Praveen Puri

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Facebook at 20: The Changing Nature of Social Media

To commemorate Facebook turning 20 this weekend, the latest edition of the Economist has an interesting take on the changing nature of social media.

As its article points out, "social" media is now no longer very social. Their algorithms make it more likely that we will see posts from strangers than friends.

This is leading to two results: first, people are engaging (commenting, likes) less than in the past. Second, businesses are now turning to email, because there is no one “sitting in California deciding whether or not we get to email people, and whether people get to open those emails”

Crossing the AI Weapons Taboo

I'm predicting that, in the next year or so of the Russia-Ukraine war, we will see autonomous AI drones, that target and strike without being operator controlled.

Autonomous AI weaponry, where the AI kills humans on its own, have always been considered in the realm of science fiction, and considered a "Rubicon" we shouldn't cross.

However, with the nature of the war (WWI trench stalemate, with increased reliance on drones), I see this as being an almost progressive certainty.

This weekend's WSJ had an article about how the Ukrainians, running low on ammo, are now depending on tons of start-ups that are developing cheap $300, in-house designed, drones that carry RPGs, and are flown as FPV (first person view, with the pilot wearing VR goggles). Their goal is to start making 1 million drones a year, and they are working on incorporating AI, in case the signal gets jammed.

Meanwhile, the Russians are converting shopping malls into drone factories.

In the future, this war will be known for drone innovations that changed the nature of war forever.

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Words are important

Words are important. NPR’s website has an article titled: “Nearly 25,000 tech workers were laid off in the first weeks of 2024. Why is that?”

At the bottom of the article is a note: 'Correction Jan. 28, 2024: The headline for this story has been corrected to add the omitted word "off.”’ :-)

Infinite Craft

Here is a fun, little website where you start with four labels (air, earth, fire, water) and continuously drag labels on top of one another to create new labels.

It never ends. Some labels take you back to previous ones, but you create new ones by mixing tags. I've created a whole bunch of weird ones like Siren, merlot, Tarzan, Aphrodite, phoenix, etc.

https://neal.fun/infinite-craft/

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Business Lesson from a Dream

Last night, I was in the middle of a dream, which was realistic up to that point. Then, in the dream, I came across two dogs who suddenly, as a synchronized pair, swooped into the air, did a loop, landed, and repeated it.

At that moment, some part of me realized I was in a dream, and I woke up.

The business lesson? Everything may appear to be fine but, with discernment, you can spot inconsistencies. This is how you troubleshoot complex issues and identify points for improvement / innovation.

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Amazon's new AI Shop Assistant and Decision Simplicity

Amazon's new AI shop assistant is an example of "decision simplicity", which is a component of my Strategic Simplicity® Framework.

Decision simplicity is about adding value to your customers by enabling them to make better decisions without being overwhelmed by choices and data.

This is a very important competitive advantage in today's Attention Scarcity Age.

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Disney's Minerva Mouse

I just found out that Minnie Mouse's real name is Minerva. How did I not know that?