Weeknotes 357: AI's stochastic nature and our interface confusion - a shorter edition thinking about the Apple event and relation with AI knowledge triages. www.iskandr.nl/ais-stochast...

August Reflections: From Tools to Companions to Immersive Presences. Annotating a future agentic thing from August news reflections open.substack.com/pub/citiesof...

Weeknotes 356 - Building the RealOS through hybrid intelligent layers - Looking for hints in the presentation of the new iPhones and beyond, connecting human with physical AI. And more from the news of last week. www.iskandr.nl/building-the...

“The to more efficiency makes the world a worse place” @romanmars.bsky.social

Nieuwe BBB-minister onderwijs (én emancipatie) Gouke Moes zet regenboogpad op 1 lijn met hakenkruis. Laat even doordringen. Nazi-symbool op gelijke hoogte met LHBTIQ+-emancipatie Extreemrechtse haatzaaierij en antisemitisme in centrum van de macht. VVD moet dit blokkeren. Zo niet, is het aan Kamer

Weeknotes 355 - Mass intelligence immerses in physical reality Designing for meaningful conversations and immersive behaviors. And more on human-AI-things collabs. www.iskandr.nl/mass-intelli...

Be aware of agent burn outs; be lured into a feeling of can make everything but create unmanageable monsters. Fresh take again by Nate. youtu.be/zRr24Mku3r4?...

Inspiring post by @genmon.fyi . AI interface conceptually as DWIM (Do What I Mean). As we lose the concept of syntax errors in dialogs with AI, the errors become hidden in misinterpretations of meaning. We no longer learn from interactions with our machines. interconnected.org/home/2025/08...

Mass intelligence and ubiquitous intelligence changing our everyday reality. Had to think of a camera surveillance system that is prompted to slightly adjust the output based on politcal motives.

Stigmatizing people is both shameful and disgusting. GOP is instigating violence against minorities in America. www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/08/gop-...

Weeknotes 354 - Relations over functions will define AI-collabs What if we find ways to build relations with AI that make sense? Some thoughts, and some nice articles found in the news of last week. Check it out in the weeknotes. www.iskandr.nl/relations-ov...

I was hesitant to submit a proposal for the SXSW Panelpicker this year for several reasons. I decided to do it anyway. It is a great way to reflect on your current focus and what you'll focus on in the coming year. Today is the last to vote :-) www.iskandr.nl/crafting-col...

Weeknotes 353 - Towards expressive relations as technological mediation - Combining technology philosophy concepts and AI learning, breaking the fourth wall. And lots of other news on AI in the physical space and beyond. www.iskandr.nl/towards-expr...

The meeting was a disaster for everyone except two people. Trump got his photo op and his ego boost. Putin got his photo op, whitewashing of war crimes and no sanctions. No one in Ukraine, Europe or the United States benefited in any way.

'Zelf benoemt Van Gelder beslist zaken. Het probleem is dat hij er niks van weet. Hij weet niks van asiel. Niks van Gaza. Niks van wonen. Niks van Europa. Hij produceert hoogstens een ‘best of’ van zijn X-tijdlijn.' @kustaw.bsky.social www.volkskrant.nl/columns-van-...

Weeknotes 352 - Companion Paradox: agency in the age of relatable AI - GPT-5 is everywhere in the news. It delivers and it underwhelms, depending who you ask. I dived in two the impact on being a relatable AI. www.iskandr.nl/companion-pa...

The degree to which the US economy now runs on open bribery continues to amaze

Every month I think of a speculative thing that can representate the weekly thoughts from my newsletter, published via Cities of Things. In a collab with my AI writing buddy. citiesofthings.nl/july-reflect...

Weeknotes 351 - Humanity in the Age of AI Co-Performance - A fresh newsletter this week, with a new look and setup. Covering the same themes and topics. With reflections and captures of the news on human-AI-things partnerships. Check it out! www.iskandr.nl/humanity-in-...

We have been carefully testing lots of received prompting wisdom & for recent AI models: 🚫Threats, saying please, being insulting, & promising tips do not change average performance on challenging tasks ⛓️Chain-of-thought no longer helps even non-reasoner performance much Don't make it complicated.

Quite obstinate. These tools become more human like :-)

Paradox of ambient intelligence: between certainty and shadows Weeknotes 350! - Can AI truly perform critical thinking as it does not have a clue? How to bring in humbleness through our own interactions? And more news on human-AI-thing collabs. target-is-new.ghost.io/paradox-of-a...

A Void AI Might Make Tangible Weeknotes 349 - There is often more said in the in-between than in the real; is that void hidden from data capturing? What will be the role of AI here? That thoughts were triggered from the news of last week. This and more. target-is-new.ghost.io/a-void-ai-mi...

Hm, my M1 Macbook is not liking Comet browsing so much; compare CPU use. Back to Dia for now.

Articulated frictions for engaged presence Weeknotes 348 - Do we want to remove all frictions in a seamless AI presence, or do we need this for being human? Thoughts and captures from the news in human-AI-things. target-is-new.ghost.io/articulated-...

Think with us, not for us. Weeknotes 347 - Preventing the Moloch trap of collective intelligence through designing the right intentions. And more on last week’s human-AI-thing news and beyond. target-is-new.ghost.io/think-with-u...

It's visually (and audio) well-made, featuring an archetypal interface for AI analysis. I'm not sure if it's meant to be real, but I think it's more of a different way to convey the impact of ruthless destruction felt. And it works. youtu.be/gI7dRDUdlS4?...

“A fidget spinner meets connecting bracelet meets quadratic voting.” Every month, I conduct a brief speculative design exercise to envision an object that represents the past month's thoughts on human-AI-things collaborations. Check it out here: citiesofthings.substack.com/p/june-refle...

What happens when the civic economy meets the protocol economy? Join us 15-17 September for a design charrette modeling mediation for civic economies via: currencies - tokens - current-sees. First deadline for entries call for participation 6th July. civicixdproject.com/civicprotoco...

Wild internet and knowledge hyper-inflation Weeknotes 346 - Triggered a thought connecting the thinking about rewilding the internet and knowledge hyper-inflation. And more news. target-is-new.ghost.io/wild-interne...

The Slime Mold Computer and the Language Machine Weeknotes 345 - Software 3.0 and slime molds, what do they have in common? This and other captured news of last week, events, etc. target-is-new.ghost.io/slime-mold-c...

From earlier today. The always clever @[email protected] on history and now of tech cementing dominance. Innovation is not limited by regulation. We should build something new. #PubConf2025

20 years ago I started blogging; the “new” of that time: “Tags, Plazes (location based services), Ajax, Flex (the technologies), triple play (innovation in broadcast), all rather timely. Mobile life and ubiquitous computing, here to stay :) targetisnew.com/2005/06/11/f...

Last Friday we (@thingscon) officially launched RIOT 2025 report “State of Responsible Tech”. With 16 insightful articles and 15 provotypes from a generative future. You can find more information and download the report from the website: thingscon.org/publications...

Can a human entity ever become an AGI? Weeknotes 343 - There is a strange habit of seeing AGI linked to a goal to overtake humans; better respect differences. And the news captures from last week. target-is-new.ghost.io/can-a-human-...

Looking forward to meet the authors and readers!

Wohoo! The test print looks stellar. The new RIOT 2025 report is waiting to be presented this Friday! thingscon.org/events/riot-...

Embodying physical AI simulations Weeknotes 342 - What is the impact of creating a contained environment of physical AI for future realities? Read more in the triggered thoughts. And much more. target-is-new.ghost.io/embodying-ph...

We launch the RIOT 2025 report - State of Responsible Tech on 6 June in Rotterdam during Salon, and organise an unconference to dive deeper into the topics addressed by the authors of the 15 articles. Join us (and get the report)! thingscon.org/events/riot-... www.meetup.com/thingscon-sa...

Weeknotes 341 - New value mechanics for the agentic web What is the consequence of an agentic web for the mechanics of values? And a lot of other news after a week of announcements by Big AI Tech. target-is-new.ghost.io/new-value-me...

In 2 weeks, we will officially launch the 5th edition of the “State of Responsible IOT” report: RIOT 2025. 16 inspiring articles, a catalog of provotypes “generative things”. Join us for the festive launch Salon and/or unconference on 6 June in the heart of Rotterdam! thingscon.org/events/riot-...

So what will it look like? “An AI device that is an aesthetic merge between an iPhone, a titanium wristband, and a metal blob” Midjourney thinks this. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Immersive AI as Orchestrating Agentic Prompted Systems Weeknotes 340 - Digital twins that become infused by AI might impact everyday life substantially. This and more notions from the news of last week in human AI relationships. target-is-new.ghost.io/immersive-ai...

Plezier klinkt vanzelfsprekend, maar is het niet: plezier is omstreden. Daarom schrijf ik er boek over. Schrijven kost tijd, tijd is geld. Steun de crowdfunding en help dit pleidooi voor plezier het licht te zien www.voordekunst.nl/projecten/18...

Compressing of time as trigger for different co-performances Weeknotes 339 - Thinking about how AI is compressing time it defines our new relations to collaborate. Next to more news. target-is-new.ghost.io/compressing-...

Survival of the fittest small AI Weeknotes 338—In addition to all the news in human-AI and beyond, some thoughts were triggered by vibe coding a small AI and reflecting on the survival strategies of a big tech player. target-is-new.ghost.io/survival-of-...

Understanding intelligence as collaborating components Weeknotes 337—This week’s notes offer thoughts about AAR and intelligence, collaborative power, synthetic satellites, and more based on the latest news. target-is-new.ghost.io/understandin...

Wikipedia has an independent and transparent editing process for establishing shared truth. The Internet Archive shows what was public before it was changed. Without them, any hope of establishing some kind of shared singular reality is truly gone. Sounds overly dramatic, but such are the times.

Reconciling AI Fragmentation and Design for Collectivity Weeknotes 336 - Design for collectivity was a hot topic at multiple conferences and online discourses, so I added some thoughts. Inspired by notions of last week’s news. target-is-new.ghost.io/reconciling-...