Have we lost track of what an app is? It’s a thing on your phone that does a thing. Or did once. Putting aside conspiracy theories about apps invading personal space by perusing all data once installed, I still wonder if we really understand their nature, or natures. Everything in life happens via app. We make restaurant reservations, order new… Read More »What’s an App?
It’s been too long since I had a good rant about the limitations and associated foolishnesses of AI, and by AI I mean the generally available stuff. Generative language models. That which takes any and all available information (with and without the copyright holders’ permission) and answers requests using this information. It’s tempting to think that with all the world’s… Read More »Why AI isn’t as Creative as You.
When I read a post about the Google search for ‘How many rocks should I eat a day‘, I laughed, out loud and with delight. The answer: ‘One small rock a day is healthy, due to the minerals…‘. It got me wondering if I could come up with peculiar questions to ask Google. Silly me, I’ve never considered asking a… Read More »Asking Google Silly Questions
Headlines, subject lines, and business publications all say that AI is embedded in every product or service, and will be found in more as time goes on (yes, these statements are contradictory). Prove it! I’m going on a quest to see where I can find AI enabled, embedded or otherwise utilized in products. At least, this is how this post… Read More »Everyday AI.
After a few years’ hiatus, I was excited for the annual meeting/exhibition/show of all things related to the future of technology and business. Sounds a little lofty, but an organization in my province (OCI) does a good job of pulling it off. It’s called DiscoveryX (the X is a recent addition). I went, as I have since 2010, minus 2020 to 2023,… Read More »What’s New in Innovation, 2024.
Two bits of insight crossed my brain simultaneously (from some form of electronic communication, of course): 1. With social media, we contact about the same number of people who care about us as we did prior to social media, but encounter far more people, most of whom don’t know who we are. 2. The creative capacity of AI will put… Read More »Could AI Make Social more Human?
Is a world without property utopian or dystopian? Both sci-fi and academic1 projections, or maybe hallucinations, of a property-less world exist. Going propertyless could be the new way of sustaining our physical environment. It could throw off the shackles of capitalism to work in a new harmony with fellow citizens of the planet. Or perhaps it’s a way the overlords of… Read More »Why both More Property and Less Property are Good.
Entering a new year, I reflect on the cool stuff that the future might bring. A perfect time to hope entrepreneurship, or that innovative drive to solve old problems with new ideas, will deliver in 2024 and beyond. My wish list of innovations ranges from ways to resolve societal problems to imagining just-for-fun products. We humans have some serious fundamental… Read More »What Entrepreneurship Could Do, 2024.
Aside from the philosophical question of whether entrepreneurship should deliver on every human whim, there are also circumstances where it seemed to start out well and end badly. A genuine need was addressed, making people’s lives better, but downstream impacts cause new problems. Entrepreneurship shouldn’t cause problems for entrepreneurship to solve1. When I say entrepreneurship, I mean the eco-system of unrelated creative… Read More »Should Entrepreneurship be the answer to Everything, Part 2
A lesson from the textbooks: Entrepreneurship can solve many problems. Creative, innovative approaches to meet unmet needs or solve unsolved problems should result in business success because people are provided with things they want and need. But people don’t always want what’s best for them. Think: donuts, lounging around, fossil fuels, alcoholic beverages, toxic relationships, too much social media, deep… Read More »Should Entrepreneurship be the Answer to Everything? part 1