Curated Commons // Edition 100
Welcome to the 100th edition of Curated Commons. When I started Curated Commons nearly two years ago, I did not imagine that I’d continue this long. It was more a personal challenge for me. Which is why it feels good that I’ve stuck this long. And a big thank you to all 9 of you who stuck along too (kidding!). I hope you’ve found some good stuff to read over the past couple of years. Seeing as Axios sold for a pretty decent amount, I hope to tweak the format of the newsletter going forward, and keep alive my get-rich-quick hopes! Thanks again for sticking along the ride. And yes, please do consider sharing if you find the newsletter interesting. There might be someone else who is just one newsletter subscription short of reading nirvana!
Let’s dive right in ($ indicates potential paywall).
Open your mouth for…edible tech
Singapore has now allowed for commercialization of lab-grown chicken.
Why is it important? Our hungry, carbon-spewing planet could sure do with more such eco-friendly alternatives. - Read here ($)
More than 489mn people in Asia were severely food insecure last year, meaning that they had run out of provisions. That is an increase of 112.3mn people in two years in this region alone.
Meet the telco of the future
There’s a sea change happening in the world of telecom networks. And Japanese giant Rakuten is driving it. Very good podcast with the Rakuten CEO and how his stint in building Jio helped set the stage for Rakuten’s disruptive new cloud-based architecture for telecoms. - Read here
Why is it important? Telcos have rarely changed in how they have operated since the days of 1G and the telco equipment vendor market still just has four players, two of whom are Chinese. And Rakuten is now also making a pitch for being a provider to other telcos - DISH is already signed on. Another clear example for how software is eating the world!
Why does tech have a problem with gender diversity?
It’s 2022, and tech companies still struggle with gender diversity. Good read capturing historical stats of how the picture was very different just a few decades ago. - Read here
Why is it important? Lack of gender diversity in teams is a key reason for algorithmic bias. Most code around us is men writing for men - too many anecdotes abound.
Does the 1000 true fans theory still hold good?
Years ago, Kevin Kelly said something to the effect of how you can make a good living if you had 1,000 true fans. Does it still hold true? - Read here ($)
Why is it important? The ‘creator’ economy has exploded in recent years with podcasts, newsletters, TikTok, and what not. Not everyone can survive on it alone, but the low barriers to entry, coupled with overblown coverage for exceptional creators (who already have a significant follower base before going independent) continue to attract more people into believing they can make a career out of being a creator.
Is a culture of abundance driving us to be wasteful?
Too little is written on a problem which is too big and we don’t pay much attention - food waste. This is a good article. - Read here
Why is it important? The world is awash in wasted food. Yet, hundreds of millions on the planet are undernourished. And food waste is a also a significant source of global emissions. (btw, if you have a strong interest in the topic, this report from my workplace might be worth a read)
Blandness sucks
Go where the younger generation goes
It is video all the way for Gen-Z. - Read here ($)
Why does it matter? Because this behavior drives your default feeds. Instagram recently announced a shift to greater creator-focused content and videos on the main feed. Apparently, for most people, their friends’ content isn’t compelling.
Fighting AI with AI
AI-driven deepfakes are already here. Can another AI-driven system detect these deepfakes? - Read here
Why does it matter? Deepfakes are a major challenge, not just for celebrities. There’s increasing evidence that they are being used in a variety of situations. And we already know human moderation simply cannot be scaled in the face of the crazy amount of content going up on social networks. We need smarter algorithms for content recognition in media, if nothing else, for the sake of content moderators - one of the worst forms of jobs ever created by tech.
Maybe AI is indeed smarter than humans
Meta’s new chatbot thought this of Zuckerberg - “our country is divided and he didn't help that at all.” - Read here
Why does it matter? Do not take any AI-system that learns from the interwebs seriously. People have not learnt their lessons post Microsoft Tay’s disastrous debut years ago.
Can we create an atlas of every cell in the human body?
Fascinating research to try and understand what all the 37 Trillion cells in the human body do. - Read here
Why does it matter? - We understand very little about why some mutations, which lead to dangerous diseases, occur. Computational tools today give us greater ability than ever to understand this better.
Algorithmic systems, very old human problems
OnlyFans allegedly bribed some employees at Meta to put thousands of adult entertainers on its platform on a terrorist watchlist. So they are effectively ‘shadow-banned’. - Read here
Why does it matter? - In the age of algorithm, if you are ‘invisible’ to the algorithm, that can be a death knell for your business. And there will always be humans who have greater access to the system than others. And some of them will turn out to be bad actors. Like this Saudi spy working in Twitter.
Do tech mediums shape us?
Thoughtful read on how tech mediums play a key role in shaping us. But do we really acknowledge and understand it? - Read here ($)
Why does it matter? - We are what we consume, be it food, or media. And we need to be conscious, aware, and informed.
Going green is a dirty business
Very good AP investigation in to how the hunt for rare earth metals in Myanmar leaves a trail of environmental destruction, land theft, and a potential revenue source for the Junta. - Read here
Why does it matter? - Provenance is global supply chains is really hard. Many a times, it is hard for a reason - companies don’t want you to know how or where they obtain certain components. And worse, many rely on self-audits by shady suppliers.
Watch out for ‘em influencers
Influencers, and YouTube algorithms, are helping Syria whitewash the tragedies of the conflict. - Read here ($)
Why does it matter? - Influencers, some if not all, are increasingly coming across as a set of actors who care largely about user engagement and sponsorship, not the truth. Watch out for what is being termed as ‘atrocity safari’ masquerading as ‘dangerous adventures’ on YouTube.
No escaping Linkedin influencers
PR firms are building B2B influencer engagement teams. It’s that mainstream now. Sigh. - Read here ($)
More Interesting Reads:
Should we go back to buying movies on physical media? - Read here
The world Excel championship is on TV - Read here
WHO asks humans to not attack monkeys over monkeypox - Read here
Robot surfboards designed for gathering more data on wind conditions in hurricanes - Read here
Cisco got hacked. More evidence that OTP is not 2FA (better than nothing though!) - Read here
Domino’s is exiting Italy. Like someone said, hard to sell snow in the North Pole - Read here
Inside story of Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japan - Read here ($)
If you are popular on BookTok, BookTube, and Bookstagram, you will be the author for more than half of USA’s most popular books currently - Read here
How data-hungry is a Tesla car. And what are its privacy implications? - Read here
Ford helped create a perfume that mimics the smell of petrol to sell its electric vehicle - Read here
And finally
Stay safe, and happy reading! And if you liked the newsletter, thank you, and maybe consider sharing it? My DMs on Twitter are always open for any feedback.