What is your reason for wanting or not wanting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to progress?
I’d like ESP between people to be happening easily. Imagine the time savings: less talking to Siri / opening apps / interacting with your smart phone. I’d be skiing ESPing my friends which run to do next… Changing plans on the fly, telepathically.
As computing becomes exponentially sophisticated, more activities are passed to digital aids.
Perhaps we’re developing beyond apps into ESP and predictive notifications, freeing the mind for other activities, or nothing.
What’s on your mind?
Teach Someone, to Learn
This year my skiing has remarkably improved. It’s because I’ve been providing tips to new friends and practicing on the easy slopes.
Who are you teaching now?
Expanding
Having nearly finished Ken Wilber’s The Religion of Tomorrow, I can highly recommend it for people interested in expanding their awareness of life, their own development, and if you’re in people / leadership / culture development or keen to progress current religions.
[Gayle and Malcom – the enneagram is referenced :)]
It was the “latte” in this Tesla semi post that made me grin.
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Books that you miss upon finishing.
I was entranced and entertained listening to Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
VR/AR leaders often recommend it to experience one of our possible futures: ultra-simulation (in 2045). The impressive narration by Wil Wheaton often had me chuckling, the detail in the book astounded me and of course it was fun to hear the vast number of (familiar) 1980’s references.
What senses would you extend?Neil Harbisson talks about going from full colourblindness to installing an antenna so he could hear sound. Apparently the cleaning product isle in the supermarket is like a fun nightclub! It’s an uplifting, fascinating, futuristic, 9:35min watch. Actually even the first few minutes is worth it to imagine a new dimension for you.Photo credit: Ted.com
Rolling Stone followed Elon around for months.Here are a few quotes that struck me:
“The world is getting better at a stunning rate“. This report has “evidence of abundance” graphs and insights. Big thanks to Peter Diamandis and his team for showcasing how the world is improving. Here’s to balanced news.
The Websummit opening remarks are a great call for designers, creators, entrepreneurs and technologists to focus on building tech that is useful and fair for society. Included are: Stephen Hawking on AI, Bryan Johnson on HI, a regulator’s view of Facebook and other ultra powerful tech companies.
Great presence
Thanks for the laugh David Roberts (of Innovation and Disruption at Singularity University). Here is his bio: “His fascination with technology began In fourth grade after building a hovering electric drone, to carry his younger sister to the bus stop, powered by what was formerly his mother’s vacuum cleaner, and fortunately limited by the length of an electric power cord.”Have you added humour to yours?
PS. One of the companies and experiences that have most impressed me in the last couple of years is Manly Ocean Adventures. Knowledgeable, exceptional value, and thoughtful, they’re advertising their incredible experiences (with or without whales) as great Christmas gift ideas. If you’re near Sydney or your people are… this could be for you!
PPS. in a previous email I wrote about the Apple Airpods. My update from a month of using them is that I’m still loving the earphones quick change between computer and iPhone and watch phonecall pickup. I am missing the ease of the Jaybirds hanging around my neck. The Airpods are a bit more of a cognitive load for me. They’re fiddly to remember where they are / to put in my pocket when I’m on the move and I sense I’ve a higher risk of losing them. Jaybird X2 Sport were around my neck all the time and I could use one or two earphones and never think about the battery or getting into the practice of taking out one Airpod during a long phonecall to make sure I have enough battery. The tech of the Airpods is beautiful and clever and it’s wonderful they can be used across many bluetooth devices – not just Apple’s. Airpods around the neck!?!
Elon Musk says his massive visions are all about not wanting to feel sad about the future. He suggests people need things in our future to feel excited about (such as the real possibility of a civilisation on Mars). Such simple perspective that’s leading to significant global progress, innovation and inspiration.
“Fundamentally, the future is vastly more exciting and interesting if we are a spacefaring civilisation and a multi-planet species”
“You want to be inspired by things, to wake up in the morning and think that the future is going to be great. And that’s what being a spacefaring civilisation is all about.”
His insights have inspired me across topics from entrepreneurialism to intentional visions to being playful while aiming high – perhaps they will for you too via this easy YouTube playlist. Press play and watch each one.
One of the fascinating things is that Tesla’s mission is about influencing the industry (not just selling cars) and if they fail, they’ll have influenced other car manufacturers to progress their sustainable energy cars.
He recently promoted GM making electric cars:
Elon’s Top 5 Areas for Humanity.
The five areas Elon sees as important to work on now for humanity:
Doing Artificial Intelligence (AI) “in a good way”
Reprogramming genetics – including higher bandwidth to the brain. Whoah.
Self driving cars
Sustainable energy
The Internet
One for the history books!
Since we reuse airplanes, we might as well reuse rockets! Go SpaceX!
Favourite reads & listens
“Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy” by Adam Grant and Sheryl Sandberg is a guide for being a great human, a great friend, to those going through the grief of losing a loved one and tips for people who are directly going through mourning. There were snippets in there about resilience and adversity that could apply to other aspects of life though it was predominantly about Sheryl’s story of her husband unexpectedly dying at 47 years old and how she coped and performed with the help of supportive colleagues at Facebook, friends and family and includes the wisdom that helped. An emotional rollercoaster and a book for life that I recommend. 6 hour listen on Audible.
Melburnians – Dior is here ’til 7 November. The scale of this exhibition at NGV is brilliant as is seeing the House through the years. Worth a couple of hours. If you’ve seen the Dior and I documentary you’ll enjoy the familiarity. I was mesmerised by this Autumn/Winter 2017 show on the big screen:
Ski like a girl talk by Lynsey Dyer. Lynsey started She Jumps which teaches girls and kids to: Find your own magnificence and sense of belonging through: 1. Have a goal 2. Lighten up on yourself 3. Be your own best friend 4. Listen to your intuition 5. Accept all the parts of yourself.
My new airpods are as excellent as people say they are. Effortlessly (so fast) changing and connecting between computer, watch and phone, and comfortable. Ohhhh yeahhh….
Enhancing Human Intelligence (HI) via a chip in your brain. What’s possible? Bryan Johnson provides food for thought and insight.
I originally bought an Apple watch to open myself to possibilities I couldn’t predict. Sometimes it’s best to say “yes” and explore rather than wonder.
Regularly I use the watch to quickly view messages and respond (often with a thumbs up or other emoticon), receive a phone call while I’m on the move / doing chores and it’s great to ask Siri to set timers for cooking (5 minutes works well for soft-boiled eggs).
I’m now happily wearing my new series 3 Apple watch and am impressed with the long battery life, being able to call people without the phone around and the faster speed. Well done Apple!
I’m looking forward to more accurate exercise (read: skiing) data and more time savings via Siri and the clever tech incorporated. I’ve found Siri improves the more I use/speak to her and the recent Apple event inspired me to explore more of the new functionality that’s increasingly like having an assistant… on your wrist!
I like these quotes from a couple of Apple watch reviews:
If autonomous cars change the interior layout of cars and you can eat, sleep, work, watch a movie, have a meeting… will you go on roadtrips with your colleagues? will the workforce be more ‘on the move’? Will people travel more? go to and stay in more remote places?
Happy travels…
A Quick Tip on Financial Diversification.
“I like a mix of cash (t-bills, money market funds, etc), blue chips stocks (Amazon, Google, etc), real estate (income producing with little to no leverage), and a risk bucket (venture capital, crypto, etc). I think 25% in each would be a good mix.” thanks Fred.
Fred Wilson’s tips on providing hope to others:“Of course, how you worry is critical. You can’t weigh down the leadership teams with your worries. You can’t fill up the board meetings with angst.You have to be supportive, optimistic, encouraging, and positive in your interactions with founder/leaders and their teams. But you must also flag areas where there could be trouble. Getting that balance right has been a work in progress for me for my entire career.So being a worrier is an important characteristic in an investor. But you have to mostly keep those worries to yourself and your partners/team (this is a place where partners are invaluable). And you have to decide when a worry is significant enough to share it with your portfolio companies and then you need to find the right moment and narrative to communicate it. When you do it right, the teams appreciate it immensely.”
WOW! Airbnb is about to turn 9. A great success and service.
They’ve still a way to go though to be a true “shared economy” example as their balance is still skewed towards the guest versus a balance with the property host.
As Airbnb drives for more hosts there’s greater supply of properties and the economies drive prices down. This leads hosts to compete on price and quite possibly opt-out of long term involvement.
The term ‘shared’ economy is about contribution from all players. After staying at a home, Airbnb’s questionnaire is just like a hotel’s. Airbnb has the opportunity to influence behaviour internationally with questions such as:
When leaving the host’s home did you leave something that’d delight the next guest?
What did you contribute to the home or host for the privilege of staying in their home?
If you’re designing new organisational systems, I imagine you’re putting in place a way to regularly seek and add shared value over time.
Here comes privacy.
As blockchains and other tech comes along to bring about greater individuals’ privacy, there’ll be more exposés on corporations selling data without customers’ full understanding. Quite possibly shared economy darlings such as Airbnb will be in the spotlight.
This gives more insight (watch the first 47 seconds).
#Voicetech
Future Employment
Are you looking unique online? Is your global proposition and bio clear on online sites?
These guys are showing their style via Medium and LinkedIn:
Be inspired to stand out online through this insight.
“think like a supermodel if you want to win from the gig economy”
Favourite reads & listens
True pop up houses. Endless possibilities… [innovation, construction, tech, minimalism]
Again Apple shows a humane approach at their new office. [Apple, Future of Work]
“…we have lost confidence in offices altogether as nomadic workers huddle in cafés and in their own bedrooms.”
It’s good to be laughed at. [leadership, VC, Fred Wilson]
“We will definitely see a range of steady, incremental improvements in everyday AI. Online product recommendations will get better, your phone or car will understand your voice increasingly well and your vacuum cleaner robot won’t get stuck as often.”
“Instead of replacing jobs, our overall quality of life will go up. For example, right now few people can afford a personal assistant, or a full-time life coach. In the near future, we’ll all have (a virtual) one!
“It’s likely that a significant fraction of jobs will be under threat over the coming decade. It’s important to note that this won’t necessarily be divided by blue-collar versus white-collar, but rather by which occupations are easily automatable.”
Great online presence
Innocent again come up with a cracker of a headline.
Writing these emails continues to delight me. I’m adding this email and those sent in the past to LinkedIn as articles and possibly on Medium so people checking me out virtually ‘get’ what I’m fascinated by and my approach.
If we’re not connected, let’s do so by clicking here and here.
Expanding
Expanding
What senses would you extend?
PS. One of the companies and experiences that have most impressed me in the last couple of years is 
…more 
