Perspective Agents Reboot
A source to help make sense of change
I spun up this newsletter a while ago and then went dark.
My Substack experiment stopped to explore an important idea. It's been percolating while watching threads of society fray over the last twelve months.
The disintegration and trust issues are often blamed on political polarization and broken media. I have a different take on both, in some respects with a sense of optimism.
The idea is about the urgency of perspective. The building of it. The courage to see new realities as just that and embrace ones that lead to growth.
It's not all gloom and doom out there. I’m fortunate to see the depths of innovative thinking, heart, and soul from those embracing hard problems. I’ve also built up my own perspective through self-study and wide-ranging research. This lens, both on the job and beyond, alters my view of future risk and opportunity.
Perspective Agents is a place to get a taste of alt-scenes and the undercurrents driving change. Content will be selected from an automated system I’ve built, tailored to ingest new scientific studies, news, and opinion on change. Many of them fall outside what is covered "in the mainstream."
As you'll find here, the content includes a mix of interesting “change signals,” questions they raise, and rationale on why perspective-building is an essential habit to develop.
I hope that by seeing the evidence and joining other readers in discussion you can see new potential and blind spots others can’t.
Where we turn to inform our perspective is a big question, both personally and collectively. Based on my explorations, I'm convinced that who we rely on, and where we turn, is the game changer to process events on the horizon.
For more on the agenda, read this.
Thoughts on Thinking
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” ― Alvin Toffler
Probes into the Future
Change Mindset:
We’re wired to live in the past…is it embedded in our biology?
People often accuse others of living in the past, but it turns out everyone is. New research from the University of California Berkeley discovered that the human brain shows you images from 15 seconds in the past instead of updating your vision in real-time. The findings validate what scientists call the mind’s “continuity field,” a function of perception where the brain merges with what our eyes see to provide a sense of stability. Without it, the world would appear like a blurry jumble in our eyes. (source: science.org, studyfinds).
Climate Impact:
Are risk maps the new climate guides for real-estate and risk decisions?
A collaborative research team from Bristol, UPenn, and CUNY just released new detailed maps predicting flood risks for the next 30 years. Using new data sets that forecast risk estimates, they predict that the cost of flood damage will rise 26% due to climate change alone. The models add compounding effects up to four times higher than the climate-only effect with population growth factored in. Despite devastating flood risk, the research raises questions about continued development in high-risk areas and low-income communities ill-prepared for what's in store. The current estimated annual cost of flooding today is over US$32 billion nationwide. (source: The Conversation)
Automation & Work:
Will Tesla change labor and the economy by building a robotic workforce?
Humanoid robots powered by Tesla AI are becoming a more important project within the company. Commenting on Tesla’s Q4 2021 earnings result, Musk said: "I think “Tesla Optimus” has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time. If you think about the economy, the foundation of the economy is labor. Capital equipment is distilled labor. So, what happens if you don’t actually have a labor shortage? I’m not sure what an economy even means at that point." (source: Telsa, Elektrek, Fortune)
Instiutional Decay:
What happens to US education if there’s no one to teach?
Education officials face a big dilemma about how to regain public trust in its value while dealing with a major shortage of teachers and administrative staff. The governors of Oklahoma and North Carolina recently issued executive orders allowing state employees to serve as substitute teachers in public schools without losing their regular jobs or pay. The governor of New Mexico also called up the National Guard to serve as substitutes and is volunteering as a substitute teacher herself. “It’s a balancing act between trying to keep schools afloat and trying to think about the big picture and long-term picture.” (source: Christian Science Monitor, Forbes, Economic Policy Institute)
Information Conflict:
Will Russia elevate disinformation as an instrurment of war?
In a scene reminiscent of the film, Wag The Dog, U.S. Officials share intelligence on Russian plans to use fake media on social media to justify an invasion of Ukraine. According to the report, Russian operatives planned to post fabricated images of Ukrainian troops committing atrocities against civilians on social media. The video was elaborate, with graphic images of an explosion's staged, corpse-strewn aftermath, film of destroyed locations, faked Ukrainian military equipment, Turkish-made drones, and actors playing Russian-speaking mourners. The plan is another facet of disinformation operations closely watched by intelligence officials. (source: RadioFree Europe, The New York Times, CBS News)
Human-Machine Collaboration:
Can computers already program themselves as well as human coders?
Google-owned artificial intelligence company DeepMind has announced a significant achievement in competitive computer programming. After simulating ten contests with more than 5,000 participants, the AI system AlphaCode has ranked in the top 54% of competitors. AlphaCode uses transformer-based language models to generate code “at an unprecedented scale.” AlphaCode’s]potential is to help programmers and non-programmers write code or create new software-making ways. (sources: AI-News, The Verge, DeepMind)
Bioengineering:
Why the f*ck are Instagrammers creating 'genetic replicas' of their pets?
If someone makes a living off of their pet and it suddenly dies, what do they do? A growing cohort of Instagrammers is taking extreme measures to replicate their pets genetically. "Petfluencer" accounts openly tout the dogs on display are genetic replicas. Beyond ethical questions raised, the price tag for cloning a pet ranges anywhere from $35,000 to $50,000, depending on the animal. (Source: Viagen Pets, Input Mag, Massive Science)
New Tools
THE FACTUAL: Of all the tools on media literacy and trust out there, few of them embed necessary insight into the product itself. An exception is the 'The Factual."
The Factual, a technical news platform automatically analyzes how informative a story is based on diversity of sources, factual tone of writing, author's expertise, and more. In the context of right/left-wing bias, it also presents where sources sit on the spectrum and stories from multiple perspectives.
I've found their accompanying trust engine, IS THIS CREDIBLE, particularly useful. More on how it works follows here.
Other ‘Thinkables’ in the News
World Changes
New “game-changing” technologies remove 99% of carbon dioxide from the air. Global food prices are approaching record highs. An unprecedented flood of capital is funding ‘COVID entrepreneurs’. Doomsday Clock stays at 100 seconds til midnight.
Human Breakthroughs
Microsoft CEO bills metaverse as “Just Games.” A new electric roadway in Detroit charges EVs while driving. Mathematician cracks 150-year-old chess problem. A new toy for billionaires?
Social Dilemmas
Wordle is thawing family conflict. U.S. satisfaction sinks with most aspects of public life. Why do some think Bitcoin is a religion?
Transition of Power
A teen hacked (then explained) how we got remote access to a global fleet of Telsa’s. ‘Cyberpartisans’ hacked a Belarusian railway to disrupt Russian buildup in Ukraine. The Fed details research for U.S. digital currency. A militia-aligned group now controls a Northern California county. Is Miami America’s most important city?
“Other”
Bomb Cyclones are meteorological phenomenons, not new storm “brands.” Over 500 mobile apps now using the term ‘Metaverse’ to attract users. 40 percent think they’re the best driver they know. Is innovation on sale (or clearance)?
Stay safe, I'll see you next week,
CP
This newsletter features interesting, consequential, and helpful notes developing 'Perspective Agents'— a book I’m writing about new sensibilities and sources to thrive in a time of revolutionary change.