1. Techno-optimism for 2022 Noahpinion on promising new technologies the coming decade. “Cheap energy is likely to show up in the productivity statistics, since it always has in the past, but bio might end up being more like social media — something that transforms the way humans live our lives in deep and meaningful ways […]”
  2. Looking out to 2022 by Azeem Azhar at Exponential View. Tech forcasts ct’d. Azeem’s predictions follow a similarly optimistic path, with additional focus on Web3 and climate tech.
  3. Hopes for 2022 in The Batch newsletter by Andrew Ng’s Deeplearning.ai. Tech forcasts ct’d – AI edition. AI leaders from various areas of academia and industry share their hopes for 2022.
  4. You May Get More Work Done at Home. But  You’d Have Better Ideas at the Office by Edward Glaeser and David Cutler for The Washington Post. Is remote work a driver of productivity? While initial data seemed promising, the benefits might largely be short-term. There’s unarguably more time for focused work, but benefits of a common workplace such as Iearning from each other, idea generation, or friendships suffer. The article contains interesting data from different sectors and studies.
  5. Authority by Jeff VanderMeer. Part 2 of the Southern Reach trilogy, a permanent dance along the uncanny valley. Completely different, and yet just as captivating as the first book. Part 3 is already on my shelf, and I can’t wait to read what it has in store. It’s interesting to see that both book 1 and 2 have received very negative reviews on GoodReads.
  6. What Happens To Our Brains When We Exercise And How It Makes Us Happier by Leo Widrich for Fast Company. An old but valuable article on the benefits of exercise. BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) and endorphins are released in the brain, reducing stress, protecting memory neurons, and acting like a reset switch.
  7. The Case Of The Abandoned Metrics by Matt Shapiro at Marginally Compelling. Data holds a status of objectivity, even as we know that the queries we use and the time frames we select play a crucial role in the results. However, as data is politicised, we use the last fragments of that objectivity we so sorely need. “Changing our metrics to suit our narratives has caused confusion, frustrated the honest, and destroyed public trust […]”
  8. How Health Care is Turning into a Consumer Product by The Economist. In the past year, the major tech firms poured $3.6bn into health-related deals. While the high levels of sophistication and regulation make healthtech a difficult field for startups, one can see a strong increase in global investments, reaching about $57bn in 2021.
  9. Mental Health, Meet Venture Capital by Tori DeAngelis for APA. Mental health solutions are a hot topic within the venture scene, but what does that entail? Surely a larger variety for consumers, but also a change from the canonic “move fast and break things” startup attitude towards a more thoughtful approach, especially when it comes to the ethics of the things we build.