Tech Innovations, Autopilot, Broken Toys, TikTok, and Sci-Fi Movies
Tech Innovations, Autopilot, Broken Toys, TikTok, and Sci-Fi Movies
Weekly Roundup of News in Technology, UX and AI
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Here’s the latest news, resources, and use cases from the world of product, UX, AI and technology. Let’s go:
🕹️ Tech Innovations
🚙 Tesla Autopilot
🤖 Reliable AI
🪀 Broken Toys
📱 TikTok Meltdown
🎟️ Sci-Fi Movies
Podcast
Navigating Tech Innovations and Strategic Partnerships with Varag Gharibjanian
In this episode, I sit down with Varag Gharibjanian, the founding partner of Actuate, a boutique advisory firm. Varag shares his personal journey from an engineering background to pioneering in business strategy and technology partnerships, especially within AR/VR spaces. We delve into his early career challenges, significant milestones at major tech companies, and the lessons learned from merging technology with business. Varag also discusses the current trends in XR and AI technologies, providing insights into future developments. If you're interested in business strategy, the future of technology, or growing a business, you won't want to miss this discussion.
News and Useful Reads
Tesla Autopilot Was Uniquely Risky—and May Still Be
Companies are responsible for the products and features they create, and the harm that those products may cause. While we may not always see every possible scenario, product managers and designers should understand how their products could be misused, and design accordingly—or refuse to launch products that will ultimately cause significant harm. That’s the case with Tesla’s autopilot. It is a feature that has been misused and abused without appropriate safeguards. And Tesla has done nothing to fix it.
A federal report published today found that Tesla’s Autopilot system was involved in at least 13 fatal crashes in which drivers misused the system in ways the automaker should have foreseen—and done more to prevent. Not only that, but the report called out Tesla as an “industry outlier” because its driver assistance features lacked some of the basic precautions taken by its competitors. Now regulators are questioning whether a Tesla Autopilot update designed to fix these basic design issues and prevent fatal incidents has gone far enough.
Why reliable AI requires a paradigm shift
Addressing the issue of hallucinations in AI is crucial for ensuring the reliable and trustworthy deployment of these systems. Hallucinations can lead to erroneous decision-making, false conclusions, and potentially harmful outcomes, especially in critical applications such as healthcare, finance, and public safety, just to mention a few. By understanding the causes and mechanisms behind hallucinations, researchers and developers can work to mitigate these issues, improving the overall robustness and reliability of AI systems.
I Witnessed the Future of AI, and It’s a Broken Toy
Maybe the whole idea of moving rapidly to market with products that aren’t ready isn’t the right approach?
Until now, consumer AI has largely been defined by software: chatbots such as ChatGPT or the iPhone’s souped-up autocorrect. Now we are experiencing a thingification: Companies are launching and manufacturing actual bits of metal and plastic that are entirely dedicated to AI features. These devices are distinguished from previous AI gadgets, such as the Amazon Echo, in that they incorporate the more advanced generative-AI technology that has recently been in vogue, allowing users more natural interactions. There are pins and pendants and a whole new round of smart glasses.
Yet for all its promise, this new era is not going very well.
Welcome to the TikTok Meltdown
For me, the entire TikTok debacle comes down to control of information and data by the US government. US interests want more control over important platforms, and they don’t have that with TikTok, so they’ve moved to ban it. When any regulation should be aimed at every social media platform.
And if you, like me, believe that TikTok is bad in the ways all algorithmic social media is bad, but not uniquely bad—that is, if you believe that the harms presented by social media are complex and cannot be reduced to an Axis of Evil designation—you might very well be furious that the first major legislation against a Big Tech company is, at this point, little more than vibes-based fearmongering. The case for TikTok is debatable, but the path the government has taken to determine its fate is unquestionably sloppy and shortsighted.
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Other Interesting Finds
Near-Perfect Sci-Fi Movies You Might Have Missed
I’m always looking for new shows or movies to watch, or good books to read. So this list of sci-fi movies hit the spot. I hadn’t even heard of a few of these, which was even better. If you like sci-fi, hopefully a few good movies to check out.
