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Do you remember your first Airbnb experience? I recall having truly life-affirming conversations with a friendly host, learning a lot about their local culture, feeling welcomed and safe. It was a real ‘aha moment’ at the time: the realisation that this is what travel should be like.
Today, most Airbnb hosts default to ‘contactless’ check-in and check-out. Human interaction has been optimised out of the experience. Whether at the supermarket or at the local Macca’s, self-service tech is replacing face-to-face exchanges, the consequences of which we’re only just beginning to fathom.
It’s difficult to pin changes in social behaviour on any one cause. We love to blame social media for the rise of polarisation, for example. I don’t doubt it plays a major role, but perhaps we underestimate the impact of automation and self-service tech on our level of empathy towards each other.
This short piece on The Conversation proposes that a rise in self-service tech may be responsible for a decline in our sense of community.
“However fleeting, exposure to people outside of your own socio-demographic groups affect attitudes positively. Existing research demonstrates that ‘actual face-to-face interaction … typically reduces intergroup prejudice’.”
The article quotes a couple of fascinating studies showing how we shape our politics based, at least partially, on what and who we have been exposed to:
“A recent South African study showed that ‘willingness to sign a petition that calls for higher taxes on the wealthy increases in the presence of a high-status car’. Just seeing a BMW 3-series car near the petitioner made people more likely to favour wealth redistributive policies.”
“Another study shows that being the victim of a crime increases political participation: ‘Rather than becoming withdrawn or disempowered, crime victims tend to become more engaged in civic and political life’.”
Our sense of civic identity and our attitude toward government depends on social interactions. When we lose opportunities to engage with people outside of our regular social networks, it damages our overarching belief about society that facilitates cooperation (so-called social capital). We become increasingly individualistic as a result.
While we debate about how much power AI will give or take away from us, there seems to be a widely held view that our future will be more and more automated. I just hope we realise somewhere along the way that human interaction – no matter how tedious it may feel in contrast to a perfectly optimised digital experience – is not just a prerequisite for a functioning society but a life worth living.
– Kai
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Apps & Sites
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Sparkle – with the recently released version 5 – is an ambitious macOS website builder. I think it’s the first native app for no-code web development I’ve seen since the days of Dreamweaver. The feature list looks impressive. I wonder how it compares to the likes of Webflow or Framer. Friends of DD enjoy a 10% discount.
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Tabletopia is a multi-platform online environment with instant access to hundreds of licensed board games. There is no AI to enforce the rules. Just read the rulebook, choose a seat at the virtual table and start playing.
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Modular ‘open-source’ homes
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I love the concept behind WikiHouse: an open construction system based on CNC-manufactured blocks that can be rapidly assembled on site, even by small teams with no traditional construction skills. The blocks slot and peg together, making it possible to go from foundations to weatherproof envelope of a house within days.
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The newest neal.fun project takes you on a ride up to space and explores Earth’s atmosphere, wildlife and planes along the way. As with all of Neal’s projects, it’s highly educational and skillfully executed.
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Worthy Five: Dhanya Herath
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Five recommendations by operations lead, not-for-profit software person, and climate activist Dhanya Herath
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A video worth watching:
Loretta Ross’ ‘circles of influence’ framework comes from her decades long work in activism and organising. Her framework helps us shift away from trying to convince those people who are already aligned with us and instead focuses on creating common ground with those who we only partially align with. Highly recommended!
A question worth asking:
“What if our best times are ahead of us?” The question feels odd in the face of the current state of the climate crisis, but being able to collectively imagine a future that is joyful and inclusive is the best way to grow the climate movement and transition climate anxiety into action.
A book worth reading:
Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead series is full of empathy and wonder. My highest compliment for it is that it slowed down the way I think, at least for a while.
A recipe worth trying:
Pasta e ceci (pasta and chickpeas) is such a cozy, easy go-to recipe for when you don’t have much time but still want to eat something delicious. Plus, it’s plant-based so lower emissions!
A podcast worth listening to:
I think a lot about language and culture, and Conversations with my Immigrant Parents has created a space for incredibly frank and vulnerable conversations within families. I haven’t managed to get through any of their episodes without tearing up, but maybe you’ll have better luck!
(Did you know? Friends of DD can respond to and engage with guest contributors like Dhanya Herath in one click.)
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Books & Accessories
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A history of internet conspiracy cults
This book was recommended in a recent podcast I listened to, describing it as ‘an amazing rabbit hole about toxic rabbit holes’. “QAnon and On is the story of the modern internet, the farscape of political belief and a disinformation pipeline built between the two that poses an ongoing threat to democracy itself. Shocking and mesmerising in equal measure, this book will open our eyes to the dangers of partisan belief.”
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An indie feminist magazine
With seven issues published, I’m surprised I haven’t come across Lux earlier. “Lux is short for Rosa Luxemburg, one of the most creative thinkers and organizers to shape the Marxist tradition. It’s a wink at traditional women’s magazines. And it’s a nod to the fact that in our vision of socialism, there is abundance for all.” Their Instagram page sums up the title as “A socialist feminist mag for the masses. It’s sex, with class.”
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Overheard on Twitter
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I’m the guy who named all the batteries (A, AA, AAA, AAAA) so I thought I’d offer a chemical engineering breakdown of how they got these names:
1.) I am afraid of electricity
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Food for Thought
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This piece tries to link a person’s intelligence with their level of happiness. To understand how they correlate (or not), first a definition of intelligence is needed, and I really like the distinction between ‘well-defined problem-solving’ and ‘poorly defined problem-solving’ as a way to assess intelligence. “My grandma does not know how to use the ‘input’ button on her TV’s remote control, but she does know how to raise a family full of good people who love each other, how to carry on through a tragedy, and how to make the perfect pumpkin pie. We sometimes condescendingly refer to this kind of wisdom as ‘folksy’ or ‘homespun’, as if answering multiple-choice questions is real intelligence, and living a good, full life is just some down-home, gee-whiz, cutesy thing that little old ladies do.”
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Most of you would be aware that the way we map our planet as a 3D sphere distorts the actual size of countries and continents. Still, this collection of illustrations is really quite something. For example, on most maps the island of New Guinea, north of Australia, appears to be roughly the size of Great Britain. In reality it is much bigger, reaching in size from London to Moscow. “Brazil is brutally big. Its northernmost point is closer to Canada than to its southernmost point! In fact, its northernmost point is closer to any American country than to its southernmost point!”
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What a great, insightful piece that debunks the myth that only cities that are already cycling-friendly can wean themselves of car dependency. Brussels’ transformation happened remarkably quickly: “In 2017 cars accounted 64% of the miles traveled within the city; by 2021 the figure had fallen under 50%. Meanwhile, a huge pedestrian zone has emerged in the city center. .. If car-choked Brussels can transform itself in less than a generation, it’s unclear why Boston or Seattle cannot do the same. Those who want to reduce the automobile’s stranglehold over urban America should look to the Belgian capital for inspiration — as well as for guidance.” I loved this quote by Brussels’ former mobility minister: “You have to make people happy against their will.”
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Aesthetically Pleasing
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Most of you will know by now that I appreciate compact and simple spaces. This super narrow 1890s (!) terrace house in Sydney was created “with Japanese design principles and German industrial designer Dieter Rams’ philosophy of ‘less but better’”.
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The Norwegians know how to tinyhouse on water: Flo is a tiny, floating cabin built around the coziest fireplace in Scandinavia.
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A really smart, laborious stop motion experiment – which is an ad for a smartphone stabiliser gadget, sadly. Don’t miss the second half of the video to see the making of!
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Stravinsky strikes the right balance between soft corners and hard contrasts. “It is a slightly chaotic, experimental typeface relying on a hidden order which puts all the characters in its right place. This modern display typeface is suitable for highlighting, teasing, and saying things upfront.”
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Notable Numbers
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A recent study of 100 US cities found that – between 1993 and 2017 – billions were spent to expand highway systems’ capacities by 42%, far faster than the cities were growing population-wise. But instead of reducing congestion, traffic delays actually went up by 144%.
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Apple and its contract manufacturer Foxconn reportedly lobbied for tweaking an Indian national labour law to extend factories’ work shifts from 9 to 12 hours.
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Solar rooftop installations soared by 49 per cent worldwide last year. The increase to 118 billion watts (gigawatts or GW) worth of rooftop panels was enough to power 36 million more homes globally.
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The Week in a GIF
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Reply or tweet at DD with your favourite GIF and it might get featured here in a future issue.
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