8 billion victims
Why Murphy's Law actually helps you prevent bad things from happening. (#541)
This is David, your decidedly human web crawler, and you're reading the Weekly Filet, the newsletter for curious minds who love when something makes them go «Huh, I never thought of it this way!». As every Friday, I'm here to help you make sense of what’s happening, and imagine what could be. It's great to have you.
1. Lawless Planet
I'm three episodes in, and to say I'm hooked is an understatement. «Lawless Planet» is true crime with 8 billion victims. Each episode features a crime on the frontline of the climate crisis – scams, cover-ups, murders – and «the life and death choices people are making to either protect our world – or destroy it.»
2. My mom and Dr. DeepSeek
«DeepSeek is more humane, my mother told me in May. Doctors are more like machines.» There's a bitter irony in this, obviously, but it's real and it's happening faster than we're ready to cope. People are finding connection (and empathy and patience) in AI that they are missing in interactions with other humans – in this case: doctors.
Viola Zhou
3. In Murphy's Law style, I had Murphy's Law all wrong
We all know and love to quote Murphy's Law: «Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.» However, just like the author of this short piece, I've used it as a fatalistic shrug after something had gone wrong. That's not really what it's about. It's actually a framework for preventing things from going wrong.
Jono Hey
4. Our Shared Reality Will Self-Destruct in the Next 12 Months
What happens in a world where all reliable ways of validating truth are gone? When every text, image, video, sound recording can be fake, and everything that's real can easily be discredited by calling it fake? One thing is guaranteed: We're about to find out.
Ted Gioia
5. Democracy in the Age of AI
«Many people feel that with the rapid advance of AI, our future is like a car with only a gas pedal and a brake. But we've overlooked the most important part: the steering wheel.» This presentation by Audrey Tang, Taiwan's cyber ambassador and first digital minister, is half essay, half case study. She describes how Taiwan has leveraged AI to bridge divides, identify consensus and help shape viable policy proposals.
Author
Tell us something interesting about the place you call home.
Notes from fellow Weekly Filet readers.
In August 1926, three elephants from a circus escaped in Cranbrook, British Columbia, leading to a "Great Elephant Hunt" and international news coverage. The elephants, named Charlie Ed, Tillie, and Myrtle, were eventually captured after weeks of searching, with Charlie Ed becoming a local legend and even celebrated with a parade.
What else?
Instant-gratification links that make you go wow! or aha! the moment you click.
- Fun tool to play with: How many photographs are needed to connect two people? Five, for example, to connect Taylor Swift and Marie Curie. Or, let's see how it works with men: Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.
- This trailer sounds promising: A Shot At History – a podcast about the malaria vaccine.
- Switzerland has launched its own LLM. Meanwhile: Claude made me laugh hard this week.
- I can't stop watching this guy make chocolate not look like chocolate.
Books for curious minds
Some new ones as I read them, some older ones that continue to inform how I look at the world and myself.
A good overview of the state of plant-based and lab-grown meat and what the future might bring. Convinced me that this will be a huge market in the near future and can be a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gases worldwide. Buy it here.
A gem from the archive
David Bauer
The Weekly Filet archive offers more than 2500 hand-picked links since 2011, like this one. You can search by interests, explore collections or shuffle for a gem.
That's it for this week. Thanks for reading. I wish you a nice weekend and hope to see you again next Friday!
— David
Little useful apps from me, for you
🌍 You Don't Know Africa, a simple game that has already humbled millions of people. 💯 Choose Impact, an online tool to compare job opportunities. 🧭 Priority Compass, a tool for individuals, teams and organisations to focus your energy on what really matters. 🪄 How I Use AI, a collection of use cases, ready to use and adapt. 💬 Climate Questions, a playful conversation starter. And ⏱️ One Minute Challenge, a little meaningful distraction to refocus.
More ways to learn and take inspiration from
Check my 📚 digital bookshelf, with sections of 🌡️ books that help you make sense of the climate crisis, ⛵ books that make you a better product manager, 🪄 books that help you make sense of AI, and 🧒 books that help you as a parent. And from collecting the best links on the web for close to 15 years, my thematic collections: The Art of Thinking (Differently), The Stuff Our Modern World Runs On, Bingeworthy Podcasts, and more.