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This is what we have been into recently,
Ithaca by DeepMind - DeepMind (Google’s AI dedicated research arm) is known for applying AI to modern science (i.e decoding DNA) and playing games (i.e Go). Their new project focuses on history. Deepmind, in partnership with Oxford University, developed a model which can help identify missing parts of ancient Greek texts, help translate them and also help identify their origin. This is achieved by training the model with a library of existing text with known origin and meaning. This model is then applied to the new text. It comes with a nice visualisation layer to help humans navigate the output. The company released a paper summarising their results - one stand out result is how the most accurate outcome is obtained when human and machine effort is combined. The same effect was observed in chess as well. Human + computer teams generally beat computer and human stand alone teams. This is a good indication of how the AI/ML technology will be deployed to maximum effect. With the current trend it’s not about replacing humans but making human effort much more scalable and efficient.
Sustainably made phones that can be repaired by their owners - Fairphone is a Dutch company founded in 2013 that uses sustainable, environmentally friendly products to make longer lasting, customisable and easier to repair smartphones. The goal is to reduce electronic waste and to reduce CO2 emissions - both huge problems in the electronics industry - while also making phones that last at least a couple of years longer than an average smartphone. All of the parts and components of the devices are recyclable. A volunteer network has developed around Fairphone. These networks include people who do free Fairphone repairs and also teach phone owners how to repair their own devices. While starting from a small base, sales are growing. With the development of community networks supporting the use of fairly sourced, environmentally friendly products and rights to repair, the company might be on the cusp of a much bigger movement where sustainability plays a much bigger part in consumer choice.
Remote Film Directing - Necessity being the mother of invention once again proved true as the pandemic forced image makers, marketing executives and creators to come up with ways of collaborating over vast distances. The trend first emerged before the second lockdown as the entertainment and marketing industries (among others) had to confront a new reality for the foreseeable future. Having already shut down for the better part of six months, these businesses had to carry on. The answer was to hire technical crew members from the country of production and for directors, assistant directors and other crew members to participate remotely. QTake and Teradek are solutions that have emerged as solutions for remote direction. They offer live real time views of what is being filmed and allow directors to do their jobs remotely. On the promotional / marketing video front ClearMix is providing a similar service with remote producers and by sending required hardware to their clients. With the pandemic hopefully winding down it seems that remote directing and video production is here to stay, especially for commercials, as it is time and cost effective (+environmentally friendlier).
StorybookApp - This one’s for the parents. Storybook App helps children fall asleep with the help of stories, music and massage. Their website claims that the app strengthens the child-parent bond, with physical contact as well as story time. It is approved by the Family Institute of Sleep. The stories and music are directly coming from the app and the massage is provided by the parents based on the instructions in the app. They recently launched in Republic’ s crowdfunding website. At the moment they have $70K raised through the platform (goal was $25K). As a reminder, Republic is a leading US based crowdfunding platform that enables people to invest in private market equity, debt or crypto offerings. They have almost one ($1) billion dollars under management.
Book of the Week - The Absent Superpower by Peter Zeihan. Sticking with the geopolitical theme of the past couple of weeks. This is a must read book for anyone who is trying to get a grip on what is happening with Russia and Ukraine. In this book Peter Zeihan accurately predicted the current conflict in 2017. It doesn’t stop there unfortunately. It paints a really bleak picture for pretty much the entire world (bar a couple of countries - especially the US). Wide scale conflict across most of the world, significant impact on energy prices etc. etc. While we don’t want to be alarmist, in the spirit of being prepared for various scenarios this book is really important.
Enjoy and please feel free to share if you like what you read.