Zag To The Zig #9 :: Driverless cars, billionaire bashing and more
Funnily enough, writing the intro to Zag To The Zig is what takes most effort. The interesting stories, essays and insights just keep on coming. So I’ll just say hello, keep the feedback coming and mega-thanks for being here.
In the Tech Room
Researchers have discovered a way to make microphones respond to light, by light pretending to be sound. 🤪🤪🤪
Which means, a laser beam can trigger your Alexa device to order that pizza. Insert your own funnier/scarier scenario.One day, we get told that driverless cars are decades away. The next day they’re on our doorstep. Either way, the latter seems more likely, as Waymo are soft-launching their order-a-driverless-car service in Metro Phoenix, USA.
Does the next story belong in the tech room? In a Zag To The Zig kind of way, it obviously does. This essay hails the resilience and the business model of the printed book. No ads, linear attention models, a clear contract to engage in when you buy and read a book. Worth it, if you like a little contrarian point of view.
In the ethics corridor
Instagram is running tests (in the US) to hide the amount of Likes, “to become the safest place on the internet”. Grand ambition. Too little, too late?
In similar news, have you seen Apple’s new privacy page on their website? It’s Privacy as USP. This narrative is growing.
On the other side of that narrative… Turns out that a Chinese propaganda app called Study The Great Nation (launched by the government) has root access to a user’s phone and can access all (personal) data. Not very surprising given the latest spree of news. But also: how is this different from Snowden’s NSA revelations?
And if you’re feeling ready to move to the Economy Room, but want to stay in the Ethics Corridor for one more article, dig into this outspoken opinion piece on wealth accumulation. What is a Billionaire? Billionaires are operators of toll booths.
In the Economy room
The Virtual Economy: what if you could dress your gaming avatar in ‘real’ Prada?
In the new Data economy, you will own your personal data, says investor and founder of VC firm USV, Brad Burnham. Very investment- and profit-driven, and I wonder where the societal value of data is in their view. But - very interesting to see where these investment types are putting their money. 👀💸
And another ‘old school’ investor taking mildly surprising views. The world has gone mad & the system is broken, says Ray Dalio.
And let me wrap up then with a summary of all of the above. Kind of. Longtime bitcoin-investor and researcher Tuur Demeester wrote an in-depth essay on the parallels he sees between the Dutch Reformation and the potential for Bitcoin. Obviously he’s a bitcoin-believer, but do have a read. Especially the characterisation of millennials as ‘people with something to fight for’ echoes a few of my recent thoughts. A perfect storm?
On the staircase of Innovation
Why innovation peolpe need to learn from Africa, South East Asia and South America, NOT from Silicon Valley.
Random ZTTZ
Life is complicated, version 0.endless. This study compares perceived benefits of things-we-should-do-for-a-better-climate vs the actual impact on CO2 reduction.
🏁 End note: 1 thing I’ll be doing this week…
…I’ll be doing stakeholder interviews for an innovative real estate project. Always fun to talk to interesting people about interesting topics.