Popular Weight

Interesting article on a  fraught cultural moment: plus-size celebrities who lose weight face backlash for supposedly undermining body positivity, even when their decisions are rooted in personal health struggles. This reflects broader anxieties about shifting beauty standards, the influence of weight-loss drugs, and the complexities of representation and personal autonomy in the public eye. 

When my former co-worker, S underwent bariatric surgery several years ago to overcome his obesity, people who knew him before and after responded in a myriad of different ways. I did see a small minority who felt betrayed but many found what he did inspiring, they congratulated him on the dramatic change. S had been obese for most of his adult life and it took a major health scare for him to go under the knife for it. Last time I ran into him a few months ago, S is happily retired and looks great. Not being any kind of celebrity likely served S well 

Our overt focus on these individuals, who we do not know and who often are simply fat and visible, and therefore have body positivity labels thrust upon them, is not where our energy over the rise of fatphobia should be focused. Viren Swami, Professor of Social Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University, whose research focuses on the psychology of body image, says it is this emphasis on individuals and the choices they make about their bodies that is at the core of the issue. “I think when we use ‘body positive movement’, it implies there is an audience that can hold someone else accountable. But it’s not a political movement in that sense. They’re not like MPs. We don’t vote for them. We don’t tell them you go off and become our voice,” he says.

Missing Why

As someone who has only observed the Peleton phenomenon from the outside, I wasn't even aware that they had a problem with explaining to customer why they were unique and different compared to the competition. 

I assumed Peloton’s devoted fan following, especially as seen during the pandemic, reflects the brand’s genuine strengths in building a loyal, engaged community and delivering a compelling at-home fitness experience. Watching from the outside, I thought it was impressive given that their offering is hardly unique. Apparently this reality of pandemic popularity coexisted with, but does not contradict, the criticisms outlined in the Branding Strategy Insider article about Peloton’s brand management missteps.

Peloton’s strongest asset, its ability to foster “inclusive individuality” (the feeling of being both unique and part of a supportive community), is not well communicated to prospects, and remains a “best-kept secret.” Presumably, not in a good way. I used to hear folks chat about their Peletons a lot more during the pandemic than after. It made for an instant bonding moment between two people who had met on a work Zoom call for the first time. Folks like me who were in the out group were not entirely sure what the fuss was all about. 

Lead Manage

I read this article about leaders and managers with interest having not had either for most of my career. As far as I am concerned, both are mythical creatures that some claim to have seen but I for one, am still waiting. The author argues that effective managers must blend both leadership and management skills, rather than specialize in one or the other. Suzy Welch introduces the term "lanager" to describe someone who balances visionary leadership (setting direction and inspiring people) with hands-on management (executing plans and handling details).

Welch warns that focusing exclusively on either vision or execution leads to dysfunction: visionary-only leaders risk inaction, while hands-on-only managers lack direction. The ideal is a manager who can move fluidly between big-picture thinking and practical execution, leaving a clear, intentional mark on their team and organization. Welch emphasizes the importance of conviction, decisiveness, and the ability to adapt to what the team needs in the moment.

In large or complex organizations, separating leadership (vision-setting) from management (execution) can be beneficial. Research shows that firms forced to split or combine these roles often perform best when the structure matches their specific needs, there is no universal solution. Specialization allows individuals to focus on what they do best, whether it’s strategic direction or operational efficiency. I will say that I have know many who are able to manage teams and projects effectively but folks in people management roles who get their only as career advancement tool (which is just about every manager I've ever had, barring rare exceptions) they seriously underwhelm.

Intellectual Engine

I am occasional Substack reader but maybe its time to change that. If the author is right in their argument Substack is poised to become the “intellectual engine of the 21st century,” I might be missing out. drawing a parallel to how the printing press and the Royal Society fueled the Enlightenment. He contends that just as improved communication technologies allowed Enlightenment thinkers to share, debate, and refine transformative ideas, Substack now provides a modern, open, and global platform for independent thinkers, writers, and innovators to do the same

At that early stage of ideation and innovation, you look to the intellectuals and entrepreneurs and out-of-the-box thinkers — those who are not constrained by the old world and are focused instead on the new one. You are looking for truly independent thinkers who can figure out the new ways forward that work better for everyone over the long haul.

And where do you find those kinds of people in the world of 2025?

On Substack

The company’s stance of minimal intervention, presenting itself as “pure infrastructure", has been undermined as it began recommending content and adding social features, making it harder to avoid responsibility for what is promoted on the . This is probably for the best. But the real issue is that Substack works best for writers who already have a large following; it is less effective for new or niche voices, potentially reinforcing existing hierarchies rather than democratizing intellectual discourse. I am not convinced that the the purported intellectual engine of our times can afford to ignore ideas from those who are not already well-recognized, particularly the reasons for such fame can be fairly dubious at time. There is directional point to the argument but that is about it. 

Off Vibe

I have played around with AI mode some and for the things I tested it with, the results were mediocre. what is concerning that it aims to change the search experience by providing direct answers and summaries, often eliminating the need for users to click through to external websites. Google search has never been fair to niche publishers (and small businesses) that struggle for visibility because the rules changes faster than they can keep up. 

AI mode benefits major brands, which dominate top search positions, but compounds the challenges for smaller sites whose organic visibility and traffic are further diminished. The rise of AI Overviews and zero-click results means users increasingly get what they need without leaving Google, raising concerns about the future of the open web and the sustainability of independent publishers. I use Google search rarely these days and if AI mode becomes the primary way to use it. I will likely not use it all. I agree with the author that the vibe has been off for a long time:

When many of us look at Google's search results today, the vibe feels off. Maybe it's the AI, maybe it's Google's algorithm, or maybe the Internet just isn't what it once was. Whatever the cause, the shift toward zero-click search that began more than a decade ago was made clear by the March 2024 core update, and it has only accelerated with the launch of AI Mode. Even businesses that have escaped major traffic drops from AI Overviews could soon find that Google's AI-only search can get much more overbearing.

The AI slop will continue until morale improves.

Reduced Choice

I did use Airbnb extensively during our trip to Spain a few years ago. Every one of the places we stayed was lovely in its own way. But I can understand why the locals would want to change things. I can't begin to imagine what it would feel like to have my sleepy suburb be overrun with tourists and all my neighbors renting out their homes to visitors. But that is a common experience around the beach just about anywhere. The people who live and work there would have all the troubles Europeans are complaining about. It is only a matter of degree. 

Spain’s Consumer Rights Ministry ordered Airbnb to remove more than 65,000 listings in the country, its latest attempt to deal with overtourism and a growing housing crisis.

The ministry said the listings violated short-term rental rules, like not including license numbers, using fake license numbers, or not specifying if the property was owned by an individual or a company. Spain had ordered Airbnb to scrap the listings in recent months, but Airbnb appealed the decision. Madrid’s high court sided with the government this week.

In September 2023, New York City began enforcing Local Law 18, which mandates that short-term rental hosts register with the city and adhere to strict criteria: the host must reside in the property during the rental period, and only two guests are allowed at a time. These regulations have led to a substantial decrease in available short-term rentals, with the number of legal listings plummeting by over 80% 

I recall how much more expensive it got for me to add a few extra days to my business trips to NY so I could spend time with J. It used to be that I moved to an Airbnb close to her after my work was done and return home from there. After the enforcement, those options dried up overnight and the places that fit my budget were not at all a convenient distance for her. That meant we could spend a lot less time together and one or both of us had to travel a lot more.

Badging Record

Monitoring and baby-sitting employees is all the rage these days and has been for a while. Now with the push to ramp productivity with AI across the board, the conditions will remain unfavorable to employees 

HSBC UK, which encompasses the lender’s British retail and domestic commercial banking units, would start providing line managers with more data so they could better monitor office attendance under the updated policy, said a person familiar with the matter.

Other large UK-based employers, including Big Four accounting firms PwC and EY, have also introduced closer monitoring of office attendance. PwC UK told its 26,000 staff last year that it would track their office attendance in the same way it does their chargeable hours.

When attendance becomes the arbiter of all decisions about a person's career, it has the effect of making sure that some will game the system to the point where they will do nothing other than meticulously attend and do performative work that is seen by those who need to see it. By policy, these folks cannot be let go because they are clearly doing what was asked of them and will have the metrics to demonstrate it. It is not hard to imagine such an employee running a full scale side hustle while badge swiping away, exactly as required. So the person is in office, doing the hours, checking off the goals (mostly assisted by AI) and yet not providing any real value to the employer. Instead they are working on their passion project which they make sure cannot be monitored. 

That is how your employee with the most stellar attendance record lets you know one morning that he is quitting to focus on the startup, he and his best friend down the hallway have been working on for a couple of years. Neither ever fell short on the attendance record and they did the jobs they were assigned without any misses. A bit of respect and trust goes a long way I think.

Counting Win

Reading this story about brand tonality immediately brought Wendy's to mind. I have been to Wendy's less than a dozen times in my life but I enjoy their snarky Twitter updates no less the most loyal customers. It is a great example of a brand can use a distinctive, bold tone to stand out, build community, and drive real business result, while also navigating the fine line between edgy humor and controversy. 

Their most recent comments about Katy Perry’s space flight got them into hot water. While Wendy’s issued a statement reaffirming its playful approach and respect for Perry, it stopped short of an apology, reflecting the risks of pushing boundaries with humor. Whoever there is responsible for maintaining Wendy's brand tone is doing a great job positioning it as the cheeky underdog, “keeping it real” and championing freshness and authenticity in a crowded market. 

As much as all that is fun, their pop-culture savvy roasts would not be the reason for me to go to Wendy's any more than I do. Maybe that is not the intent of brand tone at all. It reminds me of the Kia Soul hamster commercials succeeded by combining humor, music, and a fresh creative approach to make the car, and the brand, stand out. They are widely regarded as a case study in innovative marketing, showing how a bold, culturally attuned campaign can reshape perceptions and drive real business result. While, I would never buy a Kia Soul, I have preferred to rent it over other options many times, thanks to that commercial.

Getting Wrong

I was an early adopter, fan and advocate for Airbnb. Yet, I find myself using it less and less because the price point is no longer interesting. I could easily get myself a predictable experience at a hotel in the same location for a lot less. Yes, that means not being able to live in a bedroom that was designed by an artist couple - one specialized in wood and the other in metal. Not having access to the best view of the ocean from a cliff top villa and not being able to learn about the local culture from a friendly host who has lived there for generations. This are all the things that Airbnb made possible at first and then pulled out of reach in degrees

Airbnb is now undergoing its most ambitious transformation yet. Chesky announced the company’s expansion beyond home rentals into a vast array of services and experiences, what he calls “the Airbnb of anything.” Users can now book not just places to stay but also chefs, glam teams, guided tours, cultural experiences, and more, all vetted and curated through the platform. This move aims to make Airbnb a hub for all aspects of travel and local experiences, for both tourists and locals.

My concern is that all these experiences he intends to offer through the platform will likewise go the way of renting a room or a house from a host. The thing that used to be all about fun, adventure, surprise and affordability has lost most aspects of it. I have seen hosts working off to the side, asking if I'd like to book directly with them not via the platform so we could both be better off. Some have asked for me to cancel the reservation so they will not be penalized for lack of performance. One host put me up at a hotel because he had his cards very badly mixed up between bookings through Airbnb and private arrangements. There was no room for me when I showed up and I could not even got off my car. He had promised parking on the street but it would take a miracle in the neighborhood for a single spot to open up. So, he paid for me to park somewhere else. He did the right thing by me but I doubt Chesky was doing the right thing by him.

Anxious Kids

In his book Anxious Generation, the author identifies the root cause of the troubles this generation of kids faces. He is focused on  young people, children, “tweens,” and adolescents, who grew up during and after the early 2010s, when smartphones and social media became widespread: 

According to Jonathan Haidt, these kids find themselves in a double bind: in the real world, parents have become overprotective, curbing children’s independence and opportunities for unsupervised play. Meanwhile, in the digital world, children are left dangerously under protected, exposed to addictive platforms designed to capture attention and fuel social comparison. 

The foundational harms he talks about are spot-on. Kids spend far less time with friends in person, weakening their social skills and support networks. This leads to social-deprivation and maladaptation that manifest themselves in a myriad of problematic ways. Being surrounded by device disrupt healthy sleep, fueling irritability, poor learning, and mental health problems. The harms of constant sleep deprivation is very well-documented. There is an expectation to be always on so as to not miss out on what's happen in social media. These unending flurry of notifications and the need to be multitasking mode at all times, erode the ability to focus and think deeply, leading to attention fragmentation. Then there is the additive quality of  apps and games are engineered to be compulsive, keeping kids hooked and distracted. The kids simply cannot catch a break given the forces working against them. 

All his ideas for how to help the situation are logical and grounded in commonsense. What is unclear is who has the incentive to make those changes happen for the kids. 

Privacy Extremism

Being untraceable and unfindable in today's world is not an easy feat. Some will go to great extremes: 

Mail addressed to him goes to a UPS Store. To buy things online, he uses a YubiKey, a small piece of hardware resembling a thumb drive, to open Bitwarden, a password manager that stores his hundreds of unique, long, random passwords. Then he logs in to Privacy.com, a subscription service that lets him open virtual debit cards under as many different names as he wishes; Harris has 191 cards at this point, each specific to a single vendor but all linked to the same bank account. This isolates risk: If any vendor is breached, whatever information it has about him won’t be exploitable anywhere else.

The truth is, not everyone faces the same level of risk. For most people, basic digital hygiene, strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and cautious sharing, offers sufficient protection without the need for extreme steps. For folks like my parents, I would say that is even the definition of extreme privacy given how microscopic their digital footprint is. My father does not believe in ATM machines or credit cards. He still writes cheques to service providers and they need to come to collect it from him at his home.  

I am a bit of a privacy fanatic myself but not quite as extreme. My lived experience shows that, pushing for higher levels of privacy often comes at the cost of convenience, access to services, and social connection. The benefits of digital participation for most folks outweigh the risks of data exposure. I am undecided and can't claim that has served me well at all times. 

Managed Delusion

While “The Copilot Delusion” raises legitimate concerns about overreliance and careless use of AI coding tools, it underestimates the benefits of productivity, learning, and innovation that Copilot offers when used thoughtfully and in conjunction with human expertise and robust development practices. 

Having worked closely with a few different developers for the last couple of years, I have seen an evolution in their views of what coding agents can and cannot do for them. Many are coming to accept the inevitability of their employers forcing adopting in pursuit of productivity gains. Others are holding out convinced this is a fad and there is no way for it to end without an implosion of code-slop that will need humans just like them to come clean up. They are confident that their best years are ahead of them when they can demand top dollar to clean up after the AI. 

The truth is probably somewhere in between. Jumping all-in, caution thrown to the winds is just as unwise as sitting things out stubbornly waiting for the bubble to burst. It will be critical to have strong foundation skills and education (now more than ever), be a thoughtful user and consumer of the services the coding agents provide, keep those coding skills sharp and start to level up, become creative and strategic in thinking. As the author points out:

Software is not just lines of code strung together; it is the sum of decisions, tradeoffs, and understanding that accumulate over time,

The ability to make those decisions and tradeoffs better and smarter is probably the best use f the developer's time. That will allow them to be in full-control of the agent and not the other way around.

Keeping Hope

When Newark Airport made all the news some weeks back, I postponed my work trip to NYC an decided I'd take the train if I had to go anyway. Many folks were delayed and stranded for hours there but the level of disaster suggested in this article seems unwarranted. The root causes for the calamity are numerous but none seem to be unsolvable. 

It is a combination decades of underinvestment in infrastructure, insufficient pay and retention for air traffic controllers, delayed modernization projects (a problem endemic to any large enterprise pubic or private sector), and a lack of redundancy in critical systems. Despite promises of upgrades and new hires, the FAA continues to struggle with chronic resource shortages, bureaucratic inertia, and a system that is stretched to the breaking point. 

To be optimistic about this, as someone who does not have the option to give up air-travel, I want to believe that these near-misses served as the much needed wake-up call. It would be an incredible tragedy if much worse had to happen before the the powers that be took action. Maybe I am stupidly hopeful because I don't want to live in fear all the time - my loved ones have to travel for work, they have no choice, my parents live in India and I have to go see them no matter what. I prefer to have faith (as illogical and unscientific as it is), that the calamity will not be nearly as complete and widespread at the author prognosticates. 

Infinite Fringe

While I agree with most of the author's points about the baneful effects of the "infinite fringe", there would be some good it in to. The past as he describes it had mechanisms for crazy to die out naturally

If a ludicrous idea started building momentum, the ringleader and their affiliates would get pushed out of an organization, then another one, and another one, before being deemed so poisonous that society in general would exile them to some tract of rural land to farm beets and / or start a cult. If they were still interested in spreading their ideas, their options were limited to the physical media they could afford to purchase — a monthly pamphlet sent through the mail, a ham radio, or a sign on the side of the road. Barricaded from the tightly controlled mass communication networks of print distribution and broadcast signals that informed the nation and the leaders they chose, they were forever stuck on the fringes.

That was where “crazy” used to die.

In today's world that is no longer the case, an infinite number of crazy ideas could find a place in social media and there are tools to amplify the messaging or morph it into new and novel forms of lunacy that could not have germinated in the past. This is akin to a world where viruses run amok and there are no medications to fight them. There are many of them, they shape-shift and mutate to increase their odds of survival. The most pernicious (and tenacious)ones make it but many others don't. May if some absolutely crazy fringe idea is fed and cared for enough for it to become mainstream, its worth looking into the energies that feed it instead of bemoaning the fact that it has learned to survive and be heard by all. 

Good Connection

Adding an EV charging station to a fast casual restaurant sounds so logical but it wasn't done before. It would be great to see the trend catch-on. It diversifies the demographic of the customers who come to the establishment (in this case Waffle House). Not a natural marriage between their menu and the tastes of a typical EV car driver but in time there will be a way for the two to meet and like each other.

America’s EV charging network remains inadequate due to a mix of uneven coverage, reliability and maintenance problems, regulatory and permitting delays, high costs, grid limitations, standardization issues, and persistent economic and equity barriers. While Waffle House cannot solve for most of these problems it can help with evening out the coverage. If EV drivers knew for a fact that if they found a Waffle House, the would definitely be able to charge their car, that is a big deal. Such guarantees are few and far between today.

Waffle House is not the only game in town (which is great for these drivers)/ Fast casual and quick-service restaurant chains, including Taco Bell, Starbucks, Subway, and some McDonald’s locations, are actively installing fast EV chargers in their parking lots, recognizing the mutual benefit for both EV drivers and restaurant business. While far from ubiquitous yet, this goes a long way in making EV a viable option for everyone who want to make the switch but wants to feel confident about their ability to charge on the road.

Fake Claims

Yet another example of how our tech overloads would have us plebians believe that they have a product (which they intend to maximally monetize) that can magically solve your most pressing problems. In this instance cure loneliness using AI.

This kind techno-solutionism, reducing human connection to a product has been the root cause of much that ails modern society. As the article correctly notes, Aristotle’s insights and modern research agree: loneliness requires communal, empathetic solutions, not algorithmic ones. Instead of outsourcing friendship to AI, we need policies and cultural shifts that prioritize face-to-face interaction, communal spaces, and mental health support.

This is a fantastic level of hypocrisy that goes along with such statements. Mark Zuckerberg’s advocacy for AI “friends” to address loneliness stands in stark contrast to his personal approach of strictly limiting his own children’s access to social media and the internet. His knows that his argument that people want more friends and that AI can provide meaningful companionship, is highly dubious and as such he is cautious about exposing his children to the very platforms and technologies his company develops to ostensibly solve the world's mental health problems. He has no desire to test his theories at home, something we should all learn from, do as he does. 

Life Value

Reading about the Air India air-crash brought to mind my recent experience with said airline. A lot of folks who travel to India way more frequently than I do, questioned my judgement. Why would I do that when there were so many better options. To them, the benefits of a direct flight which mine was, is not enough to offset the perils of flying Air India. And now this tragedy has happened. 

It turns out that as  of March 2025, around 133 planes, accounting for about 16% of India’s commercial airline fleet, are currently grounded, primarily due to supply chain disruptions and engine failures, especially those involving faulty Pratt & Whitney engines. Go Airlines was the hardest hit, with nearly half its fleet grounded last year, while IndiGo had 60–70 aircraft out of service as of January 2025. The report also highlights issues in aircraft maintenance quality, with ground staff in India typically conducting fewer checks compared to international standards.

There is always the possibility to human error, a freak accident that causes tragic loss of lives. It is sad and catastrophic but not systemic callousness resulting from blatant disregard for human life. My grandmother in her last days used to say that there is no value of life in India except to the immediate family. This is true for the birth of a child or the passing of someone her age. No one outside the family cares if there a few hundred thousand less or more. It is just a rounding error given the population of the country.

So if a person does not have strong family ties, their death is only a relief to everyone else, welcome even as it reduces the competition for limited resources. She was somewhat estranged from her daughter-in-laws at the time which meant very little access to her son's children. I attributed her statements back then to her having grown cantankerous with age and being too stubborn to mend fences with members of her family. But reading about the blatant disregard to safety standards for airplane maintenance, makes me wonder if she was right in her deeply cynical pronouncements.  

Live Translate

I'd love to use a live language translator when traveling abroad. Being able to understand a joke in a foreign language even using the translators we have now feels amazing. Suddenly you can go from feeling a lost outsider to someone who has been welcomed indoors and offered a seat at the dinner table. It breaks down the barriers of country and culture as you find yourself laughing at the same thing. Humor like music can often be borderless.

I realized how good this clone tech was once I heard my own voice, while watching a playback. It sounded scarily like me. Even Will was impressed.

I was describing my next trip to Spain for a big family party thrown by my sister-in-law. My colleague, who speaks Spanish, listened to it after and said the audio was a “mixed bag,” especially at first. The accent, she said, wasn’t native. (Funny: It also gave Will a slight Spanish accent when translating his voice into English.)

Being able to hear your voice speak a language that you don't know sounds wonderful. It's like having a super-power. This also made me think of a related application - intergeneration conversations for expat families. If parents speak English, J understands Bangla but does not have fluency. Would be great to have her speak like them and the other way around - be friends who have a common vocabulary and not be separated by generation, language and culture.

Colorless Man

I had fun watching the movie this MeFi post refers to. Having no expectations going in, I have to say it was not bad in the same sense as aspartame is not bad if you know what you are getting is not cane sugar. 

The comments on the thread reflect a mix of skepticism, concern, and nuanced debate about the role of AI in creative industries. Many acknowledge that while AI-generated films can be coherent and tell a story, the results often lack the depth and intentionality of human filmmaking. There is a lot of doubt if AI will replace skilled filmmakers, because filmmaking is about meticulous creative control, something current AI tools cannot offer; the content produced relies on prompts and luck, making it difficult to achieve the specific vision or fine-grained adjustments that human directors and editors bring to a project.

But the movie told a story and a told it fairly competently. While it will not win any jury awards and is more like a parlor trick than something that would qualify to be real cinema, an interesting experiment all the same.

Saying Hello

Enjoyed this Medium post about a memorable 1-minute introduction and thought about how it applies in ice-breaker situations in the workplace, specially with a new group of people. Tell a story not you name, add a WTF detail and then to them with a curiosity question seems to be the formula. Thinking back to a recent ice-breaker ritual that had been particularly boring, I toyed around with the idea of what it could have been if we applied this rubric

N - I wandered into Spain on accident once having overslept in the train, when I woke up we were in Malaga so I got off and met my would be wife on the platform. She was lost and looking for an American who spoke Spanish. What's your craziest travel story?

P - I did not know where Borneo was but said yes to joining a trip with a couple of women from my Pilates class. On that trip, I saw Pony, a orangutan that was rescued from prostitution. I had never owned a pet till that time but got a lame dog from the shelter near my house when I returned. Do you have any pets?

Both scenarios are somewhat based on things N and P have shared about themselves but not every last detail. Playing this rubric out, it seemed like things could land in highly awkward territory very soon with more people in the mix and if some are inclined to step things up for dramatic effect. Not so sure this formula would work well.

Learning Growing

I had a very interesting and illuminating experience recently. I worked side by side with two different developers on an AI coding tool. I had expressed interest in learning how the tool works and how they worked with it. We will call the developers A and B as this was much like and A/B test for me. A is a senior developer and has about ten years of post-college experience. He was tentative about using AI tools and has warmed up to it more recently. His reticence was evident in how he worked with the tool. He did most of the coding that involved creativity and thinking. All his testing is automated using the tool and he delegates mundane coding to it. A is very anal about distribution of work between him and the tool, making sure he is fully in control. He acknowledges it helps him but is determined not to become over-reliant. 

B is two years out of college and came into the workforce along with ChatGPT. His ways of working with the same tool are remarkably different. He expressed concern that using it is eroding foundational skills and a chance of deep understanding of programming. The last time he felt like he was in charge was in junior year of college. He said AI tools for coding encourage surface-level learning, making it easy to ship code without truly grasping how or why it works. The loss of repetition and struggle that used to be essential for building muscle memory and mastery in software development is a huge problem. B believes he will soon turn into one of those developers who can’t debug, explain, or adapt their code without AI assistance. He truly wants to be better than that but the community-driven learning platforms like Stack Overflow are not what they used to be. He has been coding since middle-school so he has observed the decline. B sees opportunities for mentorship and critical thinking disappearing for early career developers like him. He'd love to be like A but does not see the once direct path to getting there anymore.

Clear Benefits

This article makes a lot of great points about the risks to society from a declining birthrates around the world. 

As societies grow wealthier, women gain access to education and careers. They secure reproductive freedom and marry later, if at all, encouraged by reproductive technology to postpone family formation. Teen pregnancy becomes rare. People concentrate in cities where housing costs soar and living spaces shrink. Extended families scatter, taking with them crucial support. Meanwhile, parenting itself has become more intensive and expensive but less valued by society. Childrearing also competes with growing access to luxuries such as travel, hobbies and creative pursuits. (Smartphones are more entertaining than kids.)

The last bit about what is competing against childrearing in the life of a would be parent is particularly poignant. I have heard women in the late 20s and early 30s say that they have a great life and don't yet feel a strong enough maternal desire to consider giving up their freedoms and "access to luxuries" this article talks about to embark on an eighteen year cycle of childrearing which could run twice as long seeing how hard it is for young people to establish their own independent lives these days. Everyone knows someone who they went to school with and has yet to find their way in life and exit their parents' basement.  They seem terrified to take on a project with such ambiguous timelines for completion. They are not clear on the benefits. 

Fragmented Structure

I watched the movie 38 recently and struggled to form any real connection with it. That got me thinking about the kinds of stories films tend to tell, and how those patterns shape our expectations. More often than not, movies feel formulaic because they overwhelmingly follow a centuries-old narrative structure, rooted in Aristotle’s Poetics and later formalized into the three- or five-act format and the “hero’s journey” monomyth. This structure, now codified by screenwriting gurus and the story-structure industry, is so pervasive that even experimental films often conform to its hidden scaffolding.

The formula persists because it offers audiences a sense of order, transformation, and hope, but it also reinforces conformity, subtly promoting conservative values and the status quo. Maybe that is what the audience craves or perhaps the "system" wants them to. 

38 rejects all of that. It breaks away from the traditional hero’s journey and linear storytelling in favor of a fragmented, introspective structure. Instead of following a clear arc of conflict, transformation, and resolution, the film immerses viewers in the fractured psyche of a thirty-eight-year-old woman obsessed with the social media life of the younger woman who ended their relationship. The narrative unfolds through vivid interruptions of sound and image, reflecting the protagonist’s internal turmoil and the blurred boundaries between online and real life. It refuses to move toward a tidy conclusion or any kind of restored normalcy.

While I appreciated the movie on its artistic merits, it left me feeling unsatisfied and disoriented, maybe because I missed the familiar scaffolding I’ve grown so used to.

Front Door

I was chatting with a friend who works at a B2C company with a deplorable website, one that’s needed an overhaul for at least a decade. They’ve built a loyal customer base, but leadership knows their window to adapt is closing fast.

B, who leads digital transformation there, says AI agents like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are fundamentally redefining what digital transformation even means. These tools are shifting discovery, recommendation, and transactions away from traditional brand websites and into AI-driven interfaces. As a result, website UX is becoming less critical, while real-time, structured product data, delivered via APIs and feeds, is becoming essential for visibility in these systems.

For B, this shift is huge. Her company is miles behind the competition digitally, but now they have a chance to leapfrog, do something bold, stop optimizing for human visitors and start optimizing for AI models. Their sad, dated website becomes just a reference layer; the AI interface is the new front door for their customers. They can just work on getting that door right.

I asked B if she finds this exciting. She was ambivalent. Only if we get it right with the AI agents and don’t screw it up like we did with web and mobile, she said not sounding confident her leadership had the vision and drive to make this happen. This was in interesting conversation specially in light of what D has been saying about the fate of UX in the world. 

Becoming Reliant

At happy hour recently, a friend of a co-worker who works at an AI startup compared the current widespread use of AI to the early days of Uber. R noted that AI tools (like the one her company makes) are heavily subsidized by venture capital and have quickly become indispensable for many users. She pointed out correctly that these subsidies will eventually disappear, leading to higher costs or increased influence from advertisers. 

Uber is essentially unaffordable in most cities I travel to for work and often the local taxi service is more cost-effective. So R is perfectly right about what the future golds. There were a couple of engineers there with AI startup and side hustle ideas and R told them, if they plan to build with AI, they should act now while it remains affordable. That got the group chatting about the  importance of maintaining traditional skills, as those who can produce quality work without relying on expensive AI services will be highly valued if prices rise. 

This is particularly true I think for early-career professionals who need to wean off their dependence on AI to do a job they haven't even had a chance to fully learn. If you are closer to retirement age, the consequences in professional life might be less dire. You might have runaway to enjoy the productivity boost from the tools while the going is good as R says and happily walk into the sunset to enjoyed retired life. 

Our group covered a large age range - fresh out of college to getting ready to retire this year. R gave everyone food for thought that evening. She herself is all-in with AI tools at work because its not an option. But for an industry veteran as she is, its likely a pretty low-risk. She had a great career before AI and will likely continue to have after the dust settles and things go the way of Uber.

Saving More

I did not know about Zepto but found this strategy interesting. They have a new ‘Swap and Save’ feature, which automatically suggests cheaper alternatives to items in a customer’s cart. Needless to say, it has sparked backlash from several direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand founders. 

While Zepto promotes the feature as a way to help customers save money, D2C brands argue it undermines premium positioning, disrupts customer conversion, and increases pressure to spend on advertising just to remain visible in shoppers’ carts. There is concern that the feature could force brands to offer discounts or pay to avoid being swapped out, favoring larger advertisers and making it harder for smaller brands to compete. Despite the controversy, Zepto is still testing the feature and planning on a wider roll-out. 

The problem viewed from the lens of the consumer looks quite different, atleast in the short run. If a person is on a tight budget and there is service that helped them do more with less, its only a win. The fact that this creates a race to the bottom is not their greatest concern. There is more D2C brands could go a lot further to help consumers - track their shopping cart or wishlist and buy when the prices are the lowest, swap and save when the customer says that is okay to do that but stick with the requested brand when its not.

Too Good

 A former colleague who is looking for a new job shared his recent interview experience. After a positive interview, L was rejected for a job because the company felt his resume was "too tailored" to the position. He expressed frustration that, unlike many applicants who use AI tools to generate customized resumes, his resume was genuinely written by him and accurately reflected his real skills and accomplishments. He believes that hiring managers are now struggling to distinguish authentic applications from AI-generated ones, resulting in flawed IT hiring practices. He also criticized the interview process for being ambiguous and often led by interviewers who seem unqualified to assess candidates properly, something I have heard from a lot of other folks too. 

That last part about unqualified interviewers struck a chord with me. When people luck into roles that do not deserve and lack the skills to perform, they create a terrific drag force for the company. They will do their best to keep out anyone (like L) who has demonstrable ability to perform (and therefore outshine them handily). They will also block hiring of managers who will easily identify that they are unfit for the role and not performing at the job. That kind of hire would jeopardize their own jobs. The force of resistance to qualified hires will rise in exponential proportion to the salaries of these folks. So we have a situation like L is running into. His qualifications seem too extraordinary to be be true when viewed by peers and managers less competent than him. They immediately conclude this could not be real and AI made up the resume for L. That can now be a great excuse to reject him. I do believe things will change.

Seeking Rare

An UX designer I worked with a long time ago, recently shared a long rant about the AI generated design. In D's opinion , generative AI tools, including new ones like those in Figma, can be useful, but they don’t replace the need to understand the design process. True design begins with a clear goal and involves thoughtful exploration and refinement, which AI often skips by jumping straight to a finished result. This shortcut can undermine creativity and the critical thinking that shapes strong design outcomes. Ultimately, while AI can assist, it’s the designer’s own understanding and intent—the “why” behind every decision—that drives meaningful results. The tool is just a tool; real intelligence comes from the designer.

I have some sympathy for his cause but not a whole lot. The "real intelligence" that D speaks of is not abundantly available in the UX community. A lot of folks I have worked with over the years follow the design process like it was a guarantee of outcome. As long as the full battery of artifacts are deployed, we will arrive at the right answer seems to be the thinking which is extraordinarily flawed. I have had designers go through days and weeks of such sessions and not produced deliverables that are in no way better than what AI can produce these days. 

There are those that do bring something special to the table and I have had the privilege of working with them as well. These folks are able to simplify and distill very complex ideas into something elegant, intuitive and simple and they can do this just listening to users closely, asking them thoughtful questions along the way, no frills, no involving works-shops. The first version of their concept can even be pen and paper. But they get it right. AI can take those rough notes and expert direction to execute, save them the mundane work. D may not like to hear this said about his beloved design community but the truth is real talent that cannot be replaced by AI is rare and that caliber of talent will not get displaced. 

Being Adult

Any parent who has experienced their child attaining adulthood has wondered at what age that becomes real adulthood and not conceptual. 

..everybody is unique, there’s no standard timeline for growing up. Some people learn how to control their emotions, develop the judgment to make good decisions and manage to earn enough to support themselves by the age of 18.

There are so many facets to a person that it would be hard to declare someone an all around adult because they are demonstrably mature in some areas. They could be woefully behind on the others. 

Growing up is about gaining experiences, making mistakes and learning from them, while also taking responsibility for your own actions. As there’s no single definition of adulthood, everyone has to decide for themselves whether or not they’ve turned into a grown-up yet.

As a parent, you want to see your "adult" child demonstrate the ability to function that meets or exceeds yours at their age. This is assuming you felt that you were a well-functioning adult at that reference age. If the child exceeds you in some areas that is cause for celebration but we are not able to accept nearly as well that they lag us in others, and as such we are reluctant to declare them as fully adult.

Good Direction

Like many I have many reasons not to like Google but allowing users to download and run a variety of open-source AI models directly on their smartphones, without needing an internet connection is great news. The app, currently available for Android (with iOS coming soon), lets users access models from platforms like Hugging Face to perform tasks such as image generation, question answering, and code writing, all processed locally on the device’s hardware. I only hope there's no catch. If this is even somewhat workable, it would represent a shift toward making AI more accessible, private, and customizable by empowering users to run advanced models locally, rather than relying on cloud-based services. 

While that is generally good for users, they have to take on more risk. If they run sensitive or private data through these models, and if their device is not secure, that could present it's own kind of problems. A fully air-gapped device could help. There is also the bad actor problem (though they have plenty of options already). Running AI models locally makes it easier to bypass safety controls and use AI for generating harmful content, coding malicious software, spreading misinformation, or enabling scams and illegal activity. The lack of centralized moderation and the potential for model jailbreaking and adversarial attacks significantly expand the risk surface for misuse. In this instance all of that could happen from a phone which is convenient. 

One can hope Google had some altruistic intentions here beyond trying to apply breaks on the cloud based contenders who are getting ready to eat its ads and search lunches.