28 Feb 2025 2 min read

Reminder to Stretch

Photo by Tamba Budiarsana: https://www.pexels.com/photo/stretching-white-cat-979247/

Hey everyone,

Here are 5 things I thought were worth percolating on this week.

This week I reflected on how easy it is to float on what I already know and stop genuinely innovating and stretching myself in new directions. The universalisation of AI is a great opportunity to do this, and so is the climate crisis.

1. AI Weirdness

This is really informative and fun collection of AI weirdness, I particularly liked the Candy hearts. This is a nice example of the strange outcomes we can generate with AI right now. While there's an endearing quality to this weirdness, it's crucial to remain mindful of the less obvious instances to prevent a future where the unusual becomes the norm.

A grid of pastel-colored candy hearts with messages stamped on them (with varying degrees of blurriness). A sampling of the messages included: You yous, My wear, jert toot, love, eave dort, Have, you oou, no no, shave, yoss, Lave vert, hiss shot, y, i test, le yas, dove tut, yo morrt, and hove.

2. James Turrell's Roden Crater

A glimpse at James Turrell's still unfinished masterpiece (a project of his since 1975).

3. Biodesign is the future

During these past 3 years I’ve had a deep interest in Biodesign and material innovation. It’s a really great example or the kind of innovation we need on this planet, and this area of research is so creative and exciting.

4. Austin Kleon

I have read Austin’s weekly newsletter for ages and ages, and I always look forward to getting it in my inbox. It’s always a great reminder to slow down, appreciate simple things like soup, and get my pens out again.

“I’m a writer who draws. I make art with words and books with pictures.” - Austin Kleon

5. MIT Regenerate conference

Regenerate, a conference hosted by the Norman B Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU), examined the critical intersection of AI, algorithmic models, urbanism, and the climate crisis. You can check out all the talks right here.

A Reminder to Stretch

Spend 10 minutes brainstorming a concept that integrates AI to address a climate-related challenge through design. This could be a product, service, or system that leverages AI to promote sustainability, reduce carbon footprint, or enhance climate resilience.

The point of it is not to produce a working solution, rather to stretch yourself in a different direction and discover how much you have in the tank already in this area!