Visual Thinking, Claude AI, Project Jarvis, EVs, Transcriptions, and Death
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:
🖼️ Visual Thinking
🖥️ Claude AI
🤖 Project Jarvis
🚙 EVs
📝 Transcriptions
💀 Thinking about Death
Podcast
The Power of Visual Thinking in Product Management with Christoph Steinlehner
In this episode of Prodity: Product by Design, host Kyle interviews Christoph Steinlehner, a product management coach with a background in interaction design. Christoph shares his journey from web development and multimedia production to product management coaching, where he helps product managers and teams navigate complex challenges, improve communication, and find focus. He emphasizes the importance of visual methods in facilitating better team collaboration and product strategy, offering insights into how product leaders can balance internal and external priorities. Christoph also introduces his "Mapper Method," a six-step framework designed to clarify assumptions, risks, and strategies through visual mapping. Our conversation also delves into practical advice for improving product processes, creating effective communication, and advancing careers in product management. If you are interested in starting or advancing your product career, you won't want to miss this discussion.
News and Useful Reads
Claude AI Computer Use
Anthropic has introduced computer use on its API. Claude can now take control of the computer, navigate spreadsheets, and do other human-like tasks.
Google is reportedly developing a ‘computer-using agent’ AI system
Not to be outdone, Google seems to be planning their own version of computer use for December. It’s apparently called Jarvis.
Google could preview its own take on Rabbit’s large action model concept as soon as December, reports The Information. “Project Jarvis,” as it’s reportedly codenamed, would carry tasks out for users, including “gathering research, purchasing a product, or booking a flight,” according to three people the outlet spoke with who have direct knowledge of the project.
“It’s just like plugging in your phone”: The mindset shift needed to scale EVs
If we want more electric vehicles, we need better charging solutions. And helping cities move faster seems promising. I also like the idea of them becoming more like fire hydrants rather than gas pumps.
The company is building a network of curb-side EV chargers powered from buildings rather than the utility. It partners with suitable property owners, secures the relevant permits, and installs and maintains a charger powered by that building’s spare electrical supply. There is no cost to the building owner, who can also earn a passive income from the charger.
Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said
We all know that AI is prone to hallucinations. Which is problematic, but not life-threatening when we’re just creating summaries of work meetings where we discussed website colors or other nonsense. But it’s much more problematic when people are talking about their health.
More concerning, they said, is a rush by medical centers to utilize Whisper-based tools to transcribe patients’ consultations with doctors, despite OpenAI’ s warnings that the tool should not be used in “high-risk domains.”
Other Interesting Finds
I’m a death expert. I designed eight questions to help you think about dying
We have become more distanced from death than most of our ancestors. So what does it mean to die? And how are the traditions so different now?
It is worth reminding ourselves that the vast majority of our ancestors saw the world in a very different way than we do today. They understood their universe to be ensouled or inspirited, with invisible deities intricately entwined with all aspects of life and death. For most of human history, the questions and answers of life and death were sought not in the causal relationships of a historical worldview or the scientific method, but rather through mythology and religion.