Weekly Filet #195: Humanity's last invention. And more.
1. The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence (Wait But Why)
This is one of the rare kind of texts that has the potential to completely change your perspective. I've always struggled to wrap my head around Artificial Intelligence and the question of whether and when machines will be more intelligent than humans. It sure is a fascinating issue, but it always had this sci-fi out-of-touchiness; humans are notoriously bad at understanding exponential growth and thus far, no text had really helped me understand how we might get from Siri and Watson to superintelligent computers and immortality (or extinction) within a couple of decades. All of that changed when I read this two-part series. A stunner. In so many ways.
2. World Press Photo: Winners 2014
A stark reminder that 2014 was fairly grim.
3. Mies van der Rohe Award 2015 shortlist announced (Dezeen)
It's been a while since I've last had architecture in this newsletter. This is a good time to change it: A nice look at the 40 shortlisted projects for this year's Mies van der Rohe Award.
4. Watch Me Date (The Guardian)
Two people on a blind date, wearing Google Glass so we can watch. The Guardian's mini-series somehow manages to hit a charming sweet-spot between cringeworthy and kitsch.
5. This is a real thing that happened (Sibyl Moon)
A short, text-based ... game? Feels pretty weird until the end, when it makes you smile.
Recommended by Lara Fritzsche: Millions of Facebook users have no idea they’re using the internet (Quartz)
Facebook has about 1.4 billion users, but millions of these members in developing countries don't know they're using the internet. Which is not as funny as it sounds. The distinction made by the next billion people to come to the internet could have an impact on how the internet evolves.
February guest curator: Lara Fritzsche is one of my favourite journalists. She works for SZ Magazin in Munich. If you understand German, read this story of hers about a girl who had survived the Utøya massacre. You can follow Lara on Twitter, which you probably should.