Square 33 - issue #1
Edition 1 - Please do forward to your friends, retweet, etc. More subscribers means better feedback and better quality. I feel this edition is ‘too theoretical’ and could do with more stories that you can act on.
All feedback received on @azeem or azeem@azhar.co.uk
The not so far future
The will be no dividing line between us and our devices
Betawork’s CEO, John Borthwick, reviews AI, wearable devices and human augmentation
What you wanted to know about AI
Tongue-in-cheek in parts, but a useful review of the state of deep learning and where today’s AI really is.
The increasing income inequality of San Francisco
One feature of increasingly networked societies is that gains rapidly accumulate to those with the gains. San Francisco is now one of the most unequal cities in America.
Laws and ethics can't keep up with pace of technology change
Regulatory gaps exist because laws have not kept up with advances in technology. The gaps are getting wider as technology advances ever more rapidly. And it’s not just in employment and lending—the same is happening in every domain that technology touches.
In the brain, romantic love in addiction
Using fMRI, several scientists have now shown that feelings of intense romantic love engage regions of the brain’s “reward system”: specifically, dopamine pathways associated with energy, focus, motivation, ecstasy, despair, and craving - yep, alcohol, caffeine and cocaine.
Builder's notes
How to revamp a product in a week
Google Ventures outlines a ‘design sprint’ methodology for revamping stale or confused products.
Steve Sinofsky on how to avoid bloatware through personalisation and the importance of keeping your products frictionless.
Musical interlude
Evil High - Franz Ferdinand vs Old School Rappers
Really as the title says. Silly and you can’t argue with it.
Sacred cows
20 years ago, Cliff Stoll took down the Internet. He was right and wrong at the same time.
Humans, like every other living creature regularly borrow genes from other species.
How many money managers routinely rout the market?
None.
What I've written
Press & Go: the unreasonable simplicity of Meerkat
Written when Meerkat had fewer than 10,000 active users (up to 300k today), explain why Meerkat’s simplicity will mean tons of innovation.