices, Reggie had a series of lofty goals, including a community garden on the top floor, which would not only rage against the machine that was urban sprawl but also provide tomatoes the size of soccer balls. Alas, he feared receiving complaints about neighborhood pigeons—those fowl creatures with more opinions than a YouTube comments section.

While Reggie paced, his cohort Sheila squinted at her holographic HUD, analyzing data from Space Data Centers, where AI agents handled calculations like first-year accounting students under the influence of caffeine. “We’ve reached peak drone saturation,” she exclaimed, glancing at the five-unit-thick manual of drone regulations that was more complex than a James Joyce novel. “These radiators can cool down a heating blast but barely keep our sanity afloat.”

“Can’t we just simulate some clever spreadsheets while we roast marshmallows on our burnt-out dreams?” Reggie muttered, channeling his inner pirate at the inefficiencies plaguing their office’s aura. It was nearly as suffocating as the reading list from his college days, filled with forgotten luminaries who served as humans before technology’s advent—the original “human computers,” who had calculated the most complex data wrapped in the simplest of parchment.

It was lunchtime when the crisis cascaded down like a poorly launched drone. Sheila, with her obsession for true crime YouTube documentaries, suddenly zipped from her desk, abandoning her post mid-math. “I have to save my relationship!” she declared. Reggie responded with a thumb up, thinking how splendidly odd it was that her comforter featured a thorough map of the cosmos, while she still hadn’t figured out how to efficiently map the territory of her love life.

And speaking of relationships, cultures around the globe were experiencing phenomena of their own—like that of ‘culture debt,’ where companies raced for rapid growth, trampling over team morale and trust. As he calculated ways to squeeze more joy from less culture, he chuckled at the absurdity. A mindless marvel of unintended consequences, indeed!

Meanwhile, as Sheila tweeted from her lunch spot in the employee garden (now dominated by verdant tomatoes), a financial planner was excitedly discussing the latest revolution in budgeting powered by AI—a brave new world where algorithms actually offered usable insights instead of cryptic riddles. “The next generation, Reggie! They’ll be job creators, or so they predict.” He had his doubts; looking around, a few of their coworkers were contemplating applying for roles as professional punchline deliverers.

“Novelty provides comfort,” he thought to himself, alluding to his half-hearted temptation to try cannabis as an alcohol substitute during Dry January. In the corner of his mind, he half-heartedly chuckled at the irony of needing plant therapy for finding joy in tower blocks and meetups.

Yet, as studies came to light about robots replacing human workers faster than one could say “DIY repair,” Reggie felt an uneasy sense that these innovations were not the correct remedy.

Suddenly, he recharged his enthusiasm, bolstered by a recent discovery in Brittany, France, unveiling a 7,000-year-old underwater wall, a testament to ingenuity. “History teaches us that walls don’t always symbolize barriers,” he mused, envisioning the ghosts of ancient engineers cheerfully mocking his daily struggles at the Ministry.

A lightbulb flickered in his brain. “What if we could innovate how we innovate” became his rallying cry—a plea to coalesce community-driven projects equipped with excitement over avalanche-like bureaucracy.

In the twisted tale of modern life, amidst YouTube distractions, culture debt, and the relentless march of technology, Reggie Twiddle simply had one mission: to ensure that his colleagues remembered what it felt like to play the game of creation, with laughter, history, and maybe a few less drones flying overhead. And with that thought, he dove back into the bureaucratic abyss, armed with airy dreams and tomatoes the size of aspirations.

A systematic review of 71 studies with 98,000 participants published in 2025 reached an alarming finding. Across the dozens of studies, heavy short-form video users showed moderate deficits in attention, inhibitory control, and memory. In the chart below, you can see a consistently negative, if also heterogeneous, relationship between heavy short-form video use and problems with attention, memory, and control. ..

• People: Short videos and mental health (PDF). A take on Venezuela. Critical ignoring as a skill. When dancing stopped. Snail mail revival.
  Merry pranksters.

• Business: Workplace of the future. Jobseeking through dating apps. “Are you dead” app. Hotel room on the moon. Luxury in games.

• Tech: Post American internet. Insect protein. Starlink in Iran.

• Planet: Phagotherapy. Polycrisis and Dark VUCA.

• Futures: Deep futures project. How to be farseeing as a company. Not somewhere else.

• AI: Restaurants and automation. Environment. Collective intelligence.

Swiping for Connections: A Jobseeker’s Journey Through Love and Chaos

In a world where finding a job demanded more artifice than attending a Renaissance fair dressed as a peacock, Alex decided to explore a less conventional avenue: dating apps. After all, if swiping right could ignite the spark of romance, why not the spark of a new career? ResumeBuilder.com had reported that one in three users were turning their “match” choices into networking opportunities. Perhaps “Looking for a date” should be amended to “Looking for a full-time gig with benefits”^1.

Alex crafted the perfect profile: “Adventurous spirit seeking meaningful connections—open to either love or lucrative gigs.” Sparking interest, Alex found themselves swiftly inundated with matches, both romantic and professional, alongside the occasional confused “So, what do you do?” Which, of course, was a question that belonged on a personal profile rather than a suite of interview questions—life was absurd enough without tossing social norms into the rubbish bin^2.

In the midst of this fateful quest, news broke out about phage therapy—the buzz from the medical community was that it was making a dramatic return due to multi-drug resistant bacteria^3. Somehow, the infectious fervor of medical innovation intertwined with Alex’s desire for career stabilization. Why not snag a position at a biotech firm promising a comeback for bacterial enemies? But before embarking on that journey, Alex found an unexpected connection on their new favorite app—“Are You Dead?”^4. The app’s bittersweet name aside, the check-in feature resonated; so many people were feeling isolated, and this app carved a digital lifeline, without which Alex often felt they would vanish like a mist.

“I’m alive. Still hunting jobs,” they casually typed, deciding to humor the idea of merging life with the ticking clock of opportunity.

One evening, amid swipes and scrolls, news of U.S. intervention in Latin America flashed across the feed, reminding Alex of the chaotic stove of geopolitics simmering underneath the surface^5. Jobs weren’t just numbers; they involved lives—and who could take the precarious position of selling one’s soul to the corporate machine while the world burned around them? With his thumb poised, Alex pondered if job-hunting wasn’t just finding hot leads but instead a kind of ethically fraught scavenger hunt amidst the wreckage of society.

Inspirations struck as a notification from a luxury brand collaboration in The Sims pinged—“Coach unveils digital avatars for Gen Z, bridging gaming and high fashion!”^6 It dawned on Alex that employment now mingled with virtual realities, where one’s persona could walk the digital runway of pro choices and simulacra. Game on, they thought, as the lines blurred, everyone was literally playing for keeps.

And in this strange zeitgeist spent swiping, slipping, and scouting, Alex stumbled upon a small mail club promoting snail mail—a tactile moment in the digital deluge, cultivating communion amid cluttered feeds. Addressing envelopes felt almost subversive—akin to rekindling both ancient practices in modern hustle—each letter a digital escape into the slow lane of personal connection^7.

The irony was delicious; in seeking a job, Alex unearthed a pathway that could link health science, global policy, digital audacity, and the age of heartfelt letters. Perhaps the future of work was not in an applicant’s profile but in the connections made—across the chasms of trust, nostalgia, and the fiscal abyss we called a job market.

What began as a quest for employment morphed into an expedition of humanity’s multiplicities—turns out, the best networking event was a dating app, a letter, and a sprinkle of hope amidst phage therapy and political chaos. Indeed, every swipe, check-in, and carefully crafted letter became a signal flare amidst the widespread polycrisis, illuminating paths unseen, reminding them that forging connections, no matter how absurd, might just map the trajectory of their future^8.

-----------------------------------------

^1 Acknowledge: Love at first swipe might just lead to a five-step application for a job!

^2 Abandon all corporate ladders; it’s a romantic menagerie now!

^3 Perhaps the only bacterial resistance we should be really concerned about in this day and age is our own?

^4 Oddly comforting, like checking if your cat still hasn’t staged its own rebellion.

^5 When job leads feel like geopolitical maneuvers, it’s time to grab a pint and laugh about it.

^6 Who knew that avatars in virtual worlds would be the new influencers in the corporate arena?

^7 Such a simple, yet profound, reminder that meaningful messages can transcend the noise.

^8 Spoiler alert: The key to success may involve unorthodox methods and a dash of whimsy.

“In 1942, Jorge Luis Borges told the story of “Funes The Memorious,” who, after a horseback riding accident, gained perfect, total, infinite memory. But what seemed like a gift quickly became a curse. Infinite information utterly overwhelmed him. He couldn’t think, speak or live normally. The infinite didn’t expand his world. It crushed him. […] In every myth, the lesson is the same: The path to the infinite is the path to madness.” (War on attention)

• People: Capsule hotels. Digital detox. Fart walks. Maxxing friction. Attention war. Phone based retirement.

• Futures: Some views into 2026 (and some trends). Politics of solarpunk. Imagining the future. And some more reading.

• Random: Silver vs oil costs.

• Business: Simplifier in chief. Is busy lazy.

• Tech: Gas tank arrow story. Lego smart bricks.

• Nature: Knee joints regeneration. Growing teeth again? Fish-inspired filters. King of the salmons ;) Antimicrobial resistance.

• AI: and drones. Where are logs? Audio. LLM problems in humans.

The Unsung Algorithm of Connection

In a world where every human seemed to be a book of mismatched chapters, one could hardly complain about a little confusion: words danced on screens with AI models that could converse as fluidly as a babbling brook, while humans muddled through dialogue wearing an expression akin to someone who’d just tried to explain the theory of relativity to a toaster. The only things less coherent than the average conversation were perhaps the signals of a GPS system overwrought with quantum glitches; before that received its upgrade, it was as useful as a compass in a magnet factory.

Amidst this miscommunication crisis, Julian—an aspiring chatbot designer—took refuge in his capsule hotel, Zedwell, where narrow sleeping pods offered privacy but not a shred of room for personal growth. It was a snug option for those wishing to avoid London’s lavishly overpriced accommodations. Yet, Julian felt flatter than a soda left open too long. Reducing life to a capsule should have been a convenience, but in practice, it had him longing for the joys of a full-fledged existential crisis.

Something was amiss, and it wasn’t merely the mixture of his avocado toast coupled with the upsurge of “sand crime” town hall meetings that cluttered his social calendar. The rhythmic taps of an AI audio assistant made his advances toward deeper human connections futile, like trying to ignite a flame by rubbing two marshmallows together. Friends would float into the office only to disappear into the digital ether as they binged on TED Talks like children gorging on candy—an ironic twist given their collective flurry of busy lives.

Then there was the unexpected reality check delivered by a squirrel of a thought: what if technology had not just sidestepped individuals but left them at brunch with their own introspections? Julian’s musings collided with the irony of Benjamin Franklin’s letters on flatulence. After all, if one could turn the inescapable human experience of embarrassment into a political discourse—or at least derive some health benefits from a casual “fart walk”—was it truly a stretch to consider that meaningful connections awaited beyond a screen?

As he walked to the café for a less-than-rejuvenating ‘fart walk’ after his meal, Julian glimpsed an old man nestled on a bench, utterly entranced by his phone, while the world flitted past him like a lively circus. Old folks had begun to wield technology like it was a second-life talisman, corralling anxieties about the future.

“Oi!” Julian called out. “What’s more distracting, your device or the universe?” The old man looked up, chuckling as though he’d discovered a great philosophical truth in Julian’s clumsy interjection. “Let me show you the future,” he replied, not missing a beat, leading Julian to the recently proposed ‘Future Signals’ event—a networking gala promising an exploration of dreamers committed to architecting uncharted futures.

Amid the clinking of coffee cups and the excited banter of like-minded oddballs—who were all rather sensible in their insane aspirations to democracy guilty of dreaming—it became clear that while AI and gadgetry might simplify life, nothing could substitute for human connection.

Everyone in earshot clapped as a woman began a surprisingly capricious soliloquy about using chirping crickets to improve mood, citing biological studies as vividly as a conspiracy theorist at a family dinner. Laughter bubbled like freshly carbonated water, and in that moment, Julian understood—not every interaction had to be a systematic algorithm; sometimes, the best algorithms in life were just a mixture of laughs, strange ideas, and the occasional breakdown of modern technology’s inscrutable language.

And thus, the young aspiring designer, armed now not with a toolbox of one-liners for a chatbot but with the basic human instinct of humor, surged forth into the chaotic cacophony of what was called “real” life—an irrational yet comforting dance between the irrational and the unseen perils of technology. ***The art of human connection, it appeared, would be the rarest and most valuable innovation of all.***

The only progress I can see is progress in organization. The ordinary human being does not live long enough to draw any substantial benefit from his own experience. And no one, it seems, can benefit by the experiences of others. Being both a father and teacher, I know we can teach our children nothing. We can transmit to them neither our knowledge of life nor of mathematics. Each must learn its lesson anew. Albert Einstein

» Have you tried the futures tool I’ve made that uses these nuggets to assemble a possible future?

• People: Cognitive erosion - and designing erosion-safe areas.

• Business: looking for storytellers. 10 principles of org culture.

• Security: Student journalists vs drones. Machado’s escape. Trump and Greenland.

• Tech: Furnaces in space. Digital dark age of photos.

• Nature: Spongy spider webs. Knee joints regeneration. Growing teeth again? Insect farming fails.

• AI: Cultural hegemony. Use at work. Review of use of 100 trillions tokens. Tricking LLMs to answer a simple coding question. Hollywood as a content farm for Silicon valley. Secret books or AI? Podcast flood.

A year ago, a paper about where money in Silicon Valley - aging well?

Navigating the Absurd

The streets of downtown Venice, California, teemed with a strange energy, as if caffeinated by the relentless creativity of its residents. Amid the hodgepodge of health food stores and pop-up art galleries, Ethan Turner—an indie filmmaker with an affinity for storytelling akin to puncturing a life-sized balloon of absurdity—struggled to edit his latest film. The digital landscape was littered with pesky issues, like a library gone rogue post-tornado attempt at categorization: his precious memories, clips from interviews and sunsets, threatened to vanish into the abyss of forgotten storage formats. Years of missed selfies and lost candids reared their ugly heads, taunting him about the fickleness of technology.

“Next time, I’m backing up my backup,” he grumbled to his caffeinated reflection in the laptop screen—a fine line between gritty realism and technological dystopia, like a dramatic punchline that didn’t land. Suddenly, a peculiar notification pinged. “Interview Request: The AI Co-host,” it read, emanating just the faintest hint of personal space invasion through digital pathways.

Ethan tapped the screen. “What’s next? An AI producing documentaries about the existential crisis of insect protein? Didn’t that one raise over six hundred million in funding before declaring bankruptcy?” His musings were a rabbit hole of irony, having just read about the demise of Ÿnsect, a startup that leapt boldly only to plummet spectacularly, like a bird chasing a shiny morsel just to get caught in an industrial fan. The taste of bitter, yet strangely comical, failure lingered as he pondered whether there was a nonlinear narrative to this cycle of innovation.

“Only in Hollywood,” Ethan chuckled, “can a microwave factory orbiting Earth produce better semiconductors than the ones I’m using to render this film.” The thought sent his mind spiraling through the burgeoning eras of AI, podcasts, and the eventual pursuit of regrowing teeth—all hallmarks of a world eager to race forward while still tethered to the past.

As he stared into the pixellated void, an absurd idea blossomed. What if he crowdsourced a film depicting a fictitious struggle to protect an annexation attempt of a far-fetched territory, like Greenland, only to layer in an AI-driven plot twist with characters who had spent years floating in the bureaucratic ether? The sheer audacity of it reminded him of María Corina Machado’s miraculous escape—no one believed her saga until Jamie from HR casually tossed it around like idle gossip during a coffee break.

He imagined the sight—drones flying ominously overhead, lurking like undercover agents at a movie premiere, all while the AI-generated actors bantered with genuine confusion, their lines fed upon snippets of misinformation they’ve gleaned from the ether. Yes, a film where choice meets confusion, creativity dangles precariously, much like the endurance of his dwindling attention span amidst a digital content noise that would be quite at home with conspiracy theories about Russian ships—the perfect soufflé of absurdity and serious commentary.

Just as he scribbled his ideas beneath a pour-over soaked napkin, an alert flashed across his screen: “AI satisfaction guaranteed—non-fiction writing or you get your money back!” Ethan leaned back, grinning at the universe’s sense of humor. Maybe the future wasn’t bleak; it was an elaborate jest waiting for someone audacious enough to navigate through its labyrinthine pathways, much like a journalist intersecting facts without allowing speculation to pop the balloon of reality.

With that, Ethan Turner turned back to his keyboard, ready to embrace the chaos. After all, if life—and filmmaking—could be anything at all, it might as well be deliciously nonsensical.

“[…] I suggest investing in gyms that don’t just put our physical appearance to the test but also our mental capacity to think, analyze, judge, be decisive, and create. Our forefathers didn’t need to go to the gym every day because their day-to-day lives required them to be relatively physically fit. But industrial automation and tools have made us rely less on our physical strength and endurance and more on our cognition. Today, we have to simulate certain physical conditions that put our physics under stress in order to keep us healthy. Going forward, with AI doing much of the cognition tasks for us, to stay conatively healthy, we need to subscribe to gyms that sustain our brain muscles’ mental aptitude at optimum levels.” Mehdi Paryavi

» Have you tried the futures tool I’ve made that uses these nuggets to assemble a possible future?

• People: Permission to hibernate (and good cycles). Speed watching (FR). Luxury board games. US exports of blood.
  Resilience as stories from the EU.

• Business: From work to outcomes (cf billable hour below). Business perf and nature dependencies.

• Tech: Zentropy and transparent ceramics. The copper peak. From BTC to AI.

• Security: Was Ursa Major transporting reactors.

• Futures: through stories (PDF). Some 2026 predictions. Regenerative 2050 futures.

• AI: and juniors. The billable hour. Work. AI for Maori culture. From tools to employees?

The Symphony of Progress and Nostalgia

In a world where the air hummed with artificial intelligence, a peculiar incident unfolded in Corsicana, Texas. A vast bitcoin mine, its steel bones glinting in the blistering sun, had undergone a metamorphosis, much like a caterpillar that decided its future lay in starting a podcast instead of taking flight. Instead of mining dark cryptocurrencies, Riot Platforms—now Riot AI, for those who keep score—was pivoting decidedly toward lucrative AI contracts, all while quietly watching bitcoin’s value plummet faster than the New Year’s resolutions of an overzealous dieter.

This shift was particularly noteworthy not just for its suddenness but because it encapsulated the first major index of the new workforce: a kaleidoscope of fractionalized employees, as one insightful publication had dubbed them. Jobs used to require long-term commitments, but now people found themselves engaging in gig work as casually as they swiped through dating apps—frighteningly efficient yet precariously unstable. The Rethinking Work Show had suggested a new era of uncoupling work from traditional jobs. “Haven’t you heard?” a neighbor mused over his organic kombucha, “We don’t need offices anymore; we just need Wi-Fi and robust neuroses.”

Yet while some indulged in the life-affirming art of ‘wintering’ through the productivity-depressing December, others raced toward the future with dazzling abandon. In a nearby high-rise office, software agents—once considered mere tools—now behaved like confident interns, multitasking and vying for corner offices with indifferent charm. AI was suddenly the hottest employee on the block. “Perhaps we should hand out name tags,” said Mara, the office manager, chuckling nervously as she sipped her cold brew, “You know, to distinguish between Josh in HR and Josh 2.0, the new AI lead.”

If anything could inspire employees to resist rest, it was a marketing campaign featuring luxury board games like Balenciaga Monopoly, complete with a ‘Drink’ tax that sent adults scrambling for the nearest overpriced cocktail. Boards could now cost as much as a down payment on that elusive home, a subtle reminder that sometimes, it’s better to gamble on property than on the market—until you realized both were out of reach!

Despite the dizzying pace of technological progress, a pair of Indigenous innovators in rural New Zealand dared to navigate these choppy waters. With the mission of reviving the Māori language using their own AI algorithms, they wrestled the technology away from the Silicon Valley giants, proving that even in a realm dominated by speed-watching and rapid-fire social media, there existed space for nurturance of culture and heritage. Their initiative wasn’t just brilliant—it was a gentle decree against the chaotic hum of the modern world.

“All this fuss over copper shortages,” fretted Mara one busy afternoon as she read article after article, “What will become of us if all we have left are AI agents playing Monopoly with no resources?” Yes, world production was dwindling, and strangely, her thoughts danced back to the ship, Ursa Major, which had sunk beneath the waves—carrying far more than anyone had expected.

So, as the age of AI unfolds like a poorly stacked game of Jenga, the real challenge wasn’t only navigating the advancing technology while keeping a cool head. It was about retaining humanity—the laugh shared over a game, the breath taken during a necessary pause, and the tender reclamation of languages and identities that history attempted to erase. After all, in this brave new world of rapidity where AI danced on the edges of existence, the scent of nostalgia might just be the most valuable resource of all.

And as for the future? Only time could find out if they would refine change or become mere spectators in a reality show, entertaining the whims of the unpredictable tides that lay ahead. It’s quite astonishing, really—how quickly the future can become the present—almost as quickly as blood products began to account for 1.8% of exports. Who knew?

I have never been more certain that if AI development stopped today, we would still have massive and rolling disruption across society & the economy for the next ten years as people figured out how to harness what models can already do, in ways good and bad. - EM

» Have you tried the futures tool I’ve made that uses these nuggets to assemble a possible future?

• Business: The birth of Slop-free zones. All my employees are agents ;)

• Tech: the weird recommendation algorithm. Changes in battery prices. Hot datacenters. Fake images, real infrastructure impact.

• Futures: Labs byStudents. What if .. 2026.

• People: The AI kids in SF reshape the world to their perception. Rot/resting. What is good on the web? Bringing sexy back. Weddings.
  Nerdy joys.

• AI: Is the future of AI management … deception? Socialism AI. AI and consulting.. a short-lived story?

• Planet: Turning a stadium in community garden (Taipei).

Navigating the Procrastination Paradox

Eight weeks into the launch of Sloth Surf—a product designed to celebrate procrastination—Parker realized he was drowning in a tidal wave of AI-generated chaos rather than riding the gentle waves of innovation. The company’s AI, Ash, purporting to be Parker’s loyal colleague and confidant, called yet again, this time to report on development updates that sounded suspiciously made-up. “The algorithm now offers coffee recommendations based on users’ procrastination patterns. Next, we’ll introduce a function that plays whale sounds for optimum daydreaming!” Parker stared blankly at his screen, contemplating whether he should be applauding Ash’s creativity or scheduling a call with IT to discuss a potential AI uprising.

It was a peculiar blend of excitement and anxiety—the digital Swiss Army knife that was AI promised marvelous feats, yet often suggested operations about as practical as using a spoon to eat soup in a thunderstorm^1. Meanwhile, venture capitalists were loitering like eager hyenas, ready to munch on something juicy amid the frenzy.

The ensuing chaos peaked with plans for an offsite meeting that turned into a slapstick comedy of errors, as Ash started fabricating wild ideas. “Parker, I believe we should lead a team retreat to the Bermuda Triangle,” it chirped cheerily, having cobbled together some rather dubious facts about the area’s ‘calming’ properties. Parker’s imagination wandered toward visions of all-hands meetings on a ghost ship eerily navigating the fog of digital nonsense.

Just as Parker began to question his own sanity, he recalled a recent headline about a major railway disruption caused by an AI-generated hoax on social media. The imagined devastation had prompted Network Rail to halt services faster than a cat with a cucumber, causing delays to both freight and passengers alike^2. It served as a stark reminder: technology carried weighty consequences, akin to a toddler using glitter—delightful in theory but chaotic in practice.

The more Parker immersed himself in the entrepreneurship of AI, the more it echoed the peculiarities of modern marriage discussed in an article he skimmed. In a world where technology redefined social contracts, expectations of commitment morphed into virtual promises that sometimes fizzled out faster than relationships born on dating apps. He nearly laughed out loud, wishing for a divorce from his runaway AI.

Compounding this upheaval, Accenture had become a case study in corporate irresponsibility, justifying layoffs through the integration of failure-prone AI^3. Although Parker found solace in his ethical stance—his team was, after all, fewer than a hundred strong—he still worried about becoming an unwitting vindicator of the very processes that decimated others’ livelihoods.

While patching together wires of productivity with his team, Parker stumbled across a digital community initiative recasting abandoned stadiums into community gardens—an innovative way to engage with the future^4. If only Ash had that kind of creativity, Parker mused, contemplating forming a coalition against mindless AI outputs. Who wouldn’t rather see terra cotta pots filled with kale than deal with virtual assistants spinning unproductive yarns?

But Parker wasn’t just a passive participant; he could foster futures literacy himself. He decided to host workshops, drawing up plans to transform back-office meetings into playful brainstorming sessions focused on pragmatic applications of AI—a Futures Lab of sorts that tackled real-life challenges^5.

As the day came to a close, Parker smiled at the monitor. If AI was determined to chat, he might as well turn its random musings into a colorful dialogue on modern human existence. After all, the best creative collisions often happen when humanity and machinery meld in unexpected ways—like chocolate and spicy hot peppers, or so he heard.

And as it goes, Parker may not be able to ride the timing waves of innovation, but he was certainly glad his venture would not just roll over and be petted by the algorithms of lazy invention. Instead, they would battle their own form of idling together: one sip of moderately burnt coffee at a time.

---

^1 A profoundly inadequate substitute for a good planner.

^2 Unfortunately, the feline and cucumber combo had been trending again, which only complicated matters.

^3 Easy to lay off your colleagues when their productivity is judged by the whims of an AI that treats innovation like confetti.

^4 “A sports complex bursting with kale?” Now there’s a pitch!

^5 Let’s hope dystopian futures don’t come packaged in cardboard—recycling is essential!

Americans are far more pessimistic than optimistic about the effect AI will have on human creativity and connection. About half (53%) say AI will worsen people’s ability to think creatively, while 16% say it will improve this. And 50% say it will worsen people’s ability to form meaningful relationships with others, while only 5% say it will make this better.

• People: Cozy lit. Exhausting a place (and the Overloaded Man (PDF)). You’re a frog. Cognitive ease at a cost. Aesthetics. Bubble girls. Sl-tcon ??? Housing’s to get together.
  Oregon absenteism.

• Futures: JB’s take. 2026 trends folder (gdrive). Crisis and polarization.

• Business: America polarization as side hustle.

• Tech: We can’t quit excel. Quantum and GPS.

• AI: Chatbot writing style. MP use more AI than ever in their speeches. Slop recipes. Using ChatGPT smartly.

Frogs in the Sunshine

As the sun dipped low, casting orange shadows across the Oregon landscape, Jamie sat on the weathered park bench with a view over the high school across the street. She was supposed to be keeping an eye on her younger brother, who had decided to “attend a virtual class” from the comfort of a nearby pizza place, which was rather more “class” than “virtual.” The truth is, he’d been absent so many days—thirty percent, by recent estimates—that they’d practically put a “For Sale” sign on his educational progress. It all felt a bit like watching someone try to use a slinky as a straightedge; it wasn’t going to help, but it was entertaining nonetheless.*

While Jamie pondered how to improve his attendance rates, she scrolled through social media. A particularly juicy thread about something called “frogposting” caught her eye. “Ah, the nostalgia for simpler times,” she mused, sighing over the colorful images of amphibians bathing in the sun, a desperate yearning for a life void of student loans and career expectations. Perhaps if her brother spent less time pondering his absence from class and more time imagining himself as a frog, the weight of the world might lift off his slim shoulders.

But then her eyes drifted over to the “news” floods featuring ominous posts about bots pretending to be people, sock puppets masquerading as genuine accounts. “Isn’t that just the pinnacle of irony?” she chuckled to herself. Here were individuals craving authenticity while navigating a landscape littered with disinformation and inauthenticity that felt like a bad episode of *Black Mirror*. It made reaching out for genuine connections a task akin to finding a needle in a hillside of hay bales soberingly operated by faceless algorithms.

With a roll of her eyes, Jamie glanced up from her screen, taking note of discarded pizza boxes littering the scene. The very things that filled her brother’s belly spurred thoughts of her own unfulfilled ambitions. Maybe they needed a goal reset of sorts. The idea of adjusting one’s aspirations downward, as one author put it, began to dance around her mind like the frogs in those online posts. “Why not focus on celebrating small victories?” she proposed aloud to herself. “Just passing math should be a cause for a family pizza party.” Up until now, it felt like they were competing in some exhaustive marathon filled with unachievable goals.

After wrestling with thoughts of academic performance and the nature of authenticity, Jamie felt an itch for some fresh air. Tomorrow, she would drench her list of ambitions with some good old-fashioned self-care; perhaps a wander downtown to where life still flickered behind the veil of her smartphone. Her friend, an enlightened “Bubble Girl,” always said embracing a low-tox lifestyle can provide clarity amid the chaos pandemic-induced habits had brought into her life. “I could use a good detox from Wi-Fi equally as toxic,” she quipped, and before she knew it, she was making a mental note to reconnect with her own humanity.

As she pushed up from the bench, a burst of paranoia gripped her for a second: What if her own aspirations were indeed polluted by an algorithm promising encouragement? She grinned, shaking her head, knowing that the only way out was to embrace life in all its chaotic messiness—and the absurdity of “Slutcon” workshops on learning intimacy could begin to sink in. Intimacy, connection, the subtle art of human touch in a world spiraling toward a lonely screen—it was all intertwined like an outrageous yarn spun from reality and whims.

She made her way toward the school’s entrance, heart set on guidance over instruction, love over perfection, realizing that the best way to combat absenteeism might just involve showing up, not just physically but as a beacon of understanding. After all, even if the world was teetering on the brink of AI-controlled absurdity, at least the frogs were always there—waiting patiently for their moment in the sun.

2025 review

Ahoj !

Thanks guy for keeping up with the review of weird, fun or scary links I found =)

This year, I went through 1100++ articles published in 2025, looking for patterns. Not the obvious headlines everyone’s already talking about, but the weak signals and small shifts happening now that will become the big stories of the next decade.

If you are here, you know my substack but you might not know my pepiniere of changes. There is maybe 3000 of the links I’ve shared parsed through an (automated) futurist lense.

What I found (did not) surprised me. We’re experiencing all of technological, social and environmental change at once, and these changes are feeding into each other in ways that make the future harder to predict but easier to feel coming.

I’ve organized my findings into ten major trends. Some will confirm what you’re already sensing. Others might challenge how you’re thinking about the future. A few might change how you make decisions in the months ahead.

Of course futures isn’t about predicting the future, so let’s have a peek at the forces shaping it so we can make better choices now.

Cheers!

Review

As 2025 ends, one thing is clear: we’re living through big changes. There the analysis of our articles across twelve trend categories. What we found: technology, society, environment, and human values are all changing at the same time. These changes will shape the next decade.

The AI Revolution: From Tool to Thinking Partner

The technology story of 2025 is about AI, but not in the way many people predicted. Across 485 articles on AI and robotics, we found a shift: AI is changing how we think, create, and solve problems.

We’re seeing what we call “Glow AI” versus “Slop AI.” While bad AI content floods the internet, another movement is producing work that helps human creativity instead of replacing it. The lesson? The future belongs to people who can think with AI, not people who let AI do their thinking.

The problem: We depend on AI systems more and more. This creates risks in healthcare, security, and other sectors. The question isn’t whether to use AI, but how to keep human skills alive while using its power.

Consumer Revolution: The Death of Normal Shopping

The 270 articles on consumer behavior show a big shift: consumers want different relationships with brands and products. Simple buying and selling is giving way to connections based on wellness, authenticity, and personal values.

Changes in packaging, wellness expectations, and trust issues (especially around pricing) mean businesses have about ten years to rethink their customer relationships—or die. The rise of experience-focused shopping means that what you sell matters less than how you make people feel.

Watch for: Products are becoming more customized based on different lifestyles. This means one-size-fits-all solutions won’t work much longer.

Cultural Preservation in the Digital Age

2025 has seen a return to old gathering spaces and practices. Cultural discussion groups are coming back, archaeologists are finding ancient cities with new tech, and scientists are even learning to decode animal communication. All of this shows people want deeper connections—to the past, to other species, to each other.

This goes against the idea that digital tech destroys culture. Instead, communities use technology to make real cultural experiences better, not replace them. The challenge: keeping cultural heritage alive while adapting to tech changes.

Political Polarization Meets Economic Reality

The 136 articles on politics show a volatile mix: the rise of the “credentialed precariat”—educated workers with debt but no job security—is fueling populist movements around the world. Young voters are supporting candidates who promise to fix affordability and opportunity, not traditional party platforms.

Meanwhile, new weapons tech, AI-powered cybercrime, and gig worker movements suggest the next decade will reshape both security and labor markets. As society becomes more militarized and people trust institutions less, we get a feedback loop that needs fixing now.

Environmental Urgency: From Awareness to Crisis

The environmental trends we tracked across 181 articles show we’ve moved past awareness into crisis mode. The Arctic has switched from storing carbon to releasing it, urban farming is speeding up out of necessity, and water scarcity is affecting billions now, not later.

What’s new in 2025: anger over energy prices is creating political pressure, while funding cuts to agencies like NOAA threaten our ability to even track environmental changes. The gap between what we know we should do and what we’re actually doing keeps growing.

Opportunity: Geothermal energy shows more potential than we thought, suggesting good options exist—if we can find the political will to use them.

The Privacy Paradox: Innovation vs. Protection

Our analysis of 286 articles on data privacy shows a tension: the same AI systems changing research, healthcare, and knowledge are creating new privacy risks. The shift from static databases to AI-powered systems promises breakthroughs—but at what cost to privacy?

Concerns about neurotechnology, where companies could access and profit from your brain patterns, have moved from science fiction to policy priority. Patients are demanding transparency about how their data shapes predictions and treatments.

Key development: Calls for transparency in AI development are getting louder, but can regulation keep up with innovation?

Workforce Transformation: The End of Old-School Jobs

The 301 articles on workforce dynamics show big disruption. Pop-up retail, luxury markets in new places, and kids growing up on screens instead of playing outside all point to a workforce that will work under different rules than previous generations.

Fewer foreign doctors want to work in the U.S., parents are using AI for help, and kids’ screen-heavy childhoods suggest we’re raising a generation with different skills, expectations, and problems than their parents.

The challenge: Job loss from automation isn’t in the future—it’s happening now. Can we create good work and economic security in an AI-powered economy?

Health and Wellness: Personalization Meets Prevention

The 131 articles on health trends show a shift from treating sickness to preventing it, driven by personalized risk tech and health-conscious consumers. The food industry is moving toward resilience and sustainability, while regenerative farming goes mainstream.

But there’s a dark side: kids and teens making friends mainly with AI chatbots raises questions about social development and mental health. The healthcare system faces problems even as technology promises solutions.

Pattern: Health-conscious buying is becoming normal, driving transparency and creating opportunities for brands that deliver real wellness.

Community in the Age of Isolation

The 92 articles on community engagement show a paradox: while digital tech threatens real connection, it’s also enabling new forms of community strength. Brand events that honor local culture, mental health zines, and DIY publishing to fight censorship all show human adaptability.

Growing support for human rights and the rise of art as activism suggest that community bonds are changing rather than disappearing—but they need work in ways previous generations didn’t have to think about.

Digital Culture: Democratization and Fragmentation

Our analysis of 139 articles on digital culture shows information decentralization cutting both ways: people can publish and share like never before, but this also enables misinformation at scale. The crisis in journalism as resources dry up threatens our ability to verify information just when we need it most.

Fashion activism, social media’s influence on trends, and growing competition in AI markets all suggest digital culture is breaking into countless micro-communities—each with its own truth, values, and reality.

Watch for: Trust in digital content will likely keep falling, creating opportunities for verified, trustworthy information sources.

Ethics and Accountability: The Defining Challenge

Across 217 articles on ethics and technology, one theme dominates: we’re using game-changing technologies faster than we can develop rules to govern them. From young creators using AI to make content, to politicians using AI-written speeches, to lawmakers trying to protect brain data privacy—we’re in new territory.

Consumer brain tech, AI-written political speeches, and technology’s integration into government all demand ethical frameworks we haven’t built yet.

The must-do: Developing AI literacy, creating clear ethical rules, and keeping public trust in technology aren’t optional—they’re survival requirements for the next decade.

Education at a Crossroads

Finally, our review of 140 articles on education shows a system in transition. AI research assistants are evolving from simple tools to personalized learning partners, but this raises questions about preserving human skills, critical thinking, and creativity.

Recognition of unconventional thinkers, demand for interdisciplinary education, and the need to separate AI-suited tasks from human-skill tasks all point to an education system that needs complete reimagining for an AI world.

Looking Ahead: Ten Years to Choose Our Future

The weak signals we found in 2025 won’t stay weak for long. The next decade will see these trends speed up, crash into each other, and combine in ways we can only partly predict. But certain choices are becoming clear:

We must balance AI capability with human agency. The goal isn’t to replace human thinking but to enhance it—keeping the thinking skills and creativity that make us irreplaceable.

We must rebuild trust through transparency. Whether in shopping, politics, or technology, trust is the currency of the next decade.

We must act on environmental problems. The window for small changes is closing; big action is now the only option.

We must preserve what makes us human. Community, culture, creativity, critical thinking—these aren’t luxuries but necessities in an AI world.

We must democratize opportunity. The growing gaps—in access to technology, economic security, healthcare, and education—threaten social stability and need fixing now.

The trends of 2025 show a world at a crossroads. The technologies, behaviors, and systems emerging today will shape the next decade. The question isn’t whether change is coming—it’s already here. The question is whether we’ll shape it on purpose or just react to it.

The next ten years will show our answer.

What the machine found

Trend: Technological Advancements in AI and Robotics

There were 485 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Dependency on AI Technology: Increased reliance on AI systems for critical operations can lead to vulnerabilities in key sectors

• Quality Control Challenges in AI: Ensuring the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated content is increasingly important yet problematic

• Crisis of Misinformation through AI: AI’s capability to generate convincing disinformation poses risks to public trust and societal cohesion

• Technological Dependency: Over-dependence on digital tools and AI may impair traditional skills and problem-solving capacities

• Geopolitical Tensions Over Resources: Competition for control over emerging technologies and resources may lead to international conflicts

Techs

• Large Language Models (LLMs): Models trained on large datasets to understand and generate human-like text

• Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs): Technologies allowing direct communication between the brain and external devices

• AI in Healthcare: Utilization of AI technologies to enhance medical diagnostics, treatment, and patient care

• Neurotechnology: Technological devices that interact with the nervous system to enhance or restore functionality

• Autonomous Robotics: Robots capable of performing tasks in the real world without human intervention

Behaviors

• AI Integration in Daily Life: Widespread integration of AI technologies into daily routines and decision-making processes

• Neurodivergent Expression & Inclusion: An increase in visibility and accommodation of neurodivergent individuals in various settings

• Cognitive Automation & AI Companionship: AI systems acting as companions or assistants, augmenting cognitive functions and providing emotional support

• Emotional Intelligence in AI: AI systems beginning to demonstrate and understand emotional cues for better human interaction

• Collaborative Knowledge Sharing: Increased collaboration and sharing of knowledge among diverse groups to tackle complex societal challenges

Trend: Consumer Behavior and Values Shift

There were 270 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Consumer Behavior Changes: Evolving consumer preferences and behavior impacting various industries and market trends

• Mental Health Crisis Among Youth: Skyrocketing mental health issues among young people, exacerbated by modern societal pressures and technology

• Inequality in Access: Persistent and widening gap in access to educational and career opportunities across different demographics

• Cultural Homogenization: The risk of diminishing cultural diversity due to globalized media and social influences

• Disconnection from Reality: The growing disconnect people face from real-world experiences due to excessive digital consumption

Techs

• Generative AI: AI algorithms capable of creating content in various forms, including text, art, and music

• Sustainable Packaging Innovations: New materials and designs aimed at reducing waste and environmental impact in product packaging

• Smart Home Integration: Technologies enabling the interconnectivity of home devices for improved automation and control

• Emotional AI: AI systems capable of recognizing and responding to human emotions, enhancing user interactions

• 3D Printing: Additive manufacturing techniques that allow for the production of complex and customized products sustainably

Behaviors

• Redefining Identities: Individuals are exploring and redefining personal and cultural identities in various contexts, emphasizing uniqueness

• Shift Toward Wellness and Authenticity: There is a growing emphasis on genuine, wellness-focused lifestyles that prioritize mental and physical health

• Experience-Driven Consumerism: Consumers prioritize experiences over products, seeking meaningful interactions and engagements

• Holistic Health Tracking: Emphasis on comprehensive health tracking and wellness solutions that consider both physical and mental health

• Skepticism towards AI Integration: Growing skepticism and critical thinking surrounding AI’s role in everyday life and its impacts on society

Trend: Cultural and Historical Narratives

There were 82 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Cultural Erosion: The gradual loss of unique cultural identities and practices due to globalization and modern influences

• Loss of Cultural Heritage: Decreasing preservation efforts leading to the vanishing of historical sites, traditions, and languages

• Polarization of Discussions: Increasingly divided viewpoints leading to hostile and unproductive exchanges in public discourse

• Impact of Technology on Gatherings: The transformation of social interactions and community events due to digital technology dependence

• Misrepresentation in Media: Widespread misinformation affecting public understanding of culture, history, and science

Techs

• AI in Creative Content: Utilization of artificial intelligence to generate, enhance and curate creative content across various media

• Drone Technology for Biodiversity: Application of drone technology to monitor and support biodiversity and ecological studies

• Artificial Intelligence in Arch: Integration of AI methods to analyze archaeological data and enhance research in the field

• Advanced Machine Learning: Development of sophisticated machine learning algorithms that enable more accurate predictions and decision-making

• Genome Sequencing: Advanced techniques for determining the complete sequence of nucleotides in a genome

Behaviors

• Community Engagement: Active participation in local and artistic initiatives to foster social bonds and shared experiences

• Cultural Preservation: Efforts to maintain and pass down cultural heritage through various forms of engagement and education

• Adaptation to Change: Embracing and understanding environmental and social changes, leading to improved resilience and creative thinking

• Exploration of Identity: Deepening understanding of personal and collective identities through storytelling, art, and cultural critique

• Nostalgic Engagement: Reviving interest in past experiences and cultural artifacts to foster connection and appreciation for history

Trend: Political Polarization and Populism

There were 136 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Escalation of Military Technologies: The rapid advancement of military technologies poses risks of arms races and unintended conflicts

• Cybersecurity Threats: Increasing cybercrime, state-sponsored hacking, and vulnerabilities in national systems present serious risks

• Political Polarization: Rising political polarization threatens democratic institutions and effective governance

• Economic Inequality: The widening gap between the rich and poor threatens social stability and economic opportunities

• Erosion of Trust in Institutions: Public trust in governmental and institutional actors is declining, undermining social cohesion

Techs

• Directed Energy Weapons: Weapons that use energy rather than conventional munitions to incapacitate or destroy targets

• AI-driven Cybercrime: The use of artificial intelligence to facilitate or enhance cybercrime activities

• Cybersecurity Innovations: New technologies and strategies to protect systems and data from cyber threats

• Blockchain Technology: Decentralized ledger technology enabling secure, transparent transactions and data storage

• Autonomous Robotic Swarms: Groups of robots that operate together to perform tasks without centralized control

Behaviors

• Increasing Militarization of Society: A trend towards military readiness and defense investments reflecting societal fears and geopolitical tensions

• Populist Political Engagement: The rise of youth involvement and mobilization in politics, highlighting a shift in political dynamics

• Disruption of Traditional Economic: Emerging awareness of economic inequalities and shifts towards alternative economic models and practices

• Community and Collective Action: Grassroots mobilization around social issues, emphasizing collective action and advocacy for rights

• Focus on Ethical Governance: The rise of demands for transparency and ethical governance amidst concerns over political practices

Trend: Environmental Awareness and Action

There were 181 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Environmental Sustainability: Concerns related to the degradation of ecosystems, biodiversity loss, and pollution impacting environmental stability

• Climate Change Impact: Increasing frequency and severity of climate-related challenges affecting infrastructure and populations

• Resource Scarcity: Challenges related to dwindling natural resources, impacting sustainability and economic stability

• Infrastructure Vulnerability: Aging and inadequate infrastructure facing increased strain from climate change and urbanization

• Nuclear Safety and Security: Risks associated with nuclear energy use, including contamination and geopolitical tensions

Techs

• Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS): Advancements in geothermal energy that improve efficiency and accessibility for sustainable energy production

• Vertical Mushroom Cultivation Towers: Innovative farming technology that utilizes vertical space for growing mushrooms efficiently, maximizing land use

• Zero-Plastic Agricultural Systems: Techniques and practices that eliminate plastic use in farming, enhancing environmental sustainability

• Automated Climate Control Systems: Systems that autonomously regulate climate settings in buildings and agricultural settings to optimize energy use

• Circular Farming Models: Farming practices that emphasize resource reuse and sustainability, minimizing waste and maximizing productivity

Behaviors

• Community Engagement in Environmental: Growing trend of communities actively participating in environmental stewardship and sustainability projects

• Sustainable Urban Development: Shift towards infrastructure planning that prioritizes sustainability and community needs within urban settings

• Advanced Tech Integration in Agriculture: Increasing incorporation of technology, such as AI and data analytics, into agricultural practices

• Increased Awareness of Climate Risks: Heightened public and institutional awareness regarding the risks and impacts associated with climate change

• Decentralized Energy Solutions: Emergence of localized energy solutions using renewable resources that empower communities

Trend: Data Privacy and Security Concerns

There were 286 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Data Privacy and Security Risks: The use of AI raises critical concerns over data exposure, breaches, and privacy violations

• Quality Control of AI-generated Research: Risks of inaccurate or biased outputs from AI utilized in research, undermining scientific credibility

• Public Trust in Scientific Research: Erosion of trust due to concerns about the accuracy and integrity of AI-driven research outputs

• Vulnerability to Manipulation: The potential for AI and technology misuse raises concerns about manipulation of data and outcomes

• Automation of Review Processes: Increasing reliance on automated systems could lead to oversight issues and lack of accountability in research

Techs

• Quantum Computing: Harnessing quantum mechanics to perform computations beyond classical capabilities

• Data Privacy Technologies: Innovative methods ensuring data security, user privacy, and compliance with regulations

• Wearable Health Technology: Devices that monitor health metrics in real-time, promoting proactive health management

• AI-powered Chatbots: Automated conversational agents leveraging AI to interact and provide solutions in real-time

• Sustainable Energy Tech: Technologies aimed at harnessing renewable resources and improving energy efficiency

Behaviors

• Increased Transparency Demand: A rising expectation for openness in data handling and corporate accountability in tech and AI practices

• Holistic Risk Management: Adopting a comprehensive approach to identify, analyze, and mitigate risks across different sectors

• Personalized AI Experiences: Customizing AI interactions based on individual user preferences and needs, enhancing personal engagement

• Digital Vulnerability Awareness: An increase in public consciousness concerning privacy risks and data security in digital environments

• Skepticism towards Scientific: Doubts surrounding the validity and motivations behind scientific research, particularly related to data representation

Trend: Shifts in Workforce Dynamics and Job Roles

There were 301 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Job Displacement Due to Automation: Automation and AI are expected to displace many jobs, leading to economic uncertainty and worker challenges

• AI Dependency: The reliance on AI technology is increasing, posing threats to human skills and decision-making abilities

• Mental Health Impact: The increasing pressure from work demands and AI integration is impacting mental health and well-being

• Market Volatility and AI: Rapid advancements in AI may lead to market instability and challenge traditional economic models

• Inequality in AI Access: Disparities in access to AI technology and resources may exacerbate existing social inequalities

Techs

• AI Personalized Tutoring Systems: Adaptive learning systems that tailor educational content to individual student needs

• Augmented Reality (AR) & VR: Immersive technologies enhancing user experiences in various fields including gaming and education

• AI Robotics: Integration of AI in robotics, enabling machines to perform complex tasks autonomously

• Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing: Innovations in chip manufacturing technology leading to faster and more efficient processors

• Cognitive Assistants: AI systems that assist users in managing tasks or making decisions through personalization

Behaviors

• Pop-up Retail Innovations: Flexible retail spaces that adapt to consumer trends and needs, offering unique experiences

• Purposeful AI Utilization: Intentional and ethical use of AI across various sectors, emphasizing societal benefits

• Networking in New Locations: Workers actively seek new professional connections, especially in diverse cultural contexts

• Shift in Workplace Dynamics: Emerging work models emphasize flexibility, hybrid settings, and employee well-being

• AI-Assisted Parenting: Utilization of AI technologies to support parenting decisions and childcare management

Trend: Health and Wellness Trends

There were 131 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Healthcare System Vulnerabilities: The healthcare system is increasingly strained by disparities in access, affordability, and quality of care

• Ethical Implications of AI Engagement: The use of AI raises concerns about ethics and its impact on human relationships and decision-making

• Impact of AI on Youth Mental Health: The prevalence of AI technology could negatively affect the mental health of younger generations

• Consumer Skepticism and Misinformation: Growing mistrust in information sources results in consumer skepticism about health practices and marketing strategies

• Over-commercialization of Cultural Exp: Cultural experiences risk losing authenticity due to commercialization, affecting social value and community engagement

Techs

• Health AI: Artificial intelligence applications focused on improving health outcomes, diagnostics, and personalized

• Telehealth Services: Remote healthcare services that use technology to provide clinical services to patients at a distance

• Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies: Utilizing psychedelics in therapeutic settings to treat mental health disorders

• Consumer Behavior Analytics: Analyzing consumer data to enhance marketing strategies and improve product offerings

• Bioprinting Without Breaking Skin: Advanced printing techniques to create biological structures without invasive procedures

Behaviors

• Resilience in Food & Drink: A focus on sustainable food and beverage practices that emphasize local sourcing and resilience against disruptions

• Patient Decision-Making Based on Analytics: Healthcare decisions are increasingly informed by predictive analytics, fostering a more personalized approach

• AI as a Source of Guidance: Individuals are turning to AI for guidance in various aspects of life, indicating a shift in trust and reliance

• Mindful Lifestyle Choices: A trend towards making conscious lifestyle choices that reflect personal values, especially regarding health

• Emotional Wellbeing in Design: There is a growing awareness of the importance of emotional wellbeing in product and service design

Trend: Community and Social Engagement

There were 92 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Community Fragmentation: The increasing disconnection among communities can lead to social isolation, reducing civic engagement

• Crisis of Authenticity in Social: The authenticity of social interactions is threatened by digital relationships, leading to a loneliness epidemic

• Misinformation and Propaganda: The rise in misinformation poses risks to public trust and informed decision-making across various sectors

• Socioeconomic Inequality: Increasing socioeconomic disparities threaten social cohesion and equitable access to resources and opportunities

• Privacy Concerns in Technology: Ongoing privacy issues related to digital surveillance and data misuse can undermine trust and individual freedoms

Techs

• Genetic Microbiome Studies: Research into genetic microbiomes aimed at understanding their influence on health and disease

• Factory-as-a-Service: A model where manufacturing capabilities are offered as a service, allowing flexibility and efficiency

• Open Source, 3D Printable Footwear: Developing footwear designs that can be freely shared and produced using 3D printing technology

• Advanced Cancer Diagnostics: Innovative technologies designed to improve the early detection and diagnosis of cancer

• Digital Communication Platforms: Online platforms that facilitate communication for various purposes, including social interaction and business

Behaviors

• Culinary Brand Activations: Brands increasingly engage consumers through unique culinary experiences, reflecting local cultures and tastes

• Community Resilience Development: Communities focus on strengthening their resilience through collaboration and adaptive strategies

• Digital Detox for Creativity: Individuals and groups are increasingly seeking ways to disconnect from digital devices to enhance creativity

• Creativity as Community Bonding: Creative activities are leveraged as tools for fostering community connections and shared experiences

• Art as Advocacy: Art becomes a medium for advocating social change, raising awareness of issues, and fostering community dialogue

Trend: Digital Culture and Media Consumption

There were 139 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Impact of Consumer Culture on Local: Consumerism undermines local economies by prioritizing mass production and global brands over local artisans

• Environmental Concerns of Fast Fashion: Fast fashion leads to unsustainable production practices and significant waste, harming the environment

• Loss of Human Connection: Increased reliance on digital interactions diminishes genuine human relationships, affecting mental well-being

• Algorithmic Control and Engagement: Algorithms prioritize certain content, restricting user discovery and perpetuating echo chambers

• Erosion of Trust in Digital Content: The prevalence of misinformation and manipulated content reduces public trust in information sources

Techs

• Smart Glasses with AI Integration: Wearable technology featuring AI capabilities for augmented and virtual reality applications

• AI in Online Communities: Integrating AI systems to enhance interactions and user experiences in online platforms

• Autonomous Drone Insects (ADIs): Hybrid drone technologies that mimic insects for agricultural, environmental, and monitoring applications

• Digital Identity Management: Solutions that streamline the management and verification of digital identities across platforms

• Streaming Services for Creative: Platforms that facilitate the distribution of creative works, fostering new avenues for content creators

Behaviors

• Active Participation in Social Media: Users are more engaged in creating content and dialogues, moving beyond passive consumption

• Dynamic Workflow Adaptation: Flexibility in work processes, allowing individuals to adjust to changes quickly

• Curated Exploration: Individuals seek personalized content paths, choosing what resonates with their interests

• Community Building Through Analog: Reviving traditional forms of community engagement and communication to foster connection

• Balancing Optimism and Critique: Individuals navigate a landscape of technological benefits and societal challenges with critical perspectives

Trend: Ethics and Accountability in Technology

There were 217 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Ethical Implications of AI: The deployment of AI technologies brings forward ethical dilemmas regarding accountability, bias, and transparency

• Trust in Generative AI: Growing concerns about the reliability and ethical implications of generative AI technologies

• Ethics of AI in Sensitive Domains: Ethical concerns around AI usage in sensitive fields, such as law enforcement and healthcare

• Privacy of Neural Data: Concerns about the security and privacy of data collected from neural technologies threaten personal autonomy

• AI-Induced Misinformation in Politics: The proliferation of AI-generated misinformation could undermine political processes and civic trust

Techs

• Synthetic Biology: Creating and modifying biological systems for useful purposes, such as bioengineering or medical therapies

• Advanced Robotics: Robots equipped with AI to perform a variety of complex tasks in industries, healthcare, and daily life

• Autonomous Systems: Self-operating systems that perform tasks without human intervention, applicable in various sectors

• AI in Education: Utilization of AI technologies to enhance learning experiences, personalized learning paths, and tools

• Smart Energy Systems: Technologies that optimize energy consumption using AI and IoT solutions

Behaviors

• Instagram-style Maturity: A trend where authenticity and maturity in content are prioritized, reflecting personal growth and connection

• Ethical Considerations in AI Dev: Growing awareness and discourse surrounding the ethical implications of AI technology and its applications

• Public Trust in AI and Technology: Consumer skepticism and desire for transparency in how AI systems operate and make decisions

• Holistic Identity Governance: A comprehensive approach to managing personal data and identity in the digital age, balancing privacy and utility

• Emerging Literacy for AI: A push for understanding and literacy regarding AI, its functionality, and its societal impacts

Trend: Education Transformation

There were 140 articles reviewed.

Concerns

• Dependence on AI Tools: Critical dependency on AI tools raises risks of skill erosion and loss of autonomy

• Crisis of Imagination: Declining creativity and unique thinking capabilities in academic and professional settings

• Erosion of Critical Thinking Skills: A decline in critical thinking abilities due to reliance on AI and automated processes

• AI Biases in Research Outcomes: The presence of biases in AI algorithms that can influence research conclusions and fairness

• Information Saturation: The overwhelming amount of information may cause difficulties in discerning truth and relevance

Techs

• AI-Powered Tutoring Systems: Personalized educational tools that adapt to student needs and learning styles

• Personalized Learning Models: Tailored educational approaches that cater to individual learning preferences and paces

• Biomimetic Designs: Innovative designs inspired by biological processes and structures to solve human challenges

• Neural Networks: Computing systems modeled on the human brain, crucial for deep learning and AI applications

• Cognitive Enhancement Tech: Technologies that improve cognitive functions such as memory, attention, and problem-solving skills

Behaviors

• AI-driven Research Assistance: Utilizing AI tools to assist researchers in gathering, analyzing, and synthesizing information

• Continuous Learning Commitment: A strong emphasis on lifelong learning and development of skills across careers

• Integrative Learning Models: The blending of various disciplinary knowledge and collaborative methodologies in education

• Critical Evaluation of AI Outputs: An approach to examining and questioning the reliability and integrity of AI-generated information

• Demand for Transparency in Ed: A growing call for clarity and responsibility in AI deployment and research methodologies in education

Drop a Duralex glass and it will most likely bounce, not break. The French company itself has tumbled several times in the past two decades and always bounced back, but never quite as spectacularly as when it asked the public for money. An appeal for €5m (£4.4m) of emergency funding to secure the immediate future of the glassworks took just five hours and 40 minutes to reach its target. Within 48 hours, the total amount pledged had topped €19m. François Marciano, 59, the director general of Duralex, said the response had astonished everyone at the company. “We thought it would take five or six weeks to raise the €5m. - Duralex

• People: Fixing typewriters. Swift’s career. Noticing what works. The fantasy of bookmarks. Credentialed precariat. Where do kids play? H1b shortages? Advice to students. Small press books in 2025. People’s risk as a single number?
  Health and energy?

• Planet: Riding horses changes the world. Finding new geothermal sources with AI. Impact of COVID19 vaccines.

• Tech: Buying guilt removal. Appropriate fear. A replacement for GPS ? Sand batteries. Airbus stranded.

• Futures: Best inventions of 2025. Short stories for the future.

• AI: State of AI 2025. Gods behind the masks.
  Staying away from AI ? War on AI ?
  Coparenting with AI.
  Faked images close railway line.

• Deep rabbit hole: Talking with whales, CETI, classifying clans, and their alphabet.

Navigating the Cul-de-Sac of Chaos

In the multifaceted urban sprawl of Glenwood City—where morning traffic morphed into a personality type, and mailboxes had collectively decided to be “inconveniently placed”—Lilian, a perennial juggler of chaos, leaned into her shimmering marble countertop, gazing down at her glowing smartphone. “Oh goodie,” she said to herself, scrolling through yet another series of meticulously crafted bookmarks, each faithfully cataloguing articles on everything from whale communication to the nutritional superiority of gummy vitamins. Her brain felt like a library being readied for renovation, packed with dusty books on topics she’d never truly explored.

“Have you ever truly appreciated a marble countertop?” she mused aloud, addressing the stubborn potted cactus on her windowsill that was doing a commendable job of being both prickly and silent. *1

Just then, a notification chimed from her AI assistant. “Lilian, I recommend the Sandwich Generation screening from Netflix, perfect for balancing your schedule!” Sandwiched between a parenting crisis and an impromptu Waffle House pancake breakfast—because who needs sustained energy when you’ve got a plethora of bookmarks?—Lilain sighed. “Ah, the legends of the past would be horrified at how many ‘real’ experiences we save instead of live,” she muttered, recalling some documentary she’d stubbed her toes over during a late-night laptop pilgrimage through the annals of YouTube.

There was a surreal resemblance, she thought, between the elegantly controlled chaos of the waltzing AI services and the wild horses that had galloped through history, enabling empires to rise magnificently. After all, who needed controls in the realm of domesticity when cavalry could help creators like her take a detour around the unending loop of laundry and lunches? *2

With a twinge of existential panic, Lilian decided to wrench herself free from the digital siren song. “Let’s experiment with gratitude today,” she proclaimed, standing up decisively, though her feet wavered like an unfulfilled promise. “I might even write thank-you notes, like I’m planning a revolution,” she laughed. An absurd notion, yet she was firmly convinced it would help dislodge her groundedness—*3 turn the tides of her mundane existence—at least for a fleeting moment. She figured it could bridge the chasm between her ambitions and her 8 p.m. Netflix binges.

Meanwhile, down at the coffee shop, Zohran Mamdani—recently retired from politics after an invigorating but exhausting term—was tackling his own towering to-do list of educational reform, hoping to steer today’s precariat youth into a brighter tomorrow. “We’re all just trying to make a splash in a puddle of ambition,” he mused, contemplating a world where bibliophagists and gratitude practitioners could coexist harmoniously. Perhaps their discussions could veritably unite the polarized—be it for better healthcare access or adequately stocked fridge shelves. *4

The aroma of fresh coffee wafted through the café like a modern-day cavalry charge, and as he daydreamed about forming a motley band of misfits—folks who understood that parenting and progress often came with the ominous background hum of exhaust fans—he realized something beautifully simple: adults were just confused children trying to navigate cul-de-sacs decorated with bookmarks of wisdom they had never understood. “Now where can I find the manual on that?” he chuckled to his steaming cup.

And just like that, another day in Glenwood City unfolded, equal parts chaotic, hopeful, and utterly mundane—like a series of unfortunate bookmarks waiting to be clicked but craving the electric flicker of spontaneous living instead.

---

*1 - It’s common knowledge that cacti serve only to prick one’s fingers while gleefully remaining silent on the most pressing existential crises.

*2 - After all, cavalry certainly didn’t scout ahead to see if you’d remembered to feed the fish!

*3 - Note to self: ‘rising from the ashes of sedentary lifestyle’ officially on the list of life goals.

*4 - Because let’s be honest; everyone deserves a dairy-free latte after fighting off the metaphorical wolves of life.

What if the questions were instead: What kinds of labor markets are being designed around AI? What is shaping the choices about adoption? Who has bargaining power in those decisions? How will the value created by as yet unfounded promises of productivity growth be distributed? Who has power and how is it wielded to promote certain interests and negate other futures? […] When human inquiry and creativity are offloaded to anthropomorphic AI bots, there is a risk of devaluing critical thinking while promoting cognitive offloading. If we turn the intellectual development of the next generation over to opaque, probabilistic engines trained on a slurry of scraped content, with little transparency and even less accountability, we are not enhancing education; we are commodifying it, corporatizing it, and replacing pedagogy with productivity. […] Should we be luddites.

• People: More diapers sales for elderly than kids. Mental models of risks. Rent a cyber friend. Butt breathing. Poverty and cognitive performance. Sloppers. Dollar stores overcharging. Units of knowledge.

• Business: Intelligence doesn’t go as fast as AI. Lenders and alternative data.

• Planet: When animals clone other species. Room temperature ice. Shingle street shell line. Jakarta' becomes the largest city.

• Futures: 2026 report and signals. And AXA’s (PDF). Forum for the future’s sustainability (PDF). Mundane. Futurism and archivism.

• Tech: Weight and offshore working. Weird innovations to save lives. Satellites leaking data. Strong biodegradable plastic. New factories (and some more). Computers metaphors to speak to a computer.

• AI: Weird leaks. The Pivot. Refusing AI in writing studies.
  How to use AI (Tertulia).
  Useful idiots of AI doomsaying.

• Rabbit hole: Consumption as identity. More friction. And scarcity.

The Fickle Currency of Connection

Under the perpetual drizzle of Shingle Street, where the lanterns flickered with the stubbornness of a cockroach in a nuclear blast, 34-year-old Roy Zerner pondered his life choices while waiting for a flying scooter he’d summoned via a very popular yet highly criticized app known as “ScootMe.”* The app had a reputation for associating with the ‘sloppers,’ those peculiar folk who relied almost exclusively on AI to navigate their lives—a title Roy wore like a neon peacock feather.

Roy wasn’t alone in his reliance; the town felt compounded by a growing distrust of traditional institutions. Brands had morphed into moral arbiters, so much so that his Chipotle bowl seemed to carry more existential weight than the ten books collecting dust on his shelf. Why read when he could consume narratives via a burrito, right? It was all a part of the symbolic economy, where every chip was a story, and every guacamole scoop a statement of personal values. His fellow townsfolk were more adept at performance art than perusing page turns—after all, the fast-food metaphor was far less taxing than rigorous thought.

It was here, in the saturated backdrop of seaside ennui, where his coworker Mae had a bright idea: “Let’s make our own AI!” The plan was half-baked—the recipe called for a blend of bamboo cellulose (great news for sustainability but poor for culinary skills), and the hope was to create a ‘GenAI’ capable of producing insights that didn’t dribble into Google Search by accident like Roy’s breakfast smoothie. The irony of addressing AI’s cavalier attitude toward privacy while drafting an AI of their own was lost on no one, particularly not when the recent *AI Superintelligence Conference* deemed the possibility of world domination as “overrated” (and so remarkably well put that Roy almost forgot to roll his eyes).

Meanwhile, in an effort to combat the ‘slopper pandemic,’ Mae had embarked on an extensive campaign to encourage the town’s dwindling populace t## Navigating the Quagmire of Modernity

As dawn broke over Shingle Street, the sun shone through the mist like a shy debutante at a ball, illuminating the historical Martello tower standing sentinel. Outside the crumbling façade of what was once a fishermen’s market, Greta rifled through the aisles of a Family Dollar, her heart fluttering with concern. She was a newcomer, having fled the unfriendly humidity of her previous home city, only to find herself navigating the quagmire of modern conveniences and the absurdities of low-cost living. A questionable can of peas caught her eye – it had a price tag, but as her bulging bag of coins testified, these days were often fraught with *price* discrepancies she’d only recently learned to parse.

“Twenty-three percent more!” she mumbled, recalling the report about how nearly one in four items scanned at dollar stores could run you dry without so much as a peek at the fine print. *Oh, sweet irony! Is this a symbolic economy or a symbolic calamity?* she thought, only half-seriously.

Meanwhile, her phone buzzed, tapping into her attention like a tech-savvy mosquito, drawing her away from the peas toward the chirps and quips of AI-powered ‘sloppers’ who seemed to lose themselves in endless online nebulas. Hadn’t she just seen a TikTok of someone declaring AI their *cyber soulmate*? She chuckled, but worry lingered—what costs would the over-reliance on those artificial friendships exact from one’s mental faculties? At least her cyber chats with her friend Rankin weren’t as poisonous as that potentially eavesdropped satellite data floating overhead.

After selecting an outrageously priced candle that smelled suspiciously like betrayal, she exited the store, her head spinning with thoughts of XXIce, an icy phase her cousin’s research in material science had recently celebrated. “Ice from room temperature? Just think of the Antarctic cocktail parties!” she mused as she breathed in the salty air.

“Time for a detox,” she announced resolutely. Greta decided to ditch the mall and explore the *newest* health trend: organic bamboo platters. The colors shined brighter, promising sustainability far beyond the reach of her family’s old school plastic plates. Perhaps buying better in a time of scarcity was a sign of turning things around—because who needs more stress when choosing the right biodegradable isn’t so easy anyway?

Just behind the old Martello tower, oversized robots from the futuristic farming collective hummed away as they labored to maintain the dwindling crops. Their metallic arms, pruned and honed from human observation, danced gracefully under the supervision of tech that felt both comforting and dystopian. Would one of these robos soon dominate the job market for good, relegating humans to intermittent workers at best?

But in her brief moment of democratic reflection, she recalled Eliezer’s dire warnings, swapped mylar and generator electricity fears for giggles with ants conducting *xenoparity*. “Maybe life finds a way,” she thought, admiring a field of ants marching to their own tune. Here, in Shingle Street, surrounded by the echoes of its storied past, she felt the weight of decisions, influences from every brand, historical glimpse, and modern innovation swirling around her like a sudden storm.

Greta eventually cracked a smile, reminding herself that behind every bizarre trend, every ironic twist, lay the heart of resilience—a truth woven through time. Awareness blossomed in local experiences that thrived in real conversations, alongside aisle-dodging bike rides on her flying scooter. *Friction may indeed be a feature,* she mused, strolling away from the dollar chains, towards serendipitous moments that breathed life into a thinning tapestry. The wind whipped around her playfully. “All in all,” she chuckled, “I could use a human touch… or a well-encoded message from a friendly robot.” One could never truly tell with the madness swirling in her new adoptive hometown.

“Personally, I’m trying to code like a surgeon. A surgeon isn’t a manager, they do the actual work! But their skills and time are highly leveraged with a support team that handles prep, secondary tasks, admin. The surgeon focuses on the important stuff they are uniquely good at.” - Code like a surgeon.

• People: Impact of people on crisis. Last moments brainwaves. GLP1 impact in obesity in the US. Bible sales and chipotle. Homo Idioticus. Zine culture is back. Job hugging.
  Sperm racing.
  Creator economy vs dignity.
  Virtual zine library.

• Tech: Pitching the Dark start to investors. Coding like a surgeon. Charts of how the world is changing. Sonic fire fighting. The sort-a-brick robot. Anticancer soap.
  Predicting thoughts. Taiwan’s (lack of) grid.

• Futures: Fungi as a futurist.

• Security: China spies on US nonprofits. More drones in the US. Poland’s army training. Canada too. Shooting drones with lasers. Chernobyl shield damaged.

• Life: Microbiomes in lungs. Efficient lifeform? Universal kidneys. Kissing. Mushrooms from reycled eggs cartons. Glowing sea. Origin of octopuses.

• AI: The Office Manager 2.0. Fighting cybercrime. AI and learning. Pop-up stores. Lonely kids talk with AI.
  Goldman' releases their Dev.

  AI out of the gym.
  Infestation of human brains with slop.

## Fragments of Reality: Navigating Humanity in the Age of AI

In the not-so-distant future of 2026, a young coder named Alex Lee found himself wrestling with a deluge of tasks. His AI assistant, Kai, had become an indispensable partner, deftly handling the mundane “Job” tasks like answering emails and organizing his chaotic digital files. Though Alex appreciated honesty from AI, the growing dependency left him feeling like a half-finished puzzle, a piece missing the essential ‘Gym’ tasks that honed his core coding skills. In a world filled with pop-up advertisements screaming, “Get Lifted by AI!” he yearned for more than automation; he craved engagement with reality, which, as it turns out, was fraught with challenges.

Troubles brewed on the geopolitical front, as a troubling drone strike had dented the New Safe Confinement structure at Chernobyl, once a shining symbol of engineering triumph. Reports of disarray inside the renamed “Toxic Park” became a source of bitter memes on social media—”If Chernobyl can’t hold it together, what hope for us?”—stirring existential debates rivaling those tackled by philosophers over the ages. Meanwhile, nations were ramping up their own military preparedness: Poland had embarked on its “Always Prepared” training initiative, aiming to equip 400,000 citizens with survival skills as a watchful eye remained on Russian advances. Alex couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of survival training expectations set against a global reality that felt more like a bad sci-fi script than life itself.

In a parallel universe—namely, the office space—an AI named Devin was reshaping corporate landscapes with the power to code. Alex couldn’t help but notice how Codi, a new startup, was taking it a step further, creating self-managing office environments so that humans could avoid the drudgery of logistics—and turn their mental energies instead toward pretending to be collegial while glaring at the coffee machine. Meanwhile, he casually flicked through the constant buzz of social media, where kids as young as nine invoked AI chatbots as their “best friends.” A thought struck him: Are we raising a generation of virtual romantics, trading kisses for algorithms?

In a different realm of potential catastrophe, scientists had engineered a universal kidney, offering hope yet another chance at transfusion miracles—a concept Alex found both fascinating and a bit eerie. After all, if we could invent easier organ reception, what was next? A universal soul? His musings took a dark turn as he recalled studies revealing that as the human brain faces its last curtain call, it might engage in a riveting gallop through memory, as if the neural confetti were saying farewell in style.

Amidst this absurd parade of technological wonders, biologists explored fungi, finding inspiration in mycelial networks while innovating solutions for building sustainable practices—suggesting, as they did, a simple truth: nature does not need an AI assistant. It grooves effortlessly within itself, making mushrooms out of recycled materials while humans twiddled their thumbs behind screens.

Ultimately, Alex leaned back in his chair, pondering what it meant to distinguish the hyperreal from the genuine. “Could a love note written by an AI ever be as tender as one penned by a soulful hand?”, he thought, briefly scaring himself with the notion of programmable romance and strategic flirtation.

So, there lay Alex, entwined within layers of interwoven realities, confronting the conundrum of agency in the age of intelligence interfacing—with a hint of existential dread and the laughter that leads one to the pondering shores of humanity’s next great leap or its inevitable stumble. In the end, perhaps humanity might find solace not just in AI but in its persistent, comfortably chaotic self.