Iterate Weekly - Issue 24
Smart glasses are hitting a tipping point, AI is going to help us learn, Ch-ch-ch-chia seeds are a staple of my diet, broken soft-serve machines, and Seth Rogen's yearbook.
Welcome to issue 24 of Iterate Weekly!
Just a reminder that you can always reply to this email or leave a comment on the web version. I do read all of them and I appreciate the feedback, questions, and insights from all of you.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories.
Tech
Glasses to record your day
I love smart technology. Give me all the wearables and sign me up for all of the futuristic tech that will be embedded under our skin. But Facebook’s latest smart glasses kinda scare me.
There is no denying that they’re pretty sexy-looking specs. It’s hard to spot the difference between these and a regular pair of Ray-Bans. But if you look closely, you can see that there are two cameras perched on the corners of the frames. Yes, these glasses can record everything that you (and those in your field of view) do every day.
It isn’t a new concept. I remember being creeped out by Gordon Bell’s “Total Recall” book when I read it over a decade ago. Bell was testing out ways to record everything that happened in his day. The technology wasn’t as tiny back then. You’d essentially have to wear a camera around your neck with hard drives strapped to your back. The $299 Ray-Ban Stories glasses make this much easier.
Yes, Facebook will say all the right things about privacy. But these glasses can record pretty stealthily. A small, white LED will turn on when recording, but it’s not really noticeable unless you’re looking for it. There is a button to manually record or you can use your voice to initiate a photo or video. There is no augmented reality lens screen going on here but there are speakers to allow you to listen to music or make calls while wearing the specs with touchpad volume control on the frames.
You’re only able to store about 500 still images or about 36 different 30-second video clips on the onboard memory. And battery life will likely last 6 hours at most. So these won’t be documenting everything you do in a day, just the moments you want to remember. Or, just a lot of boring everyday monotony.
I can actually see these glasses becoming a popular accessory for the right kind of nerd. I’m not entirely sure who the audience is, but Facebook and Ray-Ban will gather data and make strategic changes for the next iteration.
Would you be interested in these?
Learning
AI in learning
Artificial intelligence is a scary yet undeniably interesting topic to study. I’m always looking for new and promising use cases that can improve (or iterate) our ability to retain knowledge. This week I have two stories that show the promise of AI.
First, language-learning app Duolingo is using AI to help make its product seem less robotic. Sounds counter-intuitive right? As part of Duocon, their yearly conference on what’s changing on the platform, they announced some new AI-based algorithms that hope to make the question sequencing feel more natural.
Many of the questions that students answer in Duolingo are scripted. There is a prescribed sequence based on typical learning paths for most students. But AI can allow for the order of questions to be better customized to each student’s strengths and weaknesses. It may sound minor, but building a student’s confidence through strategic question sequencing can go a long way in keeping them engaged with the product. As someone who personally dealt with this problem while creating courses for EdTech startup CreativeLive, it’s really exciting to see how this AI will build better Duolingo students
Along the same lines, I wanted to share this story from Stanford about how AI-based teaching assistants are slowly making their way into the classroom. There is a dangerous lack of good teachers out there, especially in tech and STEM courses. The Stanford article posits that we may be able to fill this gap through AI instructors who can motivate and give guidance at just the right time as a human instructor would.
It’s a growing field of study but I have no doubt that my 2-year old daughter will benefit from having AI-powered learning sessions of some sort by the time she’s in high school…if not sooner.
Health
Chia Pets, Chia Seeds and optimal hydration
If you’re like most of the western population, your introduction to chia seeds came from cheesy (chiasy?) commercials that were everywhere in the 80s and 90s. “Ch-ch-ch-chia” may have been one of the most impactful jingles in modern advertising.
But wouldn’t you know that these cheap little seeds that turn naked terra cotta animals into proud home-decor statements and passable white elephant gifts are actually good for you?
Yes, maybe I was brainwashed at a young age by watching these commercials, but I eat chia seeds every day. They find their way into smoothies, yogurt, or just mixed in a glass of water. Maybe my second wave of brainwashing came when I read Christopher McDougall’s “Born to Run” where the mystical Tarahumara tribe would eat not much more than chia seeds before embarking on barefoot running journeys for hours. These tiny, inconspicuous seeds seem to have magical qualities!
There appears to be something behind the way they turn into a gel when mixed with water. This acts as sort of a “super hydration” technique that is more powerful than just drinking water alone. I highly recommend the book “Quench” by Dana Cohen MD who explains the science behind it far more eloquently than I can.
I am not a doctor, but try to add some chia seeds to your diet and let me know how they make you feel.
Grab Bag
Why are soft serve machines always broken?
Here is a fun story from the world of fast food.
Maybe it isn’t even just fast food. It’s a story that relates to ice cream consumption in general. Have you ever really been in the mood to enjoy some creamy soft-serve on a warm day only to find out that the establishment’s soft-serve machine isn’t operational?
Well the FTC is getting involved to fix this problem. They are launching an investigation into why these machines in McDonald’s restaurants are continuously out-of-order. McDonald’s sells these as the branded “McFlurry” dessert and the concoction comes out of special machinery built by a company called Taylor.
These persnickety ice cream machines must only be serviced by providers who are licensed by Taylor. This story goes deep into the monopolistic practices of the Taylor company. Is it really that complicated to fix one of these machines? A company called Kytch has built a device that allows McDonald’s employees to run simple diagnostics and initiate basic repairs. Of course, Taylor pushed back and disabled these devices in order to keep all repairs in-house
The battle continues between Taylor and Kytch and now Joe Biden and the Federal Government is getting involved in a topic that shouldn’t be so cut-throat. Don’t worry though. If you just want to go enjoy a McFlurry at your local McDonald’s this site can tell you if their soft-serve machine is actually working today.
Quote of the Week
“What did you do as a child that created timelessness, that made you forget time? There lies the myth to live by.” - Joseph Campbell
Content Recommendation
Seth Rogen - Yearbook
Recently, my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Seth Rogen’s “Yearbook” in audiobook form (read by the author of course) while taking several road trips.
As you may gather from the title, the book takes a look at Rogen’s upbringing and start in the entertainment industry. Where it really shines are the personal stories and unpredictable situations that Seth finds himself in (usually while under the influence of some sort of drug).
There are lots of laughs here for fans of Seth Rogen movies. But if you’re not a fan, I’d still give it a read or listen. I’m always a sucker for comedians narrating their own audiobooks. Even if you think the content is bland (which it’s not!) Seth’s gravelly baritone (he is the voice of a warthog in the Lion King after all) and dry delivery make it really come to life.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!