We have entered an age of de-bossification. In many industries, particularly “White-collar” ones, the era of “bosses” is in decline. Less of a clamoring for bosses, managers, controllers, monitors, evaluators, and paper pushers. […] There is a rise in the need for leaders, guides, coaches, mentors, role-models, creators, and builders.
People: Friends&neighbours.
Security: Defending cybersec. Trojan cars. Climate change and the ‘where should I live’ question (and shelters-in-place). Ukraine ground robots. NKorea in Europe.
Business: Competence gaps (eg unlearning) in Boeing? Digital nomad visas in Japan.
Tech: 5D memory crystals. Trains as power stations in spain. Electronic shelf labels (interesting ways of cybersec’ them too). Hacking wifi in long-haul flights by using.. form fields ^^
Planet: Mushrooms in a robot (cogs in the mycelium?). Single cells feel the change of seasons. Greenhindering.
AI: California makes unwated deepfakes illegal. More worries about deepfakes in elections (outdated by the time this post is out =) ).
DIY: use (any) models with Ollama.
Thanks to Estelle for the trove of good stuff!
The Quiet Rebellion of Connection
In a not-so-distant future—just a few months from now, really—Elena stood at the bus stop, an oasis of calm amidst the chaos of the city. Across the street, a group of teenagers had congregated, their faces illuminated by the glow of their devices, each one a miniature universe of TikToks and tweets. They were blissfully unaware of the impending climate crisis, though perhaps that was just the nature of youth—like trying to describe the taste of water to a fish.
Elena, however, was acutely aware. She had just finished a workshop on greenhindering, a term she found far too cute for the monstrous reality it described. Corporate media, with its glossy advertisements promising sustainability while promoting single-use plastics, had woven a web of confusion that even the most nimble-minded could hardly escape. The irony was thicker than the smog hanging over the city like a disgruntled ghost.
“Can we really expect anyone to care about climate change when they’re busy liking videos of cats in hats?” she mused aloud, not that anyone was there to hear her.
Then the bus arrived, rumbling in like an ancient beast awakening from a long slumber. It was part of Barcelona’s innovative MetroCHARGE system, which boasted regenerative braking technology capable of powering both itself and nearby electric vehicle chargers. A small victory in a sea of apathy, she thought. As she boarded, she noticed that even the bus, with its whirring machinery, was a reminder of how technology could either enslave or liberate us.
Elena settled into her seat, her mind wandering to the indestructible 5D memory crystals being developed to preserve the human genome. What if one day, we could download our consciousness into one of those crystals? Would we remember how to care for each other, or would we simply be echoes of our former selves, trapped in a digital purgatory?
As the bus jolted forward, she glanced out the window at a street mural depicting a biohybrid robot made from mushrooms, its tendrils stretching toward the sky. It was a visual metaphor for resilience, a reminder that life finds a way—just like the cyanobacteria scientists had discovered, adapting to the seasons, albeit with a lifespan shorter than a politician’s promise.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed with a notification. An alert from her community group: "Join us tonight for a neighborhood meeting on sustainable practices!" She smiled, her heart swelling with hope. Amidst the backdrop of climate chaos and corporate greenwashing, there existed a flicker of solidarity, a movement towards reclaiming agency.
After all, perhaps the future wasn’t about waiting for the next technology to save us, but rather about nurturing the connections we already held dear. A neighborhood gathering could spark a revolution, one casement window at a time.
As the bus whizzed past a newsstand blaring headlines of international tensions and military maneuvers, Elena felt a strange sense of peace. If the end was nigh, let it be nigh with friends, laughter, and a shared commitment to the world we lived in, even if that world was as unpredictable as the weather.
“Here’s to the power of community,” she whispered, raising a toast of sorts to the universe, her quiet rebellion against the noise of a society that often forgot the simple act of caring.
And with that, she stepped off the bus, ready to face whatever absurdities awaited her, knowing that in solidarity, they could twist the very fabric of reality—like a well-placed pun or a cleverly whispered footnote.
You are welcome :)