Welcome to the podcast version of New World Same Humans, a weekly newsletter on trends, technology, and society by David Mattin.
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This week’s instalment asks two Big Questions about our shared future.
First, who will control the thinking machines that we’re currently creating? Second, where next when it comes to the eternal human quest for meaning?
Spoiler alert: I don’t have the answers. Think of the two short pieces in this week’s email as thought starters. I hope they fuel your thinking, and I’ll be returning to the ideas discussed here in the months ahead.
Enough preamble: just press play!
If you prefer to read this week’s instalment, go here for the the text version of New World Same Humans #24.
Links in this week’s instalment
Intro:
1. New World Same Humans #13, in which I wrote about Big History.
Who controls the thinking machines?
2. New World Same Humans #1, in which I wrote about James Lovelock.
Touch the screen:
3. Quibi is a $1.75 rival to Netflix, and it has been a spectacular flop.
4. The Atlantic magazine says Hong Kong is becoming a colony once again.
5. A YouTuber called Mr Beast ran a competition called ‘Finger on the App’.
Everything must go:
6. The new video game Among Trees is another signal of the way simulated worlds are becoming domains of meaning and life experience.
Who needs self-lacing shoes?
Thanks so much for listening this week. I hope New World Same Humans is proving useful to you, and helping to fuel your thinking when it comes to where we’re at now and what you should do next.
Understanding more about our shared future has been a lifelong obsession for me. And while I’m still waiting for the self-lacing sneakers we were promised in Back to the Future, that obsession is only intensifying.
Nike actually make these shoes now! I just don’t have a pair.
When it comes to NWSH, this newsletter is just the first iteration. In the weeks ahead I’ll continue to plan all kinds of new content formats. All of them will be intended to share new ideas, perspectives and evidence on our shared past, present and future with the NWSH community Any thoughts on what you’d like to see? Email me.
In the meantime, we can make our community more powerful in one important way: by growing it!
So if you found today’s instalment useful, please forward this email to one person – a friend, family member or colleague – who’d also enjoy it. Or share New World Same Humans across one of your social networks, and let people know why you find this newsletter valuable:
The more great people who join our community, the better for all of us!
Until next week, thanks for reading,
David.
New World Same Humans #24 – Audio Edition