Government IT, Apple, Accessibility, Dating AI, and the Art of Asking
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:
📊 Data Engineering
⌨️ Government IT
🏛️ CFPB
🍎 Apple
🕺 TikTok
🧑🦽 Accessibility
❣️ Dating AI
❓ The Art of Asking
Podcast
Lessons in Data Engineering: Scaling, AI, and Open Source with Sandy Ryza
In this episode of Product by Design, Kyle chats with Sandy Ryza, lead engineer on the Dagster project, author, and thought leader in data engineering. Sandy shares his journey through the world of data—from building big data tools at Cloudera to working as a data scientist, product manager, and engineer—and how those experiences led him to help create Dagster, an open-source data orchestration platform.
News and Useful Reads
Former Palantir and Elon Musk Associates Are Taking Over Key Government IT Roles
Silicon Valley bought its way into the US government with Trump, and is now taking over many key technology roles. It seems like we’re about to see what it looks like when the government is run like a tech company.
Over the past few weeks, several Musk-aligned tech leaders have been installed as chief information officers, or CIOs, at the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of Energy. CIOs manage an agency’s information technology and oversee access to sensitive databases and systems, including classified ones.
The technology team at financial regulator CFPB has been gutted
Musk and Doge continue to target the federal agencies that were investigating him or standing in the way of his businesses. The latest includes the CFPB, which protected all of us as consumers.
Around 20 technologists at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were fired on Thursday evening, gutting a team that specialized in understanding Big Tech’s entrance into financial products, three sources familiar with the matter tell The Verge.
Apple will introduce its 'newest member of the family' on February 19
A new iPhone SE? Updated airtags? Something completely new and unexpected? I’m hoping for the latter, but expecting the first two.
It seems Apple is ready to show off something new. In a tweet on Thursday, CEO Tim Cook told Apple aficionados to "get ready to meet the newest member of the family." What that product is remains a slight mystery, though we won't have to wait too long to find out what Apple has up its sleeve.
We’re all going to need accessibility affordances one day
Making products and experiences inclusive and accessible makes them better for everyone. And as we all get older, we will need the accessibility affordances that we’re creating today.
We’re all getting older, quite literally. Aging populations have become a significant trend in countries like the US and Japan where birth rates are falling and people are living longer than ever before. It’s great to have longevity — but ensuring the quality of that long life should be a chief concern of both politicians and user experience designers.
Apple and Google bring TikTok back to their U.S. app stores
Apple and Google have made TikTok available on their U.S. app stores again, they said Thursday evening.
I Dated Multiple AI Partners at Once. It Got Real Weird
It was Valentine’s Day this weekend, so love was in the air. But romance has definitely gotten more complicated with the introduction of so many technologies, including AI.
People falling in love with their AI companions is no longer the stuff of Hollywood tales about futuristic romance. But while it may feel uncanny to some, as a video game reporter the concept doesn’t seem so foreign to me. Dating sims, or games where you can otherwise date party members, are a popular genre.
Other Interesting Finds
The Art of Asking: A Guide to Deeper Connections Through Thoughtful Questions
In today’s fast-paced world of quick chats and surface-level conversations, the ability to foster meaningful connections has become increasingly valuable. At the heart of this skill lies something deceptively simple yet powerful: asking good questions. Not just any questions, but ones that encourage deeper thinking and authentic sharing, leading to stronger relationships both personally and professionally.