OpenAI, Amazon RTO, Corporate Swag, and Trump Watches

Weekly Review of News in Technology, UX and AI

Sep 29, 2024

Here’s the latest news, resources, and use cases from the world of product, UX, AI and technology. Let’s go:

💊 Personalized Health
🤔 OpenAI
💼 Amazon RTO
👕 Corporate Swag
⌚ Trump Watches

Podcast

Personalized Nutrition: How AI, Data, and 3D Printing Are Transforming Health with Ari Tulla of Elo

In this episode of Prodity: Product by Design, Kyle sits down with Ari Tulla, co-founder and CEO of Elo, a smart nutrition service using AI and data to personalize health solutions. Ari shares his fascinating journey from his early passion for gaming and technology to becoming a leading figure in the healthcare space. He discusses how Elo is turning the concept of "food as medicine" into reality, using biometric data, wearable devices, and AI to create personalized nutrition solutions. Ari also delves into the challenges and innovations that come with building a product in a space where technology, health, and human experience intersect, emphasizing the importance of balance in life and business. Join us to learn more about the future of health and how personalized nutrition is set to revolutionize wellness.

News and Useful Reads

OpenAI was a research lab — now it’s just another tech company

The drive for profit will always be one of the biggest problems we face in solving the problems we’re facing as a society and for humanity. Profits always seem to win over good intentions. And that’s what’s happening with OpenAI.

OpenAI launched with a famously altruistic mission: to help humanity by developing artificial general intelligence. But along the way, it became one of the best-funded companies in Silicon Valley. Now, the tension between those two facts is coming to a head.

91% of polled Amazon staff unhappy with return-to-office, 3-in-4 want to jump ship

Unsurprisingly, almost none of the Amazon employees who are being ordered to return full time to the office are happy about it. I’m actually surprised this survey found 9% who were happy about it…

Over 2,500 Amazon employees were polled by Blind, an online forum of verified tech workers, about the return-to-office (RTO) requirement, and the results were striking - only nine percent of surveyed staff said they were happy with back-to-your-desks order. This was reflected in the fact that 73 percent are now considering moving jobs because of the edict.

Corporate swag will never die

According to this article, we can gauge the economy, in some degree, based on company swag. When companies really cut back on that, then things are getting bad. Which is interesting. I’ve worked at some companies that give out a ton of swag. And others that give out none. While company swag is generally cliche, even after nearly 2 decades in the corporate world, I actually miss it when a company doesn’t give out some good swag to employees.

Corporate swag, however, endures. It’s cheap and typically leads to a solid return on investment, according to Tim Andrews, CEO of ASI. It’s “a low cost way to make sure your brand is in front of a customer or prospect every day for months and years,” he says. At many companies, it’s one of the last marketing expenses to go.

Other Interesting Finds

Trump’s $100,000 Watches Are the Most Tragic Celebrity Watch Yet

I’m obviously not afraid to get political here, but we can set politics aside for a moment, because I’m also a big fan of watches. So the Trump watch collection of overpriced watches had popped up in a number of forums for discussion. Unsurprisingly, the consensus is that the design and finishing are subpar. And if you can afford a $100k watch, there are so many great options out there that will actually look great and have quality workmanship. You could start with two of my favorites, which are well under $100k, the Nautilus and the Reverso. But here is a breakdown of the Trump watch: