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Afrofuturism, 5 Ways To Conquer Zoom Fatigue, Remote Work From Barbados and Why Fake News Isn't Actually Fake  | Non-Obvious Insights #226
Dear Newsletterest,

I'm absolutely loaded up on stories today, and so the process of selecting the ones to share with you by email was tougher than usual this week. If you enjoy these and want to go further, be sure to join me later today for my live show on YouTube where I discuss the stories in further detail and also share another several stories that didn't quite make it into the email. Hope to see you there!

Watch the recorded version of my LIVE Insights Show >
How Afrofuturists Think Different and Why the Questions They Ask Matter
"Futurists labor over questions about the nature of Android consciousness and empathy. Afrofuturists ask how race might be wired into Android consciousness and whether the android world might be as divided as ours is."

I admit, before reading this article on Afrofuturism from WIRED, I hadn't considered some of these questions related to the future -- and I've read quite a bit about it. This was a blind spot for me and this excellently argued article helped me to realize it and articulated exactly why it matters that I do consider it. As someone speaking frequently with those imagining the future and often providing advice and counsel on the directions they take, reading this was a reminder that there are larger and sometimes unconsidered questions that need to be asked. When technologists build the future, their views of the world become embedded into that technology. It is, therefore, not enough to ask and imagine what tomorrow's innovations will be. We must also ask who will build them and how we can make those teams more diverse than they often are. 
 
Mmhmm, Zoom AI, Microsoft Together and 5 Ways to Conquer Zoom Fatigue
"Zoom Fatigue" is a concept widely discussed today - and predictable because of the frustration of having to live our professional lives inside of virtual meetings. Read my full article with tips to conquer Zoom Fatigue here. This week there were stories of many developments aimed at addressing this fatigue. Microsoft launched their Together mode feature where backgrounds are static to help you feel like you are in the same room as your fellow participants. Zoom launched a $599 piece of hardware for home offices with cameras and microphones built in, even as laptop sales are booming. And one guy even created a "Zoombot" that can be a stand-in for you on meetings you desperately want to skip. My favorite, though, is a new app in private beta called Mmhmm that offers a fun level of interaction for virtual presentations (watch their demo video here).
 
The Truth About Fox News: It Isn't Fake.
Calling Fox News fake is a common theme among the people in my social media circles, but I have long been curious about their reporting and why so many people seem so deeply influenced by it. I'm a frequent reader of their stories and consistently have it as part of my overall media diet even though I often disagree with the stories there. This week, I did a little experiment over a two day period to capture multiple headlines to see if I could identify a theme or pattern. There clearly was. In the headlines from the image above, do you see it?

Almost every story is based on a quote or opinion from someone. In some cases, they are sources who are objectively newsworthy - such as Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. In most others, they are either talk show hosts, celebrities (or their lesser known spouses), or professional athletes. The stories aren't fake. They are reporting on what these people actually said. The problem is, the opinions of insignificant people are reported alongside the quotes from actually influential people, creating confusion. In my reviews, no other media platform relies so heavily on "he said, she said" style reporting. So perhaps the distinction we need to make more often isn't fake news versus real news, but rather insignificant stories versus significant ones. 
 
Barbados Offers Incentive For Remote Workers To Relocate There For a Year  
Barbados offering an incentive for remote workers to relocate may not seem particularly newsworthy or non-obvious ... but my reason for sharing it is because I suspect that over the coming months this overture will be not only become MUCH more common from tropical destinations, but it will be a very appealing choice for many young people or remote workers who see a longer term future where they no longer need to be geographically close to their work and can more easily imagine a better lifestyle for themselves outside of the big cities. 
 
How Researchers Trained and Created AI With Psycopathic Tendencies
What happens when you train an AI algorithm only with murderous images from horror films or macabre photos from the Internet? A seriously disturbed AI, as researchers at the MIT Media Lab discovered. The AI, named "Norman" after the lead character from the horror film "Psycho," reacted disturbingly in image association tests and exhibited severe tendencies toward seeing the world as more aggressive, violent and negative - no matter what it was presented with afterwards. It's an excellent reminder that the way AI continues to evolve, and its attitudes towards the humans who build it will largely be dependent on us. 
 
Diageo Experiments With World's First Paper Based Whiskey Bottle
You wouldn't think that something as high-end as whiskey could be bottled in paper, but apparently Diageo has developed a way to do it and recently announced that next year they would debut Johnnie Walker Black Label in a bottle sourced entirely from sustainably sourced wood. It's certainly a great marketing story, but also a challenge to the rest of the industry to keep up and match the commitment. Which is ultimately the beauty of bold announcements like this. They move an entire industry forward. 
 
Want to Discuss These Stories With Me?
Watch the LIVE recording from Thursday, July 16th of my live show where I discuss the insights from this week's email, as well as several stories that didn't make it into my email this week.

Watch the recording of my LIVE Insights Show >>
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How are these stories curated?
Every week I go through hundreds of stories in order to curate this email. Your attention is important to me and I always do my best to share only "non-obvious" ideas with you to help you be more interesting. 

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