Iterate Weekly - Issue 131
This week we're talking about a new device from OpenAI, burnout vs. boreout, Lego scraps plans for recycled bricks, Netflix mails its last DVD, and Your Money or Your Life!
Welcome to issue 131 of Iterate Weekly!
Hope you’re all doing well. This is just a friendly reminder that you can always reply directly to these messages or leave a comment on the Substack post. Feedback is highly encouraged and I’m happy to answer any and all questions that come up.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories.
🤖 Tech
Jony Ive wants to build an OpenAI device
Most people know Jony Ive as the creative design mind behind a slew of popular Apple products.
The easy way to categorize this mystery product would be as “the iPhone of ChatGPT” but it could be something totally different. Sure, maybe Jony Ive is known for making things that are minimal, beautiful, practical…and resemble an iPhone. But what would be the ideal physical representation of an AI?
At this point, we’re still pretty early on in the development of the project. With a name like Ive and a $1Billion investment attached to the plan, it’s likely to cause a stir whenever the details are announced.
It seems like the best comparison here is the Humane project that I wrote about a few months ago. I called that device an “AI Projector Thing” and I stand behind that vague assessment. It’s probably safe to say that Johnny Ive and Sam Altman are looking to create a similar “AI Projector Thing” that might look a bit prettier.
Either way, this feels like a relevant topic that I’ll be monitoring over the next few months. I’m pretty sick of the stale smartphone form factor and am ready for any new device that lets us interact with AI in different ways.
🎓 Education/Productivity/Work
Ness Labs on Burnout vs. Boreout
The always fantastic Anne-Laure Le Cunff of Ness Labs recently published an excellent examination of burnout in the workplace.
While there is really no cookie cutter explanation of what burnout is or how it should be treated, it provides an honest assessment of how she’s personally dealt with it.
The above diagram shows how burnout can live at the center of withdrawal, worry, and weariness. It may not always be as simple as this, but these factors seem to lie at the heart of many experiences that are described as burnout. It can be considered an outcome of overstimulation and lack of restoration.
Conversely, the chart above shows that something called boreout can be a variation of burnout. Instead of being overstimulated, those who may be experiencing boreout feel understimulated and more bored by the day-to-day monotony of their jobs.
Both situations can be extremely difficult for employees to deal with. But it’s important to think carefully about whether it’s burnout or boreout that you’re afflicted with. And the good news is that both can be dealt with in similar ways. I highly recommend checking out the full story from Ness Labs for more.
♻️ Health & Environment
Lego scraps plans for recycled bricks
Legos can be a pretty wasteful product when you think about it. The plastic little bricks all come from petroleum-based sources. And most kids are not content with just one set. Just one kid can go through thousands of Lego blocks in their childhood. And these can’t really be recycled.
So I was pretty sad to see that Lego has ditched its efforts to make a block that was made of recycled materials.
After claiming to they’d find a more sustainable solution by 2023, Lego has given up on the initiative. Evidently, the revised formula of using recycled plastic bottles wasn’t going to cut it. Unfortunately, the prototype that was made using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles ended up using more energy than the original.
Yes, this will be seen by many (including me) as a failure by Lego to deliver on a green promise. It would have been great if they could have figured out a way to make a new brick that had less of a carbon footprint while still being durable enough to withstand the rigors of children.
With the popularity of Lego blocks globally, finding a more sustainable solution would go a long way in helping curb emissions from the company.
According to a spokesperson from Lego:
"We remain fully committed to making Lego bricks from sustainable materials by 2032.
We are investing more than $1.2bn in sustainability initiatives in the four years to 2025 as part of our efforts to transition to more sustainable materials and reduce our carbon emissions by 37% by 2032."
Hmm, 2032 seems like quite a ways off but let’s hope that Lego can find a suitable alternative that works for the consumer, the planet, and their bottom line.
🛍 Grab Bag
Netflix has mailed its last DVD
Netflix has finally mailed out its last DVD.
Yes, most people might know Netflix solely as the streaming app that lives on all of our devices, but it did use to send physical movies to people by mail.
The red envelopes in the mailbox were a big part of my life for years. Netflix was just the easiest and most economical way to plow through your list of must-see movies. It may seem like a relic in our modern streaming world, but there was something pleasant about the one at a time nature of DVDs by mail.
These days you may be overwhelmed by all of the options to watch when you open up the Netflix app. In fact, you likely jump around from movie to movie seeking something better. When you had to wait for movies to arrive by mail, it made you really appreciate each movie even if it wasn’t very good.
For me, I think the original Avatar was the last DVD I received by mail using the Netflix service. Here’s a fun bit of knowledge about the first and last movies shipped by the Netflix service.
The first DVD it shipped in 1998 was a copy of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice. The final envelope contained a DVD copy of the 2010 film True Grit, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.
RIP to the Netflix red envelopes.
💬 Quote of the Week
"Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless."
-Thomas A. Edison
📚Content Review
Your Money or Your Life
Here’s a very practical book recommendation for this week.
I recently finished the revised version of “Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez.
I don’t often write about finance, but this book had been recommended to me from a variety of places. It really has become known as one of the foundational books for people looking to improve their relationship with money. And with good reason.
I’m not a huge follower of the F.I.R.E movement (financial independence, retire early) but this book does illustrate some of the benefits gained when you reevaluate your ability to trade time for money.
For anyone looking to change up their current financial situation, this book is a fantastic place to start.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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