WEEKLY WHEATIES #2518
Technological Advancements, Meta, OpenAI, EVs, WikiTok
In this newsletter:
📝 Post: How Technology Has Changed the Way We Work, Live, and Play
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Meta AI
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Open AI
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Electric Vehicles and Self-Driving
😎 Pick of the Week: WikiTok
📦 Featured Product: Apple Watch Portable Charger
📝 How Technology Has Changed the Way We Work, Live, and Play
After writing last week about screen time, it had me thinking about technology in general. I’ve had multiple conversations with people over the years saying they “wish they could live back in the olden days.” To which I say, there ain’t no way! We have too many luxuries I wouldn’t want to give up. And I can hear you now… you’re probably saying something similar to what was said centuries ago. Are you thinking something like:
“The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.” - Quote Investigator
But please bear with me for a minute. While technology is considered a luxury by most, if not all, standards, there are health benefits from technology that also allow us to live a longer and happier life. I believe we (as a culture) take a lot of luxuries for granted that we don’t put in the same context with ‘technology’ as I usually write about. What things? For starters, just about anything you do or use on a daily basis, starting from waking up - running water, electricity, and food that doesn’t spoil.
But let’s dive a bit deeper into work and travel. Vehicles are an obvious example, but planes (and even motorized boats) have exponentially sped up our ability to travel the world, share cultures, and engage in trade.
Locally, we were able to build cities with steel and concrete. And without the technology allowing elevators to work safely, we couldn’t have built skyscrapers - or many buildings higher than 6-8 stories. Check out this video on YouTube about How Elevators Changed the World.
To travel to these places of work or communicate with other businesses in a timely and effective manner, we now have phones and email. While our cell phones have cameras, that is something else we take for granted. Consider How the Development of the Camera Changed Our World by itself. With email and electronic communication, we can hopefully eventually get rid of printers. If you happen to enjoy printers (we can still be friends), watch this video on YouTube about the first true copying machine.
Next, with the combination of phones and vehicles, we feel safer to travel (either for work or play), and can find our way, call for help if in trouble, and much more. These advancements have not just improved individual life by giving people confidence to explore, but have improved life for all by sharing experiences far and wide. And what better way to share experiences? The internet, of course! The internet has grown rapidly since its inception, with no chance of slowing down.
However, the downside of the internet is that it has made us forget things because we can just look it up. Perhaps this is where the ‘laziness’ mindset comes in for some. But, we absolutely know way more (or at least know about way more) than people did just 50 years ago, if we’re comparing the same age ranges (i.e., and 18-year-old today compared to an 18-year-old 50 years ago).
With this potential new knowledge (built on the centuries of knowledge coming before it) mixed with the technological advancements we’ve seen, we bring about new changes and habits in our personal and work lives.
Lastly, with the advent of virtual meetings like Zoom, we can now work anywhere (limited to the type of work of course). With the advent of VRBO and Airbnb, we can travel to places (without a tent or camper) we never would have been able to before. At least easily and safely.
Since this all started with people spending too much time with technology, I’d like to remind us all of something. In the workplace, Gen Z employees are 10 times more likely than their older colleagues to experience tech shame. Just because Gen Z was born in a time with the most amount of technology available doesn’t mean they understand it. There’s a saying I’ll loosely quote: “If you can’t remember the way life was the way before [something], then it’s simply history.” Meaning, if you didn’t experience an event or technological change, how it is today is ‘how it always has been’ to some, and the view of ‘the way it was before’ is no longer necessary (at least for technological change).
What recent technological change do you think has had the biggest impact on life?
🗞️ ICYMI: Meta AI
Do you use Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, or any of the other Meta products? If so, and you want your AI to be the most personable as it can be, the recently launched Meta AI app may be the best one yet. It will know your likes, dislikes, where you travel, eat, and shop. Scary, or incredible? This ChatGPT competitor also has a discover feed to see what other users are creating. While you may not be convinced, Meta forecasted it would make $1.4T in revenue from generative AI by 2035.
🗞️ ICYMI: Open AI
As Open AI continues to develop, it is reported they are working on X-like social media network. Last week a new product-browsing shopping feature was announced. As we can expect more and more changes to come, remember - AI, specifically Generative AI - likes to hallucinate and make things up. While they are working towards expanding on what they missed with sycophancy, image editing is now causing issues, too. To see this in practice, check out the results given from the prompt "create the exact replica of this image, don't change a thing" 74 times.
🗞️ ICYMI: Electric Vehicles and Self-Driving
Across the globe, Electric vehicles are making moves. First up, the Bezos-backed Slate Auto debuts an EV pickup truck. Its low price point and modular design have people spending time personalizing their version. While time will tell if this new vehicle will steal sales from Telsa, the Chinese company BYD is becoming a threat to Tesla and other American car companies.
Alternatively, Aurora launches a commercial self-driving truck service in Texas. The commercial and consumer market for self-driving vehicles is a bit blurred with the various forms of software across all vehicles. Until something is approved at a federal level, Waymo and Toyota strike a partnership to bring their self-driving tech to personal vehicles.
😎 POTW: WikiTok
Put simply, WikiTok is an infinite scroll, TikTok-style interface for exploring random Wikipedia articles. The web-app will work on most devices, while there are many copycat-type apps in the Apple and Google App Stores. While some may charge a fee, the original creator wanted this to stay free to help others learn and discover interesting articles from Wikipedia.
📦 Featured Product
A little bit of a niche product, but for those of you who need it, it’s worth it. Apple Watches have spread pretty far and wide, and someone is always needing to charge theirs. This Apple Watch Wireless Portable Charger allows you to charge your watch on the go! It will give your watch a full charge between 2-3 times and will also charge your Airpods. Charging may be a bit slower than a corded charger, but if you’re traveling or simply not at home, it’s a great backup.
