Delicacies is my incoherent, irregular, unpredictable collection of interesting sparks that I came across on the internet. Handpicked by a human, no robots, no AI. There is no fixed frequency for Delicacies: when there is enough material, I hit the publish button. That can be after a week, of after 3 months. No pressure, literally.
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The very best
Rudy Rucker predicted software immortality. Such enjoyable writing: with fun images, sounds, paintings, etc.
We keep getting closer to simulating a human being by running a process in a computer. On the street, the dream is that we might get software immortality. And I predicted it forty years ago.
A 2x2 map based on group size and duration of commitment - by Richard Bartlett. Makes me think of my virtual meetings and events ambition cube from 2020 - like the term “duration of commitment”.
How to avoid dystopian thinking. Lessons from 1920ies by historian Thomas Moynihan
Historian Thomas Moynihan explores what we can learn from the hopeful and 'flagrantly fictional' forecasts written 100 years ago, just as humanity was emerging from a global pandemic, the end of the First World War and encountering rapid technological change.
Things just become stuff - by Tobias Revell, about FOMO for some generations, others not. When available in your region, also check out Jay Owens new book “DUST - The Modern World in a Trillion Particles”
Innovation
About How Organizational Structures Evolve: From Functional to Matrix to Platform Models - by Simone Cicero & team
FinTech, crypto and other distortions
Vitalik Buterin cites the combination of digital wallets and artificial intelligence as a locus for innovation and David Birch agrees with him: https://forbes.com/sites/davidbirch/2023/10/11/buterin-innovation-and-very-smart-wallets/
What is money had an expiration date? A long-forgotten German economist argued that society and the economy would be better off if money was a perishable good
Future of Money Design Awards 2024: Deadline for submission: 28 March 2024. Remembers me of Innotribe 2011 times with the Reputone currency. More than 10 years ago. Those were the days. Maybe the old gang wants to give this design award a go? Who would join me?
Amazing essay on Crypto’s Three Body Problem - by Laura Lotti, Sam Hart, Toby Shorin
“Crypto's animating purpose was to develop incorruptible institutions. However, various attempts to embed these structures in a broader social fabric, from DAOs to crypto-network states, have largely failed.”
The four modalities of regulation that constrain behavior for the “pathetic dot”. Adapted from Lessig 1998.
AI, Robots, Algorithms, Games
Nova Spivack put together a number of advanced GPTs for professionals and enterprises. Check them out!
AI and Lossy Bottlenecks - by Bruce Schneier
By storing rich representations of people’s preferences and histories on the demand side, along with equally rich representations of capabilities, costs and creative possibilities on the supply side, AI systems enable complex customization at scale and low cost.
Bill Gates’ conversation with Sam Altman. Transcript is here.
Great talk by Eryk Salvaggio to the Copenhagen’s Center for Digital Play
“A game does not exist without a player. An AI does not exist without a prompter. An AI does not exist. That AI has intelligence is imaginary. The “dream/imagine” button starts a story, an illusion of creativity”
Web3
Another great state of the union by Vitalik Buterin on making Ethereal Cypherpunk again
We are not here to just create isolated tools and games, but rather build holistically toward a more free and open society and economy, where the different parts - technological, social and economic - fit into each other.
Digital Ethics
About Unilever taking AI Ethics in their own hands. Looks like a great initiative to integrate AI Ethics directly into company processes.
New New Babylon
I had some conversations with old and newer friends about my project New New Babylon. I received lots of positive feedback, encouragements, but also some stunning suggestions to think bigger.
As part of these conversations, I was directed to Kent Larson and this talks about resilient communities. Part of the Norman Foster Foundation Masterclasses. Such a rich and high quality resource.
Art related
The Pearl: Nearly 3,000 computer-driven kinetic tiles form this 45-foot-tall (13.7 meters) and 53-foot-diameter (16 meters) artwork - on a cruise ship…
Aesthetics
About The Line, the macro-fetish architecture project of the Saudis
“There is a sort of moral atmosphere at the moment. You shouldn’t be too clever; you shouldn’t be too experimental. Don’t do anything too funky. I came out of a funky period.”
One more by Eryk Salvaggio: SWIM, an attempt to visualize the relationship between visual archives and human memory. Very poetic.
Music/Sound/Dance
Shared by a Serbian friend. Interesting reflection: why does this inspire us, and to what does it inspire us?
Another friend recorded an album. Kind of like it. Rosy and not Barbie.
Books/Publications
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