Discarded Gadgets, Dark UX, Slow Shopping, and Giving Thanks
Weekly Review of News in Technology, UX and AI
Here’s the latest news, resources, and use cases from the world of product, UX, AI and technology. Let’s go:
🤹 Character over Skills
🎧 Discarded Gadgets
👿 Dark UX
🖥️ Perplexity
👥 Homogenization
🛍️ Slow Shopping
🍻 Giving Thanks
Podcast
Character Over Skills: A New Framework for Growth and Leadership with David CM Carter
In this episode of Prodity: Product by Design, Kyle sits down with David CM Carter, a serial entrepreneur and mentor. With over 40 years of experience mentoring top leaders and building innovative businesses, David shares his insights on what separates high-performing organizations and individuals from the rest: character development.
News and Useful Reads
The $60 Billion Potential Hiding in Your Discarded Gadgets
I’m embarrassed by how many gadgets and old computers I have. I wish I had something better to do with them. I don’t want to toss them, but we genuinely don’t have a good way to get rid of them.
Only 22 percent of that e-waste is collected and recycled, the UN estimates. The rest is dumped, burned, or forgotten—particularly in rich countries, where most people have no convenient way to get rid of their old Samsung Galaxy phones, Xbox controllers, and myriad other gadgets. Indeed, every year, humanity is wasting more than $60 billion worth of so-called critical metals—the ones we need not only for electronics, but also for the hardware of renewable energy, from electric vehicle (EV) batteries to wind turbines.
The FTC is investigating Uber over its subscription service
Users are accusing Uber of dark UX patterns that make it hard to cancel its Uber One subscription. Much like other companies that have recently come under fire for similar patterns (Adobe, HelloFresh, and Amazon), Uber has made it very difficult to get out of its subscription.
According to Bloomberg News, the US Federal Trade Commission is probing Uber over whether the enrollment and cancellation terms of its subscription plan, Uber One, violates consumer protection laws.
Perplexity mulls getting into hardware
Hardware seems to be where many AI companies are headed, including Perplexity.
Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity’s founder and CEO, posted on X on Monday that he was considering making a “simple, under $50” device to “reliably answer” questions “voice to voice.” He promised that Perplexity would “definitely” sell such a device if the post got more than 5,000 likes.
Why Everything Looks the Same
Working in digital product development, I encounter this every day. Most products look and function the same. It is partly what we expect, and partly because the world has become more integrated.
A triple threat of economic globalization, generational transition, and new technology has flattened the aesthetics of our digital and physical lives.
Other Interesting Finds
What is ‘slow shopping’? It saves me time, money and stress during the holidays
I like this idea a lot. I try to track ideas throughout the year for family as well, but usually don’t buy gifts until closer to the holidays. But this could be a great tactic.
My secret? I shop all year. When the holidays arrive, I already have a stockpile of presents ready to wrap and I’m able to avoid the dreaded holiday rush. I personally call this strategy “slow gift buying,” though the idea of mindful shopping, as opposed to thoughtless impulse buys, is also known as “slow shopping.”
Giving thanks may make your brain more altruistic
If you needed more reasons to practice being thankful, there are good mental and physical reasons for it.
Taking a moment to practice gratitude like this isn’t an empty holiday tradition. It’s good for our mental and physical health. And here’s another thing: It can actually change our brains in ways that make us more altruistic — just in time for Giving Tuesday.