Exploring the intersection of technology, politics, and power in shaping the future.
health-society
Key Takeaways * Gamification can drive motivation — or dependency. * The same psychological levers that build healthy habits can also exploit them. * AI-powered gamification amplifies both potential and risk. * Ethical design requires transparency, purpose, and limits. The Game We Didn’t Know We Were Playing Step counts. Streaks. Badges. Leaderboards. Health apps
health-society
Key Takeaways * What we call personalization in digital health often masks predictive control. * The line between helpful nudges and behavioral manipulation is vanishingly thin. * Algorithms optimize for engagement, not autonomy, turning users into data-driven subjects. * True empowerment demands transparency, consent, and collaboration between users, clinicians, and AI systems. When Help
health-society
Key Takeaways * Health apps excel at keeping us clicking, not necessarily getting us healthier. * Engagement ≠ transformation: activity in an app rarely equals lasting behaviour change. * The real problem is misaligned incentives, products optimize for usage, not outcomes. * True digital health impact requires aligning design, data, and rewards with real change.
politics-markets
Key Takeaways * Large diversified corporations risk losing strategic coherence amid competing lean business units. * Startups and spin-outs often benefit from focus, speed, and clearer capital allocation. * Fiduciary duties can delay structural change, even when such change may unlock long-term value. The Rise and Reassessment of the Conglomerate Model Conglomerates historically
technology-power
3 Takeaways * AI attracts record sums because it is fast, visible, and narratively simple. * Sectors with long timelines or complex science — animal health, deep tech, climate, infrastructure — fight for attention. * Mispriced capital slows progress in industries critical to resilience. Venture capital often markets itself as the engine of disruption. But
technology-power
Key Takeaways * AI’s ceiling isn’t chips — it’s electricity. Fortune * Data-centre power demand is set to more than double this decade. IEA+1 * The U.S., EU, and China face diverging energy realities — and geopolitical consequences. U.S. Energy Information AdministrationReutersClimate Energy Finance The signal: energy, not code