Curated Commons // Edition 103
Thank you for subscribing and welcome to the 103rd edition of Curated Commons. Happy reading, and do pass on the newsletter and share it on your social networks if you find it interesting! It’s free!
Let’s dive right in ($ indicates potential paywall).
Kernighan, of Kernighan & Ritchie fame still coding
Add this to life goals. Prof. Kernighan, now 80, is still fixing code, trying to add unicode support to AWK. Take a bow, sir! - Read here
Pairing trolls with bots
A dating site started facing issues with scammers and fake profiles. They responded by creating a series of bot profiles and ensuring that the scammers only see these bots, or see one another. With hilarious outcomes! - Read here
Meet the synthetic media artists
That’s a category now. And one such artist used AI-generated artwork in a competition and won the first place. - Read here
The rise of cross-platform loyalty programs
Amazon Prime set the pace. Fast shipping + free streaming. Now Disney wants to try something similar. Combining streaming with its physical attractions (resorts/parks), merchandise and content. - Read here ($)
Partner, till software update do us apart
A Japanese man married a virtual character, four years ago. He used to converse with an AI-powered 3D-hologram. The company has now terminated support. And he has lost his partner. - Read here
The world is healing
Pre-pandemic events are returning. Including apparently “gravy wrestling” matches! - Read here
Algorithmic denial of service, IRW
We all know of DDoS attacks. This one is different. Hackers created a traffic jam in Moscow by ordering dozens of taxis on Yandex Taxi to converge at the same location.
Slowly, and then suddenly
EV sales have increased nearly two-thirds in 2022. Good set of charts. - Read here
On a related note, report says the shift to EVs can mean a reduction in automotive workforce by up to 30% in France - Read here ($)
AI & Fashion
Fascinating video. Early days, but potential is tremendous, both for creativity and creepiness.
How do we redesign cities for the ‘new normal’?
Given remote and hybrid is how most companies are going for, what does it mean for cities of the future? Interesting piece - Read here ($)
On the other hand, billionaires don’t think this way. They want to create new cities from scratch. Interesting to see how this evolves. - Read here
Can you govern algorithms?
China is trying. Last month, the Govt published summaries of 30 core algorithms belonging to influential tech giants such as TikTok, WeChat among others. Will this help in meaningful regulation of tech companies? Nevertheless, expect more countries to attempt similar initiatives - Read here ($)
A data-driven look at Bollywood’s struggle with original ideas
Lots of interesting charts - Read here ($)
Want a fan with that vest?
Apparently, clothes with fans are now a thing. We’ll do everything to help ourselves, not the environment. Sigh! - Read here ($)
Nostalgia always has a market
Prices of cassette players are soaring in Japan - Read here
More Interesting Reads:
Theranos is gone, but the modus operandi survives - Read here ($)
What do large language models know about us? - Read here
Read the thread, and worry about your banking security - Read here
Good investigation into an Instagram verification scheme using fake artist profiles - Read here
A Netflix story in the making. A Russian spy who pretended to be Peruvian, opened a jewellery store in Naples and worked her way up NATO circles - Read here
And finally, build yourself a business where you can do this
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.