Curated Commons // Edition 122
Welcome to the 122nd edition of Curated Commons! Thank you for subscribing (if you haven't yet, what are you waiting for?).
Happy reading ($ indicates potential paywall).
Space is getting crowded
We’ll take everything we are good at, and terrible at, to the skies. Starting with traffic - Read here
Interest rates affect all. Even home rentals
Good thread on an interesting rental model from South Korea and how rising interest rates are now playing havoc.
We are messing up the planet
Researchers have discovered high levels of a ‘forever chemical’ that’s used in making toilet paper in the bodies of endangered killer whales - Read here
Today in unfair comparisons that say something
Can Netflix do to Tennis what it did with F1?
The production team that produced the hit Netflix series on F1 has now released a similar one on Tennis. Will it click again? - Read here ($)
The new benchmark for growth hacking
This is a wild story. The ultimate in ‘growth hacking’. As Matt Levine says wonderfully - “Frank paid a total of $175k for a list of email addresses, and then sold that list to JPMorgan for $175 million, for a perfect 99,900% ROI. What an arbitrage!” - Read here ($)
Can VR help in processing pain?
Something to always bear in mind - the primary use case of any new tech is rarely the only use case that matters to users. The case of metaverse meetups for helping people grieve - Read here
Food waste is coming back to your table
Food waste is a massive problem for the planet. And there’s only so much education can achieve. Some startups are aiming higher - like making flour from fiber. - Read here ($)
Nature is fascinating
A good collection of examples to illustrate how biology at scale is now a reality. - Read here
When AI creates content, who ‘owns’ it?
With all the rage around creative/generative AI, time to start addressing the pesky issue around ownership - Read here ($)
Have you thought of consciousness in robots?
Some smart people are thinking hard. Interesting piece - Read here ($)
“This is not just another research question that we’re working on — this is the question. This is bigger than curing cancer. If we can create a machine that will have consciousness on par with a human, this will eclipse everything else we’ve done. That machine itself can cure cancer.
More Interesting Reads:
Why are big businesses with lot of transactions trying to move more transactions off Visa/Master/Amex networks? Good thread
Does making subscription cancellation easy help retention? One newspaper thinks so - Read here
Airpods as hearing aids - Read here
Electronic logging devices, truck drivers, and privacy. A podcast - Read here ($)
US farmers can now repair their…tractors - Read here
And finally, worth thinking…
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