Dear Friend,
This week’s Briefing is a little lighter on headlines – turns out that some tech execs’ love affairs suck most of the air out of whatever anyone else is thinking and writing about. While the world (well, a very specific part of the world) holds its breath, anxiously waiting to see if this was the moment the weird circularity of the AI investment world gets its reset, I am in Paris for some quality time with my dad before work with a client. Life is good.
And now, this...
Headlines from the Future
It’s Not Just How but Also When: A new study looked at generative AI in creative work. We’ve reported on studies showing that the use of GenAI can limit your critical thinking abilities; this one looked at whether it matters when in the process you use AI. Early access grew the idea pool fivefold, and teams then pruned it. Moving the same 15 minutes of access to the selection phase lowered expert-rated creativity by 0.62 standard deviations because late ideas skipped the screen. For your next creative AI session, use the model to widen the pool, then switch it off once you start choosing.
Goodbye Floppy Disks: The US Federal Aviation Administration announced it is finally replacing floppy disks used for weather and other critical information at more than 400 air traffic control facilities across the country by the end of 2028. Floppy disks haven’t been made in volume since 2011, and the FAA buys spare parts for its decades-old Compaq computers on eBay. This is a good reminder of how much of our critical infrastructure runs on woefully outdated hardware and software. Sure, the old adage of “if it’s not broken, why fix it?” applies – but for electronic systems which age at an exponential rate, we are collectively taking a staggering long-term risk.
Footnotes from the Future
🧑🏫 Another canary in the coal mine, this time for education: Here is a post from a computer science student, “AI is destroying my CS degree” – read also Simon Willison’s thoughtful comment.
🐙 Absolutely fascinating insights into how Jacob Sansbury built his company using a massive swarm of (semi-)autonomous AI agents. Talk about “canaries in the coal mine.”
🚁 Some dreams never die: Amazon starts flying parcels to thousands of UK homes. I said this before and I will gladly say it again: Let’s see how people will react when they have dozens of drones zipping over their homes all day long.
🤖 Robots truly become more human: Shanghai store replaces staff with six humanoid robots for 24 hours – one walks off the job.
🚘 EVs are now displacing 1.2 million barrels of oil in a single day – five times the amount only five years ago.
🧑🎓 The team at investment firm Jane Street published a skill for your LLM of choice to act as a Socratic tutor – supremely useful for anyone who wants to learn anything.
What We Are Reading
Lab-Grown Meat Was Supposed to Save the World. What Happened? Lab-grown meat was supposed to save the planet, but more than a decade after the first $250,000 burger, you can buy it in exactly one shop in the world. @The continued rollout of autonomous taxis has been a fitful process – and one that raises interesting questions about how and why we adopt and adapt to new technologies.
The Hidden Costs of Delegating to AI AI cut tax preparation time by about a third at accounting firms, but the gains didn’t carry through to the whole organization because delegating to AI has its own costs, like verifying the output, realigning incentives, and staying accountable. @Mafe
We’re Learning to Live With Waymos. It’s Going Weird The continued rollout of autonomous taxis has been a fitful process – and one that raises interesting questions about how and why we adopt and adapt to new technologies. @Jeffrey
As Your Company Evolves, Hold on to What Makes It Unique This piece got me thinking about how much we focus on what companies need to change, and how little we discuss what they should preserve. As AI accelerates reinvention, knowing what customers would miss if it disappeared feels like a useful starting point. @Kacee
Does Until It Doesn’t and Doesn’t Until It Does Long-time radical favorite and acclaimed robotics researcher and builder Rodney Brooks on the dichotomy of the AI hype, and why it is so important to keep exploring new avenues for AI progress. @Pascal
...and now for some fun!
🗣️ Ever wondered what goes on in your body when you speak? Here is an interactive exploration of what it takes for you to form words with your mouth (and everything else that’s needed to make sounds which form into spoken words).
🛰️ Pick any place in the world and see how many satellites are watching you.
🏖️ Behold: The ultra-realistic sand simulator in your browser.
What We Do When We’re Not Writing
Hi! I’m Pascal from radical. When we’re not writing this newsletter, we help organizations turn volatility into advantage – without the “innovation theater.” We build your team’s capacity to handle disruption, so you stop reacting and start shaping. If that sounds useful, let’s talk.
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